Tops & Cardigans

Garment patterns: granny square cardigans, an oversized hexagon cardigan, sweaters, a shirt, a mesh bralette and crop tops.

Garments are the one category where you should always make a gauge swatch. A bag that comes out ten percent larger is still a bag; a cardigan that comes out ten percent larger is a cardigan for somebody else. Fifteen minutes of swatching against several weeks of work is an easy trade. Here is how to measure gauge properly.

Several of these are built from granny squares joined into a shape, which makes them far more portable than a garment worked in one piece — you make a stack of squares anywhere, then join them at home. Our guide to joining granny squares compares four methods and explains which gives the flattest seam.