Ginsan Cardigan

I finished my Ginsan Cardigan! This cozy cardi is one of the patterns from Sachiko and Kiyomi Burgin’s Moon and Turtle book. I wasn’t expecting to knit this so soon, but I’m so happy I did!

Knitting the Ginsan Cardigan

The Ginsan Cardigan is deceptively simple. There’s absolutely nothing difficult about the pattern. But the different parts of it that make it stand out definitely require some attention to detail.

I knit this cardigan as part of a Moon and Turtle Work Group “class” hosted by Laura McDougal. I absolutely loved this group experience. We were a small but mighty gang of five, knitting three Ginsan Cardigans and two Kinsan Sweaters. Anytime we had questions, Laura was there to help us through a sticky party. Because the group was small and made up of fairly experienced knitters, we got to really hang out and chat and become pals. I truly enjoyed this setting and am bummed I don’t get to look forward to more of these sessions on Wednesday nights.

All of that said, I am of course on my own bullshit and had to deviate from …everything. I knit the sleeves first, using the numbers for the 60″ sweater size. After washing and blocking my sleeve swatch, I liked the fabric a whole lot, but my gauge was very much off. So I ended up knitting the body of the cardigan using the size 70″ numbers. After blocking, the cardigan measures about 30″ flat from armpit to armpit, which is the size I wanted.

Using Berroco Remix

I’ve worked with Berroco Remix before and really enjoyed it. The yarn is made from pre-consumer fiber waste, so it’s a mish-mash of fibers. But it knits up so soft and has a delightfully tweedy texture. I had about 10 balls of the Eggplant color in my stash, so I supplemented that with one ball of Almond and one ball of Apricot.

The contrast colors are not used a lot in this pattern, so I have mostly full balls remaining. I’m planning to knit an ESP Hat with the leftover colors. Normally I’d be a little leery of using non-animal fibers in a hat, as hats kind of need that recovery and elasticity. But there’s a good amount of nylon and acrylic in the yarn, so I’m going to give it a whirl. More on that project later.

The Details

Cast on: August 17, 2022
Bind off: September 27, 2022
Yarn: Berroco Remix (30% Nylon, 27% Cotton, 24% Acrylic, 10% Silk, 9% Linen) Eggplant, Almond, Apricot
Size: used the numbers for the 70″ size; measures 29.5″ flat at underarms
Modifications: different gauge, hybrid size