Free Pattern Friday! 12-15-2017

Surprise, surprise!  This week's free pattern isn't a tracing, it's a translation!  Take a gander below for my Google assisted translation of the cover project from the Dutch knitting book Bee Bee Toppers.  Also pictured is a scan of the original instructions and abbreviations in Dutch.  Any Dutch readers, please let me know if I got anything wrong!

Probably obvious, but it took me a bit to realize the
numbers in the diagrams are cm and not number
of stitches/rows.  Also, the top picture, the right side
is the back piece, and the left side is the front.  The three
stars indicate this pattern is more advanced and not for
beginning knitters.  Granted, I am not a beginner, but
now that I can read the pattern, it does not seem all
that difficult.

Sizes: Small, Medium, and Large: 82-86, 90-94, 98-102cm in width.

Materials: 1200-1400 grams of medium weight wool yarn, size 6 needles (see My Notes below)

Gauge: With two strands of wool on size 6 needles: 9 stitches = 10cm wide.

Woolmeter: Letter E  (see My Notes below)

Used Stitches: 

    Garter Stitch: knit all rows

    Pattern Stitch (worked over an even number of stitches):

         1^st Row: Purl

         2^nd Row: Knit

         3^rd Row: Knit

         4^th Row: Purl

         5^th Row: K1 *K1, with the right needle, pick up the purl bump directly below the next stitch (3 rows below) and place it on the left needle. Slip the right needle through the back of that loop and the next stitch and knit together* repeat to last stitch in the row, K1.

        6^th Row: Knit

        7^th Row: Knit

        8^th Row: Purl

        9^th Row: K1 *with the right needle, pick up the purl bump directly below the next stitch (3 rows below) and place it on the left needle. Slip the right needle through the back of that loop and the next stitch and knit together. K1* repeat to last stitch in the row, K1.

        Repeat 2^nd to 9^th row for pattern.

The numbers for the three sizes are given in succession. Where only one number is given, that number is for all three sizes. Jacket is worked with two strands of yarn.

Back: Cast on 47-51-55 stitches and work 6 rows in garter stitch. Then work * 14cm of pattern stitch, 8 rows of garter stitch. Repeat from * until after 3^rd pattern stitch section. Work 8 rows in garter stitch. For the armholes: cast off 6 stitches from each side. Continue in patttern stitch until the garment measures 20-21-22 cm from the start of the armholes. Cast off remaining stitches.

Front Pockets: Cast on 14 stitches. Work 14cm of pattern stitch.  Break yarn and place all stitches on a spare needle. Repeat for second pocket.

Front: Cast on 26-28-30 stitches. For each front piece, work as on the back until the first garter stitch section. Work 4-5-6 stitches from the side seam, slip the next 14 stitches onto a stitch holder or spare yarn. Next row, work across, knitting from the pocket piece instead of the 14 stitches on the holder or spare yarn. Continue front until after 3^rd pattern stitch section. Work 8 rows in garter stitch. Shape armholes as for the back. Work in pattern stitch until the garment measures 17-18-19 cm from the start of the armholes. For the neck shaping, cast off 4 stitches from the front edge. Work one row, then cast off two stitches from the front edge. Cast off 1 stitch from the front edge three times. Cast off the remaining 11-13-15 stitches. Work the 2^nd front in mirror image.

Sleeves: Cast on 32-34-36 stitches. Work 20 rows in garter stitch. Continue as on back, ie. 14cm pattern stitch, 8 rows garter stitch. After the second garter stitch section (excluding cuff) cast off 1 stitch on each side on each row until the sleeve is 12-13-14 cm from the start of the armhole. Cast off remaining stitches. Work second sleeve the same.

Hood: Cast on 52 stitches and work 28cm in garter stitch. Cast off the center 6 stitches and work each remaining half (23 stitches) separately. For each side, cast off 6 stitches at the center edge three times. Cast off the remaining stitches.

Finishing: Sew the shoulder seams, sew the sleeves to the shoulders, sew side and sleeve seams. Close the top of the hood, sew the hood in the neck. Slip each set of pocket stitches from the holders/spare yarn to a needle and work 7 rows in garter stitch. Cast off. Sew pockets and edges to front pieces. Pick up stitches along front and hood (about 8 ½ stitches per 10cm) and work 5 rows in garter stitch. Cast off. Crochet or twist a cord and weave through the hood.

--

My Notes On This Pattern:
As far as yarn and needles for this pattern: I measured Red Heart Super Saver worsted on the Woolmeter, and it is one size too small. Bernat Sheep(ish) is a closer fit, but still a bit small. Knitting a test patch with the Sheep(ish) I got about 7cm wide over 9 stitches on U.S. size 6 needles. I didn't see any indication in the pattern for what system of needle measurement is used, so I am not 100% certain which size they really mean: a U.K./European size 6 needle is a U.S. size 8 needle, A 6mm diameter needle is a U.S. size 10 needle. I recommend finding a yarn you like, and knitting test swatches with various sized needles until you get the correct gauge.

Google Translate did most of the work, but some of it I did need to try and knit to figure out. Many of the Dutch knitting terms and abbreviations are different than English ones, and so some of it is not a literal translation of the text. I separated out the pocket pieces from the section on the front pieces, because it just seemed to make more sense to make the pockets first rather than stop in the middle of the front piece to do it.  I have not yet knit this project, so if you do, please let me know if there are any glaring errors in the pattern. 

The pattern stitch was especially tricky to figure out. In the end, I just took some spare yarn and knitted up what I thought the text was telling me to do. It is actually a lot easier than it sounds. Similarly with the pockets. The process is hard to describe in words. There are a lot of great knitting instruction videos available, you can find a few on this pocket technique here.