The Tunisian Knit Cardi combines style and technique in one irresistible design. Worked seamlessly from the top down using Tunisian knit stitch and Tunisian double crochet, this cozy cardigan features the classic look of knitted fabric—without ever needing knitting needles.
The unique texture and elegant drape make this cardigan a standout layering piece for cooler days. Perfect for intermediate crocheters looking to expand their skills or beginners ready to take on Tunisian crochet, this project is as fun to make as it is to wear. Whether paired with jeans for a casual outing or dressed up for a cozy-chic look, the Tunisian Knit Cardi is sure to impress.
Skill Level: Intermediate
Size: S (M, L, 1X) finished bust size 40 (43½, 49½, 51) to fit bust 34-38 (39-42, 43-47, 48-49)
Shown in size S
Gauge: 4 Tks = 1”; 8 rows of Tks and 2 rows of Tdc = 3¼”
Materials
Yarn:
Modeknit Yarn Modeluxe DK (50% Silk, 50% Merino; 232 yards [212 meters]/100 grams): 035 Sister Julienne, 5 (6, 7,7) skeins
Hook: US size J/10 (6 mm) Tunisian cabled hook; US size G/6 (4 mm) regular hook (for button band only)
Notions: Six 5/8” buttons; tapestry needle.
Special Stitches
Tks: Insert hook between front and back vertical bars and draw up loop.
Tdc: Yo, insert hook between front and back vertical bars (as in Tks), draw up loop, yo, draw through 2 loops leaving one loop on hook.
Inc: Insert hook under back vertical bar of next st and draw up loop, then insert hook between front and back vertical bars of same st and draw up loop.
Dec: Insert hook under front vertical bar of next st then between front and back vertical bars of following st, draw up loop.
Pattern Notes
Always work last st under 2 loops at left edge. For last st on Tdc rows, work into upper part of st.
Ch 1 at start of Tdc row makes first st as tall as Tdc sts.
This design has 8 or 9 rows of Tks (depending on the size) followed by 2 rows of Tdc. The first row of Tdc sts will have a different return row which gathers the sts into groups of 3 with 2 ch between them. The number of 3-dc groups is given at end of row. In the 2nd row of Tdc, 12 increases will be made (except in one case for size Large, where there are 6 in the last row of yoke). When working this row, insert hook in loop behind 3 gathered Tdc sts of previous row and work 3 Tdc in each loop, but work 4 Tdc in each increase loop, which are always specified.
Sleeves are worked flat then seamed.
To shape sleeve, decreases are made at beg and end of rows to keep seam centered at inner arm.
For decreases at beg of row, use 2nd and 3rd sts. For decreases at end of row, use 2nd and 3rd to last sts.
Buttonholes will enlarge with time.
Pattern
Yoke
With Tunisian cabled hook, ch 84.
Row 1: Draw up loop in each ch across.
Rtn: Yo, draw through 1 loop, *yo, draw through 2 loops; rep from * across.
All Rtn Rows are worked in this manner unless otherwise specified.
Row 2: Tks in next 6 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 13 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 90 Tks.
Row 3: Tks in next 6 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 14 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 96 Tks.
Row 4: Tks in next 7 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 15 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 102 Tks.
Row 5: Tks in next 7 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 16 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 108 Tks.
Row 6: Tks in next 8 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 17 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 114 Tks.
Row 7: Tks in next 8 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 18 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 120 Tks.
Row 8: Tks in next 8 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 19 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 126 Tks.
Sizes Large and 1X only
Row 9: Tks in next 9 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 20 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 132 Tks.
All Sizes
Row 9 (9, 10, 10): Ch 1, Tdc in each st across.
Rtn: Yo, draw through 3 loops, ch 2, *yo, draw through 4 loops, ch 2; rep from * across – 42 (42, 44, 44) groups of 3 dc.
Sizes Small and Medium only
Row 10: Ch 1, (working into loop behind 3-dc groups) 2 Tdc in first loop, 3 Tdc in each loop across, 4 Tdc in 3rd, 6th, 10th, 13th, 16th, 19th, 23rd, 26th, 29th, 32nd, 36th, 39th loop – 138 Tdc.
