Summer Empire Waist Top
Gauge
Top band, size
5 ndls, 8 st = 1”
Bodice/Sleeves,
size 3 ndls 5.5 st and 9 rows = 1”
Body, size 3
ndls 4.25 st and 7 rows=1”
Made in size
small, dimensions 22” long, 10.5” bodice from top to contrast band, contrast
band 1.5”, body 10” long. Sleeves 7”. Top 17” wide each front and back, 13.5”
at waist, 18” at bottom each front & back.
Yarn:
(A) Valley Yarns Huntington, off white,
fingering weight, about 100 yards
(B) Berroco
Metallic, dark blue, sport weight, about 100 yards
(C) Valley
Yarns Prescott, white, sport weight, about 600 yards
Top band, worked flat:
CO 226 st,
work in Salt & Pepper pattern from Barbara Walker’s Second Treasury
Row 1 (RS):
with (B), *K1, slip 1 wyib, repeat from * to end
Row 2 (WS):
with (B), *K1, slip 1 wyif, repeat from * to end
Rows 3 &
4: repeat rows 1 & 2 with (A)
Repeat 4 row
repeat four times, total of 16 rows.
BO using
Two-Row Bind Off from Leslie Ann Bestor’s Cast On Bind Off with (A)
Row 1: *K1,
P1, pull K stitch over purl stitch, binding it off, repeat from * to end,
leaving all purl stitches on needle, turn work
Row 2: Slip
2 stitches purlwise, pull first st over second, binding it off, *slip next st
purlwise, pull first st over second, repeat from * to end, sew final loop down
to the knitting.
Sew
beginning and end together to make loop, taking care not to twist band.
Bodice and Top of Sleeves, worked in
the round:
Slip stitch
pattern:
Rows 1- 3:
*K3, slip 1 wyib, repeat from *
Row 4: K
across row
On cast on
end of top band, and using (C) with size 5 ndls, pick up and knit 168 stitches,
while placing markers as follows: place distinct marker for beginning of row,
work 2 st, pm, work 19 st(sleeve), pm, work 5 (raglan), pm, work 55 st (front),
pm, 5 st (raglan), pm, 19 st (sleeve), pm, 5 st (raglan), 55 st (back), pm, 3
st, joining to beginning of row to work in the round. Change to size 3 ndls.
Increase
round: K2, sm, m1, K to marker, m1, sm, K5, sm, m1, work to next marker in slip
stitch pattern, m1, sm, K5, sm, m1, K to
next marker, m1, sm, K5, sm, m1, work to next marker in slip stitch pattern,
m1, sm, K3
Plain round:
K all raglan and sleeve stitches, slipping markers as you come to them, working
front & back in slip stitch pattern
Repeat
increase round followed by plain round 12 times, 24 rows total. Work even
(plain rounds) to 6”, then divide for body and sleeves as follows: slip
beginning of row marker, K2, sm, K to marker, place sleeve stitches just worked
onto waste yarn and remove marker at
beginning of sleeve, work front in slip stitch pattern, remove marker
and incorporate the following 5 raglan st into the slip stitch pattern, pm for
side, place next sleeve stitches onto waste yarn, remove marker, incorporate
following 5 raglan st into slip stitch pattern and continue slip stitch pattern
on back, incorporating final 3 st into slip stitch, removing remaining markers,
and rejoin for working in the round for the bodice.
For
remaining bodice, work 1 stitch KTBL after both start of row and alternate side
marker, and the remaining stitches all in slip stitch pattern, work even for 40
rows.
Empire waist:
Change to
(B) and knit 2 rows, decreasing 30 st evenly across first row (138 st). Knit 4
rows in (A), then 2 rows in (B). Knit 1 row in (C) then change to body stitch
pattern.
Body:
[KTBL, *P1,
K2, repeat from * to 1 stitch before side marker, P1, sm] for both front and
back. Increase 1 stitch purlwise on each side of the twisted stitch on both
front and back (4 stitches increased every increase row) every 8 rows a total
of 6 times, 24 stitches increased, 162 stitches total. Then work even to a
total of 9” from the bottom of the contrast band, about 57 rows total in body
pattern. BO in two-row bind off pattern.
Sleeves:
Place held
stitches onto size 3 ndl, with right side facing. With (C) work 4 rows of K1,
P1 ribbing, leaving the underarm from the body unworked, just working the held
stitches back and forth, then BO in ribbing loosely.
Weave in all
loose ends, taking care to hide the dark blue yarn away from the white or cream
to prevent “bleed through” to the front.
Abbreviations:
BO = bind
off
KTBL = knit
through the back loop (twisting the stitch)
m1 = make 1
ndls =
needles
pm = place
marker
RS = right
side
sm = slip
marker
st =
stitch(es)
WS = wrong
side
wyib = with
yarn in back
wyif = with
yarn in front
