Shawldigan

Shawldigan by Creations By Courtney

What Is Being Made

The Shawldigan is a hybrid garment that combines the elegance of a shawl with the functionality of a cardigan. This crochet design creates a versatile layering piece that drapes beautifully while offering button closures for a fitted cardigan silhouette. The Shawldigan works as both a statement wrap and a structured outer layer, making it suitable for various occasions and seasons.

Craft and Technique

This project is created using crochet, a fiber arts technique that builds fabric from a single active loop using a crochet hook. Crochet allows for the flowing, draped quality essential to shawl construction while maintaining the structure needed for cardigan-style closures. The intermediate difficulty level indicates that crafters should be comfortable with basic crochet techniques and able to follow multi-step pattern instructions, including color changes and shaping.

Stitches Used

The Shawldigan employs fundamental crochet stitches to build its structure:

• Chain (ch) — the foundation stitch that creates the base for rows and increases
• Single crochet (sc) — a short, tight stitch that creates dense fabric and is often used for edges and shaping
• Double crochet (dc) — a taller stitch that creates a more open, draping fabric suitable for shawl sections
• Slip stitch (sl st) — used to join rounds and create seamless transitions between sections

Materials and Yarn

The Shawldigan is worked in aran weight yarn, also known as worsted weight, which provides excellent drape while maintaining stitch definition. The pattern calls for a J/10 (5.5mm) crochet hook.

The original design uses three coordinating colors from quality yarn brands:

• Color A: Lion Brand Heartland in King's Canyon (100% acrylic; 251 yards/230 meters per 5 ounce/142 gram skein) — 3 skeins required
• Color B: Berrocco Comfort Color 9743 in Gold (50% Super Fine Nylon, 50% Super Fine Acrylic; 210 yards/193 meters per 3.5 ounce/100 gram skein) — 2 skeins required
• Color C: Berrocco Comfort Color 9780 in Purple (50% Super Fine Nylon, 50% Super Fine Acrylic; 210 yards/193 meters per 3.5 ounce/100 gram skein) — 2 skeins required

Alternatively, crafters may substitute with any worsted weight yarn in three different colors, requiring approximately 753 yards/690 meters in the primary color and 410 yards/386 meters each in the two accent colors.

Additional materials include 2 buttons (either 1-inch circular shaft buttons or 1- to 2-inch toggle buttons for closure), stitch markers for tracking pattern repeats, a yarn needle for weaving in ends and seaming, and scissors for cutting yarn.

Design Credit

The Shawldigan pattern is designed by Courtney Whitehead of Creations By Courtney, © 2017. This downloadable PDF pattern is intended for personal use and finished product sales at venues such as Etsy, farmers markets, and craft fairs, with appropriate credit given to the designer.