Here's Wilson Top, a top down sleeveless sweater knit with Zauberball Cotton. I'm always on the lookout for summer knits and this one is providing many hours of pleasurable "no brainer" knitting.
Recently I found my knitting at the stage where I can try on the sweater. All of the increasing for the yoke is complete. I ran the stitches (there are over 300 at this stage) onto a holding strand and here's my selfie with the knitting draped around my shoulders. I'm really liking the look of this sleeveless sweater.
One of the really handy features of top down knitting is that you can try on the garment as you go along.
I did some creative knit thinking when I came across Allyson Dykhuizen's pattern on Ravelry. Zauberball Cotton seemed like it might be a good substitute yarn for the HiKoo Concentric Cotton that she used to design Wilson Top. Did I swatch? You bet I did! And the results had me casting on using the Zauberball.
We have lots of Zauberball Cotton on our website. The color gradients in Zauberball Cotton delve into stunning changes that that make knitting a sweater like this one a joy. Order some Zauberball and get yours started soon!
Notes on knitting a Wilson Top:
++ I knit a flat swatch using Zauberball Cotton, an artsy yarn that I have been wanting to try in a summer top. It is a single strand that changes color and will give punch to the garment.
++ My swatch gauge is about 5 stitches per inch, almost right on the money for the pattern gauge. Since the yarn used in the design, Concentric Cotton, is 924 yard per 200 gram cake, I’m going to plan for two balls of Cotton Zauberball (462 yards per 100 gram ball, or 924 yards per 200 grams — perfect!) If I need more to knit the body longer, I can add another ball since dye lot is not an issue with this yarn. The fabric will have an open look, perfect for warm weather wear.
++ Using an AddiClick short rocket tip with 16” cable, I cast on the 140 stitches for the 48.75” neckline. Eventually there will be close to 400 stitches on the needle, so I’m planning to move to a longer cable as needed.
++ The K1, P1 ribbing felt tenuous on the US #4 needle, but that’s often the case when starting a top down project. After a few rounds, the stitches start to look like a neckline as the ribbing takes shape.
++ I like the tapered rocket tip since often a yarn over will bury the purl stitch next to it. With the slender tip, I can sort out which stitch is a yarn over and which one is a purl stitch.
++ The colorway I chose randomly placed a medium blue into the ribbing. I could not have planned this better. Lesson learned, though. When I knit another one, I will wind and rewind to the color I want.
++ When I changed to the US #6 needles to begin the circular yoke, I reattached to the 16" cable and stayed with the short tips.
++ Beware! That mock garter stitch knit in the round can be compelling. Be prepared for late night “just one more round” knitting sessions.
++ This colorway should have some terra cotta, earth greenish yellow, blues and grays that will appear as I get deeper into the ball. It will be fun to see what appears on the needles.
Post updated 3/3/2023
Photo shows Zauberball Cotton in Color 2407 "Downtown" knit on AddiClick Rocket Squared needle US #6 (4.0 mm).