Canby Cardi - Finished!

I finished up the Canby Cardi back on September 1, which was my deadline, as it is a gift for my step-daughter, Amy, who is getting married on September 14.  I offered to knit her a wedding shawl, but she wanted a cardigan.  I have tried it on (we are basically the same size) and it fits beautifully.  The yarn is Knitting for Olive Heavy Merino held together with Soft Silk Mohair, and it was my first time doing that, and I really like the result.  The pattern calls for an Aran weight, but the two yarns held together gave me gauge on the called for needle, and it has lovely drape.  For the closure I used a button from my stash, Czech pressed glass.

For the collar I did a knit 2 purl 2 rib, instead of the twisted knit 1 purl 1 rib that the pattern called for.  I just thought it would look better.

Pattern:  Canby Cardi by Robin Melanson

Yarn:  Knitting for Olive Heavy Merino and Soft Silk Mohair in Bordeaux

Needle:  US 8 (5.0 mm), US 7 (4.5 mm)

Canby Cardi - Raglan Shaping Finished!

After a number of false starts I am finally making real progress on the Canby Cardi.  I did make several tweaks to the pattern.  I did not use the backward loop cast on, instead I did lifted increases, even when the pattern called for multiple increases, and I only did increases on the right side.  For the increases I would k1, LL1, work across to the last stitches and work RL1, k1.  When I had to work more than one increase I just repeated the pattern, starting it however many stitches early I needed to.  I think it makes the increases look much more organic.  I am also not slipping the first stitch.

Pattern:  Canby Cardi by Robin Melanson

Yarn:  Knitting for Olive Heavy Merino and Soft Silk Mohair

Needle:  US 8 (5.0 mm)

Canby Cardi - Cast On!

I actually cast this on over the long Fourth of July weekend, but haven’t really worked on it much.  It is a gift for my step-daughter, Amy, who is getting married in September.  The pattern is from Blue Sky Alpacas and called for their Suri Merino, an Aran weight yarn.  I wasn’t crazy about the pastel colors or the yarn so I suggested we substitute Knitting for Olive Merino and Soft Silk Mohair held together and pick a nice jewel tone that will look much better on Amy.  I have not done this kind of drastic yarn substitution before, so I knew there would be some challenges.  First up, of course, is gauge.  The pattern calls for a gauge of 18 sts and 23 rows in 4x4 on a US 8 (5 mm) needle.  I swatch on US 6  (4 mm) needles and got 21.3 sts and 34.5 rows.  I like the fabric, but if I went with that gauge I would have to knit the largest size and I wasn’t sure I had purchased enough yarn for that.  In desperation I went looking for an Aran weight yarn.  My first try was Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.  I easily got gauge, but screwed up when I ordered the quantity and didn’t have enough to knit the desired size.  My next try was Rowan Felted Tweed Aran.  Once again I easily got gauge, and this time (having figured out my error on the Debbie Bliss yarn) I did order enough.  But when I started knitting it up I really didn’t like the fabric I was getting for the cardigan.  So I went back to the original yarn and went up a needle size to a US 7 (4.5 mm) and got 19.6 sts and 29.8 rows.  Close enough that I could knit the medium size, which I should easily have enough yarn for, although I will have to adjust the row repeats for the length and be careful on the shaping given the difference in the row gauges.

Pattern:  Canby Cardi by Robin Melanson

Yarn:  Knitting for Olive Merino and Soft Silk Mohair in Bordeaux

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)