Desired measurements
BUST: 50 to 52 inches
LENGTH: 23 or more inches
SLEEVE: circumference ~ 18 1/2”; length 16” or less (7/8 or 3/4 length sleeves are fine which is why this is being made top-down.)
NECK: 20 1/2” around
YOKE DEPTH: 10”
ARMHOLE DEPTH: 9 1/2 TO 10” You’d think yoke and armhole depth would be the same, but not quite. It depends on where the neckline is.

Yarn: This yarn has been in my stash for a while, tagged for a summer cardigan. It is very nice to knit with and can take being ripped out repeatedly without fuzzing up. Good thing, since I keep changing my mind.

Design: Having yet again changed my mind, I’m back to knitting this top-down, using the leaf pattern from Gwenevere, and the German short row technique from Matcha Latte, but the neckline will be higher and ribbed above the leaf pattern, and the button-and buttonhole bands will be picked up and knitted on a smaller needle to be tighter.

Since just plain Stockinette st would eventually bore me, I’m incorporating Daisy Stitch which is in BW 1 on page 153. It didn’t affect gauge, and the swatch was the same both before and after washing. It was laid flat to dry unpinned. I think knowing what gauge is both before and after washing is important. The Daisies are more spaced out than shown in BW 1: every 8th row and 7 sts between each Daisy, as in the above swatch, and offsetting the Daisies on every other 8th row. The Daisy is made on WS rows, p3tog, then yrn, P1 into the same st.

Using finer yarn than Gwenevere calls for, and having the neckline higher, it ended up with the stitch count for the 2nd largest size when the leaf yoke was done.

Knitting it: The cardigan starts with 1/1 rib at the neckline with 2 St sts at the start and end of the rows for selvages. (The first and last sts will be used up when picking up for the button- and buttonhole bands, still leaving a St st along each edge so it looks nice with the leaf patt.) 139 sts (multiple of 9 sts for leaf patt, plus 4 sts for 2 selvage sts on each edge) on US 2 (2.75 mm), working the rib K sts tbl, for 6 rows or about 1/2 inch long.

TRANSITION ROW (RS): Change to US 4 (3.5 mm), K 2, P to last 2 sts, K 2.

Begin the 22-row leaf chart which starts with a WS row.

After Row 22 (RS) of the chart, on next row (WS) P 2, K to last 2 sts, P 2. 241 sts on the needle after the Leaf pattern is completed. Yoke depth 2 1/2 inches.

Next, I needed to make some calculations so I’d know how many sts need to be inc’d, referring to Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Top-down Sweaters. Since the gauges in the book for are even numbers of sts/inch and mine is 6.5 spi, I averaged the counts for 6 spi and 7 spi to arrive at 481, allowing for starting with an odd number of sts. 481 sts calculates to 74”.

Desired # of sts at bottom of yoke: 481
Less # of sts at bottom of leaf patt: 241
Number of sts to be increased: 240

Since calculating for raglan incs is easier, I did that.

Number of sts to be inc’d divided by number of inc sts per row = number of inc rows.
240 / 8 = 30 inc rows X 2 since inc rows will be every other row = 60 rows.

Number of rows divided by row gauge = length
60 / 9 = 6 2/3 inches in depth.

6 2/3 + 2 1/2 = 9 1/6 inches depth, but I’ll make it closer to 9 1/2 or 10 inches deep.

YOKE SHAPING BELOW THE LEAF PATTERN
The Leaf chart pattern ends with a RS pattern row and is followed by KNITTING (not purling) a WS row. To make the following row easier, place markers for the raglan lines as follows:

P2, K 38, pm, K 43, pm, K 75, pm, K 43, pm, K 38, P 2. 2 + 38 + 43 + 75 + 43 + 38 + 2 = 241 sts total.

The Yoke Shaping now becomes a multi-tasking event, like walking, chewing gum and humming. Don’t trip! : )
1) Raglan incs every RS row, including short rows.
2) Short row-shaping
3) Daisy St for texture

On the next row (RS), change to Stockinette st (K on RS, P on WS), and begin incs to be made every RS row, lifting the strand between sts to make Right-leaning incs before the raglan lines, and Left-leaning after.

Row 1 (RS): ^ K to 1 st before marker, M1R, K 1, sm, K 1, M1L; rep from ^ 3 times more, K to end of row. 8 sts inc’d. Continue these incs on every RS row.
Row 2 (WS): Purl.
Begin Short Rows – remember to continue raglan incs
Row 3: K to 2 sts before last marker, make double stitch as for German short row, turning work.
Row 4: P to 2 sts before last marker, make dbl st, turning work.
Row 5: K to end of row, working dbl st as 1 st. (NOTE: Although no new dbl st is made, the row is not all the way from one end of the needle to the other.)

Before working the next row, place temporary markers for Daisy St, spacing them 5 sts in from selvages, at least 2 sts away from raglan lines, and with 7 sts between Daisies.

Row 6: P, making Daisies, removing the markers for them as you come to them, and working the dbl st as 1 st. (This is the only row that goes from one end of the needle to the other.)

Row 7: K to 5 sts before last dbl st on RS row, make dbl st, turning work.
Row 8: P to 5 sts before last dbl st on WS row, make dbl st, turning work.
Row 9: K to end of row, working dbl st as 1 st.
Row 10: P to end of row, working dbl st as 1 st.
Row 11: Rep Row 7.
Row 12: Rep Row 8.
Row 13: Rep Row 9.
Row 14: Rep Row 6.

Repeat rows 7 thru 14 for 4 more times. Total of 6 pairs of short rows worked. You will notice that for every row of Daisies in the BACK, there are 8 rows between them, but in the FRONTS there are only 4 rows. This is due to the short rows lengthening the BACK.

Continue only the raglan incs and Daisy St, making Daisies every 8th row until there are 481 sts on the needle.

August 16, 2021 - Short rows for back completed.