Size Small only
Row 11: Tks in each Tdc across.
Size Medium only
Row 11: Tks in next 9 sts, Inc, (Tks in next 20 sts, Inc) 5 times, Tks in each st across – 144 Tks.
Sizes Large and 1X
Row 11: Ch 1, (working into loop behind 3-dc groups) 2 dc in first loop, 3 dc in each loop, 4 dc in 3rd, 6th, 10th, 13th, 17th, 20th, 24th, 27th, 31st, 34th, 48th, 41st loop – 144 Tdc.
All Sizes
Note: When working Rows 12-18, rem in patt working increases as follows, working even across after completing increases:
Row 12: Inc in 11th (12th, 12th, 12th) Tks, [Inc every 23rd (24th, 24th, 24th) Tks] 5 times – 144 (150, 150, 150) Tks.
Row 13: Inc in 12th (13th, 13th, 13th) Tks, [Inc every 24th, (25th, 25th, 25th) Tks] 5 times – 150 (156, 156, 156) Tks.
Row 14: Inc in 13th Tks, [Inc every 25th (26th, 26th, 26th) Tks] 5 times – 156 (162, 162, 162) Tks.
Row 15: Inc in 13th Tks, [Inc every 26th, (27th, 27th, 27th) Tks] 5 times – 162 (168, 168, 168) Tks.
Row 16: Inc in 13th (14th, 14th, 14th) Tks, [Inc every 27th (28th, 28th, 28th) Tks] 5 times – 168 (174, 174, 174) Tks.
Row 17: Inc in 14th (15th, 15th, 15th) Tks, [Inc every 28th (29th, 29th, 29th) Tks] 5 times – 174 (180, 180 180) Tks.
Row 18: Inc in 15th (16th, 16th, 16th) Tks, [Inc every 29th (30th, 30th, 30th) Tks] 5 times – 180 (186, 186, 186) Tks.
Sizes Small and Medium only
Row 19: Rep Row 9 – 60 (62) groups of 3 Tdc.
Size Small only
Row 20: Ch 1, 2 Tdc in first loop, 4 Tdc in next loop, (3 Tdc in next 4 loops, 4 Tdc in next loop) 11 times, 3 Tdc in next loop to end – 192 Tdc.
Row 21: Tks in each Tdc across.
Size Medium only
Row 20: Ch 1, 2 dc in first loop, 3 Tdc in each loop, 4 Tdc in 4th, 9th, 14th, 19th, 24th, 29th, 33rd, 38th, 43rd, 48th, 53rd, 58th loops – 198 Tdc.
Row 21: Inc in 16th Tks, (Inc every 33rd Tks) 5 times – 204 Tks.
Sizes Large and 1X only
Row 19: Inc in 16th Tks, (Inc every 31st Tks) 5 times – 192 Tks.
Row 20: Inc in 16th Tks, (Inc in every 32nd Tks) 5 times – 198 Tks.
Row 21: Rep Row 9 – 66 groups of 3 Tdc.
Row 22: Ch 1, 2 Tdc in first loop, (4 Tdc in every 5th loop) 12 times – 210 Tdc.
All Sizes
For next 8 rows, continue in Tks increasing as follows:
Row 22 (22, 23, 23): Inc in 16th (16th, 17th, 17th) Tks, [Inc every 32nd (32nd, 34th, 34th) Tks] 5 times – 198 (210, 216, 216) Tks.
Row 23 (23, 24, 24): Inc in 16th (16th, 17th, 17th) Tks [Inc every 33rd (33rd, 35th, 35th) Tks] 5 times – 204 (216, 222, 222) Tks.
Row 24 (24, 25, 25): Inc in 17th (17th, 18th, 18th) Tks, [Inc every 34th (34th, 36th, 36th) Tks] 5 times – 210 (222, 228, 228) Tks.
