knitshop.co.uk: Sugar And Spice Ginger Silk Top

Sugar And Spice and all things nice. That’s what little girls are made of, but women love luxurious goodies too. This fantastically flattering top is wonderful to wear and feels great against the skin since it’s made from 100 percent hypo-allergenic mulberry silk yarn. It also looks amazing, due to the figure-hugging curves knitwear designer Susie Johns has included.

Knitted using knitshop.co.uk’s Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn, this beautiful top involves some simple shaping and rib stitch. So if you can knit and purl and know how to increase and decrease, you should have no trouble recreating Susie’s lovely design.

The pattern, written for knitshop.co.uk by noted knitwear designer and author Susie Johns, featured as the cover design on Let’s Knit magazine. For this project, the top was knitted in bright red – hence it being christened Sugar and Spice. You can choose whichever colour you like.

Mulberry Silk Twist Yarn comes in a choice of 10 bold or subtle shades, from the zingy orange that gives the pattern its name, to the more muted pale pink, white, silver-grey and ice blue. These show off the double-stranded texture of the natural silk yarn. The yarn is made from nothing but mulberry silk and comes in generous 250m hanks. http://knitshop.co.uk/31-mulberry-silk-twist

You’ll need just three hanks of this luxurious yarn to create the Sugar And Spice Ginger Silk Top. Its stretchiness helps ensure a perfect fit. The top knits up on 3.25mm and 4mm needles. The yarn has a tension of 12 stitches x 20 rows to make a 10cm square using 4mm needles. The top is knitted as two pieces, so there’s not much sewing up, either. Instructions for a pretty crochet finish to the armholes are included, but these are optional. You can also omit the drawstring round the neck edge if you prefer. This cap-sleeve top also looks great with knitted edging.

If you’re after a vintage feel you could choose the antique gold. In the March 2013 issue of Yarn Today, knitshop.co.uk is one of their recommended vintage yarns. They state: “antiques gold is the ideal shade for vintage-inspired garments and accessories”.

We’d love to see your finished Sugar and Spice Ginger Silk Top. Email us a photo we can post on our Facebook page or tweet us a photo.

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