Summer Cardi

My office is getting ready to start it's annual freeze out. Each summer the air conditioner in the place is turned on with enough force to freeze you right where you sit.So this year I decided to knit a simple sweater I could pull on to save myself from the shivers. And with temperatures forecast in the 80s this week; I didn't finish it a moment too soon.

I decided on a simple easy to knit little cardigan that doesn't have any buttons. The sleeves are short, but everything is just warm enough to keep that artificial chill of the bones while I'm in cubicle land this summer. The pattern is from Knitting Pure and Simple and it was well written and very easy to follow. The constructions is a simple top down raglan and the ribbed border is added at the end.

I tried to get a shot of me actually modeling the sweater, but Scarlett was much to interested in my activities and the camera tripod was in danger of falling over. So, no action shots today.

The sweater was quick because of the large needles and the yarn. I knit the sweater according to the instructions for the x-large size. The pattern called for 1,060 yards of yarn. I bought 5 skeins of the Taiyo (1,090 yards), but only ended up using 4 skeins (872 yards). I ended up using less yardage than the pattern called for in the large size. My gauge was slightly off; I got 13 stitches over 4 inches and the pattern called for 14, but I still didn't expect that big a difference in the final yardage count. The finished sweater is a little too roomy, but that will work okay for the office.

This is the first time I've used Noro Taiyo for the first time and I loved working with the yarn. It is billed as a bulky yarn, but I found it much closer to a heavy worsted or aran weight yarn. It has the typical thick and thin sections of other Noro yarn.There were also plenty of thick slubs in the yarn too and the color transitions are typically Noro too.

The cotton and silk content give this yarn a nice feel and working with the larger sized needles give the yarn a nice drape and feel in the finished sweater. I hope that this yarn is around for awhile and that some other colors are released. I'd love to make another project using Taiyo.

Project Info

Pattern: Summer Open Cardigan
from Knitting Pure & Simple
Yarn: Noro Taiyo
40% cotton, 30% silk, 15% wool, 15% nylon
color - 08; 4 skeins (100grams/200 meters)
Needles: addi TURBO US# 10.5 and 9
Gauge: 13 stitches equal 4 inches in stockinette
Finished Length: 23 inches from
Finished Width: 52 inches
Notes: Used the US 9 needles for the ribbing. Pattern called for US 8 for ribbing, Gauge was slightly different than called for in pattern.