Swatch - US 2.5
Preblocked Gauge - 28st and 40R in 4” (got perfect gauge pre-blocking)
Postblocked Gauge - 27st and 41R in 4”

See below for update on gauge because it changed to 25st per 4” (6.25st per inch) and 37R in 4” (9.25R per inch).

In light of the fact that this designer doesn’t provide a schematic or by-inch/cm dimensions at various points in the knitting process, I did the math for myself and I’m going for either the first -xs or the second size - small (even though, according to this designer, I should knit the 5th size). This is only my second PK project but, as written, it would be as oversized, unaltered, as the one I made before (Balloon Cardigan). There is ease written into this pattern and then you are instructed to apply additional positive ease…

At my gauge - which is pretty close to what’s instructed - here are the relevant dimensions:

Second Size / Small - too big at upper bust
Armscye depth: 7.2”
Sleeve circumference at cast on of sleeve: 13”
Upper bust circumference at split for sleeves: 38.8”

• I like the armscye depth (which I can also achieve, while knitting the xs, by just going a couple of rounds further before splitting for the sleeves / not increasing on the sleeves after working the proposed number of stitches).

• The sleeve circumference above is a bit roomy and the upper bust is almost 39” in circ. Mine is 35”. That’s a lot of positive ease above the bust for a person with a narrow frame.

• The v-depth is just slightly shorter than the split for sleeves in this and the first size.

First size / Extra Small: The size I’m going to go with, if in a modified fashion:

• Armscye depth: 6.8” as written but I lengthened this by splitting at the same round as is called for in second size.

• Sleeve circumference at cast on of sleeve should be 12.4” - this works for me.

• Upper bust circumference at split for sleeves should be 36.7” - this is also better than what I’d get with the size small, above.

• These dimensions align optimally with mine, without positive ease, and recognizing that there’s a lot of drape and not a lot of resilience in 100 per cent silk yarn.

• The benefit of working the xs / first size as of the cast on is that I have to hope that there won’t be too much fabric over the upper bust (where I’m narrow).

• My numbers, as of split for sleeves (at appropriate armscye depth) are 55 F / 1 / 74 Sl / 1 / 112 B / 1 / 74 Sl / 1/ 55 F - Consider this when casting on for sleeves that you may want to cast on fewer stitches to get to the counts you require.

Body section:

• Partly because I didn’t read the instructions (well, I did but I forgot the order of operations) and partly because I decided I wanted to have a few more rows of depth for the v-neck PLUS a few extra increases at the centre front and side body before joining for the round, I got to the depth I wanted (7.5”) at 250st and then worked as follows:

K row - did 2 increases on either front body but no increases on back body and, on this row I split for sleeves +4st (254st on body / 74 st on holders)
P row - worked plain
K row - did 2 increases on either front body only (no more incs on back body required) +4st (258st on body - 38.2”)
P row - worked plain
Next K row - did 4 increases as per above AND when I joined in the round and added another 4 st via backwards loop as the pattern instructs when you join the fronts (266st on body - 39.4”).

• Alas - as with every pattern this designer creates - somehow things GROW absurdly. I went out of my way to ensure that I’d get to 39” circ (arguably too early / too high up above the bust) and it blocked out to 44”?!?! And there was no way I was ripping back at this point, esp since I’d already spent 4 hours working on the icord neckline to ensure it wouldn’t roll. So immediately after doing the increases above, I had to start fast decreasing as follows:

R1 - K to 3st bef first side marker, k2tog, k1, sl m1, k1, ssk, knit to 3 st bef second side marker and do the same.
R2 - K
R3 - repeat R1
R4 - repeat R2

I did this four-round repeat 4 times (reduction of 16st) and then tried it on again. It fit better. Then I decreased on the back body only, every other round for the next 6R (ssk / k2tog). Confirmed I was at the at the depth of my full bust. At that point the front body had 132st (21” circ) and the back body had 112st (17.9”) - 39” of circumference which was in the neighbourhood that I was going for… 244st total.

• The part where I block the garment in progress and realize that my gauge completely changed for no apparent reason: Apparently my stitch gauge changed from 27st per 4” to 25st per 4” (6.25st per inch) - which is substantial and not something I can blame on the pattern. That’s why I had to do so much on-the-fly decreasing… And my row gauge went to 37R in 4” (9.25R per inch)?! This is really strange given that I made a swatch that wasn’t overly small and I blocked it / took measurements before and after. To clarify - there’s still a ridic amount of ease built into this pattern but I’d already accounted for that with my original math. What I didn’t account for was a significant change in gauge. And, of course, that gauge was taken on the part I knitted flat - the part knitted in the round wasn’t long enough at this point to determine gauge from that fabric.

