Cortana Nora Cardigan

A knitted linen cardigan is a different object from a woolen one and it is worth being clear about why. Wool traps air, which is how it keeps you warm and why it stops being useful above a certain temperature. Linen does not trap air, it moves it, so a linen knit gives you a layer without giving you heat, and the result is a cardigan you can put on in August because the evening turned and again in October because the morning did. The cut is open-front with no fastening to negotiate, generous without being oversized. Deep navy, and knitted from European Flax certified linen, which is a traceability standard for flax grown in Western Europe rather than a claim about the yarn’s fineness.

Why we selected it

Nearly every lightweight layer we are offered is cotton or a cotton blend, and cotton knits go shapeless. This one holds its line, and it does it in a fiber that most knitters avoid because linen is difficult to knit.

Cortana treats the open cardigan as a foundation garment rather than an accessory, and this is the piece most of the rest of the collection layers under.

Materials and construction

One hundred percent European Flax certified linen, knitted. Open front, no fastening. Color: deep navy. We do not hold a country of origin for this piece.

Fit notes

Generous through the body without being oversized, which means it goes over a fitted top without adding bulk at the shoulder. Linen has almost no elasticity, so a linen knit does not spring back the way a wool one does. Hang it and it will grow at the shoulder. Fold it and it will not.

Styling

Over the Anele Top or the Elena Dress. Over the Aria Skirt when the linen alone is not enough. It works open, which is how it is cut, rather than pulled closed across the front.

Care

Wash gently and cool, then dry flat rather than on a hanger, which matters more on a linen knit than on a linen weave because there is no recovery in the fiber to pull the shoulder back. Press while damp. Our care guidance covers the rest.

Related pieces

The Mel Pants are linen and silk tailored to a taper, and the Costa Pants are linen alone at a high rise. Everything we carry from Cortana is listed together.