ARAN WEIGHT LACE CROPPED CARDIGAN Designed by Ann Cannon-Brown and Michelle Ciccariello This cardigan is worked top-down, with no seams! The body is worked in one piece, in Horseshoe Lace, knitting back and forth on a circular needle, and the sleeves are worked in the round in Milanese Lace. Experience Level: Experience with lace knitting and with adjusting patterns to suit your own measurements recommended. Size and Yarn Requirements elann.com Peruvian Sierra Aran, for finished bust of 40" and a finished length of 17" (as pictured), 7 balls. Sizing for lace garments is very fluid, and can be changed to suit at the blocking stage, keeping in mind that blocking will add more length than width. Size can also be changed as described in the knit-to-fit instructions below. If you knit-to-fit, simply increase or decrease your yarn requirements, according to the percentage you adjust the finished bust. e.g. if you were to make the bust 44" wide, rather than 40", you would calculate that 44" is 10% wider than 40" (44 divided by 40 = 1.1), so you would need 10% more yarn – i.e. 8 balls, rather than 7. Needles, Stitch Markers, and Beads • Start with a 5mm (US 8) circular needle, and then change to a 5.5mm (US 9) needle at start of second ball of yarn, then to a 6.0mm (US 10) needle at start of 3rd ball, and then finish the remainder of the cardigan with a 6.5mm (US 10 1/2) needle. For finished bust size 40", the first 3 balls will take you to the underarms, and the remaining 4 balls, knit on 6.5mm (US 10 1/2) will complete the sleeves and underarms to bottom of the body. • One medium sized crochet hook to finish front and neck edges (approx size 5mm, J, US 10). • Stitch markers in two colors – Color A to mark divisions between fronts, sleeves and back of cardigan, and Color B to mark stitch repeats in lace patterns. • Depending on width of finished bust, approx. 12 – 18 beads for points at bottom edge of body. 14 small brass beads were used for cardigan as pictured. • One larger matching bead for front neck closure Lace Stitches Used in this Pattern Note On Absorbing Increases Into a Lace Stitch Pattern Work across in the lace pattern until you are approaching an increase marker. When you get to a point where you do not have enough sts left for one more repeat of the stitch pattern, place another marker. All the sts between here and the increase marker are in queue, to be worked in stockinette, except for the last one, which will be an increase (work-f&b into that st). Now count the number of sts between the queue marker and the increase marker. Begin after the increase marker with an increase, then work plain stockinette until you have the same number of sts as were in queue before the increase marker. Place a marker. When you have increased enough times so that the stitches in queue equal another repeat of the stitch pattern, remove the extra markers and knit the sts in pattern. Repeat this cycle. Horseshoe Lace (Knitted Flat - Barbara Walker, First Treasury, pg 209) Mltpl of 10, + 1 edge st necessary at beg of all RS rows. R1 & 3 (WS): P R2: *yo, K3, sl1-k2tog-psso, K3, yo, K1*, rep from * to *. R4: *K1, yo, K2, sl1-k2tog-psso, K2, yo, K1, P1*, rep from * to *. R5 & 7: *K1, P9*, rep from * to *. R6: *K2, yo, K1, sl1-k2tog-psso,K1, yo, K2, P1*, rep from * to *. R8: *K3, yo, sl1-k2tog-psso, yo, K3, P1*, rep from * to *. Horseshoe Lace Pointed Bind Off (Mutpl of 10): Each point begins with 10 sts or Horseshoe repeat, and is worked separately, based on above patt, but with yo's omitted. For Each Point: (over 10 sts) R1, 3, 5, and 7: P R2: K3, sl1-k2tog-psso, K4 (8 sts rem) R4: K2, sl1-k2tog-psso, K3 (6 sts rem) R6: K1, sl1-k2tog-psso, K2 (4 sts rem) R8: sl1-k2tog-psso, K1 (2 sts rem) R9: p2tog Break yarn and sew bead at end of point, as pictured, if desired. Milanese Lace: (Mltpl of 6) Barbara Walker, Second Treasury, pg 283-284 (This pattern has been re-written for circular knitting) R1: *K4, K2tog, yo* R2: *K3, K2tog, K1, yo* R3: *K2, K2tog, K2, yo* R4: *K1, K2tog, K3, yo* R5: *K2tog, K4, yo* R6 : *yo, K4, K2tog* R7 : *K1, yo, K3, K2tog* R8 : *K2, yo, K2, K2tog* R9 : *K3, yo, K1, K2tog* R10: *K4, yo, K2tog* Picot Bind Off: (Multiple of 3 sts + 2) BO 2 sts, *sl rem st on RH needle onto LH needle, CO 2 sts, BO 4 sts*; rep from * to * to end, then fasten off remaining st. Neck and Raglan Shoulder Shaping • With 5mm (US 8) circular needle, and first ball of yarn, CO 72 sts. for the neck. • Purl row 1, dividing into raglan spacing by placing Color A markers after 13, 23, 49, and 59 stitches. You should have 13 stitches at the beginning and end of your needle (2 fronts), 10 stitches for each sleeve, and 26 stitches across the back. With ball number one, you will be working back and forth across your circular needle, knitting the fronts, back and 2 sleeves all in one piece. • With RS facing, beginning at R2 of patt, begin working back and forth in Horseshoe Lace, keeping in mind that you will be starting the lace pattern over anew at each section of the sweater, and that you will knit in plain stockinette whenever there are not yet enough stitches for a repeat of the Horseshoe Lace. At R2, use color B markers to denote 10 st repeats of Horseshoe Lace between each section of the sweater as follows: K1, pm, patt 10, PM, k2(right front); pm, patt 10, pm (right sleeve); k3, pm, patt 10, pm, patt 10, pm, k3 (back); pm, patt 10, pm (left sleeve); k2, pm, patt 10, pm, k1 (left front). • Work all odd-numbered rows as inc rows: Work front and back of stitches before & after each increase marker, total of 8 inc sts. You will increase 8 sts EOR until you reach the armpits. • Switch to 5.5mm (US 9) needle at start of second ball of yarn, then to a 6.0mm (US 10) needle at start of 3rd ball. Continue until you reach the armpits. Knit-to-Fit The best way to determine the length to the underarm is to measure from the neck to the armpit of the person who will be wearing the sweater, then add an inch for ease. (Example: for a child of about 5 or 6, this will be reached at about 6.5 inches, and that is where the increasing stops. For a size medium woman, the armpits plus ease will be reached at about 10 or 11 inches, so the increasing in the arms and across the back will continue for longer than it had for the child.) This is where all of your size adjustment is determined. It is very easy to try the sweater on during this part of the process (if your needle is too short, move most of your stitches onto a longer needle or a length of narrow ribbon). You will also want to check your gauge at this point and determine how many inches you have across the back; check this number against the desired finished bust/chest size you are aiming for, and make sure you have achieved half the total chest size. If not, keep on knitting until you get up to the size you need. Trying on the garment at this point allows to decide how much ease you prefer between your actual bust/chest measurement and the finished chest measurement – depending on the preference of the wearer, a finished bust/chest 2 to 4" wider than the wearer's actual bust/chest is usually a comfortable ease. Note: Ideally, you will end at a point where the number of stitches you have on your needles for the back and 2 fronts of your cardigan add up to a multiple of 10, plus 2 (i.e. 1 edge stitch at each center front, and no other remainder stitches between Horseshoe repeats at the underarms). This will make it easy to knit evenly sized and evenly spaced Horseshoe Points at the bottom edge of the body. Alternatively, a multiple of 10 sts, plus 6 will also work nicely (i.e. 1 edge stitch at each center front, and 1 remainder stitch at either side of each underarm). You are going to finish the sleeves first, then come back and do the body. The sleeves are less cumbersome when the body is not in the way. Transfer the stitches across the back of the body and across the front of the body to a length of narrow ribbon or something similar to wait while you knit up the sleeves. Sleeves, from Armpits to Cuffs: Move back halves of both sleeves to one circular needle and front halves to a different circular needle. Use a separate ball of yarn for each sleeve. Note: If knitting 2 sleeves on 2 circs is not your thing, you can knit each sleeve separately on dpns or a short circular needle. Choose whichever method suits you best. Knit sleeves in rounds of Milanese Lace now, decreasing 1 st on each side of the armpit, every 4th round. Keep 1 Color A marker at each underarm, and reposition Color B markers around each sleeve to denote 6 stitch repeats of Milanese Lace. If you have remainder stitches, over and above a number divisible by 6, divide these evenly at either side of the underarm and work in stockinette until they are decreased away. For a slightly belled sleeve, as pictured, above, stop decreasing after about 6-8", at a point where stitches are evenly divisible by 6 (i.e. you have no remainder stitches). Continue knitting even to desired length, and finish by knitting first and last stitch of round tog (to make lower edge a multiple of 3 sts +2), than cast off loosely in Picot BO Stitch. Main Body, From Armpits to Bottom Edge: Pick up back and front stitches from ribbon. Continue knitting down for approx. 4", or desired length, working even in Horseshoe Lace, as established. Finish in Horseshoe Lace Pointed Bind Off. Each point will be worked over 10 stitches of the Horseshoe patt. Work in 1 edge stitch at each center front and any remainder stitches between repeats by knitting 2 sts together at start. Finishing: Graft underarms. With medium sized crochet hook, beg at lower right front edge, and crochet 1 row sc to neck, chain 8, or desired length for button loop, then continue sc around neck edge, then down left front to lower left front edge. Sew large bead and left front for button closure. Wet block to desired finished measurements. Abbreviations: Approx - approximately, beg - begin(ning), BO - bind off, CC - contrast color, cm - centimeter, cn - cable needle, CO - cast on, cont - continue(ing), dec - decrease, EOR - every other row, ER - every row, es - edge stitch, inc - increase, k - knit, L - left, MC - main color, meas - measures, mm - millimeters, P - purl, patt - pattern, pm - place marker, psso - pass slip st over, rem - remain, rep - repeat, Rev - reverse, R - right, rnd - round, RS(R) - right side (row), sc - single crochet, SKP - slip 1, knit 1, psso, s - slip, SSK - slip, slip, knit - slip next two stitches knitwise, one at a time, to right-hand needle. Insert tip of left-hand needle into fronts of these stitches, from left to right. Knit them together. One stitch has been decreased, st st - stocking stitch, st(s) - stitch(es), tbl - through back loop, tog - together, WS(R) - wrong side (row), wyib - with yarn in back, wyif - with yarn in front, yb - yarn back, yf - yarn forward, yo - yarn over. Please note this pattern is copyrighted material and the entire contents of this pattern are copyrighted as a collective work under the copyright laws of Canada and the United States. You may print a copy of this pattern for your own personal use and enjoyment, but editing, publishing, transmitting, e-mailing, posting it to a list service or database, or otherwise commercially exploiting this pattern is strictly forbidden. Michelle Ciccariello