When the weather can’t decide what season it is, grab your Sabrina Shrug, a free Tunisian crochet cardigan pattern made with mohair.
These days, I can’t tell if it’s late Winter or early Spring. It’ll be gloriously sunny one day, then gray and windy the next. To keep the potential chill at bay, I designed the Sabrina Shrug, a short-sleeve cocoon-style cardigan you can accomplish regardless of your Tunisian crochet skill level. Keep scrolling for the FREE pattern!
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GET THE SABRINA SHRUG
- TLYarnCrafts.com – Get the Sabrina Shrug from my pattern shop and save big when you bundle three or more patterns with code “SAVEON3”.
- Ravelry – Find the Sabrina Shrug on Ravelry and add it to your library for easy access.
Easy Tunisian Crochet Cardigan Pattern
As a designer, I regularly encounter makers who are terrified about crocheting their own clothing. Topics like measuring gauge, choosing the right pattern, and deciding on the right yarn leave even the most optimistic stitcher second-guessing themselves. But, what if I told you that there was a pattern that starts off looking like a small blanket, then transforms into a luxurious sweater? Cocoon cardigans are a great way to start your journey into crochet garment making.
This is just one of the reasons that I love the Sabrina Shrug – the surprisingly straightforward construction of this timeless crochet cardigan. After completing your foundation row, you’ll zoom through the meditative stitching and finish the fabric before you know it. Two little seams later, the Sabrina Shrug will become your go-to topper from season to season.
The Benefits of Crocheting Clothing with Cotton
When crocheters think about cotton, images of coasters and washcloths come to mind. Home decor projects are an easy choice for this fiber, but don’t underestimate the value of cotton for your crochet cardigan. The Sabrina Shrug is made with Happy Place yarn, a wool/cotton blend, and is held with a strand of Hobbii’s Friends Kid Silk, a blend of silk, mohair, and wool. The various animal fibers add to the cozy factor and visual appeal.
But the cotton is really the star of the show when it comes to the Sabrina Shrug. Cotton yarn in garments adds glorious drape, bringing life to otherwise heavy fabrics. Cotton also ventilates a thick crochet cardigan like this, wicking away moisture to keep you comfortable.
Both Hobbii’s Happy Place and Friends Kid Silk are lovely yarns on their own, but when their powers combine, you get something truly unique that adds a touch of luxury to your everyday outfits. If you are looking to substitute the yarns in this pattern, hold a strand of DK weight yarn with a strand of mohair, or hold a single strand of worsted weight yarn throughout. But always check your gauge first!
Hobbii’s Happy Place yarn was recently restocked! Explore it HERE.
Learn more about Hobbii’s Friends Kid Silk HERE.
GET THE SABRINA SHRUG
- TLYarnCrafts.com – Get the Sabrina Shrug from my pattern shop and save big when you bundle three or more patterns with code “SAVEON3”.
- Ravelry – Find the Sabrina Shrug on Ravelry and add it to your library for easy access.
Sabrina Shrug Details
DESCRIPTION
The ultimate three-season layer, the Sabrina Shrug is designed to accompany you from the chill of autumn to the new beginnings of spring. Constructed from a simple rectangle, this open-front cardigan gets a welcome boost from the addition of luxurious mohair. Style your shrug over a comfortable dress for the office, or sport it with a tank and denim on the weekend. No matter the setting, you’re always covered with the Sabrina Shrug.
MATERIALS
- A – Hobbii Happy Place Yarn, 50% wool and 50% cotton DK weight yarn. Sample made in the color Salty Licorice Melange (#37) and takes 4 (5, 5, 6) skeins.
- B – Hobbii Friends Kid Silk Yarn, 72% mohair, 25% silk, and 3% wool lace weight yarn. Sample made in the color Anthracite (#122) and takes 4 (5, 6, 7) skeins.
- 8mm Tunisian crochet hook with 32″ cord (like this one)
- Scissors
- Tapestry needle
- Tape measure
- Locking stitch markers
- Steam blocking supplies (learn more about blocking crochet projects in this post)
SIZES
All measurements taken before blocking and seaming.
- XS/S – Sized for bust up to 34”.
