Tag Archives: Bacardi Cardi

I remember now

Posted on by
7

The Bacardi Cardigan sweater is knit on circular needles though knit flat.  The reason is so the color changes don’t have to start and end on the same edge.  If the color you need is on the other side, just turn the work over and start knitting/purling from that edge. It can get tricky but it saves from weaving in hundreds of ends when finished.  And weaving in cotton yarn has challenges quite different from wool.  It’s slippery, doesn’t like to stay put and has a mind of its own.

I remember now why I put my Bacardi Cardi in hibernation.  Besides having six balls of yarn attached to the needles…

…the edges are wonky.

Some areas are nubby and the yarn doesn’t want to lay flat.

And the tension is too tight or too loose in places.

I think I must…

…rip it

and start over.

One plus is that I do have the correct gauge with US #5 needles even though I did knit a swatch earlier, it was good to know that the swatch didn’t lie.

I found a few videos on making a better selvage edge while carrying several colors of yarn that might be helpful.  I would need to add another stitch to each side but if it helps with that unevenness and bulk, it will be worth it:

  • This one is a great technique and is right to the point of what I was looking for.
  • Way #5 in this video.  This is the same technique as above and begins at 8:51 but watch the entire video if you want other to see other methods.

I also asked the designer, Barbara Gregory, for suggestions.  Her reply:

One suggestion for the edges is to occasionally work the first stitch of a row (preferably a row of a single color) with one of the yarns that is being carried up the edge. This stitch will not show once seaming and bands are completed, but it will anchor the carried yarn and help you to maintain the desired tension along that vertical edge.

 

My other thought regarding the edges is to do seaming and picking up of stitches for the band more than a single stitch in from the edge if necessary to get a clean edge.

So I’m ready to try this again!

Challenge

Posted on by
1

Ravelry: “Ravelry is a place for knitters, crocheters, designers, spinners, weavers and dyers to keep track of their yarn, tools, project and pattern information, and look to others for ideas and inspiration.”

So I decided to set up my Ravelry Challenge by completing 12 projects this year but I don’t really have any specific things in mind.  Except to finish my Bacardi Cardi begun in 2014.   (You can find me here.)

Using as much of my own yarn stash to complete those projects is also part of my challenge.  Maybe if I added all the stashed yarn to my Ravelry account, I’d be able to see what I have and what it can become.  But that time consuming detail will be left for another day.

At least “most” of it is corralled in five super-large bins.

I need to dig out that Bacardi Cardi…

Progress, sorta

Posted on by
6

My Bacardi Cardi is a slow go.  I’ve got seven different balls of yarn tethered to my needles at all times.

bacardi-cardigan-102114

I’ve done a lot of Fair Isle knitting before but not with so many different colors of yarn at the same time.

It took a full seven minutes to untangle the mess last evening before I went to bed.  Granted I was tired.  And frustrated.

Do you have a secret for keeping things neat and untangled when you do Fair Isle knitting?  Please share in the comments.  Or commiserate with me.

Bacardi Cardi

Posted on by
4

I knew I wanted to knit this sweater the very first time I laid eyes on it.  In 2007.

(c) Barbara Gregory

(c) Barbara Gregory

This sweater was the reason I bought the book: No Sheep for You by Amy Singer.

No Sheep for You

I loved everything about it.  Colors.  Style.  Over-all look.  And the name: Bacardi Cardigan

003-cardi-1

The original yarn was not available anymore when I decided it was time for me to knit.  So I had to find a substitute.

I checked out the various projects on Ravelry to see what yarn other knitters used and narrowed it down to one.

With six different colors of yarn required I knew I had to be budget conscious.  My LYS was having a 20% off sale store-wide.  Yes!  They carried the Cascade Ultra Pima that I wanted to use.  I’ve knit with this yarn before and it is divine.

But my plan quickly vanished when they had only one of the six colors I needed.

Yes, the LYS could order the colors I wanted but the policy in the past was that I would have to buy all 12 skeins/hanks/balls per color as they did not want to be stuck with weird colors.   It’s a small store and while I understand that policy, (in my opinion) it’s a dumb one.  The owner was not available to question the policy so I decided to search throughout the store hoping I could find yet another substitute.  I found many yarns that I could use.  Not in the right colors for me.  Or way out of my price range.

Back to the drawing board.

Wait.  Someone used Drops Muskat.  After some quick (or not so quick) math, I figured out what  amounts I would need and the colors.  And it all came in under budget!  I wasn’t sure about two of the colors so I bought enough of each to make that decision when I saw them together with the rest of the colors.

I’ve never ordered yarn on-line before as I like to use all my senses, well, maybe not taste, when I buy yarn.  It was a giant step for me to go ahead with it.

The yarn was shipped on a Thursday and arrived the following Monday!  Fast, fast, fast turnaround.

001-box

I love the feel, smell, sight, and sound of the yarn.

002-yarn

I love the colors though if I had seen them in person, I might have chosen a lighter yellow.

004-cardi-2

What I bought will work for sure.

005-yarn

From the top and going clockwise: Warm Yellow #51, Light Olive #45, Apple Green #53, Light Beighe #61, Yellow #30, Dark Olive #44, and Khaki Green #77.  I can’t decide on whether to use the light olive…

007-olive

…or the bluer khaki green.  Color in the photo is off.

006-sage-green

Khaki green

Either one will look great.  The warm olive will play off the other warm colors.  The cooler khaki green will add another dimension.

What’s your opinion?

I have other knitting to do before I can get started on this.  In the meantime I might just go ahead with some mindless knitting swatch knitting so when I am ready to go, that part will already be done.

I can’t wait to get started!