Yellow Halter Modeled!

Little Girl: (Excited) Yaya, what's that?

Yaya: It's for your hair, Isabel has one too. (One of her neighbor playmates.)

Little Girl: Okay. (Fidget. Fidget.)

Incredible Joie: Anak, sit still please. Auntie, I can't believe you made that.

Auntie Gravelcat: Neither can I. It looks better than I thought. Thank God!

Yaya Lea: Andyan na ang marching band! Let's go! Baka antukin itong bata tapos mamaya masungit. (She's beginning to look sleepy, we better go before she gets cranky.)

Incredible Joie: Auntie, bilis, I need my sd card. I need to take pix of the parade.

Auntie Gravelcat: Sure Mommy, I've blogged it na.

Oh my darling girl, you make my finger cramps so worth it. I love you.

Lilo's Yellow Cotton Ribbed Halter

There's nothing like an event deadline to make your fingers fly! I just finished the yellow halter for Lilo's Halloween-Hawaiian costume. I knitted roughly 3,000 stitches spread out over 5 nights and a bit of this lunch break. I checked my knitting log and realized that I had been steadily engaged in this top for an average of 4 hours a night since Saturday. The fingers need a break.

Lilo tried it on today... fortunately for me she refused to remove it for 10 minutes straight. That counts as "she likes it". However the ribbing makes the top too narrow. "Kita dede," as the kid would say. I added a bit of invisible elastic to keep it snug until she grows into the actual circumference of the top.

Because it's a ribbed top it looks funny all scrunched up. It stretches to about 12 inches across. I know the neckline looks a little stiff, next time I'll just knit it an inch lower, straight across and sew two separate i-cords on either end to tie around the neck. I was kind of thinking that this way it would still fit in the next 6 months. It looks better on the kid, but no pix available till Sunday morning. You have to see it with the grass skirt.

I am sharing this free pattern with my friends and readers for their personal, non-commercial use. Please acknowledge me if you're publishing your success with it online. I'd love a photo or two, if you manage to take some. Please read carefully before starting the project, there are portions where I provided alternative instructions to accommodate different preferences. If you can improve on it further, let me know so I can make my niece an even better version (whereupon I credit YOU!).

GIRL'S RIBBED HALTER TOP PATTERN
Copyright 2008 Mona Caccam

Materials:

2 balls Monaco crochet cotton shade BUT25 (butter yellow) -- about 1.5 balls used up
2.75mm/US 2 needles -- used my bamboos, love love love them
2.25mm/US 1 double pointed needles for I-cord
tapestry needle

Finished Size: As close as possible to a Philippine children's size 8 (roughly 3-4 yo child) cotton t-shirt, about 12.5" wide x 10" from shoulder down to hem.

Gauge: 10 stitches by 12 rows per inch

1. Front: Cast on 128 stitches.

2. Row 1 (RS): *Knit 4, purl 4*, repeat * until end.

3. Row 2 (WS): *Purl 4, knit 4*, repeat * until end.

4. Continue knitting K4 x P4 ribbing for 7", ending in WS.

5. Begin armhole shaping: Bind off 10 stitches next row (RS), knit in ribbing until end of row.

* Alternate instructions #5 to #8 (armhole shaping): Instead of the bind off above, at this point it might be easier to decrease 1 stitch at the beginning of every row until you haveknit 2-2.5" or reach the neckline width you prefer (. This will produce a diagonal "armhole" instead of a round one.

6. Bind off 10 stitches next row (WS), knit in ribbing until end of row.

7. Bind off 1 stitch next row (RS), knit in ribbing until end of row. Bind off 1 stitch next row (WS), knit in ribbing until end of row. Bind off 1 stitch (RS), knit until end of row. Bind off 1 stitch (WS) until end of row. (Ribbing should still be in multiples of 4.)

8. Knit in K4 x P4 ribbing, without further shaping, for 2.5" ending in WS.

9. Neckline: Knit in stockinette across for 8 rows, ending in WS.

*Note, instructions #9 to #12: If you find the neckline portion of this halter top a bit stiff, as I did, just knit across. Bind off. Reinforce with single crochet border if preferred. Make 2 separate I-cords 12" long. Sew ends of I-cords to the corners of the neckline.

10. Bind off entire row. Set aside.

11. I-cord: Cast on 3 sts on 1 dpn. Knit across with dpn 2. Slide work to other end of dpn 2, knit with free needle. Continue knitting I-cord for 26". Bind off. Weave in ends.

12. Fold stockinette portion of halter front with I-cord inside, forming a tube. Sew stockinette seam across, as it contains I-cord.

13. Back: Cast on 128 stitches.

14. Knit in P4 x K4 ribbing (reverse of front) unti 7", ending in WS. (Take note, this is to alternate ribbing when front and back are joined.)

15. Bind off entire row.

16. To assemble, align wrong sides together, making sure that a K4 rib connects to a P4 rib at either side of the halter top. Sew or crochet seams together (use your preferred method, I sewed this one because it uses up less thread). Weave in ends as neatly as you can.

Washing instructions: Handwash gently in cold water, with mild bath soap or liquid soap. Rinse well. Do not wring. Roll in towel to remove excess liquid. Let dry flat. You can use a steam iron on the wrong side of the garment, pressing lightly. You want to keep the color and the sheen of the mercerized cotton.

More pictures Sunday morning!

Lilo's Coral Babydoll Blouse

Ok, I had to post this already, I took photos without waiting for the blouse to be washed. I couldn't wait! We tried it on Lilo, adjusted the strap length one last time, and wove in the dangling ends of thread you see here. This is a two-sister project: Auntie knitted the body and assembled it, Mommy crocheted the edging and the straps. THIS is bonding!

This is a children's size 6 blouse. There's no pattern, I just made a schematic based on one of Lilo's existing blouses adjusted for size. There are 4 pieces, assembled before adding the crocheted embellishments. It's all in stockinette stitch, with shaped armholes.

Materials:
2.5 balls of Monaco mercerized crochet cotton (P19/ball in Divisoria, P25/ball from Carolina's Megamall)
Addi Turbo Premium 2.5mm 80cm (32") circular needles (P270 from LYS Dreams Glorietta 2)



Here's the crocheted shell stitch hem detail:



Comments:
1. Since I knit Continental, I can see where the purls are looser than the knit stitches. The right side of the bodice shows some stitches bigger than the others, and they slant to the right. It bothers me. Just a little bit. No, it really bothers me. Must purl more tightly next time.
2. I drew the schematic on a piece of paper which promptly got lost. I should make another one to put in my knitting projects notebook, with measurement details like they do in the Lion Brand free patterns, so I can make it in another size for another kid, or in another color when Lilo grows bigger.
3. Must improve finishing techniques so that seams match up properly. My vertical side seams match ok, but am not satisfied with the neatness of the the horizontal empire seam.
4. This is my first project using Addi Turbos. They ARE the fastest knit in the East! [Will compare when I receive my Knitpicks needles later this month.] Best investment ever. I have some more coming in other sizes that I had ordered from Ebay. Lifetime warranty pa!

But the important thing is, Lilo likes it! Mommy and Auntie did a good job!

Handmade is beautiful.