Recreating a cardigan without a pattern

Hello there :blush:
So as the title says, I am trying to figure out the magic behind this cardigan! I was scrolling through knitting patterns on Etsy and came across this listing of a premade cardigan that I think is absolutely adorable. Unfortunately I canā€™t afford to purchase it (and they donā€™t sell the pattern, but it is listed as handmade), but I do have some yarn and am on a study break for a few months! I would love to try to recreate it, or something similar. This is the cardigan in question.


So upon trying to form some sort of plan, I made some measurements and then began to work on a swatch, using mohair that I already had out and 4mm needles. (Trying to emulate the main body/sleeves of the cardi) I worked a 1x1 rib, and after a few rows, I noticed that the cardigan is nowhere near as textured as my swatch! It looks so flat and subtle, leading me to believe it is not the standard knit/purl rib stitch.
I spent a long time trying to find a rib stitch variation that matches this, but I am really not sure! I would be so grateful for your opinions and suggestions, please share your wisdom!
Is it the type of stitch? Or yarn? Do we think it has been pressed? Is it machine-made? (does that make a difference?) Any other notes that you would add about how you would go about planning this, I would thoroughly appreciate.
Thank you for reading my short novel of a post, and sorry if the answer is something really obvious, I am still a beginner! :sparkling_heart:

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To me it looks commercially made or maybe on a knitting machine. I have a purchased sweater that looks like rib but doesnā€™t behave like hand knit (and probably machine knit) rib. Iā€™ve no idea how it was done either. I wonder what the sellerā€™s definition of handmade is. Could handmade mean purchased knit fabric that was cut and sewn to make the cardigan?

Do you have a link to the listing on Etsy? It might be helpful though Iā€™ve got my doubts.

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Thanks for your reply :slight_smile:
Hmm I think you might be right, their definition may be different (or they could be lying). Especially considering they sell a lot of different products on their shop. Here is the link: https://www.etsy.com/nz/listing/1652519504/floral-embroidered-scalloped-knit?click_key=99d343fba2e211c0ec25be3b653a80cfd5239a9b%3A1652519504&click_sum=b2b81a9d&ref=user_profile

This video just showed up for me and I had to watch it. It doesnā€™t match the photoā€™s pattern but I think if it were worked in knit and purl to make ribs it might come pretty close. I think it would be attractive as he shows it. Iā€™ll use this myself for something.

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Ohh I really like that! Thank you so much for sharing :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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Youā€™re welcome. What surprised me was it showed up shortly after I saw your request for help. Thatā€™s just weird. If you know what I mean. Maybe itā€™s a sign :wink: that your cardi is meant to be. I hope you get this figured out to your liking. Others will surely have suggestions too.

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To me this stitch looks like double or brioche twisted stitch. My mom taught me to knit that stitch with ā€œYO, slip stitch as knit, p,ā€ not " knit in row below, p," and it looks like is twisted too. Probably that is why your sample looks looser.
Here are more experienced knitterā€™s than me to pitch in their thoughts too. Happy knitting :smiley:


Edited to add link

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That is nice stitch GMA.

Yeah, itā€™s funny how things happen like that! I think I will take it as a sign :grin: Thanks again for your help, Iā€™m going to try out this stitch

Added link so you can see what i mean

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Oh that does look really similar! I will definitely be testing this out too :blush: and thank you for your tip!

Thatā€™s really helpful, thank you. Also I love Norman!

You are welcome. I was trying to pitch in my two cents of thought :slight_smile::grin:
Do not hesitate to ask if you get stuck, someone will help here, or at least find similar solution :wink:

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I appreciate all the help I can get hehe :face_with_hand_over_mouth: Yeah, Iā€™m so glad this place exists, as I have no knitters around me in real life. Thanks again!

Wow. That looks like the photoā€™s pattern to me. Thanks for the link. Now I have two new must-use stitches.

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How are you with the construction side?
I find it tricky to work out a full pattern for myself and look at construction of other patterns which might help.
Maybe a bollero pattern or a cardigan with a curved front, either to adapt an existing pattern to use the stutch and scalloped trim you want, or just to look at how they are shaped and put together.

I donā€™t think the original is handmade by the seller, they are not a knitter, they sell all sorts and have other sales pages.

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Ooh thank you! I will look through these in the morning :smile: This is definitely the best way to go about it, as Iā€™ve spent too much time frogging and re-doing projects when I just wing it! :sweat_smile: and yes I think you are right about the seller.

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I agree with ZKOhio that it looks like one-color brioche. If you havenā€™t done brioche, youā€™ll definitely want to swatch, maybe even with 2 colors at first so you can see which yarn to work and which to slip. Itā€™s a fairly common stitch in machine knitting as well.
Or maybe Fishermanā€™s Rib? Hereā€™s Norman again with a demo!

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Oh wow that one also looks really similar, I can hardly tell them apart! Iā€™ll have to practise both of them and see which works best :smile: There are so many different stitches out there! Thanks for the suggestion and the link :slight_smile:

I suspect Fishemanā€™s Rib will be easier than brioche, but your mileage may vary!

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