For ages now I have been wanting to knit a top using the stitch pattern from the Shock Wave Socks. I’m just following the construction/shaping from Tokyo and substituting the Shock Wave pattern for the body of the sweater.

The Shock Wave pattern is no longer available from the designer for whatever reason. I have charted the directions as given in the pattern page’s comments section.

In my previous Shock Wave projects, I have had a puzzling time reading the stitches when I returned to my work after taking a break in knitting. I have finally found a good way to describe how the stitches slant, so for my own future reference (and anybody else reading this who may be interested):

If the k2tog stitches need to stack with a slant to the right, the M1 needs to happen at the beginning of the needles.
If the k2tog stitches need to stack with a slant to the left, the M1 needs to happen at the end of the needles.

After swatching with this yarn I know two things:

1. Size 4 US needles are too big. Going down to US 3’s because the fabric was too open and would snag like crazy, let alone be a bit too transparent.
2. Wooden needles will work much better than slippery metal ones.

Knitting the torso in the round from the bottom. Cast on 208 sts. Started with 4 rounds of garter st and then moved directly into the pattern.

There are so many stitches in each round that the thought of tinking back to correct an error gives me the shudders. Despite being very simple, the stitch pattern is still a challenge for me to read with this “crepe-like” fabric, so… I’ve placed markers every 16 sts (two repeats) to help keep me on track with my stitch counts and placed a stitch marker pin in the first patterned stitch on a change round (1 or 7). Much easier to motor smoothly on up the body with confidence.

At 12” I divided front and back sections, and cast on 36 sts at either end of the needles for the sleeves. The 4 sts on each end of the row are worked in garter and the remaining 32 sts according to established Shock Wave pattern.

The 4 rounds of garter stitch at the bottom hem were not enough to keep it from curling. So I picked up stitches for the front, and then again for the back, knitting each side separately, back and forth, for a split hem in garter stitch that was a full 1.5” deep. Much better.

I used a three-needle bind off at the shoulders/sleeve tops, and crocheted the underarm seams closed. All single edges were bound off with Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off (knit stitches only).

I also wished the yarn was a true, crisp white rather than an ivory; ivory is not my best hue. I tried to whiten the finished top with Jacquard’s iDye color remover but to no avail. Ah, well… My ultimate solution was to give it to Ann and it fits her beautifully. Ivory is perfect for her. (Nope. I’m not a BIT jealous… Nope! Unh-uh.)

This was a very fun project! Loved the pattern. Simple. Classy. An easily adaptable canvas.

The yarn is a little scratchy to wear but it tolerated machine washing and drying. Further wash and wear may soften the hand of the linen. Wash in a lingerie bag and dry partially in dryer, then lay flat to finish the drying.