Bunny Ears top

So, this is the first finished item for my Home Fires Knitting Project, knitted  using Weldons 528 and Malabrigo sock yarn.

I didn't initially have any particular colourways in mind when I decided I wanted to knit this, but decided that since I liked the colour combo of character Claire Wilson's top, and already had wool in my stash that was pretty much the same colours this is what I was going to knit.

Worn by Claire Wilson in series 2

I made a few modifications

• I added an extra 8 rows (half a pattern repeat) on the body because my row tension was slightly off, and therefore added the same to the sleeves so that the colours would match up at the armhole seams.  To offset the extra length on the sleeves I only did 8 rows of the ribbing rather than the 14 given in the pattern.
• I altered the back neckline to lower it slightly - the pattern didn't give any centre back shaping and I decided once I'd knitted the back that it would be too high up my neck as written, even more so if I'd done the 13 rows of ribbing on the neckband, so I unpicked and redid it.
• I picked up and worked the neckband in the round - the pattern is written to work the back and front separately and then seam them.  I also only worked 7 rounds, rather than the 13 rows given in the pattern.
• I did short row shoulders.

.

I didn't use a button closure, but as the pattern said that as long as the neckband was cast off loosely (and with a larger needle, which I forgot to do) buttons wouldn't be necessary.  My initial cast off in the twisted rib was too tight to go over my head, so I just casted off in normal rib, and that is fine.

The pattern gives the yarn requirements as 5oz main colour and 1oz each of the contrasts.  I actually used 180g of the beige*, 37g of the brown and 38g of the green (1oz = 28g), however, the extra 8 rows in the body and sleeves would account for some of this, plus, I don't know what the yardage is on the yarn the pattern was written for (Copley's 3 ply Excelsior) - it could well have been a skinnier wool than I used (400m/100g).

*So, according to the numbers above 180 + 38 + 37 = 255g, but the actual top weighs 242g.  I didn't weave in and then trim 13g worth of ends, so I wonder if the second skein of beige that I used was a bit underweight - I didn't weigh it before I started - I certainly wouldn't expect it to be out by that much though, so, either there was hidden water weight which evaporated as I knitted (yarn didn't feel damp AT ALL though) or,  maybe my scales aren't terribly accurate...

I'm very pleased with how this has turned out, it's a good stashbuster!