• One of the things I didn’t consider, based on how stitches are added under the arm at the split for sleeves - was that the back would be wider than necessary for me given that I have a narrow frame with projected breasts. I should have cast on fewer back stitches in light of this but I didn’t think about it till it was too late. I opted to decrease more back body stitches above the bust and then to decrease front and back stitches after the full bust, when I did waist shaping.

• About the icord neckline: This is an interesting finish that might work better with some yarns than with others. I worked the neckline icord before working the body or sleeves because I wanted to make sure it wasn’t going to be a problem and I’m glad that I did - if for no other reason that it clarified that my gauge had changed significantly. I’ve noticed many versions wherein the icord rolls under (esp on the left side of the neckline) and the left neck pick up is generally messier than the right. It is on my version too, though I reknitted the icord at least 5 times over multiple hours to optimize. Definitely do the instructed 4st icord and not a 3st, which is what I started out with. I didn’t have any issues in terms of tension or pulling (I didn’t count the number of stitches I picked up because I picked them up as I worked according to the 1:1 ratio instructions and I made my neckline deeper than instructed as per my pref - skewing with the numbers.) But I felt that there was a risk of rolling and I didn’t love how it looked. I’m comfortable with how it blocked out and I’m not concerned now that it will roll. I used pins carefully to ensure it would be a) the depth I wanted (deeper than instructed) and b) that the icord would be stabilized where it meets the neck fabric. If I hadn’t been able to resolve this, I would have had to come up with another finish (as some other knitters have done). But I like this edging feature - even though icord is something I either love or hate, depending on its application.

• About an inch before I got to the depth of the under bust / ~27R from full bust), I started working 3” of decreases (horizontal) over ~3” of depth to get from 39” circ to 36” circ, which skims nicely over torso and hips. Given my gauge of 6.25st per inch, I’ll decrease 20 st - 4 st per decrease round - over 25 rounds of depth (~3”). That’s 5 decrease rounds over 25R or one dec round every 6 rounds. This section begins with a decrease round:

R1 Decrease - K to 3 st before side m1, k2tog, k1, sl m1, k1, ssk, k to 3 t before m2 and repeat. (4 st decreased)
R2-6 K plain
R7 - repeat R1 (4 st decreased)
R8-12 - K plain
R13 - repeat R1 (4 st decreased)
R14-18 - K plain
R19 - repeat R1 (4 st decreased)
R20 - 24 - K plain
R25 - repeat R1 (4 st decreased)

At this point my numbers were 122 F and 102 B Update - this is also where the decreases became biased on the back body because my previous decreases took more from the back body than the front. I should have moved my side markers…

About finish of the sleeves and body hem:

• Sleeve finish: I’m not sure yet if I’m going to make the sleeves longer than instructed (for sun coverage and some extra warmth in AC) OR shorter - like a legit short sleeve version. But I don’t think I’m going to use an icord finish. I’m more likely to do ribbing or a fold over hem because I don’t really love the look of the icord on the sleeves. Update: I opted to follow helpful short sleeve info found at https://www.ravelry.com/projects/Pfiol/cumulus-tee. This worked perfectly.

Short sleeves:
CO 10 st at underarms (2 fewer than CO when splitting the sleeves cuz the opening is slightly larger than I’d like) - 84st total
Row 1 and 2: K
Row 3: decrease by two - I worked k2tog at start / ssk at end
Row 4: K
Row 5: as row 3
Row 6: K
BO in icord using smaller needles - Note: this time I did a 3-stitch icord because I felt it was more proportional on this more delicate part of the sweater than the 4-stitch version done on the neck. It blocked flat… (80st). I did not do any increasing or decreasing in the icord. I blocked the sleeves fairly firmly to ensure the icord wouldn’t roll and to gain adequate circumference given that the icord did pull in and decreased the circumference a bit.

• Hem finish: I’m going to do ribbing at the hem because I don’t like the look of the icord - it seems flimsy and tends to be too loose or too tight. But I don’t think a fold under hem would be optimal from the perspective of bulk - and I may want to tuck in so I don’t want lots of fabric at that edge. Update: Worked 21R / 2” of 1x1 rib in smaller needle size. Bound off in pattern for a very clean finish with the right amount of give (took about 1g of yarn).

Pre-blocked Measurements:

Length from CB neck: 21.25”
Length of raglan (diagonal): 9”
Length of raglan (vertical): 7” - 7.5”
Depth of v neck: 8.25”
Length of body from underarm: 13.5”
Sleeve depth: 9” from where sleeve meets neckline / 0.75” from the underarm to icord bind off
Bust circ: 39”
Hem circ: 34” (rib)
Sleeve circ: 12.5”

Post-blocked Measurements:

Length from CB neck: 21.25”
Length of raglan (diagonal): 9.75”
Length of raglan (vertical): 7”
Depth of v neck: 8.25”
Length of body from underarm: 14”
Sleeve depth: 9.75” from where upper sleeve meets neckline / 0.75” from the underarm to icord bind off
Bust circ: 37”
Hem circ: 33” (rib)
Sleeve circ: 12”

Final Thoughts:

• I do love a project that takes just less than 3 balls of yarn (or under 150g). Way to maximize the value of the yarn! If I had decided to knit longer sleeves, as instructed, I would have used a reasonable portion of the 4th ball.

