2025-02-06

This one was an interesting pattern. One major point to note is that the side lace chart is different in the kids version of the pattern versus the adult. The adult chart is what all the pattern’s sample photos show. So when I knit it up the first time I was really confused as to why it looked nothing like what I was expecting. I think the baby sizes could benefit from the kid-chart, but for the 7 year old size there was absolutely no reason to not use the adult version. And there were practically no tweaks to the instructions to plug it in.

Also, the default height that the pattern advised from the bottom hem to the armpit was wildly out of proportion to the look of the (adult) sample photos. For mine the pattern said 22 cm but I actually knit it to 38 cm (note that the adult chart still fit even if I’d stopped at 22). I also added some additional decreases up the back so the gathers would not be quite as aggressive.

All in all the top is really cute! I did find the pattern a bit fiddly in places; be sure to read ahead before barreling through line by line. Watch out for “while doing the above, also do this” instructions when you get up to the front/back arm holes and neckline. I think I ended up frogging about 10-20 hours of work due to various issues from bottom to top.

Total time: 84 hrs, 57min