Hi pals, welcome back to the blog! Today I have one of my all time favorite patterns, The Apollo Cardigan, ready for you to go! This one was a labor of love, one I actually made and frogged more times than I ever have, and my pattern testers SLAYED it.

This pattern is sized from a 36 inch chest to a 62 inch chest for a loose and flowy fit, neutral body fit (no shaping, flat panels seamed together), and the prettiest yarn I have ever used from Hobbii.

(Side note to the sizing: If you want to make this in a smaller chest size PLEASE send me a dm and I can adjust the pattern for you if wanted.)

I will give you the bad up front too – I don’t tend to make cardigans fitted or shaped, I love the boxy flowyness of them if I am being honest, so if you want shaping this will not be the vibe for you unless you want to do your own math. I know that limits people from making this design currently, but to be honest, I do this for fun and not for my job, I can’t do it all and I won’t pretend I do.

This was a part of a collaboration I was supposed to do with Hobbii for their #HobbiiNaturalBeauty campaign, but then I started a new job and then my car was a victim of an attempted theft and was completely totaled (which we are STILL dealing with, anyone know a lawyer that wants to help us scare them for free?) and I just didn’t have the time or mental capacity to finish cleaning up the test notes, updating photos, and formatting it for the blog and Ravelry.

Oh, and the yarn I mentioned, while it was 100% gifted to me for this campaign, it’s dreamy. Manaya is the name, and I used the colorway 03 which is the Ochre/Brownie/Turquoise/Dark Blue variegation. One of my testers also used Manaya for their test and had a similar take so I promise I wouldn’t be promoting it 51 days past the due date if it sucked. Plus, it’s freaking GORGEOUS.

The variegations and striping just really tie this design together. I had another tester make this in black (which I also did shortly after) and I ADORED it in a solid. Really highlights the mesh stitching when you wear a brighter shirt underneath too!

And one more clarifying note: This is my last design with Hobbi, at least for the time being. They do a great job with their affiliate program, giving a decent amount of time for delivery and testing and writing and photos. The downsides? They don’t have a landing page for me to track my earnings at all, I just randomly get money deposited into my PayPal, which I guess is fine but hard to track finances. I don’t have access to a community of other designers to collaborate and network, even though there are tons of us. And I wasn’t actually paid for my designs, just given yarn and then a portion of pattern sales, that I never saw promoted or featured or even commented on. I would rather give you the patterns for free and make pennies off of the few ads I put on my site vs make $2/pattern sale and have to charge you $10+ on their own site. I know this isn’t really helpful if you are just here to make the cardigan, but I wanted to be super clear in my partnerships and how they work. You deserve that.

This post does contain affiliate links. These are just links I use from Amazon that allow me to make a small commission off your order, at no additional cost to you. This helps me keep the website running and the patterns free. Thank you for using them!

Crochet Pattern – Apollo Cardigan

Pattern by Sam Bartley Designs

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Tag your project with #SamBartleyDesigns

Patterns and images are owned by SamBartleyDesigns. Do not reproduce, duplicate, redistribute, or sell. Sale of products made using this pattern is 100% allowed and encouraged; when selling online, credit SamBartleyDesigns.

Sizing

Small – Chest – 36 inches
Medium – Chest – 40 inches
Large – Chest – 44 inches
XL – Chest – 48 inches
2X – Chest – 52 inches
3x – Chest – 56 inches
4x – Chest – 58 inches
5x – Chest – 62 inches

Project Supplies

Hobbii Manaya Yarn
- Small – 1162 yards (approx.)
- Medium – 1294 yards (approx.)
- Large – 1328 yards (approx.)
- XL – 1523 yards (approx.)
- 2x – 1878 yards (approx.)
- 3x – 2233 yards (approx.)
- 4x – 2428 yards (approx.)
- 5x – 2623 yards (approx.)
Size 5.0mm hook (One tester used a 3.5mm to do their ribbing to make it a little tighter and I am here for it :) )
Tapestry Needle
Scissors

Pattern Notes

Please read all notes and directions before starting the pattern.
Yarn estimates above are approx. This depends on your sleeve length, body length, etc. I don’t have adjustable measurements in this one (yet), but this was just a flag from my testers.
Chain stitches at the beginning of each round do not count as a stitch.
I do a chain 3 for double crochets and treble crochets, but I also crochet a little more relaxed. If you want to do a chain 4 or 5 that is 100% right too. Whatever makes this work best for your crochet style.
Panels made top down, made flat. Sleeves worked in joined rounds.
There are notes throughout the pattern, please let me know if you need any clarifications! This was tested in the Medium,/Large/2x/3x. If you notice any errors or you did something different please feel free to send me an email at sam@sambartley.com and I will look into it. If you want to test one of the sizes that wasn’t tested, let me know and i’ll send you the PDF. <3
Zig Zag Slip Stitch for joining.
Front Hem tutorial.

