Pattern Spotlight: Masala

Published in 2015 Masala is a simple top down raglan v-neck with alternating leaf stitch at the bottom of the sleeves and body. Tunic length with instructions to shorten if desired. Waist and hip shaping for flattering fit. Written in 7 sizes. Leaf stitch is charted and written. Sample knit in Cascade Ultra Pima Fine color 3771 (Paprika).

Masala is my favorite of my series of top-down tees. The color, the length, the neckline and the drape of it make it a great fit for me. And Masala works well for me with my two favorites – either jeans or a maxi skirt.

Masala is available through Ravelry, LoveKnitting, WEBS and Craftsy.

 

 

Tutorial: Waist and Hip Shaping

2015

2014

I know I’ve said this before, but I love top-down knitting! My favorite thing about top down garments is that you can try them on as you knit to get the fit just right for your body. No two bodies are exactly alike, so I include notes in all of my patterns encouraging knitters to try on the tee or sweater as they work to get the fit just how they want it. I always want my testers and knitters to finish with a garment they will love to wear or gift!

Once you understand the basic plan, the process is simple to tweak almost any top-down garment to get it just how you want it. Need to start the waist earlier or later to get the fit just right for your body? Yes, do it! Need to add more hip increases? Yes please! Need fewer hip increases? Well, aren’t you lucky! Yes do it! Want the final garment length shorter or longer? Great! Please don’t forget that if you decide to lengthen, you’ll need more yarn to finish!

If you’ve never knit one of my designs before, my waist and then hip shaping may feel slightly foreign to you. I use a variation of the same shaping in all of my top-down designs. I found something similar to it years ago when my favorite store-bought sweater died, and I haven’t used another shaping since, because I feel this one is very flattering for so many different body types.

The goal is to place the waist decreases just above the natural waist line. Then knit for about 2″ from just above the waist line to a bit below the waist. Then start the hip increases to flare the garment gently back out. As written the waist decreases give my garments a waist about 1″ to 2″ smaller (depending on the weight and gauge of the yarn used) in circumference than the chest measurement. And the hip increases as written give the garment a hip measurement about 2.5″ to 4″ larger (again depending on the weight and gauge of the yarn used) than the chest measurement.

This tutorial starts on Step 5 (Steps 1-4 covered in this earlier post). So here is my process from the underarms through waist and hip shaping:

Step 5: Work down body to the waist.

Step 5: Work down body to waist. After the underarm stitches have been cast on, the body joined in the round, and the sleeves placed onto scrap yarn to be worked later (Steps 1-4 covered in this earlier post), work in the round on just the remaining body stitches until body measures about 5″ from the underarm cast on — or to your desired length.

 

Here you see Step 6 (decrease rounds) follow by Step 7 (about 2″ of plain knitting at the waist) from the side.

Step 6: Waist Shaping. My waist decreases occur one right after the other at the beginning of the waist, with just one knit round between two decrease rounds. The lines of the pattern generally read something like this “Decrease Round: *Sm, k1, k2tog, k to last 3 sts before marker, ssk, k1; rep from * to end. (4 sts decreased). Knit 1 round. Repeat Decrease Round (4 sts decreased)“.

If you look closely in the picture above you’ll see that the k2tog leans just slightly to the left and the ssk leans just slightly to the right in towards the side marker.

Step 7: Knit about 2″ (5 cm).

And here you see Steps 6 and 7 from the front.

Here you see Step 6 (waist decreases), Step 7 (about 2″ of knitting straight with no increases or decreases for the waist) and Step 8 (hip increases).

Step 8: Hip Shaping. My hip increases are usually placed about an inch apart to allow for a gradual flare out from waist to hip. The lines of the pattern generally read something like this “Increase Round: *Sm, k1, m1, k to last st before marker, m1, k1; rep from * to end. (4 sts increased). Knit 5 rounds. Repeat hip increases every 6th round five more times for a total of six increase rounds.”

