I’ve finished my ribbed lace bolero, with pattern as promised 😉 I decided not to give the sleeves ribbing, like most of you suggested. I liked how it was sort of dainty, even with worsted weight yarn, and I thought ribbing on the sleeves would be too heavy for it.
The shape of this is based on the Circular Shrug on Craftster. It’s a simple but ingenious design. There is no complicated shaping (it’s really just a big rectangle) and it’s easily customized.
If you have questions, please contact me by email or through ravelry. See the info page for my contacts.
Here you are,my ribbed lace bolero.
-Kelly
Yarn: Lion Brand Cotton-Ease 2 balls
Needles: US8, US10.5 (circular or straight)
Gauge: 4st/inch with in rib stretched US8
I’m including directions for a size small and easy calculations for a custom fit.
(Numbers in green you will customize for your own fit)
The first step is to measure your shoulder-span. Mine is about 17 inches. Then you add 4 inches for each sleeve (8 inches) and add that to your shoulder measurement. I got 25 inches from that, so 25 inches will be the width of my bolero. My ribbing gauge is 4 stitches per inch, so I multiply 25 by 4 to get 100. I take that number, 100, and round it down to the next number that is a multiple of 4 +2. The next number down is 98, and that will be my cast-on number. To determine the length of my bolero, I measure the width of my upper arm, right under the armpit. Mine measures 12, and I will add 6.5 inches to that (3.25 inches on either side which I will seam together) to get my length of 18.5 inches.
*Slip the first stitch of each row for easier seaming and a neat edge
Begin with US8 needles
Cast on ___ (multiple of 4 + 2)
row 1: p2 k2 to last 2 stitches, p2
row 2: k2 p2 to last 2 stitches, k2
repeat these 2 rows for 3 inches
Start lace pattern:
Switch to size 10.5 needles AFTER FIRST row of lace
row 1: k1 (k2together, yo, yo, ssk) repeat lace pattern until 1 stitch left, k1
row 2: p1 (p1, p1 into first yo, p1 into the back of the second yo, p1) repeat lace pattern until 1 stitch left, p1
Repeat these two rows until entire piece measures 3 inches from target length.
Switch to size 8 needles now
The next row will use cabling to transition from lace to ribbing, so it will mirror the other side
p1 (c1f [p into the stitch that was moved behind, k into the stitch that was moved in front], c1b [k into the stitch that was moved in front, p into the stitch that was moved behind] ) repeat cabling until 1 stitch left, p1
The next row will count as row 2 (wrong side)
row 2: k2 p2 to last 2 stitches, k2
row 1:p2 k2 to last 2 stitches, p2
Continue for 3 inches, ending with row 2. Count your rows and match the number to the rows you knit in the first set of ribbing.
Bind of using Elizabeth Zimmerman’s sewn bind-0ff.
Break off the yarn and leave a tail 4 times the width of your piece. Sew forward (right to left) through two stitches as if to purl, leave the stitches on the needle. Sew backward (left to right) through one stitch as if to knit, slip stitch off the needle. Continue in this pattern to the end.
This bind-off leaves a very stretchy edge that looks similar to the long tail cast-on.
Seam edges A to B for 3.25 inches and edges C to D for 3.25 inches, using mattress stitch (as shown in diagram)
Diagram is not to scale.
The hole created from seaming the edges is your arm hole.
Chose which edge you want to be the top of your bolero, and sew the collar down to keep it in place.
Weave in all ends, wash and block.
Fini!
Pattern & images © 2007 by Kelly Maher
Personal use ONLY. Commercial use, including selling items made from this pattern, is prohibited.
Saw this on Ravelry! Love it!
Eeeee I’ve been looking for the perfect shrug/cover up to knit and this is it! Thanks for the pattern. I really appreciate it. It looks greeeeaaat 🙂
that’s beautiful. I’m definitely going to knit this!
Beautiful! I almost immediately cast on for it, as I have all of these random skeins of Cotton-Ease with nothing for them to do. This might be a great gift for my step-sister for the holidays, too. Thanks for the info!
This is stunning! I can’t wait to cast-on! 🙂 You make the most beautiful things
gorgeous! great job!
i really love this piece. i have one question though… when you slipped the first stitch of every row, did you skip them all knitwise or all purlwise? or were they done in accordance with the first stitch of the row?
I’d always slip it purlwise.
Lovely! I am so excited to see completely different and utterly amazing versions of the circular shrug 🙂
Great work Kelly!
that’s what i thought, but i just wanted to be sure! thanks a bunch!
I love it!!! I’ve been looking for something like this too. Thanks for the tut. Now I have to find a person who knits, because I can’t!
