Knitty: Summer 2007

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by Gudrun Johnston

I recently came across this wonderful hemp-blend yarn and immediately loved how it felt and looked. It comes in a great range of beautiful colors, it's machine washable, durable, affordable and great to work with.

I originally designed this skirt with my eight-year-old daughter in mind, wanting it to be a little more grown up and hip but at the same time non-fussy and fun. However, this skirt looks great on adults too!

The hemp yarn is a perfect material for the hotter days and with the yarn-overs on the bottom half of the skirt some extra ventilation is provided. With a simple elasticized waist and free-flowing form, this skirt is suitable for all sorts of summery occasions.

This is a relatively easy piece to knit. The waistband is worked first, encasing the elastic, and then continuing to work in the round from the waist down in a scallop-shaping pattern with increases on some of the scallop-shaping rounds. To make the skirt less revealing, I kept the yarn-over holes for the bottom half of the skirt. Because the skirt is worked in the round it allows you to try the skirt on at any point simply by slipping the stitches onto some waste yarn.

Pick your own colors and stripe sequence and you have a one of a kind skirt that everyone will want! Yardage for the skirt in a solid color has also been provided below.

model: Maya photos: Gudrun Johnston

SIZE

Child 8[10, 12, Womens S, M, L] (shown in child size 8 above and womens size small below)

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS

Length: 16[18.5, 20.5, 26, 26, 26] inches at longest point
Waist: 21.5[22.5, 24, 27, 32, 37] inches before elastic insertion
Note: Because waist is elasticized, the skirt will fit waist sizes 23.5[24.5, 26, 28.5, 33.5, 38.5] inches. For the women's sizes, this is a low waist (not true waist) measurement, so that the skirt sits a little lower, around the top of the hips. If you would prefer to wear the skirt at the waist, choose a size closer to your true waist measurement.

MATERIALS

Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy [34% Hemp, 41% Cotton, 25% Modal; 153 yd/140m per 50g skein] Colors are given for Child[Adult].

[MC] #02[09]; 2 [2, 2, 3, 3, 4] skeins

[CC 1] #015[016]; 1[2, 2, 2, 2, 3] skeins

[CC 2] #017[06]; 1[2, 2, 2, 2, 3] skeins

[CC 3] #010[04]; 1[2, 2, 2, 3, 3] skeins

Note: If working the skirt in a solid color, you will need 4[6, 7, 8, 9, 10] skeins.

1 24-inch US #4/3.5mm circular needle

1 24-inch US #5/3.75mm circular needle

1 32- or 40-inch US #5/3.75mm circular needle (This is optional if knitting the child's skirt, but recommended if knitting the adult skirt; there will be more stitches then will comfortably fit on the 24-inch needle.)

Crochet hook, approx. size D/3 / 3.25mm (optional)

Row counter

9[10, 10, 11, 13, 15] stitch markers (be sure one is different from the others)

21.5[22.5, 24, 27, 32, 37] inches waistband elastic, 0.5 inch wide

Sewing needle and thread

Tapestry needle

GAUGE

26 sts/25 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on US #4/3.5mm needle
24 sts/26 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch on US #5/3.75mm needle
Approx. 28 sts = 4 inches in Scallop Pattern

PATTERN NOTES

[Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here]

As written, the waistband elastic is enclosed in the casing while the skirt is being knit. If you prefer to insert the elastic after the skirt is complete, in order to adjust the length of the elastic, work the first 5 rows of the waistband casing back and forth before joining to work in the round. This will form an opening through which the elastic may be inserted during finishing, then the opening may be sewn shut.

M1L: Insert left needle from front to back under the horizontal strand which lies between the st just worked, and the next st. Knit into the back of this loop.

M1R: Insert left needle from back to front under the horizontal strand which lies between the st just worked, and the next st. Knit into the front of this loop.

Stripe Pattern
Work 4 rounds in CC1.
Work 4 rounds in CC2.
Work 4 rounds in CC3.
Work 4 rounds in MC.
Repeat these 16 rounds for Stripe Pattern.

