Sizes: 37 1/2" (41 1/4" - 45" - 48 3/4" - 52 1/2" - 56 1/4" - 60") finished garment chest measurement
This hand knit eyelet shirt has a classic fit which elevates its simplicity to Sunday Best. Bodice is knitted in the round up to the armholes. Sleeves are knit flat, in order to allow width adjustments from bottom edge up to the armhole. Set-in sleeves. Sleeve Cap is shaped so that the sleeves hang stylishly horizontal along the bottom edge, rather than kicked out 45-degrees like a cheap t-shirt.
Bottom edging has been knit on Ecko brand turkey skewers, available at any grocery store! (I've used them quite a lot over the years for knit laces. They equate to standard Size 00 US needles.) A Provisional Cast-On is used on the Bodice and on the Sleeves so that those stitches become available again, to allow the knit edging to be attached as it is knitted. Edging along neckline is a pared-down version of bottom edging.
Length of the knit eyelet top in the directions is about 4" below natural waistline, plus the 1/2" knit edging. The knit eyelet shirt in the photo extends only 1 1/2" below the waistline since it is worn over a skirt which is permanently attached to a camisole.
I used my favorite yarn for clothing and socks here in hot, humid Texas: 5/2 perle cotton (but any yarn producing gauge would work). Besides the cool comfort, I can dye it easily with Procion MX fiber-reactive dyes, which makes buying it by the cone very attractive. The 5/2 perle is a fine fingering-weight cotton yarn, 2100 yds per lb (or about 26 wraps/inch), and can be found readily in yarn and weaving shops as well as online for $16 - $20 per 1-lb. cone. Mini-cones are available as well.
Required Yardage: 1326 (1507, 1758, 1929, 2078, 2336, 2615) yds
Knit gauge in Stockinette Stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) is 8 stitches and 11 rows per inch on size 2 US needles. This is a stable gauge, and if cotton is used, it will not stretch out of shape (as can happen with too loose a gauge).
Variation on Right, above, has had pearl beads added for a dressier look. There are also mirrored bugle beads in the middle of each butterfly "body", but I could not get the sparkle to show up in a photo.
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