OhSewCrafty Blog

• Pattern: Fluttery Sleeve Top from Classic Elite’s Make it Modern, Spring 08
• Yarn: Sublime Soya Cotton DK, color 089 (pale yellow-green), 6.75 balls
• Size/Gauge/Needles: 34″ chest for zero ease/ 6 spi,8 rpi on US 4
• Time to knit: 10 days in May 09   

Oh my, I love this top! The bright, light color and lacy details say “spring/summer” to me. The yarn was fabulous, so soft, lofty and did not bother my hands at all, as cotton sometimes does, especially when being knit at smaller-than-recommended gauge. This is a rather thin dk and it worked fine at sportweight gauge, the fabric was still drapey.   I thought for sure I would run out of yarn, but I got away with about ~820 yds; the sleeves and neck trim don’t require much yardage.   One note, the fabric grew a ton after a soak and spin, so I had to spend some time molding it back to shape.  Thankfully, by the time it was dry, it had shrunk back down to size.  

The pattern was well written; I’ve knit two projects by Kate Gilbert and have been impressed by the pattern clarity and lack of errata both times. I made a few mods to suit my body- took some length off after the hip decreases, before the waist increases, since the length as written would be a tunic on me, not the look I wanted. I also raised the vneck to 3/4″ above the armscye, and did only 4 repeats of the neck lace, for modesty and work-appropriateness; I’d rather not layer this over a cami.  I did short row shaping on the shoulders and joined with a 3 needle BO. 

Camellia was a quick knit, just about 10 days, and the perfect antidote to another project which required a lot of time and attention.   It’s cool, light, comfortable, and feels divine against the skin.  Knitting success!