Friday, May 25, 2018

Free Pattern Friday! 05-25-2018

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 one of the projects from the Schoeller Wolle/Esslinger Wolle pamphlets.  Also pictured is a scan of the original instructions in German.  Any German readers, please let me know if I got anything wrong!




Schoeller Wolle/Esslinger Wolle Pamphlet – #2231 Cross Knitted Bolero – Translated from original German

Size: 36/38
Bust of the Model: about 92 cm
Total Length: 43cm

Materials: SCHOELLER Wool “Carmen” 450g Black, ESSLINGER Wool “Gold and Silver” 200g Black, One pair INOX Tric needles size 4.5 and 5mm, and One INOX circular needle size 4mm 120cm long.

Use two strands of “Gold and Silver”

Stockinette Stitch: RS row knit, WS row purl
Stripe Sequence in St. St.: *5.5cm (about 12 rows) in “Carmen” using 5mm needle, 6 rows in “Gold and Silver” using 4.5mm needle* Repeat between *'s

Swatch test and change needles as necessary!
Gauge: 14sts by 30 rows = 10cm

Work: Using two strands of “Gold and Silver” cast on 48 sts with a 4.5 mm needle and work in K1, P1 for 2 cm. Begin stripe sequence.

Switch to “Carmen”, increase one stitch on each end of the 4th, 6th, and 8th rows, after 12 rows in “Carmen” switch to “Gold and Silver”. In the first row with “Gold and Silver” decrease 14 sts, distributed evenly.

Continue the stripe sequence, increasing and decreasing stitches as follows:
1st Stripe “Carmen”: increase 10 sts,
1st Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 5 sts,
2nd Stripe “Carmen”: increase 10 sts,
2nd Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 5 sts,
3rd Stripe “Carmen”: increase 14 sts,
3rd Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 9 sts,
4th Stripe “Carmen”: inrease 17 sts
4th Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 12 sts,
5th Stripe “Carmen”: inrease 19 sts
5th Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 14 sts,
6th Stripe “Carmen”: inrease 21 sts
6th Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 19 sts,
7th Stripe “Carmen”: inrease 24 sts
7th Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 19 sts,
8th Stripe “Carmen”: inrease 24 sts
8th Stripe “Gold and Silver”: decrease 19 sts,

Simultaneously:
In the 2nd through 6th stripes in “Carmen” increase 1 on each end in the 4th, 6th, and 8th rows.
In the 7th stripe in “Carmen” increase 1 st on each end of the 4th and 6th rows.

After the 8th “Gold and Silver” stripe divide the work for the neckline and continue to work both parts separately. (57 sts each side):
Still using “Gold and Silver” cast off 1x2 and 1x1 sts at the center. Increase 10 sts distributed evenly, then repeat the cast off again.

The 9th stripe in “Gold in Silver” is the center back!

Finish the piece in “Carmen”; for the neckline on the left side work every other row 8x4 sts decreased. For the rounding at the right side of the piece, on the 3rd row in “Carmen” cast off every other row 2x1, 3x2, and 3x3 sts, then cast off remaining 8 sts.

Work the other half of the bolero as above, reversing neckline shaping.

Completion:
Close seams. With circular needle and 2 strands of “Gold and Silver” pick up 286 sts along the front, bottom, and neckline edges (lower back edge 78sts, front pieces 172 sts each, back neckline 36 sts). Work in K1, P1 for 2.5 cm, cast off in pattern.


My Notes: Hoo-boy, this one is a doosy...
I am not sure if it is because of how German knitting patterns are written, or because this pattern was crammed onto a small pamphlet, but it's a bit sparse. Specific stitches are not given for increasing or decreasing, and how many stitches to add or subtract and when is at best stated as “increase this many in this row, distributed evenly.”

The bold and exclamations are all straight from the pattern. They were among the easiest things to figure out. This one was a lot tougher to decipher than the Dutch pattern, as there were more abbreviations and no key as to what they meant. Google and some German speaking friends helped me out with words, but they aren't knitters, so I made the best sense of it that I could. Perhaps if I give a try at knitting this pattern I will write it out with a little more detail. There is a lot going on at once in this pattern, and it's not immediately intuitive with the scant instructions.

The bit about the 9th stripe of “Gold and Silver” being the center back especially confused me, as I don't think there is a 9th stripe. You finish each half of the bolero with “Carmen” after the 8th stripe, and then sew the halves together. Maybe they just mean where the 9th stripe would be if there was one? Also, where the neckline begins the pattern clearly says “after the 8th 'Gold and Silver' stripe”, but then also clearly says to do the next bit in 'Gold and Silver'. Is this stripe wider than the others then? Or is it meant to be done before the end of the stripe?

I wrote the pattern above as it is in the pamphlet, but I want to add what I believe is going on in the stripe sequence just based on the diagram given and my own knitting experience. While it seems from the text like there are 9 of each stripe (set up plus 8 more) I think the setup is meant to happen in the first stripe. The diagram only shows 8 stripes. I believe the increases and decreases in each stripe are supposed to happen in the first row of each stripe, and the other increases and decreases (stated at the very start and under 'simultaneously') are additional to those. As I have not knit this yet, I cannot say for sure, but that is my best guess at how to reconcile the text and the diagram.

As for the yarn...surprise, surprise, neither are produced anymore. I looked on the internet and found no trace of “Carmen”, but it appears to be some sort of boucle or other fluffy yarn to make that poofy appearance in stockinette stitch. “Gold and Silver” I was able to find a bit about. It is a rayon/lurex metallic yarn that looks about sock or lace weight. Best advice, find whatever yarn suits your tastes and then find needles to get the right gauge.


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