Right about now, many of us are tucking our hand knits into beds of cedar shavings for the summer, but don’t toss the knitting needles in there, too! Warm weather never stopped us from casting on, and our Circular Yoke Summer Shirt is one great reason why!
In our gorgeous new Cattail Silk, the Circular Yoke Summer Shirt is light and airy, fresh and ventilating, just what a summer knit should be. Knit in the round from the bottom up, its beauty come from simple details, like pretty yoke decreases, gentle waist shaping, and no-fuss finishing.
Nearly the same as our original Silken Straw Summer Sweater, this version has simpler finishing and lots more sizes. The Cattail Silk also has a lighter drape and, with less shine than the Silken Straw, a more versatile wear-anywhere look.
And best news for last, you only need two or three skeins of Cattail Silk! We used cool and collected Lavender Daybreak, but our palette of eighteen colors is full of lots of pretty choices. And with a whole summer of knitting ahead, no need to choose just one!
Materials
- 2 (2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 3) skeins of Purl Soho’s Cattail Silk, 100% silk. We used Lavender Daybreak.
- US 3, 24-inch circular needles
- For Shirt sizes 32 and 34 3/4 only: US 3, 16-inch circular needles for last part of Yoke
- Two stitch markers
Gauge
28 stitches and 36 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch, blocked
Sizes
32 (34 3/4, 36 1/2, 38 3/4, 40 1/2, 42 3/4, 44 1/2, 46 1/4)
To fit actual chest circumference of 29-30 (31-32, 33-34, 35-36, 37-38, 39-40, 41-42, 43-44) inches, with approximately 2-3 3/4 inches of positive ease
- Finished Chest Circumference: 32 (34 3/4, 36 1/2, 38 3/4, 40 1/2, 42 3/4, 44 1/2, 46 1/4) inches
- Finished Waist Circumference: 30 1/4, 33 1/4, 34 3/4, 37 1/4, 38 3/4, 41 1/4, 42 3/4, 44 1/2) inches
- Finished Hip Circumference: 33 3/4 (36 1/2, 38 1/4, 40 1/2, 42 1/4, 44 1/2, 46 1/4, 48) inches
- Finished Length from Underarm to Bottom Edge: 18 inches
SAMPLE: The sweater pictured here is size 38 3/4 with 3 inches of ease.
Pattern
Body
Cast on 236 (256, 268, 284, 296, 312, 324, 336) stitches.
Place a marker and join for working in the round, being careful to not twist the stitches.
Knit every round until piece measures 5 1/2 inches from cast-on edge (unroll to measure).
Next round: K118 (128, 134, 142, 148, 156, 162, 168), place marker, knit to end of round.
*Decrease Round 1: Knit to last 3 stitches, ssk, k1. [1 stitch decreased]
Decrease Round 2: K1, k2tog, knit to 3 stitches before first marker, ssk, k1, slip marker, k1, k2tog, knit to end of round. [3 stitches decreased]
Knit 8 rounds (or for nearly one inch).
Repeat from * five more times. [212 (232, 244, 260, 272, 288, 300, 312) stitches]
Knit 18 rounds (or for two inches).
**Increase Round 1: Knit to last stitch, make 1 right (m1R), k1. [1 stitch increased]
Increase Round 2: K1, make 1 left (m1L), knit to 1 stitch before first marker, m1R, k1, slip marker, k1, m1L, knit to end of round. [3 stitches increased]
Knit 9 rounds (or for one inch).
Repeat from ** two more times. [224 (244, 256, 272, 284, 300, 312, 324) stitches]
Knit every round until Body measures 18 inches from cast-on edge (rolled), ending last round 6 (7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 11, 12) stitches before end-of-round marker.
