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BIENVENUE SEXY KNITTERS CLUB!

The French Girls thank you so much for choosing FIFI for your summer KAL! We are pleased to offer you a pdf download at a very special price of $5.00 via Paypal. If you don't have a Paypal account you may register at www.paypal.com. FIFI is ready to download now, so happy knitting and we will see you on the SKC blog. If you already have purchaed FIFI, you may request a revised copy by emailing us ...Merci, Kristeen & the French Girls

YARN SUBSTITUTIONS FOR ROWAN CALMER

Calmer is a very unique yarn and has been used in this garment for its specific properties of lovely softness + a special elasticity and "bounce" for which I have found it difficult to find an exact substitute. Amy Singer in her wonderful book, No Sheep for You has this to say about Calmer. " Without a sheep in sight, they've created a yarn that does much of what wool does..".

So, it is the chainette construction that makes for Calmer's slightly textured "wool-like" quality, which, when coupled with the spring from the acrylic fiber, gives this yarn its appeal....that being said, please consider the following options, some of which are really close subs (and we would love to hear your own ideas on the SKC website):

The following have swatches pictured below and are a fairly close match for Calmer gauge. They were all knit on #6 needles for a very body conscious fit--# 7 needles (what is called for in the pattern) could be used as well on some of the yarns that run on the smaller side of the gauge range. I knit loosely, so these are based on my own tension--once again, swatch, swatch, swatch. Remember too, that the approximate yardage needed for FIFI is 775-1225 yds so keep that in mind-- (Calmer is 175 yds per ball):

Classic Elite: 4 Seasons (cotton, wool) 87 yds; a little heavier than Calmer, but might be a contender.

Classic Elite: Summer Set (cotton, alpaca,poly, lyocell) 95 yds ; lighter texture than 4 Seasons, with good cable definition.

Classic Elite: Wool Bamboo (wool, bamboo) 118 yds: my favorite sub so far; light & soft with good cable definition and elasticity... and the bamboo adds sheen and softness.

Berocco: Touché (cotton, rayon) 89 yds: a little more bulky than CE wool bamboo but very nice; good cable definition and deliciously soft.

Berocco: Pure Merino (merino wool, superwash) 92 yds: lovely, soft, shows cables brilliantly, a little more bulky than some of the others, but might be a winner in the colder months--this was knit at a much smaller gauge than ball band recs.

Valley Yarns (www.yarns.com): Goshen (cotton, modal, silk): soft, but lacks the elastic quality I like; might work for a FIFI where a looser fit was desired.

Crystal Palace: Creme ( wool, silk ) 124 yds: again, the wool gives the needed elasticity.

Vermont Organic Fiber Co: Balance (organic wool & organic cotton): sometime, I would love to make a rustic version of FIFI with 3/4 sleeves...this would be perfect for that!

You may also check for sales on Calmer at Cucumberpatch, and Janettes Rare Yarns on ebay--they have fantastic deals sometimes.

please email us for download information!

Finished garment size (not bust size) for the 5 sizes in which the pattern is written:

29.5, 33,5, 37.5,41.5, 45.5 in (75,85,95,105,115)cm (5(5,6,6,7,7) balls of Rowan Calmer (175 yds)

We will also try to provide pattern support via the KAL for a larger range of bust sizes than in the pattern.

With negative ease built in, figure that the garment will stretch about 2-4 in (5-10 cm), depending on size needle and yarn used--this is why we love swatches and patterns you can try on while working on them!

Please Note: Swatches are not shown to scale with each other. I cast on 24 or 25 sts and knit about 10-15 rows (row gauge is really not too crucial here). Hope this helps!