Navelli, A Hand Knit Summer Tee
Navelli is our second Studio Project exploring colourwork in Cotton Fine, and I thinks it’s a winner.
It seems Cotton Fine’s 80/20 cotton-wool blend lends itself perfectly to light summer garments with colourwork detail typically reserved for our winter woolies.
With lots of positive ease and seamless design there’s lots to love about the Navelli tee.
Enjoy!
Andrea - Loom + Spindle
STUDIO PROJECT | NAVELLI
INTENTION
Knit Navelli and explore:
Working with Cotton Fine
Working colourwork in a cotton yarn
DESIGN
Navelli, designed by Caitlin Hunter and published May 2019. It’s available to purchase as a digital download from Ravelry.com or Caitlin’s website.
The pattern is available in 12 sizes with finished bust circumferences of 91.5cm to 183cm (36'' to 72'').
I knit size 4 with a finished bust circumference of 122cm (48'').
SKILLS
Knitting in the round
Knitting flat
Colourwork
TOOLS
3.25 mm (US 3) and 2.75 mm (US 2) circular needles
MATERIALS
MC: Cotton Fine | Salmon Berry
CC1: Cotton Fine | Cavern
CC2: Cotton Fine | Putty
PROCESS
YARN SELECTION
When Cotton Fine first came in I was curious to see if it was suitable for colourwork. On a whim I picked up the Navelli colourwork chart and grabbed some Cotton Fine and knit up a swatch. Happy with the results I decided to knit the tee.
CONSTRUCTION
The pattern begins with the cast-on edge for the bottom hem. My go to cast-on for a 1x1 rib is the alternating cast-on method. Given there were a substantial amount of stitches I worked a few rows flat before joining in the round to avoid twisting the stitches.
The colourwork chart was fairly intuitive. I did need to give careful attention to the placement of the repeat when working each row. Top tip - check you work occasionally. I came unstuck a few times when I missed a stitch and had to un-knit then re-knit the row. 😅
Once the colourwork was complete the project was fairly straight forward, stocking stitch for the body, ribbing for the neckline and some short-row shaping for the shoulders. A 3-needle bind-off is used to seem the shoulders, always a satisfying way to see the garment transform. The final additions were the sleeves which have a contrast colour edge - I think I obsessed over this detail the most!
FINISHING
Not much to report here other than weaving in all the ends and blocking the garment.
INSIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITIES
YARN
Cotton Fine creates a wonderfully smooth and drapey fabric. The wool component ensures a bit of elasticity while the cotton keeps the fabric light and cool.
CONSTRUCTION + FINISHING
Once all that colourwork is done the piece knits up fairly quickly. The design incorporates a nice mix of technique to keep you entertained. Blocking the garment really helps to even-out all the colourwork stitches.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Navelli is a great spring/summer knit with lots of positive ease for comfort in warm weather. Cotton Fine feels drapey and durable and should last many seasons to come.
If you would you like to save this project for later add it to your Ravelry favourites HERE.
Knitting Navelli in Cotton Fine?
Here’s what you’ll need for sizes 1-12:
MC: 3 (3, 3, 4) (4, 4, 4) (4, 5, 5) (5, 5) skeins
CC1: 2 (2, 2, 2) (2, 2, 2) (2, 2, 2) (2, 3) skeins
CC2: 1 (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1) (1, 1, 1) (1, 2) skeins
THANK YOU FOR READING!
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