Brandt Cardigan

This cardigan is named after Edgar Brandt, a master of Art Deco ironwork. The term “Art Deco” comes from the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs, an exhibition of architecture and decorative arts held in Paris in 1925; the scroll motifs on the Brandt cardigan are patterned after a wrought iron door he designed for this exhibition. 

Because the stranded motif is oriented vertically, a combination of stranded and intarsia knitting is used: along the side edges of the stranded panels, the main and contrast color yarns are twisted around each other to prevent holes. Since the stranded scrolls are so eye-catching, the rest of the cardigan is styled simply, with a wide, shallow neck, moderate waist shaping, slightly below-the-hip length, and 3/4-length sleeves. 

The Brandt cardigan is worked in pieces from the top down; rolled neck, cuff, and bottom edges are added after seaming. On sleeves the stranded motif is worked as part of the entire sleeve; on body sides, the stranded panels are worked separately, and then sewn to front and back pieces. Front bands, including buttonholes, are worked together with fronts. 

Shown in Frog Tree Meriboo, a DK-weight merino wool/bamboo blend (also available in a machine washable version). 

Difficulty: Intermediate: skills include increasing and decreasing, stranded knitting using two colors, intarsia knitting, reading a non-symmetrical colorwork chart, picking up stitches, and keeping track of row counts.

Materials: Yarn: Frog Tree Meriboo, 70% merino wool/30% bamboo, 105 yds (96 m)/50 g skein, Main Color (MC) #7008 beige, 7 (8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15) skeins, Contrast Color (CC) #7005 brown, 2 skeins. 

If substituting yarn: MC, approx 730 (850, 1000, 1150, 1280, 1450, 1590) yds/670 (780, 910, 1050, 1170, 1330, 1460) m; CC, approx 210 yds/193 m.

Needles: US size 6/4 mm circular (circ) needle, 24-47" depending on selected garment size, for neck and bottom edgings. US size 6/4 mm double-pointed (dp) needles, one set, for sleeve edgings. Optional: US size 6/4 mm straight needles for fronts, back and sleeves (may also use circ needle for these sections). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge. 

 Notions: 1 stitch marker, 4 removable markers, tapestry needle; eleven 5/8"/1.6 cm buttons.

Gauge: 22 sts/30 rows to 4"/10 cm in stockinette stitch on US 6/4 mm needles. Approx 23 sts/29 rows to 4"/10 cm in stranded pattern on US 6/4 mm needles. Measure gauge on blocked swatch.

Sizes and Garment Measurements

Price: $7.00