Finished: Molly Ringwald in green

Pattern: Molly Ringwald by Michele Rose Orne in Knitscene, Fall 2006
Yarn: Flora (Linea Pura) by Lana Grossa; cotton-soy blend (60 % organic cotton, 40 % organic soy), 140 m/50 g, recommended needle size: 3.5 - 4 mm
Color: green
Price:€ 5.65? € 4.50
Amount: 5 balls
Needles: 3 mm and 2.75 mm (for casting off), a small crochet hook
Gauge: 26 stitches x 36 rows = 10 cm
Dimensions: I cast on the same number of stitches as for the smallest size. Remember though that my gauge is different. The gauge for the original design is 22 stitches 28 rows.
Modifications: I wanted to wear this in summer without anything underneat, so I made this a quite figure-hugging top. Also many knitters said that it was better to go down at least one size with that design. When I look at my back, which is gaping a bit, I'm not surprised.

The piece with the ruffles is as long as in the original design. Since the whole thing had less width though, I didn't have straps anymore where I could attach the sleeves. I find my armholes are a tad small. It's not bad, but surely they could be a bit bigger.

Since the yarn is thinner, I thought I could do what Muhv did and make the ruffles more, uh, ruffly - k, ktbl, m1 out of strand inbetween. By the way, I must add that I like ruffles, but I hate knitting them. I used an Addi bamboo needle and after the ruffles, bits of one needle tip had been chipped away.

Added short-rows. That website was helpful: http://www.thedietdiary.com/knittingfiend/OrderForms/BustDarts.html

And that oneexplains well how to do short-rows without any wraps, pins (Japanese short rows), etc:
http://kaityvr.wordpress.com/2007/05/28/the-easiest-way-to-do-a-short-row-heel/

I was a bit concerned that it would be too tight. In the end, I think the short rows were good, because they also added length to the front part of the top and kept the neckline somewhat straight and not have it hanging. Lengthwise I could have needed a couple of rows more. If I keep the neckline straight, the hem rides up a bit.

Left out the crab stitch. It’s true though, you should do a tight single crochet round with a small hook around the neckline. Doing the single crochet round improved the fit of the top. Doing the crab stitches even more. That makes the neckline less floppy.

Comments: I think it's a good thing I made this top smaller. Cotton is heavy and I can't imagine a loose fitting top made of cotton to look good. It probably would look like a bag. Apart from the ruffles, the whole top is knit in rib, which stretches somewhat, when you fill it out. I've only worn it once and I still think it had grown a bit. My neckline at the end of the day was a bit lower.

Confession: I didn't wash my swatch. I should have done it, but I didn't... I wanted to start knitting and when you wash your swatch you have wait at least a day in most cases. And after I had started knitting I didn't want bad news from the washed swatch. This is the ostrich-head-in-the-sand-method. Sometimes it works well. More often it doesn't. You've been warned...

The top was a big PITA to knit, because of all the modifications, but overall, I'm pretty content with how it turned out. I actually like it better than the original design. I just hope it won't grow too much with wearing.

The yarn feels ok. I have the same yarn in white and that one is quite soft and feels nice though.

The color is more accurate in the first picture.