Half-Assed Patterns

Maddy

Hullo! A bit of a disclaimer… this is my first garment design, and my first somewhat elaborate pattern. I did as best as I could with the pattern, but practice makes perfect and I don’t have much practice yet. So if you think that something looks wrong, or just confusing, please contact me. I’ll tweak the pattern as necessary.

Maddy is a seamless top-down raglan with lace detailing; hip-length, fitted to the waist and flared towards the bottom. The shape should flatter almost any body type, and the bust area is plain stockinette, making it very easy to add short rows/darts if necessary. It can be worn with a strapless bra, and should also be fine with a regular bra with clear or nude straps.

This pattern is suitable for an intermediate knitter, or an adventurous beginner. If you’ve ever done a top-down raglan before, and any kind of lace project, you should have no problems with this pattern. (And if you haven’t, and want to give it a try anyway, you can always contact me if you need help.)

See all my blog entries about this pattern.

Materials:

· Alchemy Silk Purse (100% silk, 163 yards per 50g skein), 4 skeins [note: I used older skeins of Silk Purse, newer ones only have 138 yards/skein, so check your yardage]
· US 4 24″ circular needles
· stitch markers, preferably in at least 2 distinct colours
· tapestry needle
· willingness to go slightly mad

Gauge:

22 sts/30 rows = 4″ in stockinette. (Be sure to wash/block your swatch, especially if you’re using silk – it grows like crazy.)

Pattern Notes:

Sizing:

The pattern is written to fit about a 34-36″ bust and 28-30″ waist. (See schematic for actual garment measurements.) However, I’ve included extensive info to size it up or down to fit your exact measurements. Click here for sizing info.

(Even if you’re making the given size, you might want to click that link anyway, just to see how everything works. It’s a good lesson in knitting-math and altering patterns, or alternatively, an excellent insomnia cure.)

Yarn Substitutions:

Obviously silk won’t be in everybody’s budget. I’d recommend a cotton/viscose blend; not too expensive and the viscose will give a nice sheen. Other good options are bamboo, mercerized cotton, or a silk or cotton blend – but really anything will work, as long as it’s not too heavy, and you’re satisfied with the drape.

Abbreviations:

m1l: pick up bar between the st you just worked and the next st, from front to back, k into back of picked up loop.
m1r: pick up bar between the st you just worked and the next st, from back to front, k normally into picked up loop.
sl1-k2tog-psso: slip 1 st knitwise, k2tog, pass slipped st over last st and off needle.
slm: slip marker.

Lace Pattern (English Mesh Lace):

Repeat of 6 + 1 sts.
Round 1 (and all odd rounds): k to end.
Round 2: begin with k1, *yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, rep from * to end.
Round 4: begin with k1, *yo, k1, sl1-k2tog-psso, k1, rep from * to end.
Round 6: begin with k1, *k2tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk, k1, rep from * to end.
Round 8: begin with k2tog, *k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, sl1-k2tog-psso, rep from * to last 5 sts, end with k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, ssk.

chart

Chart shows 3 repeats (due to row 8’s irregularity), 1 6-st repeat is highlighted.

Pattern:

Yoke:

CO 136 sts, place round marker, join.

Work 3 rounds of 1×1 rib, starting with a purl st.

On the next round, you’ll be placing section markers (SM) and lace markers (LM). Use different coloured markers to distinguish them. You may also want to make the round marker (RM) (which will double as a section marker) distinctive in some way.

K3, place LM, k40, place SM, k3, place LM, k22, place SM, k3, place LM, k40, place SM, k3, place LM, k to 1 st before RM, yo, k1.

The yoke is made up of lace sections and yarn over increases to form the raglan lines. On an increase round, you will do the first yarn over increase before the round marker, so that the yo holes on the back left corner line up properly. (This is why there will be one yo at the end of non-increase rounds.)

The lace markers will tell you when to start the lace pattern for that section. Stop the lace pattern when you reach the end of a 6-stitch repeat and there are less than 7 stitches between your place and the next section marker.

As you do the increase rounds, there will be more and more stitches between the section markers and lace markers. If you’re about to start an even round, and there are 7 stitches between the section marker and lace marker, it means you have room to add 12 more sts of the lace pattern to each section – 6 at the beginning, 6 at the end. In that case, use the “Even Rounds (When Adding Lace)” directions for that round.

(Clear as mud? It’ll be more intuitive when you actually start doing it.)

Odd Rounds: K, slipping all markers, to 1 st before RM, yo, k1. (Technically, you are working the odd rounds of the lace pattern, but since the odd rounds of the lace pattern are “knit”, well… yeah.)
Even Rounds: *K1, yo, k to next LM, slm, work appropriate row of lace pattern, stopping as directed, k to 1 st before SM, yo, k1, slm, rep from * 2 more times, k1, yo, k to next LM, slm, work lace pattern as directed, k to end.
Even Rounds (When Adding Lace): *K1, yo, place LM, work first 6 sts of lace pattern, remove LM, continue working lace pattern to 1 st before next SM, yo, k1, slm, rep from * 2 more times, k1, yo, place LM, work first 6 sts of lace pattern, remove LM, continue working lace pattern to 1 st before RM, k1.

