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Bolero with Petal (or Tulip) Sleeve - by Loulou Pirotte

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Click here for notes on how to put the shape file in your usual folder.

There is no stitch pattern to download for this garment.

  Size: petite (Bust - waist - hips: 88 - 68 - 88 cm)

  Category: *

  Machine: Brother KH970, electronic standard gauge.

  Yarns:

• Luigi Botto Tasmania, 100% merino wool, 2/30 Nm, 1 strand.
• Zegna Baruffa Cashwool, 2/30 Nm, 1 strand.

  Total amount used: 140 grs.

  Tension: with 2 strands, one strand of each yarn.

• Stocking stitch: 3
• Circular rows: 1 on both carriages, slide lever on II
• Full needle rib (tie): ‘minus 0’ on both carriages, slide lever on II

  Gauge: 10 x 10 cm:  

• Stocking stitch: 38 stitches x 58 rows
• Circular:  37.7 stitches x 125 rows (i.e. carriage passes).
• Full needle rib (tie): 52 stitches x 37.5 rows.

  Stitch pattern:

• This is plain stocking stitch.
• The ‘hems’ (bodice and sleeves) are circular bands.
• The back and fronts start with the circular rows.
• The sleeve ‘s circular edgings are knitted separately and linked.
• The tie is in full needle rib.

  Shape:

  The  basic shape (back, fronts and sleeve) was  originally created in Standard Garment Styling and tweaked in   Original Pattern Drafting. Actually, I used the shape of another bolero (Bolero with Tie, also in the DesignaKnit   Gallery).

   Only the fronts and sleeve needed to be altered.
  The “casing” (knitted separately)   and the tie are not represented in the shape file.

• I like to create  set-in sleeve shapes in DesignaKnit Standard Garment Styling. I save my file as “xxx SGS” before opening the shape in Original Pattern Drafting so I can get back to it easily if I want to make some changes.
• In the Body Measurements window, I always give the measurements of the finished garment.
• Knitting is forgiving! I use no ease and even negative  ease, namely for the shoulder measurement. I want the shoulder line at shoulder point, not off the shoulder.
• When tweaking the shape in Original Pattern Drafting, make sure you do not change any points that may affect the height of the sleeve cap (armhole depth, shoulder width, sleeve width, bust measurement).
• I started from a basic set-in, V-neck cardigan.
• Sleeve :

1. To draft the petal sleeve, I started from the piece called “sleeve tool”, in the shape file. I also duplicated  the finished ‘Sleeve Tool’ piece into “Sleeve Tool 2”, for subsequent manipulation purposes. See below.
   Note: You can practice the following manipulations on a paper pattern first. Print out the ‘Sleeve Tool’ piece in the Garment Outline format, draft the 2 curved lines and re-draft the pattern in 2 sections, following the instructions below.
2. Place a marker at the centre of the cuff (point 12)  and 2 markers at the top of the sleeve cap, 0.6 cm in from the edges. (Points 2 & 4).
3. Add 2 points to the bottom line of the cuff (points 11 & 13), each distant 11 cm from the centre of the piece.
4. Place the Origin tool  so that the zero coincides with the top of the sleeve cap and make sure

you have 2 points (7 & 17) , on either edge of the sleeve cap, about 11 cm down from the cap top. This is where the curved lines will cross.

1. Duplicate ‘Sleeve tool’ into ‘Sleeve Tool 2’.
2. Work on ‘Sleeve Tool 2’: separate the piece diagonally between points 2 & 11 (Piece/Separate). Name the new piece ‘Tool’.
3. Select the ‘Tool’ piece and make it  Transparent (View/Transparent)
4. Superimpose ‘Tool’ onto ‘Sleeve  Tool‘.
5. Using the Curve Tool, draw 1 curved line from  point 1 on the sleeve cap down to the opposite bottom edge of the cuff: point 10. (The curved lines need to cross three quarters of the way down to the centre line: points 7 & 17 you added earlier. See 4 above). The result can be seen in the piece called ‘Tool New’.
6. You will need 2 identical   sections: duplicate (Piece/Duplicate) ‘Tool New’ and flip it (Alter/Flip). The 2 pieces are now called ‘Sleeve 1’ and ‘Sleeve 2’.
7. Rotate Sleeve 1 and Sleeve 2 by 180°  so as to start your knitting from the straight section (i.e. top of the  sleeve cap).

• Note: You can take your shapes into Interactive Knitting and “knit them manually” before starting the actual knitting, to make sure everything is OK.

By “knit manually”, I mean using Interactive Knitting *without the machine*, i.e. using the UP arrow tool.

  Knitting tips  and finishing

• Back and fronts start with  12 circular rows, i.e. 24 carriage passes.
• The sleeve edgings (4) are knitted separately and linked. 5 circular rows, i.e. 10 carriage passes.
  Each edging has 95 stitches.
• Front left: The shaping tag for the base is H:

1. Cast on the total number of needles required for the base of the front (i.e. LN53-RN36), and knit 12 circular rows (24 carriage passes).
   Next, transfer the stitches from the ribber to the main bed.
2. Set carriage to hold and put all the needles into hold except LN53-LN39.
   Next, pick up (put back into working position)  x needles, every 2 rows, as instructed by DesignaKnit and go on knitting, shaping as instructed by DesignaKnit.

• Front right: reverse shaping directions for front left.
• For 1- or 2-stitch increases and decreases, shaping is fully fashioned with a 3-prong tool. This produces much neater edges than shaping on the edge stitches.    
• Casing:

1. This is knitted separately, in 2 parts. The length was determined by putting one front and half the back neckline on the linker ‘s needles: 190 stitches. Stocking stitch.  
2. E-wrap cast on and knit 44 rows at tension 3.
3. Remove on waste yarn.
4. Knit second half of the casing in the same way.

• Tie: knitted in full needle rib at tension ‘Minus 0’  on both beds, slide lever on II: 12 stitches x 600 rows.
  Tension “minus 0” means you set the tension dials as far as they will go below 0.
• Linking the casing to the front and back (½ neck):

1. With the wrong side facing you, place  the e-wrap edge of the casing, waste knitting upwards,  on 190 linker needles.
2. Place the front (centre) edge on those needles, right side facing, piece downwards.
3. Fold the casing towards you  and place the open stitches on the same needles, waste knitting downwards.

• To attach the sleeve to the armhole:

1. Pin the 2 sections of a sleeve onto a mannequin to determine which section you want on top.
   Make sure you do the 2 sleeves in the same. Way!
2. Baste the 2 sections together making sure their top edges coincide.
3. Fold the sleeve in half and mark the centre (near the top of the cap).
4. Mattress stitch the sleeve to the armhole.
5. Some additional finishing will be needed on the wrong side at the cap level: a few stitches to hold the 2 sections together at this point.

• Mattress stitch the side seams and the sleeve seams.