- M/L – Sized for bust up to 42”
- XL/2XL – Sized for bust up to 50”
- 3XL/4XL – Sized for bust up to 58”
- Finished Width: 32 (36, 38, 42)”
- Finished Length: 33 (35, 37, 39)”
GAUGE
4” = 16 sts x 14 rows, unblocked in (tss 1, tks 1) pattern
ABBREVIATIONS
Ch = chain
Lp(s) = loop(s)
Lts = Last Tunisian Stitch (see Special Stitches)
Rep = repeat
RetP = Return Pass (see Special Stitches)
St(s) = stitch(es)
Tks = Tunisian knit stitch
Trs = Tunisian reverse stitch
Trs/slst = Tunisian reverse slip stitch (see Special Stitches)
Tss – Tunisian simple stitch
SPECIAL STITCHES
–Last Tunisian Stitch (Lts): Insert hook under BOTH vertical bars of the last stitch and pull up a loop.
–Return Pass (RetP): Ch 1, (yarn over, pull through next 2 loops on hook) until 1 loop remains on the hook.
–Chill Stitch Pattern: Where instructed, work in the Chill Stitch pattern as follows –
- Row 1: (Tss 1, tks 1) across row to next set of instructions, ending the repeat on whichever stitch is necessary.
- Row 2: (Tks 1, tss 1) across row to next set of instructions, ending the repeat on whichever stitch is necessary.
- Repeat these two rows as instructed in pattern.
–Tunisian Reverse Slip Stitch (trs/slst): Pull up a loop in the back vertical bar of the next stitch, yarn over, pull through both loops on hook.
PATTERN NOTES
- Pattern uses a stand of A and a strand of B held together throughout.
- To Adjust the Width: Add to or subtract from the starting chain in multiples of 2.
- To Adjust the Length: Add rows to your piece before you reach the Neck Split section. Note that the Front is approximately half the length of the Back.
- Numbers in parentheses at the end of some rows indicate the total number of stitches in that row.
- Pattern is written for XS/S size, with larger sizes in parentheses.
HELPFUL VIDEOS
If you are new to Tunisian crochet, I recommend working your way through the following 4 videos before starting this pattern:
- Tunisian crochet for beginners (15 minutes)
- Tunisian crochet edge stitches (7 minutes)
- Learn the Tunisian Reverse Stitch (9 minutes)
- Learn the Tunisian Chill Stitch (14 minutes)
Sabrina Shrug Pattern
Ready to make your Sabrina Shrug? I highly recommend that you master the beautiful Tunisian crochet Chill Stitch first. Let’s try it together:
BACK
ROW 1: Ch 98 (110, 122, 130), pull up a lp in back bump of the 2nd ch from hook and back bump of each remaining ch. (98 [110, 116, 130] sts)
ROW 2: Trs across row to last st, Lts, RetP.
ROWS 3-8: Rep Row 2.
ROW 9: Trs 7, work in Chill Stitch Pattern to last 8 sts, trs 7, Lts, RetP.
Rep Row 9 until Back measures 19.5 (20.5, 21.5, 22.5)” long. Proceed to Neck Split
NECK SPLIT
ROW 1: Trs 7, work in Chill Stitch Pattern for 36 (41, 46, 49) sts, trs 10 (12, 14, 16) sts, work in Chill Stitch Pattern for 36 (41, 46, 49) sts, trs 7, Lts, RetP.
ROWS 2-7: Rep Row 1. Continue to Front.
FRONT
FRONT – RIGHT
ROW 1: Trs 7, work in Chill Stitch Pattern for 36 (41, 46, 49) sts, trs 5 (6, 7, 8) sts, place marker in next st, RetP. (49 [55, 61, 65] sts)
ROW 2: Trs 7, work in Chill Stitch Pattern for 36 (41, 46, 49) sts, trs 4 (5, 6, 7) sts, Lts, RetP.
Rep Row 2 until Front Right measures 8.5 (9.5, 10.5, 11.5)” long from Row 1.
Write down the total number of rows worked on the Front-Right so far, and keep this number nearby!
NEXT 7 ROWS: Trs across row to last st, Lts, RetP.
BIND OFF: Trs/slst across row to last st (see Special Stitches), insert hook into last st as for Lts, yarn over, pull through all lps on hook. Fasten off.
FRONT – LEFT
ROW 1: Return to marked stitch from Front – Right, Row 1. Pull up a lp in the back vertical bar of the marked st, drop marker, trs 4 (5, 6, 7), work in Chill Stitch Pattern for 36 (41, 46, 49) sts, trs 7, Lts, RetP. (49 [55, 61, 65] sts)
ROW 2: Trs 4 (5, 6, 7), work in Chill Stitch Pattern for 36 (41, 46, 49) sts, trs 7, Lts, RetP.
