A Gray Tunic

I've been wanting to make a longer tunic-like sweater. It took a while for me to decide about how much lace or cables to put in. Originally I had a more busy design in mind, but in the end I settled on a very simple design. And I am glad I did. Sometimes the love of making cables and lace can go overboard and makes the piece looking too busy. It's hard to find a fine line between the thrill of making something complicated and the more successful result when putting the FO on.

The sweater was knitted top-down in round with raglan sleeves. No sewing! The lace panel was "Vine Stripe Pattern" from Barbara Walker's "Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns." The folds were created with extra stitches cast on.

This was a fairly fast and easy knit. Other than the lace panel it was all just st st. The rolling neck was a semi-accident. I wanted a straight mock turtleneck that falls down like a slim cowl. I used something I learned on Ravelry - stranded St st to stop the rolling with St st. But it still rolled. After trying it on I found the rolled edge gives it a very soft detail so I decided to do the same with the sleeves. The bottom hem was just extra 5 rounds of st st that was folded over and BO together with back of sts picked up 5 rounds above.

The yarn used was Elann Limited Edition Lana Pura. I really enjoyed working with this yarn and I love how nice it feels wearing next to skin. Needle size was #4. The chest measured about 37" so that was one inch negative ease, But with Lace panel not completely blocked stretched out, it turned out a very nice fit. The length was something like 27 or 28 inches.