A white lace blouse

A white lace blouse, youthful and fresh for the young lady!
( Wit kant bloesie, jeugdig en vars vir die jong dametjie!)





This pattern is translated from Afrikaans and dates from around 1940's. If you have any questions regarding the pattern, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Measurements: Chest - 36" - 38"

Needed: 8 balls Nr 50 crochet thread, 1 pair of no 17 knitting needles with corks on the back (?), 1 crochet hook size 6, 5 small white buttons

Pattern:
The blouse is knitted in the same pattern throughout except for the collar.
1 Pattern repeat measures 1,5” wide and 7/8 in length.
Pattern length = 18 stitches divisible by 2.

First row: k1, *k1, yo, k1 (p3, k1) 4 times, yo*. Repeat from * ending with k1.
Row 2 and all wrong side rows: k1, p to last stitch, k1.
Row 3: k3, *yo, k1, (p3, k1) 4 times, yo, k3. Repeat from * ending with yo, k2
Row 5: k4, *yo, k1, (p3, k1) 4 times, yo, k5 repeat from * ending with yo, k3
Row 7: k5, *yo( k1, p2tog, p1) 4 times, k1, yo, k7, repeat from *ending with yo, k4
Row 9: k6, *yo, (k1, p2tog) 4 times, k1, yo, k9, repeat from * ending with yo, k5
Row 11: k7, *yo, k1, (p2tog) 4 times, yo, k11, repeat from *ending with yo, k6
Row 12: as row 2

Front

Cast on 236 stitches and knit the pattern above until 24 pattern repeats have been completed in the length.
Sleeves – Cast off 4 stitches at the beginning of the next few rows until the width of one pattern repeat has been cast off (18 stitches). You should have 11 pattern repeats left over the chest area. Knit another 7 repeats in length. For the neck, as soon as the 31st repeat has been knit, knit 5 pattern repeats of the row, cast off one full repeat (18 stitches) knit to end of row. Continue for the left shoulder. At neck edge, cast off 3 x 3 and 5 x 2 stitches on alternative rows (thus cast off on knit rows only). Continue knitting another 3.5 pattern repeats in length ending with a wrong side row. Next, knit to the start of the first pattern repeat, turn, knit to the start of the 2nd pattern repeat, turn, knit to the start of the 3rd pattern repeat, turn, cast off all stitches. Complete right shoulder in the same manner reversing cast off stitches.

Back

Cast on 218 stitches. Knit in pattern until 24 pattern repeats have been completed in length. Complete sleeve decreases as per front in other words, cast off 4 stitches at the beginning of the next few rows until 18 stitches have been cast off. Knit another 4 pattern repeats in length and split knitting in two in the middle for back opening. You may need to cast on/ increase and extra stitch on one side to have an equal number of stitches. Knit these sections separately for another 6 pattern repeats in length. Cast off for shoulder as per front. Repeat for other shoulder. Using crochet hook, crochet in sc around the edge of the opening for a few rows leaving 4 buttonholes at the top of the opening.

Sleeves
Cast on 200 stitches. Knit 5 pattern repeats in length. Cast off 4 x 3 stitches at each edge. Cast off one stitch at the beginning of each row until sleeve measures 7 pattern repeats. For a neat edge, leave out the yo at the ends of the shoulder to ensure a neat edge. Cast off 3 stitches at the beginning of every row until sleeve measure 9 pattern repeats. Cast off remaining stitches.

Collar

The collar is knit in 2 parts. Cast on 92 stitches. Knit in stocking stitch with the wrong side to be used as the right side. In every knit row, kfb of the 3rd and 3rd last stitch. Continue until collar measures 2.5”.Cast off. Repeat for another collar. On bottom edge, pick up and knit all stitches. Next row: p1, (yo, p2tog) to end, p1. Next row: knit. Cast off. Fold the edge in half and sew in place. Steam collar and sew to neck edge.

Sew all pieces together.