FINISHED! The Incredible Bulk Cardi

Coatigan anyone? This cardigan is bulky, oversized and WARM. Truly could wear this on a mild winter day and be toasty warm.

This is the Incredible Bulk Cardigan by Park Williams, who honestly always comes up with the most clever pattern names 😂 This cardigan is written out for either top down, OR bottom up, depending on preference. I decided to knit mine top down to get a good idea of fit and length as I went along (also what are the benefits of bottom up? Anyone?) but I ended up knitting everything exactly to pattern. I really love the huge sleeves and the recommendation for a vibrant pop of color this pattern includes.

The cardigan calls for a super bulky weight yarn, and recommends two colors for “statement”. I wanted to knit something overall “neutral” with a ridiculous neon cuff. I think it adds a really next level amount of fun to an otherwise, dare I say, boring color. I decided to order some yarn from Knit Picks for this project, just to try a new to me super bulky. I picked up Snickerdoodle and Chartreuse in the Tuff Puff line which is a single ply, 100% wool (44yards/100g) option. I don’t think I would choose this yarn in the future (or if I were you). I envisioned the sleeves with a lovely drape and extreme fabric pooling around my cuffs but this yarn has a very stiff hand. I also don’t really grab for this cardigan often because the yarn SHEDS. Like all over everything as I was knitting it sheds. I haven’t given it a chance to shed out and see if the fiber calms down, but I don’t really know if I want to. That is not to say I don’t LOVE this pattern however. I am already planning Incredible Bulk 2.0 with a drapey, closer to bulky but still super affordable yarn that I can’t wait to finish and show you.

I knit this pattern in the size 32 for my 33 inch full bust. I thought that the incredibly bulky nature of the fabric would lend well to negative ease so I went slightly less ease than recommended, and I was right. So much so that my husband has tried it on with his 42 inch chest and it looks amazing on him as well. The weight of the fabric and the sheer size of the sleeves opens up the raglan section so much that this cardigan is roomy and cozy and lends well to positive or negative ease across the board. I did everything Park recommended in pattern as I was test knitting, and I think the lengths turned out beautiful. One small thing that made me so happy was that the edge down the front of the cardigan did not need picking up at all, you create a sleek bound off look while knitting!

A wild fact about this knit is that it took me about two days to make. The downside was my wrists hurt for about two more days after that 😂 It was so gratifying seeing the sweater take shape so quickly at 8.5 sts/4” that I just couldn’t be stopped! Don’t recommend going so hard, but do recommend this super quick cardigan 💕