Lavina Lace Top

This top took me over a year to finish! Not because it's super complicated, but because I got sidetracked by knitting a bunch of Christmas gifts. I started working on it last year as a quick Summer gift to myself and got around to finishing it this Summer. Just in time for this nasty heat wave!

The pattern is titled Lavina, by Cecily Glowik MacDonald. It is a beautiful, well written pattern and I would definitely recommend it. It is knitted in the round from the bottom up, then splits into two panels for the front and back with sleeve shaping on the sides.
 
For the life of me I could not memorize the lace repeat so I had to refer to the pattern constantly. I also ended up making it a size too large which is unfortunate but entirely my fault. I did have a little trouble with the sleeve shaping and had to take them out and re-do them a couple times but I think they turned out pretty solid. 

A lot of the reviews for the pattern suggest sizing down due to the drape of the lace, or even knitting the entire back panel in stockinette. I think I might try both of those suggestions if I end up using this pattern again. 

The yarn I used was Lion Brand Cotton-Ease, which is a recycled cotton acrylic (50% cotton and recycled fibers, 50% acrylic.) I ordered it online and for some reason thought it was going to be much softer than it turned out to be. This yarn feels more like a cotton/linen than a cotton/acrylic. It has a great drape to it, but it has a sort of ultra-absorbent dish towel feel to it. If that makes any sense.

It also has a lot of breaks in the yarn (knots) which I didn't enjoy and had to re-tie properly so I could weave them in later. Another downside is the skeins are not center pull balls, they turn into big 'ol knots if you try to work with them that way. You have to wind them into balls if you don't want a mess on your hands. 

It isn't all bad! I would definitely use this yarn again if I was making a set of dish towels. I probably wouldn't use it again on a garment though. 

Overall, I do regret my yarn choice and I also regret making it so giant! But! the pattern is lovely and I think I will be using it again but making some minor adjustments. 

If you'd like to try it out yourself, you can find it here. 

Thanks for reading! 

-Ashley