Happy Friday and happy June! It’s my favorite month of the year (pride! my birthday! wnba! it’s summer and beautiful!) and I’m looking forward to having lots of fun adventures this month. I’m entering the month with a nice new summer staple that I think will get a lot of wear.

This is the Cabana Cardigan, a soon to be released pattern by Chase Harpole. It’s knit side to side in 3 pieces, and the sleeves are made using short rows. Because of this construction, making it really seemed to fly! I was able to make this in about 2.5 weeks. I knit it using some Queensland Eco Twist. I’ve like the beach, relaxed feel this yarn gives the project, though I probably wouldn’t make this pattern with it again. The think and thin texture along with the cotton and linen content made it a little hard to work with at points, and my version feels like it’s a little bit looser gauge then other tester’s version I’ve seen. One of the things I really appreciate about Chase is that he has a large range of sizing and gender neutral fit options. There are sets of instructions for both narrow and broad shoulders and 20 sizes for a total of 40 unique sizes. I made the size 12 narrow shoulders. The result is a top with a masculine shape and feel that is suited to my body. I made two minor changes – I reduced the length by 2 inches and I did not knit extra rows after the sleeve cap short rows. I love the final piece and I know I’ll wear it a lot!

Do you have any new summer knits? Have a great weekend!