- Pattern: by Amy Polcyn, Interweave Knits Summer ’10
- Yarn: Elann Bella ( 37 wool/ 37 cotton/ 26 viscose rayon), “Coral Blush”, 783 yds
- Needles/Size/Gauge: 5.5 spi in lace wrap st on US 6, 4’s for the ribbing, 34″ bust
- Time to knit: ~5 weeks in June/July 2010, among other projects
Better late that never! Distracted by other projects, I languished on the finishing, but it’s finally done and I think it’s cute.
The pattern is fairly simple, no errata. I made a few modifications: I added an extra stitch to all the pieces above the ribbing, obtaining an odd number of stitches, so that the stitch next to each selvage stitch would be stockinette. I did this so I wouldn’t have to seam or pick up stitches next to the yarn over eyelets. I also disregarded the directions re: how many stitches to pick up for the bands. I picked up stitches on a 1:1 ratio across horizontal edges, 4:5 ratio on verticals, and eyeballed on the curves. I ended up with significantly more stitches than the pattern directed. The buttonband has a tendency to gape, so I sewed snaps in between the buttons. Also, I did a line of slip stitch crochet on the top and bottom of the buttonhole band, to make sure the edges were even.
I really like the yarn, it’s a thin sportweight in a practical fiber composition (cotton/wool), and it has a slight sheen from the viscose. The yarn has about 6 plies, tightly spun and and it’s easy to knit by touch. The knitted fabric is soft, light and drapey. The color is a nice warm pink/peach, about as close to orange as I can wear. It was fun to knit after several projects in blue and green. I’m glad to have another lot of “Bella” in a different color; it’s too bad this was a limited edition.
I love the vintage style and think the puffy sleeves are a darling design detail.
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