This is a beautiful bolero–and pattern. Many thanks for posting it. I’m likely to give it a try at some point.
That is Beautiful!
It’s going right on my ‘must knit!’ list 🙂
Thanks,
Jill
Wow, I’ve been looking for an easy garment to knit and this one’s perfect thanks for sharing you pattern, all your work is beautiful!
This is great and already in my Ravelry queue!
I really love the look of this! just one question:
I looed everywhere to figure out what clf and clb means/how to do it with video or pictures, but alas, no luck. could you shed some light on it?
thanks!
c1f/c1b mean cable one front and cable one back. I’m not sure if knittinghelp.com has a video, but you could check there.
It came out fantastic! Did you add the pattern to Ravelry? I think I need to queue it 🙂
yep, it’s on ravelry, just search for the ribbed lace bolero!
Lovely bolero. Now I just need to find someone to knit it for!
I am casting on tonight! thank you for the pattern!
Gorgeous! So simple, but just beautiful.
It’s gone straight to my ravlery queue and I’m impatiently waiting for my yarn to arrive.
this is beautiful! i’m in the middle of the second part right now trying to make it the right length. i’ll definitely post a picture here when i’m finished. thank you so much for the pattern!
that is really really cute! thanks for the pattern!
Saw this on Ravelry (and promptly added it to my queue). It is really cute!
I absolutely adore this and did an adaptation for my daughter, you can see the finished pictures at my blog or flickr account here -> http://flickr.com/photos/7805376@N04/839349706/in/photostream/
Hello, I’m looking for a knitted or crochet
shrug pattern, that is a little longer and
more closure in front. For a beginner or a
little bit intermediate.
Hope you can help me.
Thank you.
gorgeous! I’ve been looking for a shrug to make that wasn’t too delicate and this fits the bill. Next on the list. thanks so much!! Thea
Great Pattern!!! I got some cotton ease to make my daughter a sweater, I might use it for this shrug (for ME), instead!!
Absolutely love the bolero! Wonder if you could help. If I wanted to use a lighter say sportweight yarn and calculate the measurements for a child, how would I go about it? When you say to slip the first stitch for a neater edge is that a separate entity or included in say the p2, k2? Many thanks
Super pattern. I would love to make this for my daughter and myself as well. I’m a bit confused with the C1f and C1B. Do you slip the C1F purlwise and the C1B knitwise?
Phyllis, I linked to a shrug at the begining of the post which seems to fit your bill
Jan, you could easily make this in another yarn weight by measuring your ribbing gauge, and substituting it for mine, then doing the same calculations in the pattern. Don’t add more stitches to slip at the beginning of each row, just slip the first stitch of each row as already written.
Joyce, C1f and C1b are not slipped stitches, they are mini cables. you can use google to help you with those. they are also called right and left twists, if that helps.
Sorry Kelly, me again! Have read through pattern all is fine except the sewn bind off. You say to go through the first two stitches as if to purl then left to right through a knit stitch then continue in this way to end. But as this is a p2, k2 rib the next stitch will be another k stitch one how can you then p2? Probably a very easy explanation just me being dumb!
This is just what I was looking for! Thanks for writing up the pattern. I can hardly wait to start mine this weekend!
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/FEATsum06TT.html the end of this page shows photo diagrams of the sewn cast off. dont pay attention that it is in ribbing, you’re not binding off in pattern.
Thanks so much Kelly. Makes sense now!! Kind regards
I love this bolero :o) Thanks for sharing!
-Bente from Norway-
I am about 1/3 done and must say, the other shrugs I’ve knit have been somewhat tiresome, but the lace pattern in this bolero is so much fun!
Just thanks again. 🙂
Love your bolero. Just stumbled upon your blog via Ravelry!
This is probably a stupid question, but what exactly do you mean by slipping the first stitch of each row?
Just slip the first stitch from the left needle to the right purl-wise, it gives the edges a neater look.
I am confused by the second row of the lace pattern:(p1, p1 into first yo, p1 into the back of the second yo, p1). when i get to the YO, i have a stitch and then the YO and then another stitch and the other YO, but it looks like only the YO is being addressed in your pattern. i’m confused by what to do with the extra stitch that i have. have i done something wrong? can you help?
When you do a yarn over, do you wrap around the stitch, then knit the next one?
These yarn overs you only wrap the yarn around.
ah, yes! i was doing a knit stitch after the yarn over. i’ve made it through row 1 and 2 now. thanks for that!
Thanks for the pattern! I finished one and posted about it on my blog — as I guess you can already tell from nos. 51 and 52 above! It was lots of fun.