Row 25 (25, 26, 26): Inc in 17th (17th, 18th, 18th) Tks, [Inc every 35th (35th, 37th, 37th) Tks] 5 times – 216 (228, 234, 234) Tks.
Row 26 (26, 27, 27): Inc in 18th (18th, 19th, 19th) Tks, [Inc every 36th (36th, 38th, 38th) Tks] 5 times – 222 (234, 240, 240) Tks.
Row 27 (27, 28, 28): Inc in 18th (18th, 19th, 19th) Tks, [Inc every 37th (37th, 39th, 39th) Tks] 5 times – 228 (240, 246, 246) Tks.
Row 28 (28, 29, 29): Inc in 19th (19th, 20th, 20th) Tks, [Inc every 38th (38th, 40th, 40th) Tks] 5 times – 234 (246, 252, 252) Tks.
Size Small only
Row 29: Rep Row 9 – 78 groups of 3 Tdc.
Row 30: Ch 1, 2 Tdc in first loop (counts as first group throughout), (3 Tdc in next loop) 4 times 4 Tdc in next loop, [(3 Tdc in next loop) 5 times, 4 Tdc in next loop] 11 times, 3 Tdc in each loop across – 246 Tdc.
Size Medium only
Row 29: Rep Row 9 – 82 groups of 3 Tdc
Row 30: Ch 1, 2 Tdc in first loop, 3 Tdc in each loop, 4 Tdc in 7th, 13th, 19th, 25th, 32nd, 38th, 44th, 50th, 57th, 63rd, 69th, 75th loop – 258 Tdc.
Sizes Small and Medium only, continue to Body.
Sizes Large and 1X only
Row 30: Inc in 20th Tks, (Inc every 41st Tks) 5 times – 258 Tks.
Row 31: Inc in 21st Tks (Inc every 42nd Tks) 5 times – 264 Tks.
Row 32: Rep Row 9 – 88 groups of 3 Tdc.
Size Large only
Row 33: Ch 1, 2 Tdc in first loop, 3 Tdc in each loop 4 Tdc in 9th, (4 Tdc in every 14th group) 5 times – 270 Tdc.
Size 1X only
Row 33: Ch 1, 2 Tdc in first loop, 3 Tdc in next each loop, 4 Tdc in 6th loop, (4 Tdc every 7th loop) 5 times, 3 Tdc in next 5 loops, 4 Tdc in next loop, (4 Tdc every 7th loop) 5 times – 276 Tdc.
All Sizes
Underarm Stitches
*Count 37 (40, 43, 45) sts from start of row and place marker. Beg in next st from marker, count 48 sts and place marker. Rep from * starting at end of row and moving in opposite direction. You should have 37 (40, 43, 45) sts on each front, 76 (82, 88, 90) sts on back, and 48 sts on each sleeve.
Join yarn at right front marked st, ch 6 (6, 9, 12) sl st to right back marked st. Join yarn at left front marked st, ch 6 (6, 9, 12) sl st to left back marked st.
Body
Row 1: *Tks in each Tdc to marker, Tks in each ch; rep from * once, Tks in each Tdc across – 162 (174, 192, 204) Tks.
Rows 2-8 (2-8, 2-9, 2-9): Work even in Tks.
Row 9 (9, 10, 10): Rep Row 9 of yoke – 54 (58, 66, 68) groups of 3 Tdc.
Row 10 (10, 11, 11): Ch 1, 3 Tdc in each loop across.
Rows 11-50 (11-50, 12-55, 12- 55): Continue in patt working 8 (8, 9, 9) rows of Tks followed by 2 Tdc rows.
Fasten off.
Sleeves
Row 1: Join yarn in base of 3rd (3rd, 5th, 6th) ch at underarm, draw up loop in each ch and in each st around – 54 (54, 57, 60) Tks.
Row 2: Dec at beg of row, Tks in each st across – 53 (53, 56, 59) Tks.
Rows 3-4: Tks across.
Row 5: Tks in each st to last 3 sts, dec, last st – 52 (52, 55, 58) Tks.
