Striped Crop Cardigan

This striped crochet cardigan pattern is worked top down in one piece with no seams and no blocking — a cropped V-neck cardigan with balloon sleeves and a ribbed hem, written out in full for nine sizes from XS to 5X, with short video clips for the parts people get stuck on. Make yourself something with color in it. The Striped Crop Cardigan is worked from the shoulders down in one continuous piece — you start with a single chain at the shoulders, the back grows down from the top of it, both fronts grow down from its underside, and the shoulders are made rather than sewn. The sleeves are picked up around the armholes and worked in the round. The hem, cuffs and front band are ribbing, joined on as you go. When you fasten off the last stitch the cardigan is finished. There is nothing to seam, nothing to set in, and nothing to pin out. Each pastel stripe is outlined in soft gray, so the colors read as blocks of stained glass rather than plain bands. THIS LISTING IS FOR A DIGITAL PDF CROCHET PATTERN — NOT A FINISHED CARDIGAN NOT ONE SEAM, START TO FINISH No shoulder seams, no side seams, no sleeves to set in, no underarms to close. Most striped cardigan patterns are five flat pieces you sew together at the end, which is where the fit goes wrong and where most people quit. This one comes off the hook as a cardigan. Because it is top-down you can slip it on at any point, check the fit across your shoulders and set the crop exactly where you want it before you commit. NO BLOCKING NEEDED The sample was never blocked, not once. Match the gauge and it measures correctly straight off the hook. Every measurement in this pattern was taken from the finished garment you see in the photos, not from a swatch and not from a calculation. SHORT VIDEOS FOR THE TRICKY PARTS Three of the fiddliest steps are filmed and linked from inside the PDF — picking up the sleeve stitches evenly around the armhole, joining the back to the fronts at the underarm, and attaching the ribbed cuff as you go. Watch the one you need, when you need it, instead of scrubbing through a two-hour tutorial. ✨ Pattern Details: Skill Level: Advanced Beginner — only two stitches the whole way through, half double crochet and single crochet Sizes: Nine, XS through 5X, every one written out in full Finished Bust: 30, 34, 38, 43, 47, 51, 56, 60 and 64 inches — 0-2" of ease in the smaller sizes, rising to 2-4" in the largest Finished Length: 17" to 24½" depending on size, including the ribbed hem band Yarn: Worsted weight #4. Shown in Patons Classic Wool Worsted — Cool Gray, Pink Quartz, Basil and Soft Orchid. About 1,075 yds for size S; 830 to 2,530 yds across the range, broken down per color and per size Hooks: 6.0mm / US J/10 for the body and sleeves, 5.0mm / US H/8 for the ribbing Gauge: 4" x 4" = 12 hdc x 10 rows, unblocked Additional Materials: Five 1" flat buttons, tapestry needle. No stitch markers needed Format: PDF instant download Language: English (US terms) Why You'll Love This Pattern: ✔️ Completely seamless — it comes off the hook finished, with nothing to sew ✔️ No blocking. The cardigan in the photos was never blocked ✔️ Top-down, so you try it on as you go and choose your own crop length ✔️ Only two stitches from start to finish — half double crochet and single crochet ✔️ Nine sizes written out in full, XS to 5X — no grading math to do yourself ✔️ A full schematic with thirteen measurements for every size ✔️ A stripe map for the body and both sleeves, so you never lose the sequence ✔️ A stitch count at the end of every single row ✔️ Fit checkpoints as you go, so nothing is a surprise at the end ✔️ Every stripe outlined in gray, so the colors read as blocks instead of bands ✔️ Video links for the three steps people get stuck on ✔️ Works in any four colors you love — swap the pastels for your own palette The pattern, graph, and photos are copyright property of SeeLoveShare LLC. For personal use only. No unauthorized reproduction or distribution permitted. Some links in this pattern are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you shop through them — it helps me keep designing patterns for you. Thanks for supporting SeeLoveShare!