This one is by far the perfect layering piece! I mean get yourself a blouse, this spencer, a jacket, a coat... Maybe some trousers or somethin'... Who knows?! Get wild, go crazy!

For this project I've used three balls of wool in W&W Papatya Batik from Pera & Pasha (they unfortunately don't have the colour I've used anymore, but Chocolate or Yellow Autumn might be your guy). As the name might suggest, it comes all the way from Turkey! Getting international here at Fashioned by Pluche, I know...

The colour of this yarn makes me think about caramelized apples (hence the name: Turkish yarn + caramalized apples = I've created a creative wonder for the world to see. Magical, really, these powers of creativeness I entail. 'How can one person be so creative?', I hear you ponder. I know, I must be alien). I've never had a caramelized apple, but I think the thought of it is better than actually taking a bite out of one (same principle goes for the title of this post WHICH IS GENIUS and something I've put much much effort in (but it does, right! Looking like caramalized apples and it does come from Turkey. Whatever...)). Here's how YOU can get an apple too...




You first have to cast on 100 stitches for the hem. The hem is 17 cm long and is in 2x2 ribbing.
When you get to the hight of 17 cm, you'll need to decrease to 88 stitches. This you can do by knitting every 7th and 8th stitch together (12 x). However this will be done in the 'pattern' we'll be going to use every alternate row. So:

Right side
15 stitches in garter stitch
2 stitches purlwise
10 stitches in garter stitch
2 stitches purlwise
30 stitches in garter stitch
2 stitches purlwise
10 stitches in garter stitch
2 stitches purlwise
15 stitches in garter stitch

Now we'll follow that up with the reverse side:

Reverse side
17 stitches in garter stitch
10 stitches purlwise
34 stitches in garter stitch
10 stitches purlwise
17 stitches in garter stitch

Repeat this 2x (so in total you've knitted 4 rows from the hem -including the one where you've decreased to 88 stitches). Now it's going to get funky! aka: Make a small forward cable every 6th right side needle.


So first of all knit your 15 + 2 stitches of the right side needle. Now slip 5 stitches knitwise onto the cable needle to the front of your work (so facing you).
Knit 5 stitches on the 'regular' needle.
Slip the 5 stitches on your cable needle back onto your 'regular' needle, and knit them. And that, my darling, is your first cable. Repeat this on the other side (so the 10 stitches is the place where it's at).

As said, repeat this every 6th row until you've made your 20th cable. Now as we did at the hem, instead of 6 rows, you'll knit 4. After those 4 you can start 2x2 ribbing for 5 cm long. Cast off and jobs a goodun!

The front of the spencer is exactly the same as the back. So make yourself two of these, sew the sides together (45 cm) and give some attention to those armholes...

To make everything look super duperly swish, you should grab yourself a crochet hook of 4.5 mm and stick this bad boy (with some leftover yarn) through the lower part of the armpit (at the seam).
Make first a row of double crochet (or single crochet in American terms).
Make a second row, still in double crochet, but now decrease 2x2 (so after every 2 double crochet, you take 2 stitches together and make it one, twice).
Make a third and final row, again in double crochet, and decrease 2x1 (so after every 2 double crochet, you take 2 stitches together and make it one. Nothing more, nothing less).


And ta-da, just manoeuvre away all those loose hanging threads and... well... go eat a caramelized apple. You deserve it!

Love,
Dominique