Rep Row 2 until Front Right measures 8.5 (9.5, 10.5, 11.5)” long from Row 1 (reference the number of rows worked on the Front – Right).
NEXT 7 ROWS: Trs across row to last st, Lts, RetP.
BIND OFF: Trs/slst across row to last st (see Special Stitches), insert hook into last st as for Lts, yarn over, pull through all lps on hook. Fasten off.
ASSEMBLY & FINISHING
- Steam block the final garment to Finished Width and Finished Length dimensions.
- Fold garment in half so the starting chain and bind off edges meet. Starting at the starting chain / bind off edge, whip-stitch the sides of the shrug together until 7 (7, 8, 8)” before the fold. Repeat for the other side to form the sleeve openings.
- Weave in all ends.
- Steam block again as needed, focusing on seams.
In the blink of an eye, your Sabrina Shrug is all done. I hope the success you feel in completing this crochet cardigan inspires you to try even more, complex crochet garment patterns. Remember – we all complete our projects one stitch at a time!
Then, share your project with me on Instagram by tagging @TLYarnCrafts and #TLYCMakers, and flaunt your latest achievement in my private Facebook Group.
Even more beginner-friendly crochet garment patterns:
1 // Kima Cardi LINK
2 // Aruba Tunic LINK
3 // Toni Cuffed Cardi LINK
Hi Toni, I really want to make this shrug with my Happy Place tash I still got but unfortunately Mohair gives me hives… do you have a suggestion woth what I can replace it?? Lace??
Thank you for your help in advance!
Kind regards,
Claudia, Germany
Hi Claudia!! The best mohair alternative is suri. It uses alpaca for the fuzz instead of mohair. Some options would be Hobbii’s Alpaca Blaze or Suri Alpaca from Lang. You can also use one strand of Worsted weight yarn held on it’s own. Hobbii’s Fluffy Day is a 100% acrylic with a nice fuzz to it. Hope that helps!
Hi Toni, thanks so much. Totally helps!
Hello! I’m trying to surprise my mom with this sweater for mother’s day and have a question about the gauge swatch. You say it should be 4″ tall, but don’t mention the width. Mine ended up being 5 inches tall, I went down a hook size and it was 4.75 inches tall. Still far too tall and I didn’t like the fabric drape as much. So, I start trying to do math in my head and figured I would follow the M/L size instructions even though my mom would need to next size up, usually.
So, I did the first few rows based on the 100 starting chain and it feels rather large. I know the description says it starts out feeling like a small blanket, but for anyone else who made this in the M/L size, how wide was the back? Mine is coming out 39 inches wide. I’m not only worried about it being large on my mom, but also about running out of yarn. I don’t want to measure it on her because I want it to be a surprise! Thanks for any feedback you can offer.
Hey darling! The swatch is 4″ square – so 4″ wide and 4″ tall. I recommend making a larger gauge swatch – about 6″ square – to really get a feel for the fabric.
This garment width is measured elbow to elbow. If you’re about the same height as your mom, you could measure yourself. Once you reach that width, crochet until the length of her neck to mid-hip. Then you can split for the front. Hope that makes sense. xo
Oh wow. For me, 16 stitches by 14 rows was 5″ tall by 5.5″ wide. I must crochet like an elephant. 😀 My mom is much smaller than me (width and height wise). I’m going to try and find someone to about the same size as her to hold up what I have so far to measure. I went with the starting stitches for a size smaller than her. I knew I was going to adjust the height because mom’s only about 5′ these days. One of the reasons I wanted to make this shrug for her was that it was already shorter sleeved and a shrug length so it would need less adjusting for her height. I love making blankets/scarves/etc, both clothes scare me. Thanks for the reply. I’ll keep crocheting along. I’m hoping to get it done quickly so I’ll have time to completely re-do it if need be before mother’s day.
I’m very confused reading the pattern for the seaming. It says to seam until 7-8 inches before the fold. Before which fold? I am more of a beginner, so maybe I’m just not practiced enough at reading patterns but this left me confused
You fold your piece in half width-wise – with the foundation row meeting the bind off edge. That leave a fold in your project. When you seam the sides closed, you work from the foundation/bind off edge toward the fold, which leaves an opening for the sleeves. Does that help?