Tahki Yarns Magnolia Tabard Knitting Pattern

Tahki Yarns Magnolia Tabard

What is Being Made

The Magnolia Tabard is a sleeveless layering piece designed by Teresa Chorzepa, available in three sizes: Small/Medium, Large/XL, and 2X/3X. This tabard features a sophisticated silhouette with finished widths ranging from 22½ inches to 26½ inches and lengths from 22 to 24 inches, making it a versatile garment suitable for various body types and styling preferences.

Techniques Used

This pattern employs several key knitting techniques to create its refined construction:

• Bottom-Up Construction: The tabard is knitted from the bottom edge upward, allowing knitters to try on the piece as it progresses and easily adjust length if needed.
• Worked Flat: The garment is created on straight needles rather than in the round, with pieces worked separately and then seamed together for a polished finish.
• Lace Patterning: Decorative lace elements are incorporated throughout the design, specifically featuring a 16-stitch Leaf Panel that measures approximately 4 inches wide, adding visual interest and an elegant drape to the finished piece.
• Seamed Construction: Individual pieces are joined together using a yarn needle, creating clean, professional seams that contribute to the tabard's structured appearance.
• Shaping with Increases: Strategic increases are worked across multiple rows to shape the neckline opening, with the pattern providing five distinct increase rows that gradually expand the neck opening while maintaining stitch pattern integrity.

Stitches Used

The Magnolia Tabard utilizes fundamental knitting stitches combined with decorative techniques:

• Stockinette Stitch (St st): The primary stitch throughout most of the garment, created by knitting on right-side rows and purling on wrong-side rows, providing a smooth, classic fabric base.
• Garter Stitch: Used for edging and structural elements, created by knitting every row on both sides, producing a textured, reversible fabric.
• Leaf Panel Lace: A specialized 16-stitch pattern panel that creates decorative leaf motifs, measuring approximately 4 inches in width and adding sophisticated detailing to the design.
• Decreases: The pattern incorporates K2tog (knit 2 together), Ssk (slip, slip, knit), and Sk2p (slip 1, knit 2 together, pass slipped stitch over) for shaping and lace pattern definition.
• Increases: M1 (Make 1) increases are used throughout, particularly in the neckline shaping rows, creating new stitches by lifting the strand between needles and working through the back loop to prevent holes.

Materials and Gauge

The Magnolia Tabard pattern calls for Tahki Yarns VERMONT, a premium blend consisting of 50% merino wool and 50% superfine alpaca. This luxurious fiber combination provides both warmth and breathability, with a yardage of 93 yards per 50-gram ball. The pattern requires 7 balls for Small/Medium, 8 balls for Large/XL, and 9 balls for 2X/3X sizes, available in color #03 granite.

Knitters will need one pair of size 8 (5 mm) needles or the size required to obtain proper gauge, along with a yarn needle for seaming. The pattern specifies a gauge of 16 stitches and 21 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch, with an additional gauge measurement for the 16-stitch Leaf Panel at approximately 4 inches wide. Checking gauge before beginning is essential to ensure the finished tabard matches the intended measurements.

Construction Details

The pattern begins with a back piece worked in established stitch patterns until the piece reaches approximately 19 to 21 inches from the cast-on edge, depending on size. The front features strategic neckline shaping accomplished through five increase rows, each worked on right-side rows with wrong-side rows worked even. These increases gradually expand the neck opening from the initial stitch count to 100, 108, or 116 stitches depending on the chosen size, creating a graceful, wearable neckline that maintains the integrity of the lace and stockinette patterns throughout.