Introducing the Gaspra cardigan! This was designed for The Fibre Company’s autumn/winter 2020 collection and supports their brand new yarn, Cirro. Cirro is a beautiful cotton, alpaca and merino blend; one of the lightest and warmest haloed yarns I’ve ever used. It’s also very versatile. Like mohair, you can experiment with needles sizes to create the fabric you want. The spec calls for a 4mm needle, but Gaspra is knitted on 5mm needles. I wanted to accentuate the drape, especially on the blouson sleeves.
Let’s have a closer look:
When I received a sample of the yarn for design development, I was immediately drawn to the idea of creating an easygoing layering piece – something that takes the chill off. So many of us can relate to the feeling of wanting to stay warm without being weighed down by heavy garments: the way the temperature drops after a summer sunset; spring and autumn days that start off with cool mornings and warm up by lunchtime; or the reassurance of packing an extra layer just in case the weather turns. That’s where I was coming from with the Gaspra cardigan.
The texture is also simple; stocking stitch on the lower body and sleeves to let the yarn speak for itself, with some interest at the yoke with a repetitive ‘k2tog, yo’ series of diagonal eyelets. Perfect for zoning out 🙂
The easygoing nature of Gaspra is also borne out by its construction because – wait for it – Gaspra is SEAMLESS! Yes, SEAMLESS! The body is worked back and forth in rows, in one piece to the armholes, at which point the cardigan is divided and the yoke pattern begins. The back and fronts are worked separately and joined at the shoulder using a 3-needle cast-off. Sleeve stitches are then picked up around the armhole circle and the set-in cap is shaped using German short rows. The sleeve is then joined in the round and worked down towards the garter stitch cuff. A picked-up garter stitch button band follows, so you’ll only need your sewing needle to weave in ends – not many, because Cirro has a whopping 225m mileage – and close up the tiny gap at the underarm. So if you’re not in the mood for finishing seams, Gaspra will quite literally knit itself!
Size-wise, Gaspra fits sizes 1-9 as per The Fibre Company’s fitting guide (76-81cm/30-32in to 157-162cm/62-64in chest) and is designed with positive ease. You can view the entire Atmosphere collection, buy the single pattern and buy kits to knit Gaspra in your chosen colour directly from The Fibre Company, or pop over to Ravelry.
I’m looking forward to seeing a few Gaspra cardigans in the wild over the next few months! Thank you for reading, and catch up soon.