Bella sizing question

I am finishing up Giselle and now I am preparing the pattern for Bella. I notice that the smallest size is bust 34.25 inches which happens to be my exact bust measurement. Is this the actual sweater measurement or is it meant to fit that size bust? I have found that this type of sweater fits me best with at least 2 inches of negative ease. What would be the best way to accomplish that? Knit it to a slightly smaller gauge? I have found Giselle to be a little big after knitting the smallest size and getting gauge, so it wasn't enough negative ease. Thanks for any suggestions for getting the right fit!

Here is my Bella!

I used Pattons Classic Wool in Leaf Green.

Marnie, thank you for the beautiful pattern. I had a lot of fun knittting this sweater. I left the lace open, I am in love with the finshed sweater! I am now halfway through my first KAL!

Now, on to Giselle ...

Giselle is coming along but....

I have a horrible feeling it is going to be too big! I'm loving the pattern and am on the second set of waist decreases, but this morning I took the time to put the whole lot on waste yarn and try on and I fear it is going to be on the large side. I'm a 35" bust so am doing the first size inside the brackets (35.5) because I thought the 33.5 size would be too snug (ok, let's be honest, I thought I was still a 36 but they are clearly sagging with age!). I can't face frogging it all and starting again so I guess I'll just plough on and gift it to one of my more amply provided for girlfriends and then knit it again for me! Unless someone can think of an easy remedy....maybe if I increase the number of decreases per row to bring the under bust bit in more?

I learned to crochet the other weekend and am very excited about being able to do the cropped crochet version now! greetings from an unseasonably warm England in February. Liz

Bar increases on Giselle

I have a question about the bar increases on the front edges on Giselle. The pattern mentions mirrored increases. On the Purl rows, the increases are P1f&b at the beginning of the row then P1b&f at the end. However the knit rows have K1f&b at both the beginning an end of the row. Should the knit bar increase be K1b&f at the end of the row to mirror the increase at the beginning?

I finally got started!

WoW! Some of you have finished one of the KAL sweaters and here I am starting my first one. I had a couple of other projects to finish first. I am knitting Giselle in Handmaiden Double Sea Silk. So far, the yarn is knitting to gauge and it is wonderfully soft. I love this yarn!

I am concerned though that the area which will become the sleeves looks quite small. It is hard to believe that it will wrap around my arm. I guess I will put it all on waste yarn and try it on. I can't wait to see some completed examples of Giselle.

Bella's sleeve knitted in the round--tew kewl!

I've pondered the posts from far-more-experienced/brave knitters than I concerning the sleeves for Bella being done in the round. I've read EZ's (Zimmerman--Knitting Without Tears) wise words more times than I can count, just could not get my pokey ol' brain in gear to understand short rows and tubular knitting. Apparently, I'm not the only person wondering about this.

So, I've done a little research (ah, the internet!) and have come up with a couple of articles from knitty.com that may be of good help in learning how to do a cap sleeve that's knit from the shoulder down without seams:

www.knitty.com/issuefall04/FEATpatterns103.html

www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer03/FEATbonnetric.html

Bella Complete!

My Bella is complete. Here it is in it's unblocked form:


I used size 7 circ. needles and Valley Yarns Colrain in Olive Grey.

Loved the lace pattern. The leaves are perfect in this yarn color. It's very comfy.

If I were to do this again I would make the bottom part one size up and downsize the top by working it in size 6 needles. It focus' a little more attention on my tummy than I would like. I would also pick up stitches at the armholes and knit the sleeves down from there. I would also do a couple less repeats on the lace part. I had to cut way too much for the steeks. The steeks were moved to the back of the neck. I couldn't get them to lay right on my bony shoulders.

Other than those things, I like it!

What Yarn for Giselle?

I am on my way to finishing Bella, and I am looking for yarn suggestions for Giselle. My budget is a little tight at the moment, so I am looking for yarn that won't break the bank. Thanks!

Karabella Aurorita

Here's my Bella, made with Karabella Aurora 8.



I followed the pattern as is, for the most part, except for the sleeves. I did my sleeves in the round, starting from the top. I picked up 60 stitches around armhole (I made size S), starting 9 stitches before the shoulder seam, knitted the sleeve cap with short rows, and then continued in the round. I also made my sleeves a little longer than the pattern -- just kept knitting until the ball of yarn ran out.

Also, I did the lace steeks at the back corners, rather than at the shoulder seams. It seemed a more natural place for them.

And now that Bella is done, I've started on Giselle. I think I've done about 30 rows so far.

A Bella is Born

Here she is--sleeves and all! I had an easy time knitting the sleeves on two circulars (like with socks) from the top down as described in Elizabeth Zimmerman's book "Knitting Without Tears". I fiddled around with the technique and tried using wraps with the short rows (as with toe-up socks), but that looked terrible compared to just turning the work as EZ suggests and slipping the first stitch. I'll stick with doing sleeves this way since I've never been entirely happy with the bit of "bulk" that I always seem to get when sewing a set-in sleeve into the sweater body.

This pattern is a cutie, and I plan to wear it plenty! It tends to ride up a bit, so I'm not sure how much I'll be tugging at it. Perhaps it will ride up less once I seam-out a portion of the lace neckline--there's a natural turn in the lace where the pattern reverses direction at the back of the neck, so I will steek-n-cut that spot out rather than making a seam at the top of each shoulder.