Create Underarms
Bind off 12 (14, 16, 18, 18, 20, 22, 24) stitches (removing marker), knit to 6 (7, 8, 9, 9, 10, 11, 12) stitches before next marker, bind off 12 (14, 16, 18, 18, 20, 22, 24) stitches (removing marker), knit to first bind off. [200 (216, 224, 236, 248, 260, 268, 276) stitches]
Cast on for Sleeve
Turn work so the wrong side is facing you and use a cable cast on to cast on 65 (67, 68, 72, 76, 80, 81, 82) stitches; turn so the right side of the work is facing you, and making sure the cast on isn’t twisted, knit the next 100 (108, 112, 118, 124, 130, 134, 138) stitches (to the next set of bound-off stitches); turn so the wrong side of the work is facing you and use a cable cast on to cast on 65 (67, 68, 72, 76, 80, 81, 82) stitches; turn so the right side is facing you, and again making sure the cast on isn’t twisted, knit the next 50 (54, 56, 59, 62, 65, 67, 69) stitches, place marker for new beginning of round. [330 (350, 360, 380, 400, 420, 430, 440) stitches]
The beginning of the round is now located at center back.
Yoke
Knit every round until the Sleeve measures 1 1/2 (1 3/4, 2, 2 1/4, 2 1/2, 2 3/4, 3, 3 1/4) inches from the cable-cast-on edge.
Decrease Round: *K3, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [264 (280, 288, 304, 320, 336, 344, 352) stitches]
Knit 16 rounds (or for 1 3/4 inch).
Decrease Round: *K2, k2tog, repeat from * to end of round. [198 (210, 216, 228, 240, 252, 258, 264) stitches]
Knit 9 rounds (or for one inch).
Shape Neckline
Round 1: K89 (95, 98, 104, 110, 116, 119, 122), bind off 20 stitches, knit to next marker, remove marker, knit to beginning of bind off. [178 (190, 196, 208, 220, 232, 238, 244 stitches]
NOTE: From now on you will be working back and forth in rows, with each row ending at the neckline edge. Also, for this section feel free to try a Sloped Bind Off, if you’d like!
Row 1 (wrong side): Bind off 4 stitches, purl to end of row. [174 (186, 192, 204, 216, 228, 234, 240) stitches]
Row 2 (right side): Bind off 4 stitches, knit to end of row. [170 (182, 188, 200, 212, 224, 230, 236) stitches]
Row 3: Bind off 3 stitches, purl to end of row. [167 (179, 185, 197, 209, 221, 227, 233) stitches]
Row 4: Bind off 3 stitches, knit to end of row. [164 (176, 182, 194, 206, 218, 224, 230) stitches]
Row 5: P1, p2tog, purl to the last 3 stitches, p2tog through the back loop (p2togtbl), p1. [162 (174, 180, 192, 204, 216, 222, 228) stitches]
Row 6: K1, ssk, knit to the last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1. [160 (172, 178, 190, 202, 214, 220, 226) stitches]
Row 7: *P1, p2tog, repeat from * to last 4 stitches, p1, p2togtbl, p1. [107 (115, 119, 127, 135, 143, 147, 151) stitches]
Row 8: Repeat Row 6. [105 (113, 117, 125, 133, 141, 145, 149) stitches]
Row 9: Purl.
Repeat Rows 8 and 9 two more times. [101 (109, 113, 121, 129, 137, 141, 145) stitches]
Bind off loosely in knit stitch.
Finish
Bottom, Armhole, + Neckline Edges
Pick up and bind off around the Bottom, Armhole, and Neckline edges. Here’s how…
Picking up 1 stitch for each cast-on or bound-off stitch, and along the neckline, for each edge stitch, pick up two stitches, *pass the first stitch over, pick up one stitch, repeat from * around entire edge, cut yarn and pull through remaining stitch.
Weave In + Block
Weave in the ends and block your finished piece by first soaking it in room temperature water and a mild detergent. Rinse and squeeze out the excess water first with your hands, then by rolling the Shirt in a dry towel. Finally, lay your Shirt nice and flat on another dry towel and allow it to air dry. All done!
PRINT
Hello! I am making this pattern and was wondering would it be possible to turn it into a dress? If so how long would it have to create the body? The dress would be above the knees.
