Flyby Stardancer

This was knit out of Bernat Handicrafter Cotton on size 7 US circs. I didn't realize it was a dishcloth-type yarn when I was buying it online, and it was cheap, and I'm a poor college student! I had originally bought it for a different project, then when I wasn't even a quarter of the way through casting on for that project I got bored with it. I had bought 17 skeins of this stuff, and I used 9 and a part skeins for this top. That means there's over seven skeins left that I have no idea what to do with. lol

I started off with The Incredible, Custom-fit Raglan Sweater, and went from there.



Modifications I made: I used a yo increase for the raglan increases because I liked that detail on other knitted raglans I've seen (such as Knitty's Copper Penny). I also did shaping for the waist on it. I tried to do some short-row shaping to give me more room in the chest, but by the time I thought of it I really only had room for one row set of short-row shaping. I also wasn't trusting my gauge, and thus the decreases down to the waist aren't evenly-placed. And the sleeves originally were supposed to be to the elbow. I was trying it on as I went and it seemed like they were to the elbow, but then I tried it on after binding off the first sleeve and it worked itself up to short-sleeve length. I didn't want to go back and reknit the thing, so I just knit the other sleeve the same way.



I did a v-neck, my way. I started out at increasing every 6th row for a couple rounds, then I did an increase every 4th row, and eventually every 2nd row. I like the effect it ended up having, and it hits me at the perfect spot, though I think the neckline isn't as wide as I normally like v-necks to be.



Waistbands are supposed to be good at showing off your narrowest part, hence why I added this detail. Plus, I think it's pretty. Please excuse the uneven, unblocked stitches. Heh.



I loved how the ribbing alone the sides turned out, and everything about the increases after the waist. It does a really good job hiding any bumpy flaws underneath. :D



Aaaaaaaand on me. I should have done more short row shaping for the chest, and paired some decreases with the raglan increases because there's way too much fabric in the back, and it's bunching some around the raglan lines. I also should have cinched the waist in tighter, because that's the only way the waistband will really look good (as it is I feel it's making me look wider). However, as I said before, I love how the ribbing and the increases flair it out under the waistband. And the length is just right for me (though seeing the height vs. length proportions when it's flat just put what little self-esteem I have in the toilet).

While there's things I would have changed if I did it again, I think I did a pretty good job for my first knitted top. And I'm not wearing it out in public because of the yarn used, but it'll be good for doing housework!

X-posted to knitting.