Ripple Bralette by Jessie Mae, Finished!

I finished my Ripple Bralette, designed by Jessie Mae! Thanks to a couple of days with meetings and doctor visits, this project worked up quickly. This cute little cropped top is comfy and I hope to wear it frequently once the weather is a little less sticky (wool and humidity don’t really mix well, in my opinion).

I really am pleased with how this came out, I just took these pictures before my coffee had kicked in and my face hadn’t totally woken up yet.

The Ripple Bralette pattern

The pattern has nine sizes and is intended to fit 28-76″ chest circumferences. In theory, I knit the 2XL size, intended to fit 48-50″ chest. We’ll discuss the reality in a moment. The bralette makes good use of combining negative ease and ribbing.

In reality, this project is a prime example of why I should never start new projects during summer. I intended to knit the 48-50″ size. In actuality, I cast on at first 30 extra stitches, then decreased 10 stitches, because I was convinced that the number I ended up with was the number for my size.

Reader, the number I ended up with doesn’t correlate to any of the sizes. It’s a few stitches short of the next size up. But it’s fine, in the end. My Ripple Bralette measures about 10.5″ when laid flat, after blocking. So in theory it’s about 21″ in circumference, which means it has beaucoup de negative ease and does what it’s supposed to do. Plus, it has straps and not a tube top, so we’re safe.

I also did the initial ribbing incorrectly. Instead of twisted rib, I worked regular 1×1 rib, and it’s also fine. I think part of my problem is my brain was leaking out my ears. But another part is the pattern format. The pattern is formatted for big blocks of text, helpfully explaining everything that you need to know and making it very accessible for knitters of all skill levels. But that means that, for me, a lot of information gets lost and jumbled in my head. Now that I’m aware of it (and now that the weather is getting cooler), I have a plan to combat this jumbilation when I knit Jessie’s Diaphanous Raglan.

Sweet Georgia Tough Love Sock

I had this gorgeous skein of Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock in my stash for years. I bought it on a trip to Knitty City in NYC many years ago and wasn’t sure what it wanted to be. After seeing so many great Ripple Bralettes in the world, I decided to pair this yarn with the pattern and really like the way it came together.

What I Changed

On Purpose: I worked a tubular cast-on for the ribbing. It’s my go-to for ribbed edges and I love the way it looks. The pattern recommends an Old Norwegian cast-on, which I have used in the past. It’s a stretchy cast-on, but not as stretchy or as polished looking, in my opinion, as the tubular cast-on. I worked the main ribbing for 6.5″ instead of 8″; if I make this again I might extend the 1×1 rib more to make a more long-line bralette feel.

On Accident: I worked the bottom rib in regular 1×1 rib, not twisted rib. I wasn’t paying attention to the pattern at that point. It works. I totally made up a size because my brain was molten.

The Rundown

Cast on: August 3, 2020
Bind off: August 16, 2020
Yarn: Sweet Georgia Yarns Tough Love Sock (fingering), 425 yards/115 grams
Yardage Used: Approximately 353 yards/96 grams