Maren´s Wedding Bolero

A classic and feminin bolero knitted in one piece. Emphasises your curves in all the right ways, and is just perfect for weddings and dressy parties.

Sizes
XS (S) M (L) XL (XXL)
XL for free below. The rest can be bought here.

Needles
32” circular needles US 9 and 11

Yarn
Abuelita Merino Worsted
200 (200) 300 (300) 400 (400) g
Pickles Silk Mohair (double stranded)
100 (100) 150 (150) 200 (200) g

Gauge per 4”
US 11: 12 stitches  
US 9: 15 stitches

Measurements, lying flat
Lower edge, in the back: 12.6 (14.1) 15.7 (17.3) 18.9 (20.8)”
Width under the sleeves: 15.7 (17.7) 19.7 (21.7) 23.6 (26)”
Length in the front: about 11 (11.4) 11.8 (12.6) 13 (13.7)”
Cast on 128 s on US 9. Use 1 strand abuelita and 2 strands silk mohair together. The whole piece is knitted bottom-up with 3 strands.

Knit stockinette back and forth for about 1.6”. Purl 1 row from the right side for a fold-up adge. Measure the piece from here.

Continue in stockinette, and cast on 5 new stitches in each end of the needle (make backward loops on the needle) = 138 stitches.
These 10 stitches are for a fold in edge, and should be knitted in reversed stokinette for the prettiest result from here on.
Change to US 11 when the piece is about 1.6”.
Continue in stockinette.
Place marker after 33 stitches and when 33 stitches remain to mark the sides = 72 stitches for the back piece.

Shape the front pieces slightly on the second row from the right side like this:
Increase 1 s (make 1 left) after the first 7 stitches, increase 1 s (make 1 right) before the 7 last stitches.
Repeat on the next row from the right side = 4 new stitches.
AT THE SAME TIME when the piece is 2.2”, knit and turn like this (look this up on youtube.com if you´re unfamiliar with turning to avoid holes):
Knit until the second marker (apart from the first 5 s that should be purled), turn,
Purl to the first marker, turn, knit the rest of the row.

Repeat this knit and turn paragraph every 0.6” 3 times in total.
Part the work by the markers for front and back pieces when the piece is about 5.5”
 
Front pieces
Start knittnig the first front piece in stockinette.
Cast on 5 new stitches at the end of the row for sleeves by making backward loops.
Repeat 3 times in total and increase 10 s one last time = 25 new stitches. The 5 last stitches should be knitted in reversted stockinette to make sleeve edges.
Leave the stitches on a spare needle when the piece is about 13” measured in the front.
Knit the other front piece.

Back piece
Start knittnig the backpiece in stockinette.
Cast on 5 new stitches at the beginning end the end of the row for sleeves by making backward loops (the very first 5 s at the beginning of the first row can be casted on like a normal cast on).
Repeat 3 times in total and increase 10 s one last time = 50 new stitches. The 5 first and last stitches should be knitted in reversted stockinette to make sleeve edges.
Knit the backpiece/sleeves until they are as tall as the sleeves for the front pieces.

Use kitchener´s sticth to weave the front and back pieces together. Start at the far end by the sleeve edges.
Cast off th 5 s for each for the front bands, and do not weave these.

Back collar
Use the remaining stitches in the back and purl 1 row from the right side, continue in stockinette for about 1.6”, and cast off.

Assembly and treatment
Fold up all edges and sew neatly along the wrong side. You can shape the lower edge according to your back/waist, it you are slimmer than the standard measurements we´ve used.
We also sewed a couple of stitches between the back collar and front bands to tighten a bit. The sleeve edges can be folded up or left as they are, which we did.

Rinse in cold water and leave flat to dry. As the garment is loosly knitted you can shape it quite a bit to emphasise the curves you want, and make it fit perfectly. We stretched it vertically, and especially the back piece looks nice if it gets stretched out a bit.

Damp when dry.