After I finished knitting the little Clochette hat, I set out to knit another flower. Asters are one of my favorite flowers with their bright peach center framed by vibrant purple petals.
I sketched, and sketched, I searched my stash, and it all came together. I had some lovely Bouton d'Or Mango cotton in just the perfect colors, a soft deep purple, and a peachy orange. I also found one single ball of a lighter purple, which would be perfect for the trim.
I designed the sweater so that it would have a slight flare, with the petals narrowing into a delicate empire waist line. The yoke of the sweater became the stygma.
The sweater is knit in one piece, ( after each petal is started)with no seams. I placed the decreases between the petals, and separated the petals with columns of purl stitches.
While the petals were knit in stockinette stitch, the yoke was knit in garter stitch. After a few rows of the lighter purple the yoke switched to its bright peach tone, and the sleeves were added to the knitting by casting on extra stitches. I really like the discrete and graceful nature of the short shoulder hugging sleeves.
The yoke was gently decreased, until it came to a flatteringly open neckline. It was then topped by a few rows of the lighter purple.
I picked up stitches along the front sides of the sweater, and around the petals and added a few continuous rows of light purple.
Picking the buttons was great fun. Again I searched my stash, ( I am ashamed to say, that on top of my crazy yarn stash, I also have a button stash!) and these little peach water bubble stole my heart.
I took notes as I was designing the sweater and I will be working on different size options and will publish the pattern as a free pdf. What would you think of the name Corolle for this pattern?