How about an KAL for this bolero? Say yes, say yes!
I can translate to swedish for the scandinavianfolks and hold the kal in swedish if it is ok with you? The bolero is perfect, so cut, so…perfect! :0)
Klara, you’re welcome to translate it in to Swedish. If you start a KAL, please link me to it.
Thank You! Of course I will! Hugs from us oversea!
OK, the swenglish(?) *lol* KAL is up! I´ve already done one testbolero and it looks great! Thanks Kelly, hope to see you as guest at: http://ribbedlacebolero.blogspot.com/
We start at autumnal equinox, 23 september!
Hugs hugs hugs
// Klara
This is gorgeous!! Simple yet pretty. Goes on my knitlist!!
thank you your job its very beautiful!
congratulations
Lucia
I posted about the bolero on my blog…
http://www.knitcrit.typepad.com
Stop by!
Love your pattern! Haven’t tried it yet, though. For me, an overweight “Keenager”, I would want to make it longer, at least to the waist. Where does the pattern start? At the bottom ribbing or at the collar ribbing? I haven’t really read through the pattern but I have one question right now.
After you do the 1st 2 rows for the 3 inches on the #8 needles, exactly when do you switch to the 10.5 needles. Do you start the lace pattern, row 1, still using the #8 and then on row 2 switch to the 10.5?
Thank you!
Great work!!!!!
Do you slip the first stitch of the lace row and then start the lace pattern?
saw this on ravelry (another user made one). i love finding great garments made with cotton – it’s great. fantastic work, and thanks a million for sharing! -crobinator (ravelry)
Someone posted about your pattern on my site in our message boards, and I love it! I may have to give this a try for myself or my daughter, as a ballet shrug/warm-up. 🙂
I LOVE this pattern. I will definately be making this!! My only question was about one of the mathematical parts: “I take that number, 100, and round it down to the next number that is a multiple of 4 +2. The next number down is 98, and that will be my cast-on number.” Did you divide 98 by 4 or…? Am I completely off??
Very Beautiful !!! Saw this on ravelry and am going to work on it this weekend. Thanks for the pattern adjustments stuff… I am not exactly small 😉
Hey, great pattern! I knit it this week and it’s fabulous! Thanks!
Gorgeous! I’m going to start this soon!
This is soooo beautiful.
And thank you for directions for fitting to our own measurements. I have very narrow shoulders and many sweaters are just too large in the shoulder area for me.
Susan
This looks really great, and is pretty simple too, but I’m having a bit of a problem! I’m using 98 cast on stitches, and I’m doing the slipped stitch at the beginning of each row. But are we also supposed to slip one stitch for the lace pattern? I’m one stitch short when I do that.
See the k1(or p1) at the beginning of each edge? You can slip that one (its optional, just looks better for raw edges). The slipped stitch is not part of the stitch pattern.
oh dear lord. I’ve been slipping one stitch, and then doing the pattern, k1, k2tog, etc etc. Well, now I know how to do this! I was thinking of this one that I’m in the middle of as a test, anyway, and this pattern looks so great that I most likely will want to make another one! Thank you so much for the quick reply, I’m definitely going to be using this again. And properly, next time!
I’m sorry to bombard you with comments, but I just have one more thing I’d like to ask about. For the ribbing, do you also do the following: slip one, p1, k2, p2, k2, etc? Or, is it slip one, p2, k2, p2, etc? Thanks so much.
first one 😉
Thanks for this beautiful pattern. I’m working it in a lovely raw silk. I wanted a pattern that would be all up around my face and show off the material, but am sick of scarves. This is the perfect thing. I gave you a nod on my personal blog for friends and family and a link back to the pattern.
love it!!!
thank you for this pattern!! i’m going to try to translate it =))) to knit-it “doucement” =))
Hi, Can I translate this pattern to Spanish? A lot of people are interested in knit it but they don´t understand the pattern. If you want to see my ribbed lace finished I invite you to visit my blog. I had enjoyed knitting this pattern a lot. Thanks, Kelly.
Sorry, but my English is not very good.
My email is cybernekanekane@hotmail.com
My blog is http://www.cybernekanekane.blogspot.com
Pretty! And such a nice site.
