gauge:

9.5 st / 2 inches

14 rows / 2 inches

Cast on 138 (provisional)

Working with all three balls of Chroma at once, two rows from each, then 6 rows of black. Carrying all unused yarn up the side.

After 9 stripes, begin decreases on every RS row:
K26, ssk, k10, k2tog
k until 40 remain
ssk, k10, k2tog, k26

After two stripes, begin working even (should be about 114 stitches).

Work 4 stripes even, then begin increases over THREE more stripes AND begin decreasing one stitch at neck edge, every stripe (leave two selvedge sts). After THREE stripes you’ll have 144 st. Stop increases, continue decreases at neck edge.

(18 stripes)

Setting up steeks:

Find center point (72)
place markers 24 st on each side of back, then 21 st in from front edges (have already decreased away 3 st from each front)

Put the 27 underarm st on strings

CO 9 steek st above underarm strings (3 for crocheted steek, 2 each side for safety margin, 1 each side for picking up later)

Keep calm and carry on.

Don’t forget to continue dec away one neck edge st at beginning of each stripe! But DON’T decrease at beginning of final black stripe.

back: 29.5 stripes
front: 27.5 stripes

After 27.5 stripes, put first and last 16 st (fronts plus half of steeks) on strings and work on back (and other half of steeks. 56 st total) to a total of 29.5 stripes.

Crochet the steeks.

Put the 9 steek st on strings (5 from front, 4 from taller back), then match up the 12 front stitches with 12 back stitches and bind off inside-out with 3-needle bind-off. Should have 24 back-neck stitches remaining. Might as well leave the last bind-off stitches live, so you can pick them up for the ribbing.

Cut steeks. Change to size 4 needles. Pick up 2 out of 3 stitches (98 st total) around armhole plus 27 underarm stitches (125 total). Dec away 1 st and work in 2x2 ribbing for 9 rows. Double dec at corners of underarm on four rounds (spaced out 2 and 2) so four ribs go away at each corner. Cast off snuggly.

Work 24 rows ribbing at bottom edge. Cast Off

Pick up 2 out of 3 stitches all the way around front edge. (note to self: next time pick up 1:1 for an inch or two at bottom edge) Inc or dec a couple to get a total of 286 and knit in k2p2 ribbing (but you want 3k at each bottom edge).

24 rows, then work 6 4-st buttonholes with 10 st between them.

I would only have needed 6 balls of black yarn, but had to crack into ball #7 to make the pockets. There’s PLENTY of Chroma left over, but you need three balls to make the stripes work.

Chroma is soft. SOFT, I say. Really, really, really soft (but not icky and slippery like Stroll). It would be great for scarves, baby sweaters, or anything worn next to the skin. However, it is single-ply and has almost no twist at all, so it seems very delicate, even though it has 20% nylon. Would not recommend for socks or anything that’ll get hard wear or abrasion.