Sometimes I feel the need to make something truly feminine and romantic:) The beautiful character Tamouna in Kéthévane Davrichewys novel La mer noire gave me inspiration to create a cardigan light as a feather with lots of romance and femininity worked in every stitch.
The result is an A-line shaped cardigan bordered with deep lace, graceful and flattering. As I worked it in a deep shade of powder pink I was thinking about how it would change character worked in a soft, black merino, a cream cashmere, a soft brown shade of alpaca….

The cardigan is lovely to wear, open, belted, with a broche or pin for closure….. So feminine, flattering and light….

Construction The cardigan is completely seamless The lace-borders are worked top-down and are leading the knitting directions. You start by working the lace-border of the body top-down (from a normal or provisional cast-on). Main body is worked from the top of the border and bottom-up to armholes. Lace-border of the sleeves is worked top-down (from a normal or provisional cast-on), and in the round, the st st section of the sleeves is worked in the round to armholes. Body and sleeves are joined at armholes and work is continued with decreases for armhole shaping. Sleeves are integrated in the knitting to shoulder - there is no seaming involved. Sts are picked up along the fronts for lace-borders. Finally sts are picked up around the neck for the lace collar.

Sizes
There are 9 sizes to choose from. Finished chest measurements: 32.5/35/37/39/41.5/43.5/45.5/48/50”.The cardigan should not be too clingy. The sample is made in size 35.5” with approximately 1” of positive ease. Please note that the sleeves for the sample turned out a little bit long…. a matter of taste, really…..

Material I used the lovely kid seta from Grignasco to work the cardigan. You might substitute this with a lace weight/2ply yarn that works to gauge. I recommend that you use a yarn with natural fibers in order to enhance the beautiful drape. You will need 6/6/6/7/7/8/8/9/9 balls to work the cardigan

Gauge: the gauge is measured after blocking 10x10cm (4x4”) = 22 sts and 28 rows in st st. I used needle size 3.5mm/US4 to achieve this. Use needles according to gauge.

Knitting skills The lace-borders of the lower body and sleeves are worked from a normal or a provisional cast-on. If you work from a normal cast-on you pick up sts for the st st sections of the body and sleeves. Your skills should include: (provisional cast-on: optional), picking up of sts, working in the round. Abbreviations used are: you, ssk, k2tog, p2tog, sl2(as if to k2tog)k1psso. All lace-borders are cast off by using a stretchy cast-off (method is thoroughly explained in the pattern).

The pattern The pattern is easy to follow, with clear instructions and useful tips along the way. The lace-borders can be worked from charts or from written instructions (row-by-row). There is a simple schematic to show the knitting directions. All stitch-counts and measurements are given. Measurements are given in cm’s as well as inches.
The pattern also gives useful tips on how to change length of the body and/or sleeves.