The “Cherry” Cardigan!
The “Cherry” Cardigan is the second release in our latest collection project, all inspired by the 1967 classic novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The book also inspired a 1980’s Francis Ford Coppola movie of the same name.
Inspired by Sherri “Cherry” Valance, a “soc” (short for Social) from the West side, who ends up befriending our East side “greasers”. In the novel, Cherry takes the initiative and is an inspiration for the others to find peace with one another. As Ponyboy says, they all see the same sunset; they have some things in common after all. For her cardigan, she had to have something that represented her “soc” aesthetic, but with a little sass; a bad girl at heart.
This cardigan features a pointelle style eyelet motif, both elegant and beautifully vintage. We include fine details such as the picot edging that adorns the cuffs, hem, and neckline. A seed stitch button band adds an extra vintage touch. You have the option to work standard knit buttonholes, or to face your button bands with petersham and sew your buttonholes by machine. This is a technique seen often on true vintage hand knit cardigans and we think it produces a really fabulous and functional result! (Be sure to save your swatch for some practice buttonholes!)
Similar to the “Poisonettes” Top and our “Rosemary Fisherman Sweater”, the “Cherry” Cardigan is worked seamlessly from the bottom up, working the sleeves and body one-at-a-time, and joining everything at the underarm to work upwards to the neckline. We really enjoy this method for several reasons: the convenience of “small projects” (the sleeves & body each feel like their own mini project and are thus more portable and lighter in the hands), the ability to use a sleeve as an in-the-round swatch, the direction of the stitches suits the stitch pattern, and the decreasing of the yoke is a gratifying way to finish the project (respect to Elizabeth Zimmerman always!). This construction also gives you several opportunities to achieve a good fit during the WIP stages - be sure to measure your gauge before and after blocking for accurate in-progress fittings; the eyelets will open up after blocking.
We think the “Cherry” Cardigan is perfect over dresses, (such as the Charm Patterns Lamour Dresses pictured!), the cropped length is designed for it! But she looks just as cute styled over a halter top and capris or a tank top. Warmth + coverage + style!
We hope you love the “Cherry” Cardigan! Be sure to tag us on Instagram @poisongrrls & use the hashtags #staygoldcherry & #poisongrrlsstyle to be featured, we can’t wait to see what you make!
DIFFICULTY: 3/5
RESOURCES:
Introducing the “Poisonettes” Top! & our newest collection!
The “Poisonettes” Top is the first release in our latest collection project, STAY GOLD, a series of designs inspired by the 1967 classic novel The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton. The book also inspired a 1980’s Francis Ford Coppola movie of the same name.
The STAY GOLD Collection is inspired by a tale of friendship, loyalty, integrity, and unity. We’re mixing up 50’s, 60’s, and 80’s fashion, for a series of garments that will be fun to knit and wear! The patterns will be released one at a time.
Our first design for the collection is inspired by our favorite greaser gang as a whole, Ponyboy and his brothers, both by blood and friendship. So we created our own crew name: the Poisonettes! Are we a band? A girl gang? A bowling team? Maybe all of these things. You decide, you’re all invited!
The “Poisonettes” Top is an off shoulder crop top perfect for capri pants or pencil skirts. We were inspired by 60’s and 80’s off shoulder looks, such versatile styling options. First, we sized the pattern in a range of 15 different sizes, to help you achieve your best fit, and also included notes for making further adjustments. We utilized a fun and simple-to-work slip stitch motif where each color is worked one-at-a-time. To keep the top in place, we inserted elastic into the top edge- no slipping! Some minor hand sewing is used to close the elastic and stitch the casing closed.
If you have made our “Rosemary Fisherman Sweater” (with the included Video Course), you will be familiar with some of the techniques used in this pattern. If you have made our “Wild One Driving Set” (with included Video Tutorials), you are familiar with the slip stitch technique. This pattern is accessible to an advanced beginner.
We hope you love the “Poisonettes” Top, cast one on and join our crew! And get excited for the forthcoming designs from our STAY GOLD collection, be sure you’re signed up for our newsletter to be the first to know.
Dig it.
Resources: