29-04-2022

Initial Thoughts:

• This pattern is so imaginative, well-written and the construction is very clever - I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It also produces a seriously chic and modern hand knit - almost avant garde.

• Having said this, it is NOT beginner-friendly. There’s a lot going on at the same time and it takes focus and confidence.

• Things you need to be comfortable doing: knitting and purling through the back loop (often in rows that also feature regular k1/p1 rib - a bit of a trick in terms of muscle memory); four kinds of twisted decreases - 2 of which are done in purl. (It’s super hard to keep these straight, even though none of them is difficult); short rows that use yarn overs (my first time doing this type); reading a chart while doing “at the same time” stuff on the non-charted portion of the pattern; Italian cast; Italian bind off.

• It’s not particularly size-inclusive (even with 9 sizes the largest bust size is 104cm / 41” - which would fit a 44” bust with 8cm of negative ease). I mean, it’s much more inclusive than it seems because, even getting gauge, the patterned fabric - at least in cotton - stretches outrageously.

• It also doesn’t come with a schematic so it’s impossible to tell what all of the dimensions should be, by size, unless you do the math yourself. I do recommend that you determine the upper bust measurement by doing the math before casting on, to confirm you won’t be knitting a size larger than desired.

What I Did to Make This Garment Fit Me:

• While my version looks more or less just like the one in the marketing pic, I have made numerous modifications to ensure good fit. Had I not, this garment would not have fit at all. Note that the pattern doesn’t hold your hand in any way. If you want to make alterations, it’s all on you. There’s not even a schematic so I’d suggest, if you’re a newish knitter with a narrow frame, high armscye and a projected bust, give this a miss unless you want to be up to your eyeballs in irritation and potentially suboptimal fit. This is designed for a broad(ish)-shouldered, long/tall, not curvy person. I’m a pretty seasoned knitter and this one has not been much fun to alter - though I totally want the finished object and, given all I’ve done, fit it will. On a side note, I’d probably enjoy this process more if I were working with a yarn that had some recovery / that communicated well with my hands. But miles of twisted rib intercepted by regular rib is tedious after a while.

• I cast on the second size (though by bust measurement I should have cast on the EIGHTH?? FWIW, I usually knit a modified version of the first or second size). I was concerned about this but I did some math and it was the right choice. Note that I’m working with cotton and the fabric it makes has no recovery/stretches/drapes, so knowing this, I was even less inclined to cast on the size the pattern suggested. Admittedly, I’m no expert in working with 100 per cent cotton. But I have def worked often enough with plant fibres and those with no recovery. And I still don’t see a universe in which the 8th size would have fit me, anywhere - not shoulder, bust, waist or hip.

• I went down a needle size to get stitch gauge. Still didn’t get row gauge but my mods were so extensive that I just redid the math with my own row gauge 8.25R in 1” (vs 8.75”).

• I followed the pattern as written until finishing the repeat of rows 6-9 11x (on both front and back). At that point, the armscye depth was 7.5” (and that’s as long as will work for me given how short my torso is and how high set my bust is). At this point I had 63st in each pattern panel and 81st in total on each side - front and back.

• Sidebar: I do understand that the rationale for working 12 extra rows on the back body is to lower the front neckline after the split for sleeves - it effectively pushes the neckline down and lengthens the armscye by the gauge of 6R. I sense that this is the way to augment the impact of the very few short rows on the back body. I did NOT work 12 more rows on the back body (than on the front). For me, it made no sense. For starters, I am very short-waisted and I’m not tall. Also, I have a projected bust and my stomach is not flat. So arguably, I need more length in the front body than in the back. I would have added 3 extra rows to give a bit more dip at the front neck BUT that would have messed with the chart (the front and back have to align and to work 6 more rows would have made the armscye too long). Having said this, hand knits are stretchy. And because my frame is narrow and not tall, the shortness of my back body compensates for the projectedness of my bust. For me, there’s enough drop at the front neckline, though it certainly isn’t a scoop. It’s still adequately lower than the back neckline.

• Then I split for the sleeves in pattern. (I made a mistake here but I don’t think it’s noticeable so I’m calling it a design element.) It was at this point that I opted to increase the bust circumference under the arm by 6 st each side (12st total). I did this by turning the work and doing cable cast on of 6 st on each side. Then I turned the work back to the RS and continued in pattern. I worked the extra stitches at the appropriate spot under each arm (between the selvedge stitches you’re instructed to purl together). At this point the upper bust was 31.25” or 172st. This very easily stretched to 34”. After this I started working in the round on R2 of the chart. There were ~2.5” to get from underarm to full bust.

• Over the next 11R - (R2-6 of the chart followed by R1-6 of the chart) - I increased every other round on the front panel only. The back piece was wide enough, given my narrowness, and cotton likes to grow. At this point there were 184st on the needles - which grew to a good 40”, 1.5” of positive ease at my full bust. I was 0.5” from my full bust depth and opted to work the next 4 rows (~0.5” at my gauge) straight, in pattern.

