DK WEIGHT BOLERO by Michelle Ciccariello knit by Barbara Buchanan Experience Level: Intermediate to Experienced. Size and Yarn Requirements: 7 balls of elann.com Peruvian Quechua. Model garment is pictured in elann.com Highland Silk (DK weight – 21-22 sts/4" - 122 yards per 50g ball), which is not available this season, but Quechua is exactly the same weight and yardage as Highland Silk, and makes an excellent substitute. Garment pictured has a finished bust of 48", and a finished length of 18". 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 and designer's notes 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 40" wide, rather than 48", you would calculate that 40" is 17% smaller than 48" (40 divided by 48 = .83), so you would need 17% less yarn – i.e. 6 balls (7 x .83), rather than 7. Other Materials: - 4.5mm (US 7) circular, or size necessary to obtain gauge - A second circular (or dpns or 16” circulars) of same size for working sleeves - 4 ring markers, color A, to mark increase points. - Multiple ring markers, color B, to mark repeats of lace pattern. - Multiple ring markers, color C, to mark queue stitch sections. - Stitch holders (or narrow ribbon). Gauge: Measured over Snowflake Eyelet pattern, using 4.5mm (US 7) needles, 15 sts = 5" and 22 rows = 4". Lace Stitch Patterns Used: Snowflake Eyelet (mltpl of 8 +5) R1 & all WS: purl if rows, knit if rounds R2: k4, *ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3, rep., end k1 R4: k5, *yo, S2KP, yo, k5, rep. R6: repeat R2 R8: knit R10: ssk, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, *k3, ssk, yo. k1, yo, k2tog, rep. R12: k1, *yo, S2KP, yo, k5, rep., end k1 R14: Repeat R10 R16: knit This Bolero is worked from the top-down. You will be knitting two sleeves and a back, plus partial fronts, which taper off very quickly, and then edging with seed stitch and crocheted shells. Cast On: You will be casting on 2 sleeves and a back, and designating the back with 2 stitch markers. The stitches on either side of the back will become the sleeves. You'll also place a stitch marker one stitch in from each end. These designate the end of each sleeve and allow a 1-stitch edge on each side from which to grow the neck fronts. You'll be knitting back and forth to build up a few inches on each side of the front, then casting on the remainder of the neck and joining to knit in rounds. CO 35 sts, place markers after 1, 8, 27, and 34 sts. These markers divide your work as follows: 1 front st, 7 sleeve sts, 19 back sts, 7 sleeve sts, 1 front sts. (If sizing for a child, CO 25 sts; place markers after 1, 6, 19, and 24 sts. These markers divide your work as follows: 1 front st, 5 sleeve sts, 13 back sts, 5 sleeve sts, 1 front st.) From Neck Down to Underarms (Knit to Fit): • All RS Rows: K-f&b before & after each marker, and at the beginning and end of every 4th row (i.e.: Every Other RS row) • All WS Rows: Purl or reverse-knit across, as required by lace pattern. • Any stitches that are left over will be worked in stockinette until you have built up enough increased sts to add another repeat of the lace pattern. • Knit the beginning in plain stockinette, and begin lace stitch pattern when you have enough stitches for one repeat of the lace • When you have enough stitches added to the sleeve or front sections to begin snowflake pattern (+1 st on each end of section for working increases), wait until the next time the back section is on Row 2 or Row 10 to begin lace pattern on any other section. (This way all of your snowflake motifs will be whole, and all of your work will always be on the same row, which will give you a nice, neat alignment when you join the body at the underarms.) • Continue knitting, watching the raglan increase lines grow towards the underarms (to determine correct length, measure the vertical distance from the neck to the underarm of the wearer, then add one inch for ease (this is usually 4-8 inches for kids, 10-12 inches for Ladies' S-M-L, and 14-16 inches for plus sizes). Garment, as pictured, measures 12" from neck to underarm. • Continue knitting until stitches across back section (between your center two increase markers) equal half of total needed for chest measurement. (Keep in mind that the lace will stretch when blocked, so stretch it when you measure.) Garment, as pictured, measures 24" across the back section from underarm to underarm, for a finished chest measurement of 48". • Move the back's stitches to a stitch holder or a length of narrow ribbon, and the front's stitches to a separate stitch holder or length of narrow ribbon. • You are going to finish the sleeves before returning to the back, because it is easiest to knit the sleeves when there is nothing else in the way. Sleeves: • Move sleeve-backs (underarm to back of shoulder) to one circular needle, and sleeve-fronts (underarm to front of shoulder) to a second circular needle (or use dpns or a 16” circular and knit each sleeve separately). • Using a different ball of yarn for each sleeve, knit around once, casting on 2 sts at the underarm-side of each sleeve-half • Knit around in the same lace pattern for about 5 inches, then begin decreasing 1 st ea side of underarm every 4th rnd., just until the stitch count fits the lace pattern with no queue stitches leftover (any multiple of 8 +5), then continue to Ύ (or as desired) length. • Finish the ends using any loose edging or lace. The sample garment shown uses 6 rows of seed stitch, bind off, then crochet: 1 sc, sk1, 3 dc, sk1, rep., and its finished sleeve length is 21" from neck to