This design appealed to me because of the cool ruffle along the neckline. However, I didn’t want the excess fabric gathered over my abdomen. When I started, I wasn’t really sure how I wanted the bottom to look, so, I began with a provisional cast on and began knitting from the point above the gathers on up. I did raise up the neckline by about an inch since it was too low for me. After the top part was done, I knit the bottom part from the top down, trying it on as I went. I came up with 3 different variations for the bottom before finally settling on this simple version. It’s just regular hip shaping, and the bottom hem is 2 rows of purl, 1 row of knit, 2 rows of purl, and bind off in purl.

There is a minor error in the directions for finishing the armholes. If you finish the armhole before sewing up the side seam, you should knit a row before binding off, rather than purling. If you sew the side seam first, then you would join after picking up and then purl a row as stated.