I have long admired Maria’s designs, and jumped at the chance to test knit this one. SO pretty and feminine!

Her sample was knit in an unusual weight of yarn. It’s somewhere between lace and light fingering. However, it will bloom with washing in a magical way. Since top-down and seamless is my favorite kind of construction (by far), there is really nothing not to LOVE about this design! Maria also has an awesome web site with lots of helpful tutorials. Check it out!

I do stranded work using both hands according to Tatyana’s method shown in this video. This results in no floats on the wrong side and no tangling of the 2 colors. This method only works in the round, but since I seldom knit flat, this is my method of choice for stranded knitting.

This top-down pattern is very unusual in that there are several gauges required for the garment to fit as intended. I knit the upper part (single color) with the size 4 US needle. After that, the designer adds quite a few increases in preparation for sleeve and yoke colorwork. Therefore, I had to go down to a size 3 US needle in order for the garment not to start looking “poofy” (with all the added stitches).

This difference in gauge results in a more open fabric in the areas where there is no colorwork. But this type of yarn is supposed to “bloom” after washing, so perhaps the difference will not be too noticeable in the end. The yarn is not consistent with regard to thickness. It varies from a lace weight in places to fingering in others. Overall, I would classify this as a light fingering weight.

I used a size 4 US needle for the plain part of the upper yoke and also the I-cord neckline bind-off. All other parts of the pullover were done with a size 3 US needle. The latter turned out to be too large for the intended sleeve gauge, but it would have been too hard to use a different size (smaller) needle for just the sleeves when working in the round at the same time as the yoke - especially with colorwork involved. Therefore, my sleeves are much more loose fitting than Maria’s sample. But they still look cute.

I did attempt to knit this garment with long sleeves initially since that was a requirement of the test. I switched to a size 2 US needle for the long sleeves. I did this at the point where you have finished the main part of the garment and then go back and resume knitting the sleeves. But in the end, the upper part of the sleeves (done on size 4 and then size 3 needles) was just too large and baggy for my skinny arms. After completing one sleeve and trying it on, I decided that the pullover would look very cute with short, puffy sleeves instead.

I forgot to count how many neckline stitches I picked up in preparation for the I-cord bind-off. I started at the center back and used a size 2 US needle (just for PICKING UP the neckline stitches). The pattern does not tell you to do this, but when I looked at the video tutorial linked in the pattern, I saw that there were already neckline stitches on a circular needle before the instructions started. (Note that you can also do an I-cord bind-off without picking up all the neckline stitches in advance, but it’s a much harder way to do it, in my opinion.) I picked up a stitch for each of the horizontal stitches at back and center front and approximately every other stitch for the rest of the neckline. I did the recommended 3-stitch I-cord with a size 4 US needle. The result looks very nice and tightened up the neckline a perfect amount. Prior to the I-cord, the neckline looked rather stretched out, so don’t be alarmed if yours looks the same at first.

There is a 3-inch wide split hem at the bottom. I used a size 4 needle to bind off in pattern.

How I did my short sleeves:

I continued the sleeves with the size 3 US needle, transferring the held stitches (88) from the blue ribbon. Instead of picking up 10 stitches in underarm area, I picked up 11 stitches for a total of 99 stitches for each sleeve. I added the extra stitch so that I would have an uninterrupted stitch pattern all around for the sleeve chart. I did ONE more repeat of the sleeve chart and then 3 plain, even rounds using only the lighter color (but carrying the darker color all around). Next round was a decrease round:

^(K2tog, K2tog, K1); repeat form ^ around. (60 sts)

Then I switched to a size 4 US needle for the 3-stitch I-cord bind-off. (Same as for neckline.) Join in the round with a tapestry needle and weave in ends.

Don’t be alarmed if the sleeves appear a tad loose after the decrease round. The I-cord bind-off will gather it in a little more even if you try to do it loosely. My sleeves turned out perfect, but I have skinny arms.

There was a snafu when I ordered this yarn online from Denmark. Either Holst Garn addressed the package incorrectly or the post office screwed up. It ended up sitting in a post office in Belgium for quite some time before it was “returned to sender” with a note that said, “insufficient address”. The sender confirmed that I had given them the correct address. Anyway, it took 2 months to receive my order. I do like the yarn which tends to stick to itself a bit, but the oil will wash out. It comes in many lovely heathered colors and is reasonably priced. (I did have to pay for shipping.) Fortunately, I ordered enough for another project at the same time.

Important note about washing this yarn/garment for the first time:

I used warm water and some liquid laundry detergent in preparation for blocking. (Mild detergent is necessary to remove the oil from the yarn which is not pre-washed.) I was very alarmed to see that the darker color bled a LOT in the sink full of warm water. I quickly removed the garment and had to rinse about 6 more times until the water ran clear. I think that some of the darker color was absorbed into the lighter color, but there’s still enough contrast. I don’t think that fading will be a problem in the future, but I would recommend NOT using warm water if you have combined a dark color with a light color in a single garment. Also, adding a touch of vinegar will help to set the color. I’m certainly glad that I did not let this garment soak in the washing machine for any length of time (where I can’t see the color of the water)! That might have been a disaster. You need to keep the garment moving in the water - especially during the first wash.

Leftover Yarn

Originally I purchased 4 balls of the dark color and 3 balls of the light color, thinking I would knit long sleeves. I had the following amount of yarn remaining after knitting short sleeves:

Sloe (darker color): 1.38 balls
Sweet Pea: 1.68 balls

Here’s link to where you can buy the yarn (English Web Site with prices in American Dollars).

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Marina Skua is a tech editor/moderator in this forum.