PATTERN

Waistband
Cut a piece of waistband elastic 21.5[22.5, 24, 27, 32, 37] inches long. Overlap ends by 0.5 inch, ensuring that elastic is not twisted. Sew ends securely together.

Using MC and US #4/3.5mm needle, loosely CO 153[170, 170, 187, 221, 255] sts.
Note: It is important to CO loosely; sts will be picked up from the CO edge when the waistband Joining Round is worked.

Place marker and join to begin working in the round, being careful not to twist. Use a marker that is different from the others, to indicate beginning of round.
P 10 rounds.

Hold ring of elastic against WS of work, just below sts on needle. Fold work in half to WS around elastic, so that CO edge is directly behind sts on needle.
Join casing as follows:
Joining Round: *Insert tip of left needle into first CO st, k2tog (st from needle worked together with CO st); repeat from * to end of round.
Note: As you approach the end of the Joining Round, it may appear that there is excess elastic. This is because the needle is shorter than the length of the waistband; with a little bit of feeding and stretching, the elastic will fit.

Skirt
Set-up Round: Using US #5/3.75mm needle, [k17, place marker] to end. Including end-of-round marker, 9[10, 10, 11, 13, 15] markers in place.

Break MC and join CC1.

From this point, begin working from the chart, following the Stripe Pattern.
All rounds not listed in the chart should be knit.

The left-hand column of the chart gives the number of the round being worked.

In the column for the size you are working, the letter at left indicates which Pattern Round should be worked on that round, and the number at right gives the value for N in the Pattern Round directions.

Pattern Round A: *[K1, M1L] 3 times, kN, [k2tog] 4 times, kN, [M1R, k1] twice, M1R; repeat from * to end.

Pattern Round B: *[K1, M1L] 3 times, kN, [k2tog] 6 times, kN, [M1R, k1] twice, M1R; repeat from * to end.

Pattern Round C: *[K1, yo] 3 times, kN, [k2tog] 4 times, kN, [yo, k1] twice, yo; repeat from * to end.

Pattern Round D: *[K1, yo] 3 times, kN, [k2tog] 6 times, kN, [yo, k1] twice, yo; repeat from * to end.

For example, Round 1 is the same for all sizes: work Pattern Round A, using 2 as the value for N. So, for Round 1, the directions would read:
*[K1, M1L] 3 times, k2, [k2tog] 4 times, k2, [M1R, k1] twice, M1R; repeat from * to end.
Every fourth round is listed in the chart. These are the rounds in which the scallop pattern is shaped. They are also the rounds in which the colors in the Stripe Pattern are changed.
Pattern Rounds A and C are increase rounds. To make the chart easier to read, these rounds are highlighted.

When all rounds of the chart have been worked, you will have just started a stripe using CC3. Complete this 4-round stripe and break CC3. There are 369[450, 490, 495, 533, 615] sts: 41[45, 49, 45, 41, 41] sts between each pair of markers.

Continue as follows, using MC:
Work Round D; value of N is 12[14, 16, 14, 12, 12].
P 1 round.
K 1 round.
P 1 round.
Work Round D as above.
P 1 round.
K 1 round.
BO all sts purlwise.

FINISHING

Weave in ends.

Machine-wash skirt using mild detergent and warm water. Lay skirt flat, stretching and molding to shape; pay particular attention to scalloped edge. Allow skirt to dry thoroughly.

If desired, work 2 crochet chains approx. 4 inches in length. Form chains into loops and sew to inside of waistband, to use as hanging loops.

ABOUT THE DESIGNER

Gudrun originally comes from the Shetland Islands in Scotland where back in the '70s her mother designed Shetland knitwear. Gudrun only discovered that knitting was in her blood a few years ago upon arrival in the US. During the relocation, her then 5-year-old daughter lost a treasured blanket at the Iceland airport en route to America and Gudrun took up knitting to replace it with a now much-loved poncho. She is making up for lost time and knits constantly, showering her family and friends with hand knits and more recently doing her own designing. Gudrun's knitting-related life can be found here.