In the picture above you’ll see that my m1 increases lean just slightly to the left and to the right outwards from the side marker. I use either M1R and M1L or RLI and LLI for this depending on how each individual yarn works up. (FYI: The increase bumps become less pronounced once a garment is washed and blocked.) Look for a later tutorial about these different increases.

Here you can see that the process gives the garment a flattering hourglass curve in at the waist and then gently back out for the hips.

 

And there you have my basic process from the underarms through waist and hip shaping.

 

 

Tutorial: Knitting a Top-Down Tee

2015

2015

 

I love top-down knitting. Almost everything I design is worked top down. My favorite thing about top-down garments is that you can try them on as you knit. No two bodies are exactly alike, so I always add notes encouraging knitters to try on as you work to get the fit just how you want it.

Once you understand the basic plan, the process is simple.  Over the years I’ve fielded many questions from knitters new to top-down knitting and I’ve never quite found one source that explains the process the way I would. So I took pictures of a recent sample tee as I worked, and below I walk you through my process from the top cast-on to just below the underarms.

 

 

Step 1: Cast on the stitches.

Step 2: Place markers between stitches to set up the different sections of your tee. In my designs, by the end of the set-up row you should have two front sections, two sleeve sections and one back section.   Keep in mind that depending on the designer each pattern will be worded slightly differently.

 

Step 3: Follow pattern directions to work back and forth alternating between purl rows and increase rows. As you work you will slowly form a crescent of knitting with each of the four sections growing as you complete the increases.

Here is another view of how Step 3 looks on my dress form (named Mona).

 

Step 4: Join in the Round. At some point your pattern will instruct you to join this crescent of knitting into a complete circle. In my patterns, generally you work through an increase row, the same way you have been, to the last front stitch. Just after that last stitch you cast-on your front stitches using the backwards loop method and then continue knitting across the front stitches on the other needle towards your unique marker. The tee should now be a full circle on your working needle with the stitches separated into 4 different sections by markers (1st sleeve section, the back, 2nd sleeve section, the front). From here you will be knitting the tee in the round alternating between knit rounds and increase rounds (every round will now be on the RS) until you reach the appropriate number of stitches for your size.

Tip: Knit a few rounds following the pattern directions to alternate knit rounds and increase round. After you have stabilized the front cast-on stitches by working a handful of rounds, this is the perfect place to try on your tee to be sure the neckline is just where you want it. Do keep in mind that the neck ribbing added during finishing will affect your decision!

 

From here you will continue working down the body until you reach the appropriate number of stitches for your size and the proper length for your underarm stitches. Then you will separate the sleeves from the main body of the tee.

 

Step 5: Separate Body and Sleeves. On this round you will do two different things. You will cast-on any underarm stitches. And at the same time you will place the sleeve stitches onto scrap yarn for you to come back and work later. In my patterns, you slip the unique marker, cast on underarm stitches, remove first sleeve stitches from the working needle, work across the back stitches, cast-on other side underarm stitches, remove second sleeve stitches from the working needle and finally work across the front stitches.

 

So at the end of the round you should have two sleeves pulled off the working needle on either side of the garment to work later. And you should have a circle of body stitches left on the working needle (consisting of the back stitches plus the front stitches plus any underarm cast on stitches).  The 2 remaining markers are now located directly in the middle under the underarm cast-on stitches where a side seam would be.

Here is another view of how Step 5 looks on Mona.

 

 

Tip: After you have stabilized the underarm cast-on stitches by working a handful of rounds, this is another perfect spot to take advantage of how easy it is to adjust a top-down pattern to get just the right fit for your body. Try on the garment and make sure the underarm fit is not too snug or too loose.  Feel free to rip back and adjust if you need. 

And there you have my basic process from top cast-on to just beneath the underarms. Later I’ll add a post about working down the body and adding waist and hip shaping in my patterns.