Diamonds to Suit

Striking (or startling) sixties "costume" of a jacket with a matching dress or skirt. The colours are very much of the time, so it might be slightly more appealing to current taste if executed in, say, black or navy with a neutral white or cream (but if you like it, I expect you'd already thought of that!).
Instructions for Jacket and Skirt SuitJacket BackUsing No 10 (3¼mm) needles and B, cast on 80 / 84
/ 88 / 92
stitches and work 10 rows in garter stitch. With right side facing, change to No 7 (4½mm) needles, join in D
and work in pattern as follows: Work straight in pattern until back measures approximately 14 inches,
ending with 8th pattern row. Now decrease 1 stitch at each end of next and every alternate row until 69 / 73 / 79 / 83 stitches remain. Break D. Next row: in B, purl 3 / 6
/ 2 / 5,
p2tog, * p4, p2tog; repeat from *
to last 4 / 5 / 3
/ 4 stitches, purl 4 / 5
/ 3 / 4. Work straight in stocking stitch in B, starting with a knit row, until
back measures 21 / 22 / 22
/ 22½ inches down centre. Jacket Left FrontUsing No 10 needles and B, cast on 38 / 40
/ 42 / 44
stitches and work 10 rows in garter stitch. With right side facing, change to No 7 needles and diamond pattern, starting with 1st pattern row, and work straight until front matches back at side edge, ending with 8th pattern row. With right side facing, shape armholes by casting off 5 / 5
/ 6 / 6
stitches at the beginning of the next row. Next row: in B, purl 3 / 4
/ 3 / 1,
p2tog, * purl 3 / 2
/ 2 / 2,
p2tog; repeat from * to last 3 / 3
/ 3 / 1
stitches, purl 3 / 3 / 3
/ 1. Work straight in stocking stitch in B, starting with a knit row, until
front measures 19½ / 20 / 20
/ 20½ inches down centre. Jacket Right FrontWork to correspond with left front, reversing shapings. SleevesUsing No 10 needles and B, cast on 40 / 42
/ 42 / 44
stitches and work 11 rows garter stitch. Work straight until sleeve seam measures 15 / 15½
/ 15½ / 16
inches. CollarUsing No 10 needles and B, cast on 60 / 62
/ 64 / 66
stitches and work in garter stitch, shaping collar by increasing 1 stitch
at each end of the next and every alternate row until there are 70 / 72
/ 74 / 76
stitches Work 7 rows straight. Work 7 rows straight. Work 7 rows straight, Work 7 rows straight. Cast off. Front BandsRight: With No 10 needles and B, pick up and knit 107 / 109
/ 109 / 111
stitches up right front to start of neck shaping. Left: Work to correspond with right front band, omitting buttonholes. To Make UpPress parts lightly on wrong side under a damp cloth, avoiding garter
stitch borders. SkirtFirst panel: With right side facing, change to No 7 needles, join in D and work in
pattern as follows: Work a further 4 / 8 / 10
/ 16 rows straight in pattern. Work 3 / 3 / 1 / 1 rows straight, then, decrease 1 stitch at each end of next and every following 6th row until 31 / 33 / 35 / 37 stitches remain. Work a few rows straight until panel measures 20 / 20½
/ 21 / 21½
inches down centre, ending with 8th pattern row. Change to No 10 needles, and work 1 inch k1/p1 rib in B. To Make UpPress parts lightly on wrong side under a damp cloth, avoiding garter
stitch borders. |
MaterialsJacket: Skirt: Pair each of No 7 (4½mm), and 7 buttons. Tension16sts and 27 rows over 3 inches on 4½mm needles over diamond pattern. 18sts and 25 rows to 4 inches in tweed yarn on 4½mm needles over
stocking stitch. Size mattersJacket: Skirt: Abbreviations k: knit D = plain double knitting colour A word on the wool.The original yarn was Patons Bracken combined with a plain DK. I would substitute with Rowan Felted Tweed DK (because I love it and
there is a wonderful range of colours); however it's a finer yarn, and
much loftier and light weight yarn than Bracken, which knitted up quite
firmly, and the tension here aligns Bracken more towards being an Aran
yarn rather than a DK. Disclaimer
|
Instructions for DressSkirt sectionsWork panel as given for skirt above from **
to **. Work a few rows straight until panel measures 16½ / 17
/ 17½ / 18
inches down centre, ending with 4th pattern row, and increasing 1 stitch
in the centre of this row for the 2nd
and 4th sizes only. Break off B yarn, and leave the stitches on a spare needle or stitch holder. Make another 3 panel sections the same, and number each panel 1, 2, 3 and 4. Bodice back:To make the bodice, arrange the stitches from the skirt panels as follows: *** Continue working back and forth
in stocking stitch on these 94 / 100
/ 106 / 112
stitches for the back, starting with a purl row and work 3 rows straight.
Work straight until bodice measures 12½ / 12½
/ 12 / 12
inches from start. Work a few rows straight until bodice measures 15½ inches down centre,
ending with right side facing. With right side facing, rejoin the yarn to the remaining stitches and finish to correspond with first side of back. Bodice front: With No 8 needles and right side facing, using D yarn, work as follows:
Work as for Bodice back from ***
to ***. Here divide for neck:- With right side facing, shape shoulder as given for back. With right side facing, slip centre 14 / 16
/ 18 / 20
stitches on a spare needle or stitch holder, rejoin wool to remaining
stitches, and knit to end. To Make Up Press parts carefully on wrong side under a damp cloth, avoiding garter
stitch borders. Neckband: With right side facing, and using the set of No 10 needles,
or circular needle, work in D yarn as follows: Arranging the stitches evenly on 3 needles, or using circular needle,
work backwards and forwards in garter stitch (every row knitted) for 3
rows. Work a further 3 rows garter stitch. Cast off. Armbands: With right side facing, and using No 10 needles, work
in D yarn as follows: Join side seams and armbands with a flat seam. |
Materials12 / 13 / 14
/ 15 x 1oz balls in plain double knitting
("Amberglow") Pair each of No 7 (4½mm), No 8 (4mm), and No 10 (3¼mm) needles. A 5 inch zip fastener for back of dress. Tension16sts and 27 rows over 3 inches on 4½mm needles over diamond pattern.
Size mattersTo fit chest: Abbreviations k: knit D = plain double knitting colour A word on the wool.The original yarn was Patons Bracken combined with a plain DK. I would substitute with Rowan Felted Tweed (because I love it and there
is a wonderful range of colours); however it's a much loftier and light
weight yarn than Bracken, which knitted up quite firmly. Disclaimer
|