Make the smallest size and consider previous version mods.

Pattern Notes:

• Not gonna lie, making this in black linen/cotton/viscose (summer) blend was not outrageously fun - esp before I started the yoke and there are 4 needles hanging from everywhere. Even on a sunny day I had overhead lights on This is definitely a project knit. I want the finished object more than I would prefer not to be knitting with black, (relatively) kinda ropey, splitty yarn.

• About the Yarn: I much prefer Tynn Line to any pure cotton or pure linen I’ve come across. This yarn knits pretty evenly given its fibre content but it has a tendency to unply itself (not because of the way I’m knitting but because it’s a lightly spun 3 ply and the plies do not have much resilience). But it can be put in washer and dryer (on low heat), the colours are good for summer palette and it wears very well.

• Edge stitches before splitting for sleeves: When working the 48 rows of the yoke, on WS, slip last 2 st with yarn in front. On RS, slip last 2 st with yarn in back.

• Edge stitches when working body or ties: RS: Knit the last 2 stitches on each side. WS: Slip the last 2 st with yarn in back.

• About Neckband (Tie) Width: I found the band too tall/thick for my neck last time I made it so this time I removed 4st. Had implications for when I split the front ties from the body…

• About Bust Darts: I don’t think that these are necessary, based on my previous version (wherein I did them). I would def work GSRs if I opted to work these again as I didn’t like how the shadow wrap short rows turned out the last time. Update: Didn’t do the bust darts this time.

• Armscye Depth: My gauge is shorter than pattern recommends (about 12% shorter, but this fabric has little recovery). I want the armscye depth to be 7.5’ - 8” so I will likely add 4R. Update: I did do 4 extra rows plain before splitting for sleeves and it did the trick.

Body:

• At split for sleeves, I was an inch from full bust depth. (At first I thought I was 2.5” away but plant fibres really do stretch.) Up to this point I had followed the pattern stitch counts exactly and the circumference for the small worked even though my gauge was slightly smaller than instructed. If it fits, that’s all that matters. This is linen/cotton/viscose blend so it’s going to do what it does. Update: I think the reason may be that the full circ dimension does not include the front bands (not even above the split). I had issues determining this the first time I made this garment because the schematic indicates that the circ DOES include the band in the measurement.

• Where to split the front rib from body: I decided to split the front rib from front body about an inch higher than I did last time (it was too low then), so I knit a scant 3” from underarm before doing this. Update: That turned out to be 22R from split for sleeves. At this point I was about 2” from under bust (when following the contour of my breast) but, as this is going to stretch with gravity, I think the tie will be just at the under bust.

• I had to do some fancy footwork to get 17st (vs 19) on the front ties and the (as called for) 6st of rib at the front body (before starting the stockinette front panels). It involved making 2 increases on either ribbed tie (left and right, where the ties split off from the rib which continues on the front body). They aren’t noticeable. Can’t say exactly what I did since I worked on the fly and ripped things back a bunch of times till it looked right. Wasn’t fun.

• Also, I put the ribbed ties on hold and continued to work the body as one piece because I didn’t split the fronts from the back till 7.5” below split for sleeves. I made the ties 9.5” because they’ll stretch out. The length of the ties on my first version, having worn it a bunch of times, is 10.5” (and there’s more recovery with that fabric than with this yarn).

• Note the following: As of 2.8” below under arm, my gauge stabilized at 6.25st and 8.25R in 1”. I knitted to ~4” below under arm and then worked 2” (12st) of decreases because this fabric is going to stretch a lot and I don’t want 37” (230 body st) of circ below my bust and around my waist.

• Waist Decreases: While these are not instructed, I worked 3 decrease rounds of 4st per dec round on either side of the side body rib panels on each side. Because I didn’t split fronts from back until 7.5” below split for sleeves, I had enough depth to do these decrease rows before splitting fronts from back. I worked decreases every 6th round and completed the decreases over 1.5”.

• Rib set up row for 2 front panels and 1 back panel: I didn’t increase as many stitches as recommended (I had 4 fewer on the back and 2 fewer on each front). That worked just fine. It would have been too wide if I’d stayed with the recommended counts.

• Body Length: As per the last version, I made the length ~10.5” from underarm.

• Ties: I knitted these slightly shorter than last time because they will grow in this yarn. Did 66R which got me to 9.5”. Bound off in pattern and, were I to make this again, I might actually do a regular bind off (all knits) on the RS. That would give the edges a bit more stability and would likely look more polished. But my version looks entirely adequate and tidy.

