Yesterday I left off working up the bodice and opening the V-neck on the Lace Tipped Cardigan by Rachel Brockman using UNIVERSAL YARN Thula in Delphinium. As the V-neck creates a bend on each front side, extra stitches are required in the trim at these points to prevent any unwanted puckering. This is easily achieved with yarn overs on either side of the stitch in the trim where the V opens. Now I’ll show you how to do it.
We’ll begin where I left off yesterday, with the right front side at the bend created by the opening of the V. I have my needles and markers from my Knitpro Ginger Special Deluxe Interchangeable Needle Set ready.
The opening of the V-neck on the front right side results in a bend in the neckline.
First, I find the first stitch of each bend and mark it with a knitting marker on either side. These can be harder to find once they are on the needle cable, so it’s best to start with it marked. Then I pick up and knit all of the trim stitches for the first row using Fawning in Moonstone and Penna in Clouded stranded together. As you can see, the first decreased stitch is between the markers where the bend occurs.
The stitch at the opening of the V is marked with a marker on either side.
Next, I work the wrong side even with no stitch increases. On the second right side row (the third row of the trim), I add one yarn over on each side of the marked stitch. You can see there are now three stitches between the markers.
There are now three stitches between the markers.
I continue to work the trim, keeping the wrong sides even with no stitch increases and adding yarn overs each right-side row. With each right-side row, the number of stitches between the markers increases by two stitches.
There are now five stitches between the markers.
And voilà! Here is the completed neck with trim that accommodates the opening of the V-neck with those Elan 15mm white iridescent buttons you might remember from our first day together. They really bring out Thula’s shine.
The finished V-neck of the Lace Tipped Cardigan. As you can see, the trim bends with the shape of the V without any unwanted puckering.
Here is my finished cardigan! As an extra finishing touch, I added a small band to match the trim across the box pleat, topped with two more Elan 15mm buttons. This decorative detail adds interest to the back by adding color and shine.
The finished Lace Tipped Cardigan using UNIVERSAL YARN Thula with a contrasting button band made using UNIVERSAL YARN Fawning in Moonstone and UNIVERSAL YARN Penna in Clouded stranded together and Elan 15 mm white iridescent buttons.
The finished back of Lace Tipped Cardigan
I really enjoyed exploring the texture of Thula while making the Lace Tipped Cardigan. I increased the lace repeats from two to four for more suitable proportions on a taller body. Double stranding Fawning in Moonstone and Penna in Clouded created a unique multi-tonal contrasting trim that pulled out the light blue nubs in Thula. I began with the stitch count for two sizes larger to accommodate A-line shaping and a box pleat in the back. I topped the pleat with a matching seed stitch accent band with the same Elan 15 mm buttons that were used down the front button band. My Knitpro Ginger Special Deluxe Interchangeable Needle Set allowed me to easily change needle size, and its built-in pattern holder meant that I could unwind without electronic distraction. The markers included in this set helped me keep track of lace repeats and the placement of stitch increases in the neck trim to avoid unwanted puckering at the V-neck. I was so pleasantly surprised by how great Thula looked in lace that I just have to wonder what it might look like in cables! Thanks for joining me! See you next time.
This is part 5 of 5 in this series
Go back to part 4: Box Pleat & V-Neck mods for the Lace Tipped Cardigan knitting pattern
