TikTok has captured the attention of millions of users over the boring months of lockdown, and one trend, amongst many, is recreating the now infamous J.W.Anderson "Harry Styles" cardigan.
The Trend started when Harry wore the colourful J.W Anderson cardigan back in February during a soundcheck for The Today Show (back when concerts and TV appearances were still a daily occurrence, it feels like a lifetime ago now). Although catching many fans eyes as being yet another great fashion choice by Harry, nothing really occurred out of the ordinary until a few months later in June when creators such as @lilbittylivie on TikTok posted her own recreation.
Like many others, I found myself lousy with time after being made redundant in March. Its been a tough time filled with applying for jobs that go no where and when I'm not spending my time wondering how I'll make rent, I'm staring at my ceiling. So when I saw that J.W Anderson had actually released the pattern to their cardigan, and were encouraging people to try it out, I figured, why not?
I am not the best knitter, but I had been in a crafts society in university, where amongst other things, I had successfully knitted a mini cactus (finally a plant I couldn't kill) so I figured, if I was going to be the only one wearing it, my mediocre skills wouldn't matter. I started trying to follow the pattern exactly, following the different kinds of stitch, so that each colour square had a different pattern, however, I found that this did not go well, and many ended up misshapen in ways I didn't even know where possible.
Instead I just decided to make the rest using just a straight knit, which worked out a lot better for me. Although not as visually interesting, I adjusted to my own abilities, and I think it turned out pretty good. This also reduced the knitting time, which was helpful because I somehow ended up making it twice the size I intended. I now intend to make more in different colour combinations, for myself and my friends and family.
As someone who is trying to buy less fast fashion, I have been buying most of my clothes recently from charity shops, but another way of reducing your environmental impact is making your own clothes, and honestly its so fun and fulfilling too. I practically live in it when I'm at home, and I am just waiting for the weather to get colder so I can wear it outside too. I wonder how many other people I will spot in public wearing their own handmade version.
Because it is made up mostly of small squares stitched together, if you only have basic skills like I do, it's much easier to wrap your head around than other cardigans might be, and I would definitely recommend trying it out if you want your own creative project.
The pattern can be found here.
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