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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Rosy Cotton Top

I have been trying for days to post here and the block where I need to write my post just wouldn't open. I finally realised that it was opening on "Edit HTML" and not on "Compose"?! Anyway here I am again.

We have finally settled on the name for my book, which should be on the shelves in May, it is - "A Knitting Aventure - with South African Yarn" and the Afrikaans one will be " 'n Brei Advontuur - met Suid Afrikaanse Wol". The original title was unfortunately too long :(  I will be getting the 2nd draft from the layout artist today or tomorrow and am looking very forward to seeing it with all the changes done. As soon as the cover is finalised I'll post it here.

In the meantime, I have a lovely pattern for a cool summer top to share with you. It can also be knitted in wool for a warmer winter version.

for a downloadable pdf - visit my Craftsy pattern store here


Cotton Top


The instructions given are for bust size 96 – 102 cm (38 – 40”) but if you want your garment bigger or smaller, alter the number of stitches and rows to obtain your required size. Remember that this top is meant to fit loosely.

Materials Required
300g ColourSpun 100% cotton DK in main colour available from ColourSpun Natural Designer Yarn
Other cotton yarn or ribbon for embellishment
4.5mm knitting needles
4.5mm crochet hook

Abbreviations
c/on = cast on
c/off = cast off
ch = chain stitch
K = knit
K2tog = knit 2 together
Sc = single crochet
St/s = stitch/es
Stst = stocking stitch
Yo = yarn over needle (each yo counts as 1 stitch)
On knit rows bring yarn to front of work and then over needle to knit next stitch

Tension
16 stitches and 22 rows = 10cm over stst

Instructions
Sides and Sleeves – work 2 identical pieces
Pattern – (over 10 rows) starting with a k row work 9 rows stst, k 10th row. Repeat.

C/on 155 sts and work 45 rows in pattern as set above
Next row: c/off 29; p 97; c/off 29. End and break off yarn.
Rejoin yarn to sts left on needle and continue in pattern as set; work 34 rows
Next row: c/off.

Back
C/on 36 sts and work 5 rows stst.
Next row : k5 (yo; k2tog; k4)x5; k1
Next 5 rows: stst
Repeat last 6 rows 16 more times
C/off.

Front
C/on 36 sts and work 5 rows stst.
Next row : k5 (yo; k2tog; k4)x5; k1
Next 5 rows: stst
Repeat last 6 rows 12 more times
C/off.

Assembly
Stitch back and front pieces to side pieces (see photos for reference).
Fold garment in half along shoulder line and complete sleeve and side seams.

Edging
Work edging around neck, sleeves and bottom.
Using either main or contrasting colour, work 2 rounds of sc around edge
Next round – [2sc; (1sc,2ch,1sc)into next st] to end.
Remember to decrease in each neck corner by skipping 1 or 2 sts on rounds 2 and 3 to keep your work flat.

Finish your garment by lacing contrasting yarn or ribbon through the holes in the back and front and winding the ends into a rose. Stitch to hold in place.



Enjoy!

24 comments:

  1. I like the top.

    And I always use Edit HTML section to handle my blog posts.

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  2. Hi ieva,

    Glad you like the top. I don't know why it won't let me write on "Edit HTML" there is a littls circle of flashing lines going round and round like something is trying to load but it doesn't stop. I noticed the Compose tab today and that works. Maybe I've managed to change some setting or something?

    Thanks for you comment.
    love Dana

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  3. Wonderful top, with a lovely neckline. The ribbon detail just sings to me. And how exciting about the book!

    Blessings...

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  4. Thank you, I really enjoyed making it.

    Lotsa love

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  5. I was looking for something cool and feminine to make for summer, and this pattern is just right. The ribbon touch really sets off the design. How clever!!

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  6. wish measurements were also in American standard as well as metric.set up to do my gauge swatch & had to stop, dig up reference book for conversion info.

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  7. Hi Sal, Thanks for your comment - that's a really good idea, I'll do the conversions and put them here on my blog.

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  8. where is the pattern for the sleeves?

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  9. Look under "instructions" - the sides and sleeves are worked together - you'll need 2 identical pieces

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  10. Tops very cute but can't you have a print friendly version. it is not necessary to have fifteen pages of comments. and unessecary adds not pretainning to the projects

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    Replies
    1. When you are printing, simply have the pages printed change to 1-3 or however many pages you want rather than hitting the print all. Hope that helps.

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    2. I used the print preview and choose pages 1-2 and it came out with the pattern and a few ads on the side.

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  11. I'm not sure how to do that but I'll try to find out.

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  12. I just love it and so proud of you. Your book is a treasure and I made that jacket that starts as a circle in the centre back! It's stunning.
    Gretchen in Kyalami Gauteng

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  13. Hi Gretchen, thank you I'm so glad you''re enjoying it. It would be lovely to have a photo to post on my blog.

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  14. If you want to print only the pattern without all the comments just right-click and choose "Print Preview". Then choose only pages 1 and 2 to print and you will get only the pattern. Simple computer printing trick!

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  15. I put aside some time this morning to try to find out how to do a print friendly version of my patterns and fortunately decided to check my mail first - thank you sooo much for the quick instruction above to whoever sent it, it has saved me a lot of time and others a lot of frustration, paper and ink!

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  16. I would love to make this but I am not so good at knitting that I know how many stitches to add to make it bigger, looking to make it for a 44 inch bust measurement.

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  17. I suggest that you add width by knitting more rows on the sides.
    Measure yourself and add the extra ease you want to the measurement.(A) Divide the measurement in half (B), this will give you the measurement for the back of your garment and the front of your garment. Knit the front and back centre sections first and measure the width of them (C)
    B minus C = D. D divided by 2 will give you the width of each side of your garment. The sides are knitted sideways so just knit the number of rows you need for your measurement before you cast off to work the sleeves.

    Hope that helps.
    Love Dana

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  18. I really like this sweater. Please make more with the loose arms. There are a large number of cancer survivors with lymphedema of arms that can not wear a regular sleeve.

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  19. A little help on the direction for how to 'bring the yarn in front of work and then over needle to knit next stitch" - sounds like a yarn over to me, but doesn't look like that.

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  20. Cute top! Is the size given in the pattern the finished bust size or the body measurement size? If body measurement, can you give finished measurements for pieces in assembly diagram? Also, if body measurement, I will need to make it smaller so the finished bust size is smaller. I should do this by using fewer stitches on the sides? Thanks for any help you can give!

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  21. The size given is body measurement. If you read the pattern, you will see that you can change the size easily

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