Alternate even and odd rounds until you’ve completed 3 8-round repeats of the lace pattern, beginning on round 2 for the first repeat (you’ve already knit round 1 when you placed all the markers). 232 sts on needle.

In the next 4 rounds, you’ll be preparing to bind off the sleeves, while continuing the lace pattern in the front and back.

Round 1: K to end, removing the sleeve LMs (they will be the 2nd and 4th LMs).
Round 2: *K1, yo, k to next LM, work row 2 of lace pattern, stopping as directed, k to 1 st before next SM, yo, k1, slm, work in 1×1 rib to next SM, slm, rep from * 1 more time.
Round 3: *K to next SM, slm, work in 1×1 rib to next SM, slm, rep from * 1 more time.
Round 4: *K1, yo, k to next LM, work row 4 of lace pattern, stopping as directed, k to 1 st before next SM, yo, k1, slm, work in 1×1 rib to next SM, slm, rep from * 1 more time. 240 sts on needle.

Bust:

Round 1: K to first SM, remove marker, bind off all sts in purl to next SM, remove marker, k to next SM, remove marker, bind off all sts in purl to next SM, remove marker. 142 sts on needle.
Round 2: P to end of first section, CO 8 sts, place marker, CO 9 sts, p to end of second section, CO 9 sts, place marker, CO 8 sts. The second of the markers you just placed is your new RM. 176 sts on needle.
Round 3: P to end.
Round 4: P8, k to end.

Work in stockinette until garment measures 4″ from underarm, stopping 3 sts before RM.

Waist Decreases:

Similar to the increase rows in the yoke, a decrease row will start with a decrease before the RM, so that everything lines up nicely.

Decrease row: Starting 3 sts before RM, k2tog, k1, slm (RM), k1, ssk, k to 3 sts before next marker, k2tog, k1, slm, k1, ssk, k to end.

Work decrease row, then two rows stockinette. Rep these 3 rows 5 more times, for a total of 6 sets of decreases. 152 sts on needle.

Waist Detail:

At this point, the garment will be separated into 8 panels; 4 rectangular, 4 triangular, with 8 2-stitch purl columns separating the panels.

The triangular panels are stockinette, with increases every 8 rows. The front, right, and left rectangular panels are lace, and the back rectangular panel is stockinette. (All the rectangular panels can be either stockinette or lace, depending on your preference; the pattern is written for the above configuration.)

Starting at RM, k23. This will take you to the beginning of the back rectangular panel.

Round 1: *P29, k9, rep from * 3 more times. You can remove all markers on this round.
Round 2: Rep round 1.
Round 3: *P2, k25, p2, k9, rep from * 3 more times.
Round 4: *P2, work 1×1 rib, starting with a knit stitch, for 25 sts, p2, k9, rep from * 3 more times.
Round 5: Rep round 4.
Round 6: *P2, work 1×1 rib, starting with a knit stitch, for 25 sts, p2, k9, rep from * 2 more times, p2, work 1×1 rib, starting with a knit stitch, for 25 sts, p2. (You haven’t reached all the way to the back panel on this round, which is intentional… read on.)

You should now be able to see the purl columns starting to form; you will be using them instead of markers to gauge your place.

Lower Body:

From this point on, there is no exact start point for each round, but you can consider a round to start approximately in the center of the triangular panel between the left and back rectangular panels, and you can place a RM there if desired.

Round 1: K to 1 st before purl column, m1l, k1, p2, k to next purl column, *p2, k1, m1r, k to 1 st before next purl column, m1l, k1, p2, k to next purl column, rep from * 2 more times, p2, k1, m1r, k to end.
Round 2: K to purl column, p2, k to next purl column, *p2, k to next purl column, p2, work row 2 of lace pattern, rep from * 2 more times, p2, k to end.
Round 3: K to purl column, *p2, k to next purl column, rep from * 6 more times, p2, k to end.
Round 4: Rep round 2, substituting appropriate row of lace pattern.
Round 5: Rep round 3.
Round 6: Rep round 2, substituting appropriate row of lace pattern.
Round 7: Rep round 3.
Round 8: Rep round 2, substituting appropriate row of lace pattern.

Rep rounds 1-8 5 more times, for a total of 6 repeats. 200 sts on needle.

You are now done increasing, and for further repeats of the 8-round pattern, work round 1 using the instructions for round 3 (and all other odd rounds).

Continue the 8-round pattern 3 more times, or continue to desired length, stopping after an even-numbered round of the lace pattern.

Work 1 more round, following the instructions for round 3.

K to next purl column. Starting at the first st of the purl column, work 3 full rounds of 1×1 rib, starting with a purl st.

BO loosely in purl, weave in ends.