• I began decreasing on the front panel, to get me from ~40” at the full bust to ~36” at the under bust (still 4” larger than my underbust, to nicely skim at the abdomen). I had 4” of length over which to decrease 4” of width (22st). I did this by decreasing on the front panel every 3rd round over 32R. I figured out whether to do K or P decreases and which way they should slant as I went. Note that, at this point, I was working in the round so I had to ensure that the increases leaned left or right where they should. As written, the right increase happens first, followed by left. I had 162 st at the end of the decreases, which is more than large enough and still smaller than the first size. Remember, by bust measurement (and with no schematic), I should have made the 8th size. Admittedly, were I making this with wool, I think my sizing would probably come in at the second size (with a bit of alteration at the full bust).

• I worked in pattern (but with no additional increases or decreases) to get to my desired length. Recognizing that this is going to grow, I stopped the 6-round pattern at 19”. Then, per the instructions, I did 4 rounds in pattern followed by twisted rib on a needle 2 sizes smaller than the needle used to knit the body (US3 for me). I didn’t do 7 rounds but 4, because I think this is going to grow a lot. I also wet blocked this before working the Italian BO because, were it to grow, I wanted to have the option to easily rip it back and redo. (Once one undertakes an Italian BO, one is unlikely to try to rip it out given what a pain in the ass it is to do.) I find the plastic Knitting Barber holder cables to be perfect for using while blocking. (They don’t felt into the live stitches because they are plastic.)

Final Thoughts:

• This design is gorgeous and I’m glad I went to the effort to modify it. Mind you, should I opt to make it again in wool, I’ll probably need to do a bit more re-sizing (gauge depending, of course) because a yarn with recovery may lead me to make the second size grading to the 4th size and back to the third.

• Despite the size chart, I started with the second size (and I would NOT go up higher than that with an upper bust of 33”), landed somewhere between the 3rd and 4th size at the full bust and then went down to the first size at the under bust. I do think this has something to do with the fibre I used but I also think the sizing is weird.

• As written, the armscye is rather long - something I see often in Scandinavian vest designs. That’s fine if you intend to wear something underneath (or if you have a smallish bust / can go braless) but if you do have a bust, you’re probably going to want to raise the armscye unless yours matches the pattern dimensions.

• More could have been done to better explain the chart as it goes from flat to “in the round” but this pattern assumes you know what you’re doing.

• The yarn was pleasant enough. I rarely work with cotton because I don’t tend to like its lack of resiliency and its rope-like hand. Willet’s softness and high spin didn’t hurt. I also really like the colour. While wearing will tell the full story, on blocking this didn’t stretch as much vertically as I anticipated it would (not given gauge but because of gravity’s effect on DK-weight cotton). Maybe that’s because I was mindful of the likelihood that stretch would happen. It seems there is more grow in the horizontal measurement but wearing and gravity may change this over time. And again, I sense it’s the stitch pattern that stretches a lot (though I can’t prove that till I make this garment in a springy wool). Update: I am very impressed by how this yarn is wearing. I’ve now put it in the washer and dryer (on delicate cycles) and it returns to it’s original dimensions - though it does grow with wear. I would totally use this yarn again on this basis.

• Note that after wearing a few times, the armscyce grew in length by about an inch. I could have gone shorter in that dimension but I couldn’t have predicted that. Hopefully, it’ll snug up when next washed.

Final Measurements:

Full bust circumference: 33” (stretches easily to 39”)
Upper bust circumference: 25” (stretches easily to 34”)
Waist circumference: 30” (stretches easily to 36”)
Hip circumference: 33” (stretches easily to 39”)
Armscye depth: 7” (this actually shrank which works for me - but see above, it has stretched in depth over wearings)
Diameter of neck opening: 9” (as wide as I would want it)
Shoulder width: 2.25”
Full length from centre back neck: 19.25” though it easily stretches to 20.25”. (I may opt to make this longer if it doesn’t grow on the first few wears).

03-05-2022

Initial Options for this yarn:

Slanting Slip On - Anne Ventzel (22 and 35 in 4” in pattern)

Herringbone Summer Tank Top - Karen Vølund Fechter (22 and 30 in 4” in Herringbone pattern) - I think this stitch pattern is going to be too hard on my hands at the moment. Also, the sizing is very strange - diff gauges provided for linen and cotton versions and the sizes aren’t clear - or particularly inclusive.This one is a pass

Irene Top - Sari Nordlund (also in the queue independently) (22 and 34
in 4” in garter rib) - The charts are presented in a way that doesn’t appeal to me and I’m not sure how I feel about the boob outline (though it is interesting). At this point, this one is a pass.

Ripple Crop Top - Jessie Maed (24 and 22 in 4” in 3x3 ribbing) - This is a cool top but I don’t think cotton is the best fibre for it and I’m not looking for something with sleeves. So this is a pass for now.

Notched Hem Tank Top - Purl Soho (21 and 28 in 4” in stockinette) - Based on other patterns and the fact that this is the least visually interesting of the options - plus an outlier in yarn-weight - this is a pass.