Cecilia by Fang Bu

Cecilia

by Fang Bu
Knitting
January 2020
Fingering (14 wpi) ?
25 stitches and 12 rows = 2 inches
in lace pattern (see chart)
US 7 - 4.5 mm
US 9 - 5.5 mm
1350 - 1500 yards (1234 - 1372 m)
Women's XS but may be resized
English
This pattern is available as a free Ravelry download

Happy New Year, Ravelers!

As part of my New Year’s resolution to stop dropping creative pursuits in the name of career stay-afloatiness, I’m finally uploading Cecilia. (Note: I’ve worn her on at least 1 occasion since finishing her sometime this past summer, and she seems to have worked out quite well!)

Cecilia was loosely inspired by Cecilia Tallis and her backless finals dress from the Ian McEwan novel Atonement. She is a 1930s-esque tunic sweater that could’ve been a 1930s-esque backless gown if I were less lazy and/or invested in more yarn. The lace panels and sleeves are worked flat and rely on a charted pattern. The panels are joined, and the body is worked in the round in stockinette stitch up until the armholes, at which point the front and back are worked flat separately. The sleeves are optional and are grafted onto the armholes at the end. Per my usual MO, the overall pattern and gauge are more of a guideline, really, and the experienced knitter is strongly encouraged to alter as needed to achieve the right fit, length, degree of backlessness, collar height, sleeve-havingness, etc.

This is a free pattern for several reasons. First, as an amateur without a cadre of test-knitters, I always keep my patterns free due to the higher than normal risk for errata. Second, also due to lack of test-knitters, this pattern is only sized for me at the moment: I can suggest ways to resize, but having only made one garment cannot attest to the accuracy of said suggestions. Third, I purchased my yarn in a little attic shop in Manhattan many many moons ago and have since lost the specs, so all I really have to go on is “tweedy green fingering-weight with approximately 400-450 yards per 100-gram skein?” Since Ravelry requires a yarn suggestion, I picked Sonnet of the Moon because of the name and the relative closeness to the specs I had in mind (it definitely doesn’t look the same). You may speculate and substitute yarns accordingly, keeping in mind that your gauge may be drastically different from mine, but that may not be a bad thing unless you happen to have the same figure as me.

So after much ado and hot air, may I present Cecilia in all her glory? I hope you enjoy, and happy knitting in the new year!