22 rounds · filed under drape · 17 of them
Baby Garments · added 17 Oct 2026
Top-down popcorn stitch cardigan for baby
Popcorn stitch raises small bumps across a double crochet body on this top-down baby cardigan with raglan yoke shaping.
- Skill
- Intermediate
- Time
- 6-9 hours
- Hook
- 5.0 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted
- Rounds
- 19
About this pattern
Double crochet builds the main fabric here, a firm, slightly stiff cloth with little stretch, dense enough to hold its shape on small shoulders. Across the body, popcorn stitch breaks up that plainness: five double crochets pulled into one stitch stand up in small raised bumps, giving the surface a texture you can feel under the fingers, like a cobblestone path scaled down. The cream yarn keeps those bumps from disappearing into busy color, so every cluster reads clearly against the flat rows around it.
The yoke grows from a straight neckline chain into a wide half-circle through four paired increases that add eight stitches on every right-side round, then splits at the underarms into a body worked flat in rows. That split leaves two sleeves on hold and a front-opening body to finish with buttons, so block the popcorn panel flat before seaming to keep the clusters sitting upright rather than curling toward the wrong side.
The swatch in numbers
- Rounds
- 19
- Parts
- 2
- Level
- Intermediate
- Time
- 6-9 hours
- Hook
- 5.0 mm
- Yarn
- Worsted
The yarn and the hook
Yarn
- Worsted weight, Category 4. You will need approximately 350 to 400 yards / 320 to 365 meters in cream or natural ecru.
Hook
- US size H-8 / 5.0 mm. Adjust to meet gauge if necessary.
Notions
- Stitch markers (at least 6)
- Yarn needle for weaving ends
- 5 copper-toned shank buttons or snaps, approximately 5/8 inch / 16 mm diameter
- Sewing needle and matching thread for buttons
- Blocking mat and pins
Stitches, spelled out
ch chain; sl st slip stitch; sc single crochet (insert hook, yarn over, pull through, yarn over, pull through both loops)Dense; dc double crochet (yarn over, insert hook, yarn over, pull through, yarn over, pull through two loops, yarn over, pull through remaining two loops)Drape; hdc half double crochetDense; st(s) stitch(es); sp space; sk skip; pm place marker; sm slip marker; RS right side; WS wrong side; beg beginning; rem remaining; rep repeat; approx approximately; PC popcorn stitch (see Special Stitches below)Squish; inc increase (2 dc in same stitch); rnd(s) round(s); t-ch turning chain.
Tension and hand-feel
After Row 14 of the yoke, lay the piece flat and measure straight across from the foundation chain edge; it should read about 4 inches / 10 cm, matching the 16-stitch by 10-row gauge in double crochet.
If that measurement runs short, move up to a half size larger hook; if the rows feel loose or the fabric drapes rather than holds its shape, drop down a half size before starting the body.
Yoke
This foundation row becomes the neckline. The 67 stitches are distributed as follows: 9 sts right front, 10 sts right sleeve, 27 sts back, 10 sts left sleeve, 9 sts left front. Place markers at positions after st 9, after st 19, after st 46, and after st 56 (counting from the first dc, not the t-ch).
Each RS row increases 8 stitches total: work 2 dc in the stitch immediately before each marker AND 2 dc in the stitch immediately after each marker. WS rows are dc across with no increases.
CHECKPOINT: After Row 14, the yoke measures approximately 4 inches / 10 cm from the foundation chain edge. Lay flat to verify.
Foundation: Ch 68.
Body
The body stitch count of 77 needs to become 76 for a clean popcorn repeat. This is accomplished with one decrease at the start of Row 17.
How the texture is built
- Increases happen only on right-side rows and only at the four marker positions set after stitch 9, 19, 46, and 56, adding 2 dc before and 2 dc after each marker for 8 new stitches a round; wrong-side rows run flat across, which is what keeps the raglan lines on the yoke sharp rather than blurred.
- Row 15 the piece stops being worked as one continuous panel and splits into a flat, back-and-forth body, a change forced by the front opening: a buttoned cardigan can't close if the body is joined into a tube the way a pullover yoke is.
- The chain-4 bridge at each underarm in Row 15 replaces the 22 sleeve stitches that get set aside on scrap yarn, so the front and back panels reconnect across a small gap rather than sewing two separate pieces together later.
Putting the pieces together
If you swap the yarn
| DK weight cotton blend | Produces a smaller, denser garment at the same stitch count, so drop to a G-6 hook; drape drops and the popcorn bumps sit tighter and more defined, but more yardage is needed to reach the same finished size. |
|---|---|
| Worsted weight superwash wool | Keeps the H-8 hook and stated gauge close to as written, but the fabric gains drape and softness; popcorn clusters round out looser and slightly flatter, so swatch and block before committing to size. |
| Chunky weight acrylic blend | Calls for a larger hook, around J-10, and scales the whole cardigan up; the dc fabric turns thicker and stiffer and the popcorn bumps stand out further from the surface, so recheck fit against the stated row and stitch gauge. |
Colorways
- Tonal Cream Yoke and Body both worked in the same cream, with the popcorn clusters from Row 17 onward worked in a slightly deeper ecru so the bumps throw shadow without breaking the garment's single-color look.
Washing and blocking
Hand wash in cool water and avoid wringing; agitation flattens the raised popcorn clusters faster than it cleans them.
Lay flat to dry rather than hanging; a wet worsted-weight panel with copper-toned buttons sewn on the front bands will stretch out of shape if left to hang.
Store folded rather than on a hanger, and re-block under pins if the popcorn texture looks pressed flat after storage.
When it does not look right
- the yoke curls or ruffles at the neckline edge instead of lying flat
- One or more right-side rounds likely missed a full set of 8 increases at the four markers; recount after each RS row and confirm 2 dc sit directly before and after every marker before moving on.
- popcorn stitches lean to one side instead of standing upright
- The dropped loop was picked back up from the wrong direction when closing the stitch; pull it through toward the right side so the cluster pops forward rather than twisting sideways.
- the two front bands don't line up evenly for buttons
- The Row 15 divide split the stitches unevenly between the two 15-stitch fronts; recount both front sections before working the underarm bridge chains so they match.
Questions people ask
Can the popcorn stitch rows be skipped and the body left in plain double crochet?
Yes, working dc straight through instead of the PC rows keeps the same stitch count and row structure. The fabric loses its raised texture and lies flatter and smoother, closer in hand to the yoke above it.
Why does a single hook size difference matter so much on this pattern?
The yoke's neckline-to-shoulder fit depends on the stated 16-stitch by 10-row gauge holding steady across all 15 rounds. A half size up or down changes the finished width enough to throw off how the sleeves and fronts sit on a small body.
How many stitches are set aside for each sleeve at the underarm?
Each sleeve holds 22 stitches on scrap yarn at the Row 15 divide, skipped while the chain-4 bridge joins the front and back panels. Those held stitches are picked up later to shape the sleeve itself.
Can snaps replace the copper-toned buttons listed in the materials?
Yes, the materials list already offers snaps as an alternative at the same 5/8 inch / 16 mm size. Snaps sit flatter against the dc front band and skip the buttonhole step entirely.
New patterns, as they are filed
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