You can see the knitter did not knit the curved hem on the front. I have had quite a few customers do Paulina this way, essentially you knit two backs.

I like the way this yarn made the bottom edge wavy. It’s a cute little t-shirt type garment, easy to throw on over a tank to hide upper arms without adding too much heat!

On the right is the original done in Habu printed cotton gima.

For the size med you’ll need about 600 yards of the bottom color and 300 yards for the top. Sample was knitted in A-188 color 4 for the bottom and A-111 color 10 for the top.

Here’s what I did:

Undo bottom edge BO and rip back until body measures 8″ below underarm. Re-establish the side markers and work as est, inc 1 st each side of m’s (4 sts per inc row) every RS row 5 times, then every 4th row 6 times; 44 additional sts. Cont with no further inc’s and at the same time when body measures 14″ from underarm place pockets as follows:

On RS work edge sts, then k a further 9 sts, *place next 23 sts on hold and in their place CO 23 sts. Cont k around until 32 sts before edging, repeat from * for pocket, ending k9, work edge sts. Cont until body measures 24″ from armhole, working a bottom edging if desired, I did not. BO.

To finish pockets, work the 23 held sts in St st for 6 1/2″, BO. Follow tutorial for stitching them to the back of sweater. This mod required a further 2 1/2 skeins of Kathmandu Aran.

Enjoy!

The vote this time is between three early spring designs, two open-knit sweaters and a skirt. As usual, you have one week to vote for your favorite! The winner will be the first one written and posted on cocoknits.com.

Anna

Anna is knitted sideways from cuff to cuff on US 13 needles, in other words, a quick knit!  Ribbed sleeves give way seamlessly to a reverse stockinette stitch body with an asymmetrical hemline.  Great for adding coverage over a tank dress or t-shirt.  Sample knitted in Habu linen tape and nerimaki cotton.

Belle

Belle is also a quick knit on a US 9 needle.  She is actually a big rectangle  with cuffs but the placement of the neck and waist ribbing cause the rectangle to tilt and bias.  A fun sheer knit to add a bit of coverage in an interesting way.  Sample knitted in Habu cashmere and Shibui silk cloud.

Stella

Shown here with Louisa, Steffi is an easy, seamless skirt with concentric bands of reverse stockinette to add just a touch of interest at the hem.  A great layering piece to extend the length of tunics that aren’t quite long enough to be dresses.  Sample knitted in Shibui Heichi silk.

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Closed around the waist, open around the waist or up around the neck either open or closed… For this version the knitter added 10 sts to each front collar section (20 additional sts CO overall) to make a wider collar. Read more here on Ravelry.

The arm looks as big as what you encase it in…if you knit 3″ of ease into the upper sleeve, guess what? Your arm looks 3″ bigger around than it really is. For more on this, see The Sartorialist’s post on sleeves and knitwear, he’s talking about menswear, but the same goes for women… a fitted sleeve can drop 10 pounds off the figure.

This does not bother most thin, young women. But as we age we need all the help we can get! Compare the photos below:

Try knitting your upper sleeve with 0-2 inches added to your upper arm measurement. You don’t want negative ease, that’s not good, either! But a sleeve that just fits is the most flattering. Look at schematics to find the size that best fits your upper arm and knit to that measurement. The rule of thumb is the thicker the yarn, the less ease you want.

I used a US6 needle and the alpaca grew all over the place.  So after blocking while it was still damp I zipped it into a lingerie bag and put it in the dryer on regular heat. It fulled to perfection and is now my everyday, extremely warm “swoncho”!