Rows 6-7 (6-7, 6-8, 6-8): Work even across.
Row 8 (8, 9, 9): Rep Row 2 – 51 (51, 54, 57) Tks.
Row 9 (9, 10, 10): Rep Row 9 of Yoke – 17 (17, 18, 19) groups of 3 dc.
Row 10 (10, 11, 11): Ch 1, 2 dc in loop, 3 dc in each loop across.
Row 11 (11, 12, 12): Dec at end of row – 50 (50, 53, 56) Tks.
Rows 12-13 (12-13, 13-14, 13-14): Work even across.
Row 14 (14, 15, 15): Dec at beg of row – 49 (49, 52, 55) Tks.
Rows 15-16 (15-16, 16-17, 16-17): Work even across.
Row 17 (17, 18, 18): Dec at end of row – 48 (48, 51, 54) Tks.
Rows 18 (18, 19-20, 19-20): Work even across.
Rows 19-20 (19-20, 21-22, 21-22): Rep Rows 9-10 (9-10, 10-11, 10-11) – 16 (16, 17, 18) groups of 3 dc.
Row 21 (21, 23, 23): Work even across.
Rows 22-28 (22-28, 24-31, 24-31): Rep Rows 2-8 (2-8, 2-9, 2-9) – 45 (45, 48, 51) Tks.
Rows 29-30 (29-30, 32-33, 32-33): Rep Rows 9-10 (9-10, 10-11, 10-11) – 15 (15, 16, 17) groups of 3 dc.
Row 31 (31, 34, 34): Dec at beg of row – 44 (44, 47, 50) Tks.
Row 32 (32, 35, 35): Dec at end of row – 43 (43, 46, 49) Tks.
Rows 33 (33, 36-37, 36-37): Work even across
Rows 34-36 (34-36, 38-40, 38-40): Rep Rows 31-33 (31-33, 34-36, 34-36) – 41 (41, 44, 47) Tks.
Rows 37-38 (37-38, 41-42, 41-42): Rep Rows 31-32 – 39 (39, 42, 45) Tks.
Rows 39-40 (39-40, 43-44, 43-44): Rep Rows 9-10 – 13 (13, 14, 15) groups of 3 dc.
Row 41 (41, 45, 45): Dec at end of row – 38 (38, 41, 44) Tks.
Row 42 (42, 46, 46): Dec at beg of row – 37 (37, 40, 43) Tks.
Rows 43 (43, 47-48, 47-48): Work even across
Rows 44-46 (44-46, 49-51, 49-51): Rep Rows 41-43 – 35 (35, 38, 41) Tks.
Rows 47-48 (47-48, 52-53, 52-53): Rep Rows 41-42 – 33 (33, 36, 39) Tks.
Rows 49-50 (49-50, 54-55, 54-55): Rep Rows 9-10 – 11 (12, 13) groups of 3 dc.
Finishing
Wet block garment.
Button Band
Join yarn at body left top corner.
Row 1: Ch 1, *sc in next 8 (8, 9, 9) row ends, hdc in upper part of dc row end, dc2tog over (bottom part of same dc row end and next dc row end), hdc in upper part of same dc row end; rep from * across, turn – 80 (80, 88, 88) sts.
Rows 2-3: Ch 1, sc in each sc across.
Join yarn at body right bottom corner.
Row 1: Ch 2 (counts as hdc), dc2tog over (bottom part of same dc row end and next dc row end), hdc in upper part of same dc row end, sc in next 8 (8, 9, 9) row ends, hdc in upper part of dc row end; rep from * across, dc in bottom part of same dc row row end – 80 (80, 88, 88) sts.
Row 2: Ch 1, sc in same st, sc in next st, ch 1 (for buttonhole), [sc in next 9 (9, 10, 10) sc, ch 1] 5 times, sc in each sc to end, turn – 6 ch-1 sps for buttonholes.
Row 3: Ch 1, sc in each sc and each ch-1 across.
Weave in all ends. Steam any curled edges of button band.
Sew buttons on left button band opposite button holes.