Somehow or another I became aware of an incredible cardigan being worn by Timothée Chalamet on the Venice Film Festival red carpet. It looked at least partially crocheted but certainly made of yarn.
Don’t ask me the film he was promoting, I have no idea. I just know he wore a gorgeous cardigan, stylishly adorned with a gem brooch, paired with a t-shirt and camo shorts - I was obsessed and started chasing his cardigan across the internet in an attempt to find out who made it.
I did find out (Celine), but by doing so I had stumbled upon a knitting trend being spearheaded by both Timothée Chalamet and arguably the biggest pop star on earth, Harry Styles.
It turns out, last year, Harry Styles wore a JW Anderson cardigan while rehearsing for NBC’s Today Show and it went viral!
I was completely oblivious at the time (make of that what you will), but it even sparked a TikTok trend. Knitwear designers created tribute versions and sold them on Etsy, knitters created the closest patterns they could come up with and finally, the cardigan was officially acquired by the Victoria & Albert Museum aka the V&A, in London.
The designer of that cardigan, JW Anderson, amazingly released the pattern as a mark of appreciation for the enthusiasm shown for his design. I am linking to that pattern here or click the link below to download it, should you fancy creating your own…I am very tempted!
You will spot a variety of stitch patterns featured in the patches (including Garter, Moss/Seed and some stranded colourwork), all of these skills you cover in the Beginner Knitter Course, including the shaping needed for the collar and arm holes etc. Plus it is knit on 8mm needles so a super quick knit.
And the wonderful result is, this gender non specific, chunky cardigan trend just continues to grow. What does that mean for knitters? That there is more inspiration, more appreciation for knitwear and a wave of gorgeous cardigan patterns coming from knitwear designers for us to enjoy and knit, for ourselves or for our fashion forward loved ones.
As we here in the Northern Hemisphere head into Autumn, a chunky cardigan becomes the perfect wardrobe staple and here are a few FREE knittable options out there…
From left to right:
- The Bubble Stitch Cardigan, pattern HERE
- The Caron One Piece Cardigan, pattern HERE
- The Rainbow Cardigan, pattern HERE
Let me know if you end up knitting any of these or maybe another chunky cardigan pattern you have found! And of course, if you need any help in breaking the pattern down, learning new techniques just book a Personal Project Session with me and we will record the session so you can play it back to accompany you as you knit your very own trendy, chunky cardigan.
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If you are a beginner knitter or simply want to brush up on your skills, check out my Beginner Knitting course, book a LIVE, Interactive class with me or pick the specific skills class you need with the Single Knitting Class options.
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