Medallion Top - Swatched

The box with the Coolfire yarn in it also contained two sets of non-wool yarn - Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel.  This yarn contains 50% Peruvian Pima Cotton and 50% Tencel and is put up in 50 g skeins of 109 yards.  One of the sets I had purchased to make the Medallion Top - #31 in Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting.  I had made a note when I stashed the yarn so I knew what I had bought it for.  I pulled out the magazine and read through the pattern.  The first thing I did was chart up the lace pattern and then I typed up the pattern from the magazine into a Word file and started working on the modifications.  The pattern has you knit the front and back separately and work the sleeves flat.  I don't relish seaming with this yarn so I'm going to knit it in the round, do short row shaping for the shoulders so I can do a 3-needle bind off and modify the armhole shaping so I can work the sleeves as set-in top down sleeves.  The pattern calls for US 6 and 7 needles (4 and 4.5 mm), but I had to use a US 5 (3.75 mm) needle to get gauge.  I wouldn't want to go any smaller than a US 5 with this yarn, but I think it will give me a good fabric.  The US 7 was way too loose.

Pattern:  Medallion Top by Gayle Bunn (#31 in the Spring/Summer 2008 issue of Vogue Knitting)
Yarn:  Cascade Yarns Pima Tencel
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Mitered Short-Row Capelet - Vogue Knitting Fall 2008

Materials - 8 skeins Prism Symphony (5 variegated, 3 solid); 80% Merino, 10% Cashmere, 10% nylon;

I picked Thunderclap and Purple (107). I had to have the colors special ordered for me by Hanks Yarn and Fiber, a wonderful yarn shop.

I was drawn to the pattern by the unique construction - it appeals to the engineer in me. Unfortunately, when I completed the first panel there was a prominent bump at the miter corner. I checked the photo in the magazine and the bump was visible in all the panels. In my mind, a design flaw.

I pondered the construction for a couple of days and came up with a solution. The bump arose because of the purple yarn that forms the center of each panel. Until you get to the purple there are decreases every right side row. But there are no decreases in the two rows of purple - hence the bump. My solution is to switch to the purple one decrease early (2 rows). To make up for the fact that there were 2 fewer rows of the variegated yarn I added another short row to the purple, wrapping and turning every 12 stitches rather than 15. To make the mitered point cleaner I also combine the 3 center stitches on the final purl row.