Thanks!!
Hello Melissa,
Thank you for reaching out! If you wanted to turn this pattern into a dress you will want to consider your height and the length between your hip and where you would like the dress to end. You will also want to consider adding shaping around the hips. It will require some experimenting, but I think it could be really beautiful!
Good luck and let us know how it goes!
-Marilla
This is a beautiful shirt; however, I’d just like to add that if you’re making one of the larger sizes (I’m trying to make the 40.5), the 24-inch cable wasn’t long enough for me. I’ve frogged twice because the stitches we’re twisted. Off to buy a longer cable…
Hi Meghan,
Thanks for the tip! It can be quite frustrating to get a twist in your stitches, especially with such a large cast on! Using a longer needle will definitely help, but you will probably need to switch back to the smaller needle as you work the yoke decreases.
Happy knitting!
Julianna
could this be knit in the new sweetgrass yarn?
Hello Susan,
Thank you for reaching out! Yes- Sweetgrass has a very similar gauge to Cattail silk so it should work beautifully. I would, as always, knit up a gauge swatch before jumping in.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla
I knitted this top in size 40 1/2 in Cattail Silk. The bust measurement came out exactly right but the bottom edge is 48″ around and the finished waist is 40″ – far too loose. I knit to gauge and all other measurements are correct, so I don’t know why or how this happened. Can this be a mistake on the pattern ? I am planning to knit the Sayer top and cannot figure out which size to make. What do you suggest?
Hi Sally,
Thanks for reaching out! That is an odd problem – the cast on stitch counts in the pattern are correct, so if your gauge is correct it should match the schematic. If the bust measurement is correct and the waist measurement is not too far off (our schematic lists 38 3/4″ for the waist, so 40″ is only a little more than an inch larger than ours), but the hem turned out almost 6″ too large, is it possible that you used a loose style of cast on, such as a knit-on or backwards loop cast on, or the hem was over stretched in blocking? We recommend washing Cattail Silk in the machine on a cold, gentle cycle, and tumble drying low, and in my experience the stitches tighten up a bit after a trip through the washer and dryer, so I would try that to see if it improves the fit of the top.
For Sayer, I would suggest measuring the width of the piece at the bottom after you have finished a few inches to make sure it matches the schematic before you get too far. If you find that your cast on stretches out more than you would like, I would recommend using a Long Tail Cast On if you don’t already and possibly working it on a smaller needle before switching to your main needle size for the rest of the top.
Best of luck and I hope that helps!
Julianna
I love this pattern
Just finished it
In cattail silk
But the bottom edge really curls up when I wear it
Perhaps I need to steam it again
Any suggestions
Thanks!
Hello Lorraine,
Thank you for reaching out! I would reccomend wet blocking it to help relax the fibers a bit more.
I hope this helps and let us know if it continues to be an issue!
Happy knitting,
Marilla
Garter stitch, or plain knit has a tendency to curl. If you knit the first row tbl this does not happen.
I’ve nearly completed this lovely shirt after a year of working on it off and on and between projects and it fits perfectly! The only thing remaining to do is the finishing edge on the neckline. I am struggling and wonder if you could advise me. The armholes and bottom are done and were relatively easy to do using a crochet hook to bind off the stitches. With such fine yarn, how does one bind off with two stitches for every stitch? I’m assuming that the needle enters each leg of the stitch from the center outward. Is this correct? If so, how is it done without making a mess of the neckline? I would love to wear this shirt before the cold weather sets in, so please respond. Thanks in advance!
Hello Linda,
Thank you for reaching out, I’m so happy to hear that your shirt has come out so well! This is a great questions, It sounds like you have the right idea. You have your working yarn which you will pick up by inserting your needle into your cast on stitch and picking up your working yarn to create a stitch. I am always going back to our tutorial when I need to pick up stitches in a pattern.
I hope this helps and let us know if you have any further questions or if this doesn’t answer your question.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla