Gwendolen

Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest is one of my favorite plays. It’s light, fun, silly, witty, and completely absurd. Delightful. The Honorable Gwendolen Fairfax is always dressed to the nines, and usually wears a good deal of lace. Certainly, if she were an early 21st century woman, she would want to deck herself out in a captivating lace sweater like this one that can be worn in a variety of ways: belted, pinned at the shoulder, or allowed to hang in graceful folds from the shoulders.

Sweater fits across the back with 1 to 2 inches of positive ease, has extra long, wide sleeves (sleeve length is easy to adjust), deep armholes, and fronts that are each slightly wider than the back for best drape. It is worked from the hem up in one piece, divided at the armholes. Sleeves are also worked from the hem up, and attached after the shoulders are seamed. The pattern includes making a very specific gauge swatch, shown here, to help you get the best finished results possible.

Love the stitch, but not sure a sweater is in your near future? You definitely need to check out Cecily, a lace weight shawl that includes the same stitch used here.

• Yarn: fingering weight; 1700, 1900, 2100 [2300, 2500, 2700, 2900] yards.
• Model: Claudia Hand Painted Yarns Oh Baby Merino Silk (previously called Fingering 55) in Rubies Playing; size: 39.75 inches; 175 yards in 50 grams; 55% silk, 45% merino.
• Gauge: 20 sts and 31 rows to 4 inches in stitch pattern.
• Needles: US 5 (3.75 mm) for gauge, and US 4 (3.5 mm) for bands.
• Finished size: 33.25, 36.5, 39.5 [42.75, 46, 49.25, 52.5] inches.
• To fit bust: up to 3 inches larger than bust.
• Stitch instructions: Charted and written.