Rectangles

The great thing about understanding stitch and row gauge is that you can throw all those patterns away and design your own. Most sweaters are just simple rectangles put together, so all you have to do is plug in the gauge to the size pieces you need and knit away. In this piece I simply knit two long rectangles for the body of the tunic and one for the collar. Once again I used my faux rib technique of 4 stitches in work and 2 out, except for one little twist. I e wrapped on 100 stitches, every needle and knit 50 's at tension 8. Then I put two stitches out of work and four in work, knit 90 rows and cast off. So basically I knit the sweater upside down.

Next I steamed the pieces and shaped the neckline. I was fortunate to host a workshop with Elizabeth Zimmerman years ago at my first little yarn store (that's a story for another time). She demonstrated how she knit a piece and cut it apart to create the neck opening. All the knitters were aghast at the idea of actually cutting into a piece of knit fabric, but it worked and I have enjoyed that technique ever since. I'm all about time saving steps. So basically I drew the neckline on the front piece, in this case a large scoop 9 inches wide and 3 inches deep. and serged it off with my serger. If you don't have a serger you can use a combination of straight stitch and zig zag to get a similar effect. Once that was done, I knit the collar casting on 110 stitches, faux rib, and knitting 50 rows. I sewed all the pieces together to create this colorful tunic. The yarn Amazing, by Lion Brand,was amazing. It's a great combination of wool and nylon and is artfully blended in beautiful colors. I  plan to use it alot.