Twinkle patterns, man. As suggested by the project title - historically - they have been the cause of many a gritted tooth.

My swatch with the Size 19 needles was a bit too loose/open, so I decided to knit the entire tunic on Size 17. With a gauge of 10 stitches and 13 rows, I cast on 80 stitches for my 34-30-38 body. Used a marker to divide 38 stitches for the back and 42 for the front (13 stitch border, 16 stitch cable pattern, 13 stitch border). From there, I free-styled the remainder of the pattern: Decreased a wee bit of for the hips, added a few extra cable repeats, winged (wung?) the neckline and straps.

The end result is…not terribly flattering on my body. Between the chunky yarn and the seed stitch, my curves are almost entirely obscured. A belt is crucial. Still, it’s a very warm and cozy little thing. I may fall in love - or like, at least - yet.

The yarn was a gift from my mama. For an acrylic, it’s incredibly soft and looks great, all knitted up. I’ll be curious to see how it holds up to repeat wearings.