Al Dente! Freshly made to match almost any garment of the wardrobe! With its abundance of lace and femininity; what more could I wish from a favorite summer cardi?
Maybe that I had a second one, in black merino, to go with my winter wardrobe:)

I made the Al Dente with a maximum of lace - and took care to choose a simple lay-out and a repetive pattern to make it as elegant and non-fuss as possible.

ConstructionThe Al Dente Cardi is made in the classical way:
The lower body is worked in one piece and back and forth to armpits, where work is divided for back and fronts to be continued in seperate pieces. Sleeves are worked in the round to armpits, sleeve-caps are worked back and forth. Shoulders are worked together using the 3-needle bind-off method, sleeves are set in, sts are picked up around the neck to work the lace-edging. Finally sts are picked up along the fronts to work the button-bands.

Knitting skill Despite its elaborate look the lace-pattern is worked using 3 abbreviations only: k, yo and sl2(as if to k2tog)k1psso. Simple as that!
Other skills: working sleeves in the round, k2tog, ssk, picking up sts.

The pattern Easy to follow with both chart and row-by-row instructions for the lace. All measurements are given in both cm’s and inches. There are LOTS of stitch-counts and useful tips along the way.

Sizes 12 sizes available. Finished bust measurements are: 33/35/36.5/38/40/41.5/43.5/45/47/48.5/50/52”

Material I used Sirdars Cotton DK to work the cardi. This 8-ply cotton comes in balls of 100gr/3.53oz and 212m/232yards.
Amount needed is 4/4/5/5/5/6/6/7/7/8/8/8 balls of above wool.
You could also choose a merino, alpaca, cashmere blend or similar, as long as you stay true to gauge:

Gauge Working in st st: 23sts and 30rows = 10x10cm/4x4”