Last year, as usual, I had my annual break-down in the local Phildar store during the summer sale. Among other things, I brought home large amounts of the ribbon yarn Rivage, which was discontinued.

So – what to do with it? I swatched and I swatched. Ribbon yarn behaves differently compared to other yarns. It is flat and, as it turns around in the crocheted stitches, it creates unique effects.

It is very difficult to make a nice crocheted fabric in ribbon yarn that ends up neither stiff nor see-through. Therefore, I decided to combine knit and crochet in my garment. The body, where I sincerely believe I need some coverage, if only to spare the people around me, is knitted. The sleeves, where a little peek-a-boo won’t scare anyone off, are crocheted. To give the garment better unity, I added a crocheted bottom border to the body.

The crocheted parts of this summer pull-over are in simple half-double crochet in the frontloop only. In ribbon yarn, this technique creates an unexpectedly lacey effect. The knitting is all stockinette stitch.

• Yarn: Ribbon yarn working up at the gauge specified below. I used Phildar’s Rivage (50% viscose/50% polyamide, 103m/112yds per 50g/1.75 oz ball). As indicated above, this yarn is discontinued. Googling efforts have lead me to believe that Crystal Palace Yarn’s Mikado Ribbon might work well as a substitute. Yardage: approximately 1100 (1200, 1500) m [1200 (1300, 1650) yds].
• Please note that the pattern will work with a more traditional yarn, as long as the gauge is the same. The resulting fabric will look different, though, and this difference will be most noticeable in the crocheted parts. Swatch and see if you like it!
• Crochet hook: 6mm (US J-10)
• Knitting needles: 6mm (US 10)
• Tapestry needle to weave in ends and seam pieces together
• Smooth, thin yarn in matching colour for seaming – I used a light blue crochet thread #5.

S (M, L).

Finished bust size: 89 (100, 115) cm / 35 (39, 45) in.

Crochet: Hdc in front-loop only – 14.5 stitches and 10.5 rows = 10 cms [4”]

Knitting: Stockinette stitch (st st) – 19 stitches and 24 rows = 10 cms [4”]

All hdc stitches are worked in the front loop only (flo).

Special knitting stitches:

st st: Stockinette stitch. Knit right side rows; purl wrong side rows.

DVD:  double vertical decrease: Put the right needle into the next two stitches as if to knit them together,and slip them to the right needle. Knit the next stitch on the left needle. Using the left needle, pass the two slipped stitches over the knitted stitch.

M1R: With the left needle, lift the strand between the needles, inserting the needle from back to front. Knit the lifted loop through the front (the stitch will be twisted to avoid a hole).

M1L: With the left needle, lift the strand between the needles, inserting the needle from front to back. Knit the lifted loop through the back (the stitch will be twisted to avoid a hole).

Single decreases:

Left-slanting (used at the beginning of a row):

    K2togtbl:   knit two together through the back loop.

Right-slanting (used at the end of a row):

    K2tog:   knit two together.

Pattern

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