I’ve just finished and I ended up with purl edges on the ribbing on the right side, meaning that when I went to do matress stitch I had to do it on the wrong side and of course got invisible seams on the inside (WS) and lumpy seams on the outside (RS). Is this because I forgot to slip the stitches at the start of each row??? If so, I might be tempted to rip the whole thing back and start again because its soooooooooo pretty, but ruined by my seaming! 😦
It sounds like you seamed it inside-out. You’re fine, just rip out the seaming and use mattress stitch with the purl side facing you. Here’s a diagram http://www.tbramsden.co.uk/assets/images/LearnToKnit_Fig078.gif
I made my first one, and it’s ridiculously large due to my shocking measurement-taking, but I love it! So much! I can’t bring myself to frog it, so I’m going to make one that’s wearable, and then do it =D
Thankyou so much for the pattern!
nice!!
Might try a crochet version
This is a darling shrug and i will make it for a grand daughter to go with the white HannaAndersson all white dress i got her. Gracie wants it to be ORANGE! She loves orange. Made out of cotton it won’t look or be too hot for summer.
THANK YOU FOR THIS PATTERN
So beautiful! I’ve been lifting weights for the past year, and have some nice arm muscles. This will show them off nicely!
Thank you for sharing the pattern!
Erm, so for your YOs, do you literally just wind the yarn around the needle twice? I haven’t done lace before but I so long to understand…
Me too. Now I have to have it ASAP!
I’ve been looking for a shrug and this is perfect. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I stumbled upon this pattern today. I’ve been looking for one for awhile, I can’t wait to cast it on.
Thanks!
I am having trouble on the 2nd row of the lace. p1, and then p1 into first yarn over, but how? I have two slipped stitches I have to get through first from the ssk in the first row. Hmmm… I am so confused.
Umm, nevermind. Duh. Missing the final step in the ssk. Can my having a 3-month old colicky infant on my lap be my excuse?
I’m an inch or so into the lace pattern, and it’s looking really great. Knitting mine in Malabrigo Worsted Glazed Carrot… downright yummy. Thanks for the wonderful pattern!
i love this pattern! Cant wait to knitknitknit
I’ve been looking for a light weight cover up to wear over spaghetti tops in the summer. This is perfect for that. Can you tell me what kind of yarn would be good for a summer weight version of this?
Thanks for sharing this!!
Linda
Hi Kelly, I cames across this pattern on Ravelry, and I just wanted to tell you how fantastic a pattern this is. I completely messed up the YOs (I did YO then knit), but now that I have it figured out, I have to say this pattern is incredible.
Thanks for putting it out there for others to enjoy!
Thanks, casting this on today. I appreciate your sharing of working out the measurements, as I have broad shoulders compared to my bust size.
Like I wrote in the body of this post, please email me if you have questions about the pattern. I won’t be addressing them here anymore because it is too difficult to respond to people directly.
I am pimping out this pattern to everyone! It’s so awesome! I have plans to make it for everyone and their sister! If they don’t have a sister, well, their cousins then!
I want it to be bigger than Dream in Colors Tulip Baby Cardigan! Well, since it’s for adults, it probably is, but you know…I really like it!
I have right seen it on Ravelry and will print it to knit for my daughter ;o) thanks a lot for your pattern !
I just finished knitting this up and it is so lovely! This was my first lace project and the pattern was very easy to memorize and produced such an eyecatching pattern. Thank you for providing this pattern!
thanx alot. I was really searching for a pattern like that. right now am working on it; however, I didnt find the same yarn here in kuwait:( am using wool.Dont worry, it is still cool and am gonna wear it for the winter. cant wait:P
This one is just gorgeous! I’ve been looking for a perfect present fot my sister-in-law and I think she’ll love it too 🙂 Thank you very much 🙂
found it on ravelry – super cute! I’m going to try it in Cascade 220
Hi from Finland!
Thank you very much for the tutorial! I love your bolero! ❤
I got my ribbed lace bolero ready today – just in time since I’ve planned to wear it in the spring fete in my school on next Saturday. Next Autumn I’m going to high school! 😀 All the people who have seen the bolero have loved it! You’re great!
i love simple stuff that works!!! you are brilliant!
i just wanted to say thank you so much for this pattern! i finally managed to sit down and actually finish it (i am very good at starting new project before i finish other ones, and so end up with a lot of yet-to-finish things…). anyway, i really love it and i’ve been given quite a few compliments on it already, even by my usually pretty ‘ignorant’ male co-workers! so, well, thanks 😀
i’m guessing you’ve already seen a million pictures of it on ravelry, but mine’s there too – username rabbeltje 🙂
This shrug is just what I’m looking for, it is ideal for a cover up in the evening when out to dinner on holiday
I found this via Ravelry–I can’t wait to start on it! Thanks for posting this. 😀
I also found this on Ravelry! It’s very beautiful and will make great Christmas presents for all my bff’s!
