I absolutely LOVE Irene LIn’s designs. SO feminine and comfortable to wear. The lace in this is exquisite and further enhanced by using two colors. I used two colors in both the yoke and the bottom lace band.

Please note that this design has a huge amount of positive ease. For example, I chose to knit the second size which has a body circumference of 60.75” (154 cm). My hips measure about 36” (91 cm), so that means that my top has 24.75” (63 cm) of ease! That’s a LOT of positive ease! Therefore, make sure you choose a yarn that’s lightweight and has a good amount of drape.

Also, please note that the sizing of this pattern changed during the testing. For example, the size 2 that I knitted is now equivalent to the size 3 in the final pattern. If I had this to knit over, I would choose a size or two smaller for myself. But this one should fit my sister-in-law quite well. The designer also made some other changes to the final pattern to improve the fit. My notes below, therefore apply to the first, unpublished version of the pattern.

What I did differently:

• I used two colors in the yoke area. Instructions for doing this are included in the final version of the pattern.

• I did not cast on with a smaller needle because I have very broad shoulders. I used the same size needle (3 US) to cast on as I used for the body. The i-cord neck and armhole trim will tighten up the neck a bit, if necessary.

• I did some extra short rows in the front for several reasons. First, I have a large head and I was afraid I might not get my head into the neck opening if I followed the pattern instructions - especially after the i-cord binding is added. Secondly, this will be a summer top for our very hot climate, so I wanted a lower neckline. And lastly, the higher neckline causes the top to ride up in front at the bottom. This is a design feature and it will be even more exaggerated if you have a large bust. I’m not a fan of uneven hemlines, so I did two additional sets of short rows (fronts only) before joining fronts to back. This did not increase the amount of stitches under the arms - only the number of rows in front. I just followed the directions for the short rows in the pattern except that I did them three times in succession instead of one time. You may need some extra yarn in the main color if you choose to do this.

• I only cast on 4 stitches under each arm (when joining front and back) instead of the 9 stitches called for in the pattern for my size. This was because I didn’t need the extra stitches in that area. But I did increase 5 additional stitches on each side (1 stitch each side every inch for 5 inches) until I had reached the correct number of stitches for my size (391 sts). It’s important to end up with the number of stitches in the pattern in preparation for the bottom lace border. Note that if you follow the pattern, you’ll have 392 sts around for the body and then are told to decrease 1 stitch before starting the lower lace band. So the result will be the same as what I did.

Although Ravelry classifies the Knit Picks Lindy Chain yarn as being fingering weight, it’s thicker than most fingering weight yarns due to its chain construction. Therefore, I only got about 3.5” (9 cm) of length per ball in the straight sections of the body (391 total sts per round). So if you use this yarn and do not use a contrasting color in the yoke, you may need more than 6 balls of the main color for this size garment. If I knit this again, I would not choose the Lindy Chain yarn because the linen makes it a bit stiff. However, I know it will soften up with washing. Also, it’s nearly impossible to knit from a center pull in the ball of this yarn. Most likely you’ll end up with a tangled mass of yarn.

Measurements:

Width of the bottom lace band = 5” / 12.7 cm
Armhole depth = 7” /17.8 cm
Length from underarm to bottom edge = 16” / 40.6 cm (11” + 5” lace border)
Depth of V-neck = 7” / 17.8 cm