A self-striping cotton yarn turns a winter pullover pattern into a breezy cardigan in this five-part conversion project. This post covers picking the right base pattern and swatching for fit and washability. It also covers matching stripes across new balls of yarn, then joining the pieces with a three-needle bind-off. Let’s go!
Plan the conversion
A vibrant, self-striping cotton yarn works up in stripes. A sideways-knit pattern turns those stripes vertical instead of horizontal. A free pullover pattern fit the idea almost perfectly, since it called for the same DK weight yarn used in the swap. The pullover had long sleeves, a tall neckband, and no opening down the front. The plan called for shorter, elbow-length sleeves and a plain crew neckband. Buttons down the front would replace the closed pullover shape.
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Swatch for fit and needle choice
Several swatches settled the needle choice before casting on any real knitting. Cotton behaves differently than wool on the needles, so a few different needle materials got tested side by side. A bamboo circular needle won out, since it offered a bit more grip and control over the stitches. A slightly smaller needle brought the tension right where it needed to be for the pattern’s gauge.
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Test the wash before you knit
More swatches tested how the cotton yarn handled washing, since cotton can shrink or change texture once it’s wet. One swatch was hand washed and laid flat to dry. It shrank slightly in length but held its width. A second swatch was only steam blocked and stayed the same size throughout. A third swatch went through a full machine wash and dry cycle. It came out softer and a little fluffier, though it also shrank a bit in length. That machine washed and dried swatch matched the pattern’s listed gauge exactly. The final numbers were 24 stitches and 36 rows over 4″ [10cm]. Testing before committing to the whole garment made all the difference here.
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Shorten the sleeves and match the stripes
Working the sleeves shorter meant stopping several inches earlier than the original pattern called for. This left live stitches ready to join later. Self-striping yarn adds one more thing to think about when starting a new ball. Matching the color at the point where the old ball runs out keeps the stripe sequence looking continuous. This does use a little extra yarn, since some gets trimmed away to find the right color match. But it keeps both halves of the cardigan looking cohesive. Matching sides isn’t required though. Random stripes look just as lovely on a self-striping yarn like this one.
A provisional cast-on held the underarm stitches so they could be picked up again later. This method works best over plain knit or purl stitches. Textured ribbing tends to wrap the working yarn around the waste yarn at every twist. This makes it much harder to remove cleanly. Cutting the waste yarn away with small scissors solved the problem just fine when this happened.
Join with a three-needle bind off
A three-needle bind off joined the center back seam and both side seams beautifully. This technique works by placing the right sides of two pieces together, with both sets of live stitches facing the same direction. A third needle then binds off through both layers at once. Mattress stitch closed the sleeve seams afterward, guided easily by the knit stitch running along each edge.
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Add button bands instead of a seam
Instead of joining the two front pieces together at the center, both sides stayed open for a button band. A row of garter stitch finished the hem and neckband first. Then a buttonhole band picked up stitches along the opening edge, worked in garter stitch with evenly spaced buttonholes. A matching button band mirrored the other side, minus the buttonholes. A smaller needle for this section kept the garter stitch tension matched to the ribbed body. Eight buttons finished the front, spaced evenly along the buttonhole band’s 126 stitches.
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