The inspiration for this piece is my friend Helen. She is a very stylish woman who always wears skirts and heels, even if it’s to take her two dogs and 3 year-old son to the park. Helen the lady is classy, sexy and curvy. Helen the skirt is, too. It’s the kind of skirt that would look great worn in the office with a fitted blouse, or to the farmers’ market with a simple t-shirt. It’s for the woman who does it all and wants to look good doing it.

The piece is worked from the bottom up, starting out flat and then joined in the round at the top of the slit. To keep the look clean and crisp, the bottom of the skirt features a stockinette stitch turned hem. The rest of the skirt has an all-over simple diamond brocade pattern. Decreases start at the full-hip so that the skirt narrows to the waist, creating a very flattering curvy silhouette. It’s then finished off with an elastic waistband encased in hemmed stockinette stitch.

The original sample of this skirt is knit with two different yarns held together. The Andean Treasure provides structure, strength and weight while Aloft adds richness and texture along with the halo of mohair which makes the subtle diamond pattern just a little more obscure. Alternatively, a new sample has been worked in Rowan Kid Classic to achieve a similar effect while working with just one yarn.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL)
Finished measurements:
Waist: 24 (26, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44)“/59 (64, 69, 80, 91, 101, 112) cm
Hips: 34 (36, 38, 42, 46, 50.5, 55)”/84 (90, 95, 105, 116, 126, 137) cm
Length: 25”/63.5 cm - Note: Length is adjustable by 3”/7.5 cm increments.

Materials
Yarn: 635 (670, 710, 785, 865, 940, 1015) yds/580 (615, 650, 720, 790, 860, 930) m of:
Rowan Kid Classic; 70% Wool, 22% Mohair, 8% Nylon; 153 yds 140 m/1.76 oz 50g - Spruce (853)

Or hold one strand of the following two yarns together

Knit Picks Andean Treasure; 100% Baby Alpaca; 110 yds 101 m/1.76 oz 50 g - Midnight Heather (24320) 1268 - 2034 yds. total
and
Knit Picks Aloft; 75% Super Kid Mohair, 25% Silk; 246 yds 225 m/0.88 oz 25 g - Carbon (25758) uses 1268 - 2034 yds. total

Needles: US# 7 4.5 mm 24” 60 cm circular, or size needed for gauge
Notions: 1.5” 4 cm waistband (non-rolling) elastic 24 (26, 28, 32, 36, 40, 44)“ / 61 (66, 71, 81.5, 91.5, 101.5, 112) cm in length

• Tapestry needle
• Cable needle or DPN
• Stitch markers
• US# H 5 mm crochet hook

Needle and thread or sewing machine
Gauge: 19 stitches and 26 rows = 4”/10 cm in St st, blocked, with Andean Treasure and Aloft held together or Kid Classic.

Thank you once again to Elenor Dixon for technical editing and to my lovely testers: FemaleDragon, heckenhocker, pb1138 and amchart.