• Sleeves: Starting with 62 held stitches, I cast on 12 st at underarm by picking up 6 on either side of the BOR marker. (74 st) On the 3rd round, I decreased 2 st (72 st). The pattern calls for casting on the 12 st using long tail CO but I did it last time and I didn’t find it any more attractive than picking up the stitches. Given that I used cable cast on to pick up the stitches at the underarm, I had a strong and even edge from which to pick up.

• I tried following the pattern on the rib set up round (increasing to 82st and going to US4 for rib) but it made an already loose sleeve even looser. Note that this fabric doesn’t have a ton of recovery and it’s knitted at a reasonably open gauge so 82st was 10” of circ at the sleeve cuff. I realize that the sleeves end above the elbow, but the amount of ease built into the sleeves is excessive IMO. I observed that last time also. Second try, I kept the stitch count at 72st and went down to a US3 needle for ribbing, which I also used to BO. I could prob have cut 2-4 more stitches for a fitted sleeve but it’s not worth ripping back given that the current sleeve looks just fine.

• I bound off in pattern on all hems. Last time I did Jeny’s stretchy bind off and it’s both unattractive (IMO) and unnecessary. You don’t need stretch in the hems given how floaty and open the hem is.

Final Thoughts:

• I really love this design though I have made a bunch of changes to ensure that it fits me in a more fitted fashion. It works very well in plant-based fibre but it does take attention to maintain stitch evenness - esp given that there’s as much knitting as purling.

• There are a zillion ends to weave in at the end. This doesn’t bother me but plant fibres are more challenging to weave in given the nature of the yarn and its tendency to unravel. Having said this, I weave in ends within an inch of their life (such that I loathe myself every time I frog a finished project) so I’m going to assume my method will work in this instance too.

• I LOVE Tynn Line for summer knits. It’s incredibly light-weight and breathable. Also can be washed and dried so no need to be fussy with it.

• This time I used 808 yards (vs the 880 last time). I do think that this garment can be made in the smallest size with about 800 yards (knitted single strand of fingering). Note that I did make my version quite a bit longer than called for in the pattern. But I also did some decreasing that wasn’t instructed. Unless you want something that may skew as tent-like (given lack of bodice shaping), I would def size down in this garment if you’re on the fence, esp if you’re using a floaty fabric without much recovery. No matter what type of yarn you use, consider altering the sleeves unless your arms are proportionately large. Last time I did a lot of increasing at the bust that wasn’t necessary. My full bust is ~39-40” (though my shoulders are narrow) and the smallest size works just fine. In terms of the fit through shoulders and yoke, IMO, it’s fantastic.

• About CocoKnits Method: This is my 3rd time using this method, 2nd time knitting this garment. I continue to feel that it’s fussy, unnecessarily so, though once you’ve done it a few times, you can change elements that don’t resonate. I do not feel that one’s finished object is less professional for using other, less fussy approaches to well-known techniques. I do think that the shoulder and yoke construction is an excellent take on contiguous fit. Unfortunately, the designer has done only a few designs in fingering-weight (my preferred weight for knitting). So I won’t be knitting more from this designer unless that changes.

Pre-blocked Dimensions:

Length from back neck seam to hem: 19.75”
Width of neckband / tie: 1.5”
Length of Tie (from split to hem): 9.5”
Length of sleeve from underarm to cuff:
Length from edge of neckband to edge of shoulder: 4”
Bust circumference: 39.5” with 1.5” ties NOT atop one another
Hip circumference: 31”
Side split to hem: 3.75”
Length of hem ribbing: 2.5”
Length of cuff ribbing: 2.75”
Length from underarm to hem: 10.5”
Armscye depth (vertical): 8”
Armscye depth (diagonal along “seam”): 9”

Post-blocked Dimensions: The only dimension that changed was the ties, which shrank by 0.5” (and which will no doubt stretch with wear and gravity). I did use a few pins to keep vertical measurements to pre-blocked dimensions but there was no stretching involved.

Pre-blocked gauge: 25st and 32R in 4” - 1st per 4” on US5 - smaller than recommended but may block to suggested gauge. Even if it doesn’t, I don’t think I want this fabric to be more open than it is so I’ll likely stick with the rec needle size (US5).

Post-blocked gauge: 25st (very stretchy) and 33R in 4” on US5

Keep in mind that there’s not a ton of recovery and lots of give in this so I think it will be fine - given that this will grow with gravity and wear.