bottom edge of sleeve, including edging. Back and Fronts: • Pick up and knit front sts from one side, underarm sts (the 4 extra sts you cast on for sleeve), back sts, the other underarm's stitches (the 4 extra cast-on sts), then the sts from the other front. You should have no underarm holes: ALL underarm sts should be on the needle with everything else, and the underarm sections should fit smoothly into your lace pattern. If more stitches are needed at each underarm, pick up and knit extra stitches at each underarm, or if fewer stitches are needed, knit some of the old queue sts on either side of the underarm together. • Continue the Snowflake lace pattern. • Knit back and forth, in rows, for about 1 inch, with no increasing or decreasing. • Then knit back and forth, in rows, binding off 1 stitch at the beginning of each row. • Continue in pattern, binding off 1 stitch at the beginning of each row, to within 1 inch of desired finished length, then bind off remaining sts. . Shoulder-Neck Edging: • Pick up all sts from one side (in line with the underarm) to the other, beginning at one side, pick up all sts from bottom of one front, picking up an extra loop before and after the bottom front corner, moving up one front, towards shoulder, at a rate of pick up 2, skip 1, then pickup all sts across back of neck, then continue down the other front, resuming a rate of pick up 2, skip 1, again picking up an extra loop before and after the bottom front corner, all the sts across the bottom of the front, continuing all the way around, picking up every stitch across the back. • From RS, knit across all (or from WS, purl across all), placing markers to show where the original back 2 increase lines were (because these are the raglan positions, where you will be decreasing), and at the bottom corners (where you will be increasing). • Work in rounds for standard version, in seed (or other non-curling stitch), decreasing 1 st on ea side of each raglan marker (use k2tog before marker and ssk after marker), on every other round, and increasing 1 st on each side of each bottom corner, every round. • To maintain the rounded look of the bottom corners, do not make these increases in the same place each time, keep moving them one st farther away from the corner. • Continue until seed st border is 1 inch or more, as desired. • Bind off loosely. • Using crochet hook, make shells all the way around as follows: crochet: 1 sc, sk1, 3 dc, sk1, repeat. • Garment, as pictured measures 18" from neck to lower edge, including 1" edging. DESIGNER'S NOTES Notes on Gauge: This sample was knit in elann.com Highland Silk, but is easily adaptable to other yarns. The neck is not fully constructed with the cast-on stitches; it is constructed as you knit, as are the chest size and length, so any gauge will work. Simply choose a gauge that gives you the amount of drape, fluff, or density you want with the yarn you are using. Notes on Choosing Alternate Lace Stitch Patterns: If you are substituting a lace stitch that requires an odd number of stitches, use an odd cast-on; if it requires an even-number, choose an even cast-on. This keeps the number of sts in each sleeve or back section odd or even, allowing the stitch pattern’s motif to land in the center, which matters in some decorative stitches. For adult sizes, odd lace pattern: CO 35 sts, place markers after 1, 8, 27, and 34 sts. These markers divide your work as follows: 1 front st, 7 sleeve sts, 19 back sts, 7 sleeve sts, 1 front sts. For adult sizes, even lace pattern: CO 30 sts, place markers after 1, 7, 23, and 29 sts. These markers divide your work as follows: 1 front st, 6 sleeve sts, 16 back sts, 6 sleeve sts, 1 front sts. For child, odd lace pattern: CO 25 sts; place markers after 1, 6, 19, and 24 sts. These markers divide your work as follows: 1 front st, 5 sleeve sts, 13 back sts, 5 sleeve sts, 1 front st. For child, even lace pattern: CO 20 sts; place markers after 1, 5, 15, and 29 sts. These markers divide your work as follows: 1 front st, 4 sleeve sts, 10 back sts, 4 sleeve sts, 1 front st. Notes on Resizing: Cast on on amounts above can be altered as much as you like; the vital thing is the ratio. While a sleeve-to-back ratio for standard classic sleeve proportions would need to stay at 1-to-3, in this bolero, the ratio is 1 to about 2.7 (anywhere between 2.5 and 2.7 will give you the effect), creating oversized sleeves. This was accomplished by starting with an original cast-on amount of 32 sts, then adding 1 stitch to each sleeve and 1 st (instead of the standard-ratio 3 sts) to the back section. Abbreviations: CO - cast on, ctr - centre, dpns - double point needles, ea - each, EOR - every other row, inc - increase, k - knit, K1toE-tbl - knit 1 to edge, through back loops, k2tog - knit 2 together, kf&b - knit into the front loop and then the back loop of the same stitch, lft - left, mltpl - multiple of, R - right, rep - reapeat, rnd - round, RS(R) - right side (row), rt - right, sc - single crochet, seed stitch - row 1 - *K1, P1* across, row 2 – knit all purl sts and purl all knit sts, S1K2P - sl 1, k2tog, pass slipped st over, S2KP - Slip next 2 sts to right needle as if to knit them together; k next st, pass both slipped stitches, together, over stitch just knit, S2KP - slip 1 knitwise – k2tog - pass slipped stitch over, 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(s) - stitch(es), WS(R) - wrong side (row), yo - yarn over (yf for British & Canadian knitters). 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. Copyright Michelle Ciccariello