Ayana

A tailored pullover with gently sloping waving rib panels.

Sizes: Ten sizes; intended to be worn with 1-2” / 2.5-5 cm positive ease in the bust.

Final Measurements: Bust sizes measure: 30 (32, 34½, 36½, 38, 40, 42½, 46, 50½, 54)”/77 (81, 88, 93, 97, 102, 108, 117, 129, 138) cm
Length from hem to shoulder: 21½ (22¾, 23¼, 23½, 24¼, 24½, 24¾, 25, 25, 25)”/54.5 (58, 59, 59.5, 61.5, 62, 63, 63.5, 63.5, 63.5) cm

Featured Materials: Berroco Ultra Alpaca (215 yds/197 m per 100 g hank). Shown in color 6259 Beet Root: 4 (5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 6, 7, 7, 8 ) hanks or approximately 783 (886, 944, 1032, 1075, 1179, 1252, 1359, 1469, 1579) yards/717 (812, 865, 946, 985, 1080, 1147, 1245, 1346, 1446) meters in an alternate yarn.

Gauge: 18 stitches and 26 rows = 4”/10 cm in stockinette stitch, blocked. Recommended needle size of US 7.

Pattern Notes: All photos copyright splityarn 2011 and used with permission. Technical editing by Elizabeth Sullivan.

Ayana is an easygoing but flattering V-neck sweater with waving rib panels to create a curvy impression. It is knit in pieces from the bottom up and then seamed together. The bottoms of all pieces are worked with faced hems. This keeps the visual interest of the ribbing while mitigating its tendency to pull in. Vertical darts are used for waist and bust shaping. On the front, the darts are worked into the sides of the waving rib panels. The waving rib continues at the top of the back neck. With minor alterations, Ayana can flatter a variety of body types. As written, the V neckline and ribbed hem trim make Ayana visually balanced; the waving rib panels do a nice job of narrowing a larger bust.

Altering where the hem falls on the wearer’s body and the depth of the hem ribbing can make Ayana a great choice for top-heavy or bottom-heavy shapes: Top-heavy shapes can expand and deepen the ribbing on the hem, or change it all to waving rib. Bottom-heavy shapes might consider eliminating the band of hem ribbing entirely. The sleeves can easily be shortened to draw attention to a curvy waist, or the ribbing on the sleeves shortened to draw a visual line across the wearer’s hips.

Vertical darts allow for extremely flexible shaping, customized to fit your body. Should you desire less waist shaping than specified, you can either omit the shaping rows entirely, or omit only the shaping on the front of the sweater. Omitting only the front shaping (or using a smaller amount of shaping on the front) can provide a very nice fit on the small of the back without stretching the sweater too tight in the waist. Bustier women can accommodate their needs by performing more increases on the front of the sweater, and not in the back. The extra stitches increased can be decreased into the waving rib panels at the neckline.

The neckline is trimmed with a rolled edge: stitches are picked up, worked in stockinette for a few rows, and then bound off. This gives the neckline structural stability without interfering with the visual interest of the rib panels.

Berroco’s Ultra Alpaca is one of my all-time favorite yarns and offers a wonderful fuzziness to the rib panels adorning the front of this sweater. I swatched the sweater in one of their more heathered colors, and it also looked great. If you’d like to substitute yarn for Ayana, I recommend you choose a yarn with some drape and either tweed or a fuzzy quality, to keep the lines of the ribbing soft.

Ayana may be purchased from my ravelry pattern store for US$7.00 or by clicking here: buy now. Thanks for your support!

1 thought on “Ayana

  1. […] the red Brooks Farm Solo will become Parcel and the Twist of Fate Spinnery yarn will likely become Anaya with 3/4 length sleeves. Not sure what the Bittersweet Woolery Star Dust Lace or what the Socks […]

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