Eight years ago I knit this pattern for the first time. That fall it was my NaKniSweMo project and I was super proud to complete it in the month. This time the Still Light Tunic took me a little longer–I started at the very end of September. This is my third time to make this pattern and that’s because I LOVE LOVE LOVE both the pattern and the finished piece. I have had a bit of amnesia each time about how long the pattern actually takes in knitting time.

This is a tunic (or dress depending on how you look at it) that I love wearing. It can be dressed up or down and I can’t count how many times I’ve worn the two other versions of it. This time I decided to get a little wild and do some fading with multiple colors, like in many of Andrea Mowry’s patterns.

The yarn is all La Bien Aimee Tough Sock. The top color is Blush, which fades into Waterlilies, which fades into Vespa Graffiti. I was not sure if I would like it a few times along the way, but now that it’s finished I’m sure that I love it. I’m over the moon in love with the Waterlilies color and want to acquire more and hoard it because it brings me so much joy. I especially love the section that is second from the bottom with the Waterlilies faded into the Vespa Graffiti.

When I purchased the yarn, I knew I would need at least 1800 yards or more to pull off the dress. I had no idea how much each color would take, so I ended up buying two skeins of each color. I had an untouched skein of Blush. I used the most of the Waterlilies, but still have about half or more of the second skein. I used almost all of the first skein of Vespa Graffiti, then decided I wanted the pockets to be that color so I broke into the second skein. If someone is making a 35.5″ bust size and you want to do fading, you could really get away with one skein for the top color (assuming similar yardage), two for the middle color (if you make the pockets from that), and one for the final color. I couldn’t bear to use up more Waterlilies on the pockets because I will probably make a mini version of this for one of my kiddos.

I highly recommend the Still Light Tunic if you have the patience to knit a tunic in a lightweight yarn. The actual pattern calls for sport weight yarn, by the way, but I’m a crazy person that does what I want…