This is a crochet pattern review of the Granny Pop Cardigan pattern by designer MJ’s Off the Hook Designs. Review done by A Stitch Shy of Normal for EyeLoveKnots.
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Find the crochet pattern review below or click here for the Ravelry purchase page for the individual pattern or an e-book with all the other “Granny Pop” sweater patterns from the designer!
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The granny stitch. It’s iconic for a reason. This simple stitch technique has lasted through decades of crochet trends, having its highs and lows but always coming back. And that’s because it’s simple to get the hang of, works for so many different types of items, and it looks so cool!
I’ve made granny stitch cardigans before–check out my recent review of the Granny Hexagon Cardigan for a similarly colorful piece that I loved making, for one example! It’s a versatile stitch that allows for a breathable but warm finished item, and the sweaters add a fashionable touch to any outfit.
This Granny Pop Cardigan caught my eye mostly because the Ravelry picture was the version Michelle (the designer behind MJ’s Off the Hook designs) made in a striping colorful yarn! I’m never afraid to add color to a pattern, and will usually choose a variegated yarn even if the pattern shows something solid color. But this pattern picture on the Ravelry page showed me just how adorable and eye-catching this granny cardigan can be in a colorful yarn choice. So I jumped at the opportunity and picked out an adorable striping yarn. Then…I finished over half the pattern, and set this aside as a WIP, and then forgot about it for a year.
Yeah. This is one of what I like to call my “Zombie WIPs”, a project I forgot existed for a period of time but was able to resume and finish. It’s kind of fun because you have a lot of the work already done by your past self! I’m very happy that my 2023 self started this project and picked such an adorable yarn, so my 2024 self could finish it and get all the credit.
It’s me, Abigail with A Stitch Shy of Normal.
Visit with me on Instagram @astitchshyofnormal for all kinds of awesome crochet makes and inspiration!
What Materials Do I Need to Crochet a Granny Cardigan?
- 1400ish yards medium/worsted weight yarn. I used Caron Jumbo Ombre in “Blush and Blue”, about 3 skeins. (Pattern gives yardage information for either a worsted or a DK weight option.)
- 4.5 and H8/5mm crochet hooks
- Scissors and yarn needle for finishing
- Granny Pop Cardigan pattern from MJ’s Off the Hook Designs, available for purchase on the Ravelry page!
Material Notes:
Like I shared above, I used Caron Jumbo Ombre for this pattern. It wasn’t the ideal substitution for gauge, to be fair. The original design used either Mary Maxim Prism (a DK yarn) or Mary Maxim Best Value (a worsted weight), but this is one of those lovely versatile patterns where I’d bet you can use something pretty close and just modify row/stitch counts to get the fit you want.
I also love how my color changes worked out. The Mary Maxim Prism used in the pattern pictures changes colors a little bit faster, but I love my larger chunks of colors too! And this was my first time using this yarn, which made it a pleasant surprise to learn how adorable it was. The color scheme isn’t my usual choice. I like blues and purples but the coral-ish pink is out of my comfort zone, and I’d usually go for darker deeper shades. And you know what? I love it!
Would I use this yarn again in this pattern? Probably, yes. I would just want to try it with a solid color next time but in terms of softness, weight, and comfort? Loved it. You need to pay attention to your gauge and sizing but it worked out great for me.
How Long Does it Take to Crochet a Granny Cardigan?
This is hard to say exactly because like I mentioned, I started this project in August…of 2023. I finished about 80 percent of it in a couple of months, and then took a year to get to the remainder.
I would reasonably say in hours, this would be 20-something hours of effort. If you’re working on it daily and are more focused than me, this could be done in a couple of weeks.
Gauge & Measurements:
The pattern gives gauge for both the body of the sweater and the ribbing, so I will compare both of mine.
Body of the sweater: 4″ is equal to 4 granny clusters/their chain spaces, or 7 rows. My gauge worked out to be 4 clusters by 7.5 rows, which could just mean that my rows weren’t as tall as the designer’s rows. Close enough!
Ribbing: 2″ is equal to 10 stitches or 10 rows. I got 10 stitches as well, but 9 rows.
These two comparisons mean my gauge was actually pretty close. This also fits with my sizing being pretty accurate.
I’m not going to bother putting every single dimension listed in here from the pattern but a couple important ones:
I made the Small, which should be about 41″ around. Mine measures 42-43″ (it’s hard to measure exactly), close enough! The height should be 28.75″ listed in the pattern, and mine is 26″ tall laying flat. This fits with my gauge being a little shorter in row height.
Pattern Notes:
I was very satisfied with this pattern. Granny stitch can be nice for garment patterns since you get into a rhythm and you can just keep stitching away! This is written as a top-down sweater where you make a yoke and work until your desired size, which makes it feel like it goes fast too. You then work straight rows for a while to get length, and boom! You have a cardigan. Well, there are sleeves too, but that’s where I got to before I set it aside for a year so I guess that’s my weakness!
I think this could be a really versatile piece. You can see in the designer’s pattern pictures that this has a completely different look and vibe to it in a bright color changing yarn versus a calm neutral shade. It’s the exact same pattern but making it in something colorful adds a lovely attention-catching pop of color to an outfit, while a solid neutral makes it a useful layer to put on top of anything and blend in. I wore this to work and got a lot of compliments, and stayed nice and warm. You can make this as a useful layering piece to keep at hand to grab during these chilly fall or winter months!
I found this an approachable pattern that would be possible for anyone fairly comfortable in granny stitches. I wouldn’t say a fresh brand-new beginner would be able to figure it out right away, the yoke technique is something that takes a little bit more practice. But if you’ve worked with this stitch before and you enjoy it, this (or any of the related Granny Pop sweater designs!) would be a fun garment to challenge yourself.
This pattern was a joy to work up, and I didn’t stash it in a bag for a year because I didn’t like it. I probably would have picked it back up last fall, except at the end of October ’23 my son showed up to the world, and that makes it pretty hard to find time to pick up crochet WIPs again! This ended up a lovely surprise to find I was mostly done, just needed to make one and a half sleeves to have a finished adorable cardigan. I recommend this pattern for sure, and you should check it out.
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