This Liesl will probably live a long time because she’s made out of Euroflax Sportweight. This stuff lasts forever, and you can wash and even dry to your heart’s content. Liesl patterns have been selling like wildfire at Hand Held (my LYS). I made this one out of the Willow color of Euroflax, and it took about 2.5 balls for the 34 inch size. I took Karen’s suggestion and made the straps and back about 2 inches shorter than the pattern called for, and that was for the best since this baby likes to stretch out after a couple of wearings. She snaps right back after a trip through the washer and dryer, but I usually try to get a few wears out of layered things like this. These pictures are taken right after the piece had been washed and dried so the tunic is at its shortest here. It stretches about 1.5 inches at the bottom if you wear it a couple of times before washing. I think the pockets weigh things down.

These were also taken in the early morning and I look like I should still be asleep. This was a really fun and mindless knit. I had to go down to a 5 to get the gauge called for in the pattern, rather than the suggested 8. I am a pretty loose knitter, but that is a big difference. If you make it, swatch first if you care deeply about the fit. The decreases are fun and make a nice mitered edge, like the decreases that make Jaywalker socks so cool. I also went down 3 needle sizes rather than 2 on the pocket, and I whipstitched the outer edge of the pocket. I think that helped it have a lower profile.

The project went fairly quickly for a larger knitted object, but the linen was harder to knit with for me than super bouncy wool. I’m really glad I got this done while it’s still in the 80’s and 90’s temperature-wise in Arkansas. I’ll be able to wear it for a couple more months. Look how happy I was to finish!

Photos by Matthew Petty