BABY SILK CROP TOP designed by Phoenix Bess of www.phoenixbess.com Materials elann.com Peruvian Baby Silk [80% Baby Alpaca, 20% Silk; 25gm/109yds], knit with 2 strands held together throughout; Colors: 1477-Peridot; 7[7, 7, 9, 11] skeins and 2010-Raspberry; 7[7, 7, 9, 11] skeins 3 29 inch US 6/4 mm circular needle (Denise Needles recommended) 1 24 inch US5/3.75 mm circular needle 1 set US 6/4 mm double pointed needles (if desired) Notions: tapestry needle, stitch markers, waste yarn, elastic beading cord Gauge 18 stitches/29 rows = 4 inch over stockinette stitch, with 2 strands of yarn held together Sizes S-LONG[XS, S, M, L] (shown in S-LONG) Finished Measurements Chest: 32[30, 32, 36, 40] inches Arms: 24[21, 21, 21, 21] inches Length: 14[14, 14, 14, 14] inches Pattern Notes Weird Sizing: Phoenix designs her S-LONG for women like herself with really long arms and legs. Use the S-LONG sleeve length directions for a longer sleeve, even if you’re not a small! Ruffle extends past the wrist on all sizes. Magic Loop InstructionsMagic Loop substitutes for both circular knitting on short cables and double pointed needles. Cast on number of st, divide st in half and pull a length of cable out where they divide, sliding the yarn down to the ends of both needles. Hold needles parallel to one another in front of you horizontally with working yarn on needle in back. Pull out “back” needle (you now have two lengths of cable looping out in opposite directions) and bring it around to yarn on “front” needle and knit first half of st with working yarn. Turn needles to continue knitting with working yarn coming from “back” needle, making sure to pull out cable to maintain two-loop configuration at all times. Work across both needles to complete each round. We recommend The Magic Loop by Bev Galeskas. Crop Top Revisions For those of you who desire a little more tummy coverage, simply add 1-2 extra striping patterns at the beginning of body rnds. (each color is approximately equal to 1.5 inches for a raspberry/peridot striping pattern total of 3 inches) Directions: Body Cast on 144[136, 144, 160, 180] st with waste yarn and k (taking care not to twist st) for 1 inch in magic loop (or on a shorter circular needle with a marker at the beginning of first rnd for identification). Pick up pattern yarn and drop waste yarn. K in pattern yarn, starting with raspberry and k to 2 st from center 34[32, 34, 38, 43] stitches. P 4 st. Continue k rest of rnd (if you are working on short cord circulars, pm at center of total st – the two markers you place indicate “underarms” for the body and identify where you’ll put your decreases that follow). Work in striping pattern with 4 purled st centered on body front every rnd. Striping Pattern: K 10 rnds in raspberry, k 10 rnds in peridot Work for 5[4.5, 5, 5.5, 6] inches. *Inc (kf&b) 4 stitches (two st on either side of center of underarm markers), k 4 rnds* Repeat from * 2 more times 156[148, 156, 172, 192] st. Complete stripe containing last inc rnd. On first rnd of next stripe, break yarn and slip 6[6, 6, 7, 8] sts onto waste yarn; rejoin yarn, work 66 [62, 66, 72, 80] sts, break yarn and slip next 12 [12, 12, 14, 16] sts onto waste yarn. Work 66 [62, 66, 72, 80] sts and slip next 6 [6, 6, 7, 8] sts onto waste yarn. Sleeve (Make 2) Cast on 33[31, 33, 36, 42] st with waste yarn and k for 1 inch. Switch to pattern yarn and alternate 11 rnds of raspberry and 11 rnds peridot 2 x. *Inc 1st and last st of 2nd rnd of next stripe, k rest of stripe* Repeat from * 3 more times 41[39, 41, 44, 50] sts. K 7[5, 5, 5, 5] more stripes. On final rnd, k across st to within 12[12, 12, 14, 16] sts of end of rnd; break yarn and slip these sts to waste yarn. Keeping sleeve on circular needle, set sleeve aside to join later. Sleeve Ruffle Pick up sleeve sts at cuff with 29 inch needle and set up for knitting in magic loop. Cut away waste yarn and discard. With raspberry yarn work ruffle as follows: Rnd 1: K Rnd 2: Kf&b every other st Rnd 3: K Rnd 4: Kf&b every other st Rnd 5: K Rnd 6: Kf&b every st Rnd 7: K Rnd 8: Bind off VERY LOOSELY Yoke Note: Read through entire section before beginning. As you knit this round, both sleeves and the body will be joined together, preparing you to knit the yoke as one piece to the neckline. The underarm stitches left on waste yarn will be grafted later, so leave them behind for now. Lay the three pieces on a table and align each sleeve’s underarm sts with the corresponding underarm body sts. See how the sleeves and body will connect at the underarms on either side and the body sts on waste yarn equal the number of sleeve sts on waste yarn? Great! As you come to each sleeve needle, you will knit the sts on it with the long circular and the working yarn from the peridot ball. Pick up 29 inch circular needle on back of body, switch to peridot yarn and knit across the sleeve sts 29[27, 29, 30, 34], continuing across front of body (remember to purl 4 sts), and k the 29[27, 29, 30, 34] sts on the other sleeve, continuing across back. There will now be 190[178, 190, 204, 228] sts on your needle. Continue in pattern stripe for 3 inches, completing 2 more stripes. On first rnd of next stripe dec every *8, 8, 9* sts for 167[157, 167, 180, 201] total sts. Continue working stripe; on last rnd, k1,k2tog. From here discontinue working 4 purl sts in center front. Neckline On first rnd of neckline, switch colors and k1, k2tog. Work 2 more rnds in St st. Work as follows: Rnd 1: Kf&b of every st Rnd 2: Kf&b of every st Rnd 3: K Rnd 4: Kf&b of every st Rnd 5: Bind off loosely. Finishing Body Ribbing: With size 5 needle, pick up 144[136, 144, 160, 180] sts. Cut away waste yarn and discard. Join peridot yarn and on first rnd dec 14[13, 14, 16, 18] sts evenly. Do not p 4 sts in center of body front. Work k2, p2 rib for 2 inches. Bind off in k2, p2 rib loosely. Neckline Elastic: Thread your tapestry needle with beading cord and weave through sts at join of collar to last stripe on WS of garment. Adjust tension to suit and cut, leaving enough to tie a generous bow. Last Step: Cut all tails to 6 inches and weave in ends. Remove st markers and wet block garment, flat dry. Abbreviations: Abbreviations Approx approximately Beg begin(ning) CC contrast color Ch chain Cont continue Dec decrease f&b front and back Foll follow(ing) Inc increase K knit P purl MC main color Rep repeat RS right side Sl slip SC single crochet SSK sl next 2 sts knitwise, 1 at a time to RH needle; then insert LH needle through front of sts and k2tog. St stitch ST st Stockinette stitch tbl through back loop Tog together WYIB with yarn in back WYIF with yarn in front WS wrong side {} Work instructions inside brackets as many times as indicated outside brackets 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 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. Copyright 2006 © Phoenix Bess, www.phoenixbess.com