Abbreviations

All patterns follow the same abbreviations as the Crafty Yarn Council.

ch	Chain
dc	Double Crochet
tc	Treble Crochet
fdc	Foundation Double Crochet
sc	Single Crochet
slst	Slip Stitch
scblo	Single Crochet Back Loop Only

Gauge

4 inch by 4 inch square = 10 dc stitches by 5 rows

If your gauge doesn’t match try going up or down a half or full hook size. I crochet a little more relaxed that others, just to flag.

To get an ad free PDF (with check boxes!) that you can save to your ipad, kindle, phone, or even print out, head on over to Ravelry!!

Pattern Directions

Front Panel (make 2)

Row 1 – Foundation Double Crochet (FDC) 31 (34, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52). Chain (ch) 2 and turn.
Row 2 – Double crochet (DC) across, ch 5 and turn.
Row 3 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 5 and turn.
Row 4 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the top of the previous rows TC. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 5 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 6 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 7 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 (or 5) and turn.
Row 8 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 5 and turn.
Row 9 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.

**This section depends on how long/what size you are making. Please pay attention to how many rows of DC you are making so it’s even on each front panel and the back panel. **

Row 10 – 43 (small/medium) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 10- 47 (large/xl) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 10-51 (2x-3x) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 10-55 (4x-5x) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 44/48/52/56 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 45/49/53/57 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 46/50/54/58 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 47/51/55/59 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 48/52/56/60 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 49/53/57/61 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 50/54/58/62 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 51/55/59/63 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 52/56/60/64 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 53/57/61/65 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 54/58/62/66 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 55/59/63/67 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 56/60/64/68 – Single Crochet (SC) in each stitch across. Finish off and weave in your ends.

Back Panel

Row 1 – Foundation Double Crochet (FDC) 63 (70, 77, 84, 91, 98, 105, 112). Chain (ch) 2 and turn.
Row 2 – Double crochet (DC) across, ch 5 and turn.
Row 3 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 5 and turn.
Row 4 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 5 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 6 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 7 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 8 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 5 and turn.
Row 9 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.

**This section depends on how long/what size you are making. Please pay attention to how many rows of DC you are making so it’s even on each front panel and the back panel. **

Row 10 – 43 (small/medium) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 10- 47 (large/xl) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 10-51 (2x-3x) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 10-55 (4x-5x) – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 44/48/52/56 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 45/49/53/57 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Row 46/50/54/58 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 47/51/55/59 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 48/52/56/60 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 49/53/57/61 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 50/54/58/62 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 51/55/59/63 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 52/56/60/64 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 53/57/61/65 – Dc in each stitch across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 54/58/62/66 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 55/59/63/67 – Treble Crochet (TC) in the 3rd st. *Ch 1, skip (sk) 1, TC*. Repeat * to * across. Ch 3 and turn.
Rows 56/60/64/68 – Single Crochet (SC) in each stitch across. Finish off and weave in your ends.

Seaming

Seam your front panel shoulders to your back panel shoulders using a Zig-Zag slip stitch. Weave in your ends

Zig-Zag slip stitch seam from the bottom side to where you want your arm hole to start.

Recommended length: (from top of shoulder to under arm)

Small: 8.5 inches
Medium: 9 inches
Large: 9.5 inches
Xl: 10 inches
2x: 11 inches
3x: 11.5 inches
4x: 12 inches
5x: 12.5 inches

You can seam both sides now, or you can seam one side, leave your yarn attached and start your sleeve if you want. Either way gives you the same look, just less ends to weave in.

Sleeves (worked in the round)

Row 1 – Attach your yarn at the underarm and double crochet evenly around (40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 64). Note from testers: If you end up with more stitches, even double the amount, still crochet evenly around the arm hole, but on your second and potentially third round make a few decreases (double crochet two stitches together) until you reach the stitch count listed above.

Row 2 – 35 (or until desired length) – Dc in each stitch around, slst to join to the beginning of the round, chain 2.

Row 36 – Reverse single crochet (crab stitch) around. Finish off and weave in your ends.

Repeat for the other side.

Bottom Hem

Attach your yarn at the bottom corner, single crochet in each stitch along the front panel, back panel, and front panel.

Front Hem

Attach your yarn at either bottom corner.

Row 1 – Single crochet around the front of the cardigan, placing 2 sc in each dc row, and 3 sc in each tc row along the sides, and one single crochet in each stitch along the back panel where your neck is.

Starting the ribbing: Chain 7, sc in the 2nd chain from the hook, sc in the next 5 stitches (6).

Row 2 of Ribbing: Slst to row 1 of single crochets you made, slst in the next stitch on the same row, single crochet through the back loop only (scblo) in the ribbing you are creating.

Continue ribbing: Chain 1, scblo across, slst to row 1, slst in the next stitch, scblo in the next 6 stitches.

Repeat until you reach the other corner. Finish off and weave in your ends.

And that’s it for this weeks blog! I hope you love this free pattern as much as I loved designing it. Also mega shout out to my sweet partner for modeling this and always being down to wear anything I make him. He is really the best.

Oh, and if you liked this cardigan, maybe check out my Magical Garden Cardigan? Another free one, made up of granny squares and love, and I hope you love it too!

Love you pals, mean it <3

Sam

Apollo Cardigan – Free Crochet Pattern