elspeth

this turned out to be quite a nice little bolero. i think it will look better together with a nice dress, but these photos will have to do.

the elspeth bolero

pattern: elspeth from rowan 37
designer: laura long
yarn: ecobomull from marks & kattens
yarn source: marias garn
needles: 4 mm
crochet hook: 3,5 mm
modifications: none

the intended yarn for this project is really rowan calmer, but i’ve knitted with that yarn before and wanted to try something else. also, the yarn i chose is more eco-friendly, so i thought i’d give it a try. it’s ok to knit with, but i’m not crazy about it. it is soft to the touch on the ball, but i think it knits up a fairly stiff fabric. it’s also quite heavy, so it might not be a good substitute yarn for calmer in other projects. calmer is a lot more elasic than this yarn (which isn’t elastic at all), so i needed to go down from size 5 mm needles to 4 mm needles. it was fairly easy and fun to knit, but i’m not 100 % satisfied with the shape of the garment. the crocheted edge tend to flare a bit, too. i suppose i cuold have used a smaller crochet hook, but the yarn is quite thick and my crocheting skills are really at beginner level, so i went with the intended size. all in all, i’m quite happy with it anyway, but i don’t know how much i’ll use it. i have a lovely summer dress that has a bit of 50’s look to it, that this would look great together with, so the next time i want to wear that dress, i have a nice little bolero to go with it.

here are some more photos:

detail of lace pattern and sleeve

and this is the back