FO: Leaf Yoke Top II

* Angled FO


* Front

* Collar detail


* Hem close-up...they're supposed to be hearts, but don't they look like triangles?


What can I say? I loved my first Leaf Yoke Top so much that I decided to make a second one in a leafy-green color. You may recall that I knitted Green Gable last year, but I never truly liked it so I had only worn it once or twice. In order to not live with mediocrity, I decided to frog Green Gable, and voila, Leaf Yoke Top II was born! I know I'll definitely get more wear from this FO, and it's something I can wear easily to the office as well. :-)

Pattern: Leaf Yoke Top from Spring/Summer 2009 Knit.1 Magazine
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Peridot
Amount: 2.5 balls
Needles: US 4 and 6
Mods: Cast on 8 sts instead of 10 sts for the armholes
Added an inch in length by doing increase rows every 6th round instead of every 5th round
Added an extra increase round for the waist
Worked to 18 inches before starting the heart lace pattern from the Vogue Knitting book
Only picked up 40 sts around the armhole (not including the 36 sts held on waste yarn)

FO: Leaf Yoke Top

* Happy FO * Front

* Back

* Collar

I fell in love with this pattern a couple months ago and immediately proceeded to buy the magazine simply for this top. After searching through my stash, I decided to go with the Cotton Fleece as I wanted to start using it up. All in all, I'm quite happy with this pattern and I actually found myself being happier with the top than I expected to be. I don't remember being too impressed with the yarn last year because it bled a lot in the wash, but this time I was extra careful to wash and rinse twice with vinegar. (I would die if my beautiful blocking board became stained.) And now I'm really loving the feel of the yarn.

I work in an office and knew I wouldn't be able to pull off wearing this at work, so I went to H&M over the weekend and found the perfect little short-sleeved, button-down shirt to wear under it. Voila! Now I can wear it to work and not worry about being that scandalous girl. :-)

I also decided to forgo the folded hem and opted for the scallop lace from Titania, thanks to Jasmom's suggestion. In my opinion, I think it complements the lacy leaves well and leaves room for some "air conditioning" at the bottom.

Pattern: Leaf Yoke Top from Spring/Summer 2009 Knit.1 Magazine

Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in Terracotta Canyon

Amount: 2.5 balls

Needles: US 4 and 6
Mods: Cast on 8 sts instead of 10 sts for armholes
Added an inch in length by doing increase rows every 6th round instead of every 5th round
Added an extra inc round for the waist
Worked to 19 inches before starting lace pattern from Titania for the hem
Only picked up 40 sts around armhole (not including the 36 held on waste yarn)

All in a night's work...

From this...
to this in 2 hours

If you recall, I knitted Green Gable last year. This was one of my earliest tops, back when I did not know how to use DPNs, or owned 9" circulars. The sleeves did not come out well, and the body felt frumpy on me so I rarely ever wore this FO. After finishing the Leaf Yoke Top the other night, I figured why live with mediocrity? If I don't love something, I will never wear it and it would be a waste of yarn hanging in my closet. Not to mention that I loved this gorgeous leaf-green shade (unfortunately, my camera can't seem to capture its true color).

After patient frogging and detangling knots (man, I splitted so many stitches), I came to this conclusion...

an impulsively cast-on Leaf Yoke Top II!