• I’m extremely pleased with my (highly modified) result. The fit is just what I was going for - not much ease but in no way tight. The yarn blocked really nicely and I love the hand of this top. I will definitely use the yarn again and I’ll probably use it to make another modified Cumulus because it’s SO wearable.

• Note to self: Next time you make this, ensure that you manage the stitch counts on front and back body such that the decreases don’t bias towards the back body. (That was the suboptimal impact of my working on the fly but the decreases are even and they seem intentional, particularly at the upper bust / initial fast decreases.) You don’t need more than 236st at the split for sleeves but still make the vneck longer by joining 4 rows after the split. That aligns with the second size but start with the cast on for the first size because that fits better in the upper torso. And then, once you split for sleeves, increase as necessary, at the side front. Maybe you’ll want fewer stitches on the back body but you can probably accomplish that most easily by keeping the numbers on the front and back body the same until after split for sleeves and then working additional increases at the side fronts reasonably quickly and above the full bust. Remember, you will want to decrease to 224st. And all of this presumes you get the same gauge as you got this time around…

• I opted for short sleeves in the end because I was looking for a garment that would be optimally cool on really hot summer days, but not so casual that I couldn’t wear it to work (Many summer tops aren’t really office-friendly and it’s too cold in AC to dress as one would in the midday sun.)

• Based on my alterations, this garment starts off proportionately wide at the shoulders and just continues to get narrower from the underarm down. That’s the outcome of 2 factors: 1. Gauge changed, so I had to cull lots of stitches all the way to below the waist and 2. As drafted, this garment is quite boxy (with cinched in holes for arms and hips). It’s drafted to have lots of ease at the upper bust, just where it looks overwhelming on my frame. Optimally, I would have started with a smaller needle size or fewer stitches to get to the right upper bust and shoulder fit with this yarn (though I did cast on the smallest size). Happily, the already-blocked, upper torso section (well above the split for sleeves) fits fine. It’s near and below the split that there is too much fabric - not surprising given my upper bust measurement is ~34” and the circ was 44” at the split for sleeves.

• I think the reason that my version of the upper bodice still fits pretty well is because the construction is a raglan (so some of the extra sizing goes into the sleeves) and because I customized the depth of the armscye so it’s not too long even if the top is too wide. I also made the vneck deeper by continuing to work flat for a few more rows after splitting for the sleeves. That changed the drape of the sweater slightly and visually narrowed the neckline a smidge (though I’m not exactly sure how).

• I did decrease circ rapidly on the sleeves, if only by an inch above the icord, because they are short (and there’s not too much distance in which to achieve making them smaller)… On the sleeves, I only picked up 10 st, not 12 (as I did, unfortunately, at the underarm). I wonder if it will be more or less noticeable that the side body, directly underneath the cast on for sleeves, is really wide and then decreases by a good inch on either side within 10 rounds. Other than ripping the whole thing back or thinking harder than I wanted to, that was my best recourse. Update: the fast decreases are entirely unobservable when worn and not particularly egregious even when you look at the garment flat.

• PK does not design with bodies like mine in mind - narrow frame / narrow shoulders, hourglass with proportionately large bust. Too much ease at the upper bust is just overwhelming on a small frame, esp one with large boobs. While very-oversized garments can be chic on a certain frame, they are frumpy on many others. Mind you, effectively, this positive-ease feature also makes the pattern sizing more inclusive - not that it provides for optimal drafting. Note there’s no schematic to give a sense of how much ease is included in the draft at the upper bust portion of the knit. That really puts me off.

• The pattern is adequately clear - though I don’t particularly like the way PK patterns are written. That wouldn’t stop me from knitting this or another of the designer’s patterns if I wanted the finished object.

• About the KFO Pure Silk: As far as silk goes, I think this yarn is very lovely and fairly easy to work with. Mercifully, the silk is very soft and it does not have that fishy smell that sometimes comes along with silk (based on the sericin content which some brands don’t adequately remove). I have a sense that it will wear well and be quite cool in the heat. Also, the colour is lovely and I did not find that the fibre got weak or fussy when I blocked it. Having said this, it is very sticky. It sticks to itself and to the needles. So it’s not overly easy to manage or quick to slide through the hands. It also seems overspun (twisting on itself whether you pull from the inner or outer ball) - something I suppose I’d prefer to underspun esp given that the yarn splits like crazy. Also, there is no spring in this yarn and there’s absolutely no recovery. So I recommend making it into a firm fabric (as instructed) or it might be see-through.