Going to make a start on this once I figure out how to measure my shoulder span! A little scared as I’ve not done lace knitting before… fingers crossed 🙂
how do0o you make this?i’ve been looking for a bolero0o and this is the bbest among others..ahhh… 🙂
I just wanted to say thanks for putting this up. I’m making it for my bestfriend.
I loved the ribbed lace bolero. I love boleros and trying to find nice bolero patterns all the time. Thanks for sharing.
Hi again, I have tried this pattern and loved it. You can take a look. Thanks so much again. http://foreignersinpenang.blogspot.com/
Thanks for the pattern! I’ve made 4 for Xmas gifts and here are a few things that I suggest from my experience:
* Don’t obsess over the 1 cable row in the pattern when you go from the lace pattern to the ribbing. I went straight back to ribbing and left out the cable row and it looks fantastic. I found the cable row too tedious.
* Use a lifeline every 6-8 rows in the lace pattern! Fixing a mistake in lace proved to be extremely difficult for the expert knitters at my knitting shop and they taught me the lifeline trick. A lifesaver!
* If you forget to slip the first stitch of the ribbing, don’t rip it out unless you are close to the beginning. I made the first one without slipping and it’s harder to mattress stitch without the slipped stitch but definitely still do-able.
This pattern is so fun! Thanks again!
Thanks!,
ich verstehe es net so gut. können sie deutsch damit sie mir alles auf deutsch sagen und ich es verstehe. ich fin ihr bolera echt sehr schön:D
Kelly,
This is a beautiful bolero! I’m more of a crocheter myself. I can knit but it’s slow going, and I’m always thinking, “I could do this much faster if I were crocheting!” Sigh! Anyway, I took your idea and modified it for crochet. Hope that’s okay! I can share some info about this if other crocheters are interested.
This is soooo beautiful! I’m not a knitter, though, so definitely couldn’t make this beautiful piece by knitting. I looked over your measurements, pictures and helpful diagrams and decided to give it a try with crocheting. It isn’t an exact replica, but you can definitely tell my bolero was inspired by your beautiful one! 🙂 Here it is: http://thespasticcat.blogspot.com/2009/04/pretty-ribbed-lace-bolero.html
thanks for that really nice pattern! I found it on ravelry. I will try it as soon as possible! Best wishes for you!
El bolero es muy bonito y parece fácil de hacer, no obstante sería interesante que añadieras una foto de la prenda colocada sobre una superficie lisa (extendido sobre una mesa, por ejemplo) porque ayuda mucho a la hora de realizarlo si todavía no tenemos demasiada experiencia tejiendo. Gracias.
Hi,
It is very nice and elegant bolero. I copyd You but used another lace pattern (for more warmth).
Thank You for such a fantastic idea!
I’ve already made a bolero similar to this, though the lace stitch was not as interesting as the one here.so I think its time to make a new one 🙂 I have the perfect yarn for it in my stash, but sadly not enough of it.
Thanks for this wonderful pattern.
I’m just finishing #4. They make great gifts for my 4
beautiful nieces!
Hi,
Just finished. My daughter loves it. She likes to where these types of boleros over her sundresses, it gives her a little coverage over her arms. I used Coats and Clark-TLC worsted weight cotton plus, only used 2-3.5 oz skeins. The bolero is really nice and light. Made it in a plus size you would say. I am making this one in a lot of colors for her. Thank You
This is fabulous! You are a wonderful knitter!
Finished this shrug this past weekend and love it! Made it from Debbie Bliss’ cotton/angora blend. Fits great and looks great.
this is so fun and easy for beginners like me. thanks
this is so fun and easy for beginners like me. i made it and it’ beautiful .. thanks 🙂
Thankss..!!!
Süperr,ellerinize sağlık..bu modeli çok beğenmiştim bunun yardımı oldu özellikle “Gülselim” verdiğin kaynak için teşekkürler..
Thanks for the instructions! My version of it can be seen here: http://ihanatnortit.blogspot.com/2009/09/uusi-tyo-uudet-kuteet.html
Totally love it….keep up the good work 🙂
thanks for the gorgeous pattern! I am new to knitting, but I think I can make this 🙂
Thanks so much for the lovely, easy pattern. I just finished it today. It’s the first knitted clothe for myself. Really love it!!!
Жаль что не русском языке… сам рисунок непонятен((
Hi Kelly, Saturday I have ended my ribbed lace bolero if you want to see the photos you can come on my blog. Excuse for mine terrible English
Katy.
Thanks Kelly for this lovely easy pattern. Just made it in time for my grand daughter’s 21st birthday.Please tell me how you stitch it with mattress stitch. Thanks