FO: Becky

Even though this color green isn’t all that flattering with my skin tone (not awful, just not great, either), I still love this top. So much so, that right after I finished weaving in the ends, I cast on for another one in purple.

I didn’t follow the pattern for the armhole shaping and edging – instead, I used a 6-stitch 1×1 rib at each armhole edge. Although I like out it turned out, I didn’t decrease enough stitches and the shoulders came out wider than I would have preferred. You can’t tell in the photo above, because I didn’t notice before the picture was taken that the fabric on the shoulder not hidden by my hair is turned under. This is actually the width I would have liked for it to have been. So when I make the second one, I’ll make the shoulder the “folded under” width.

I really like how the cables end in the little pleats, and I love the fabric. It has a nice drape and is comfortable to wear. The looseness over the stomach is always a bonus for those of us who don’t have flat bellies. I never had a flat stomach. Ever. And it sure isn’t getting any better with age.

I made the top quite a bit longer than the pattern indicated – adding two extra rows of garter stitch to the bottom (3 rows instead of 5), and about 1.5 inches of extra stockinette before the waist shaping.

The pattern only calls for waist shaping on the back piece (so that the front piece will be a little looser, I suppose), but I did the same waist shaping on the front as on the back.

Also, instead of splitting the cables before the armholes, I split them just afterward (2 cables higher than specified in the pattern). This lets me wear the top without another shirt or cami underneath.

Pattern: Becky, from Debbie Bliss Summer Essentials
Needles: Us 5 / 3.75mm
Size: Smallest plus 2 stitches each on front and back pieces
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Cathay, Apple Green, 6 skeins plus a few yards. I probably wouldn’t have needed the little bit extra from the 7th ball if I’d reused my swatch yarn, or made the top a couple of rows shorter.

Ravelry project page here.