Bellevue Barre Report

Bellevue by Jill Wolcott of Jill Wolcott Knits Jill takes an in-depth look at the Bellevue Ballet shrug written pattern, charts, and schematics.

Moderately engaging difficulty & Lace, Twisted Stitches and Short Rows/Flat knitting

This is lace knitting with patterning on both right side and wrong side rows, so that portion of the lace knitting requires attention. There is shaping on the back in lace, with charts and written instructions provided. Once the lace repeats are completed at the beginning of each sleeve, the shaping is done in Stockinette.

Bellevue is the further simplification of the Seattle ballet cardigan. By putting the lace pattern onto the back and the bottom of the sleeves, the impact remains, but there are no fronts, so fewer pieces to churn out. I made the back longish for a shrug because I think this is a much easier style to wear if it gracefully cascades to the back instead of being cut off. The rib trim at the beginning of the sleeves and back is used along the open edges of the neck and sleeve.

Part of the the Pacific Northwest Ballet school is housed in Bellevue, on the east side of Lake Washington. The PNW Ballet is on all the lists of notable ballet companies in the U.S.

Bellevue Page 2 Info

Sizes

XS (S) (M) (L) (XL)
Finished cuff to cuff at armhole divide (excluding trim) 54 (55) (56) (56.5) (57.5)”
Finished back length excluding scallops 16.75 (17.25) (18.75) (19.25) (19.75)”

Gauge

4 sts/in and 6.75 rows/in = 16 sts/4″ and 27 rows/4″ in stockinette stitch on size 6(4mm) needles
Go here for additional gauge information.

Yarn & Sample

Lace from Colinton Australia, 100% mohair, using 2 (3) (3) (4) (4) skeins of 50g/225 yds (206m)
Ayelette is wearing the model size M in Bartlett Tonal

In the cover photograph, Ayelette Robinson, San Francisco actress and lawyer, puts Bellevue over her workout gear. Sheila wears Seattle. Bellevue has an elegant look even over workout clothes–and Ayelette’s figure doesn’t appear out of balance. Perfect for fending off too much air conditioning or night air, this can cover a dressed-up outfit or as shown, a trip to the gym.

Overall Layout of the Bellevue Knitting Pattern

Page 2 is where to find all the information you need to get started on Bellevue. Don’t forget to check gauge and be sure your needle size will get the specified gauge using your needles, yarn, and style of knitting. I am a relaxed knitter and it is not uncommon for other knitters to need a different needle size. Getting the proper fabric is essential to any design ending up as presented.
Sizes: The size you choose should allow for an amount of fabric to cover your back. Don’t hesitate to choose a larger size to insure this piece is comfortable to wear. Sleeves can be made shorter or longer–all in Stockinette, so no problem customizing the fit there. There is a shaped armhole on the back, and a slightly shaped sleeve cap on the sleeve to make this one easy to wear. If adding length to the Back, do so before the armhole shaping—preferably in full pattern increments.
Gauge: Bellevue is worked flat and I strongly recommend that you do at least 2 Eyelet Leaves pattern row repeats for gauge and a good size stockinette swatch. The Colinton Australia Lace yarn used here is a little slippery, and a little catch-y at the same time, so consider it a good practice run. Once you get the hang of the yarn, it is a complete pleasure to knit. The yarn benefits from wet blocking even though gauge may not change significantly.
I recommend laying your swatch out flat on paper prior to wet blocking it and roughly tracing around it, then take and record the 4″ gauge. After the swatch has completely dried, again place it on the paper—and trace it with a different color so you can see the change, and take and record the 4″ blocked gauge. The blocked gauge needs to match the pattern gauge. Knowing blocked versus unblocked gauge will let you know you are on track as you work through Bellevue.
Needles: My usual caution is to try the next size up for needle size as I am a relaxed knitter. If you use a larger needle to get gauge, increase needle size for trims as well.
Yarn: Colinton Australia has amazing yardage—225 yds per 50g; 450 (675) (675) (900) (900) yds per project! Check here for all the colors, but there are now kits available in eight colors (both tonal and solids) from Unwind Yarn.
Notes: Always read the general notes on page 2—more specific notes will appear as needed within the pattern. Always check written instructions as well as shaping charts.
Bellevue written instructions begin on page 3 and go through page 16.
Bellevue techniques and abbreviations are on page 17.
Detail photos are shown throughout the written portion of the Bellevue pattern.
Stitch charts follow the written Bellevue pattern and contain the stitch pattern in written and chart form (pages 17 through 20), shaping charts by size begin on page 21 through 26. Pages 27 and 28 has “as knit” schematics.

Bellevue Written Instructions

Pages where the charts for all stitch patterns and shaping in pattern can be found at the end of the written pattern.

Bellevue Back

Back Bottom Trim: This table is set up so it can be read from left to right on every row–in other words, we switched right and left Diagonal Crossed Knots (DCK) instructions so just follow the instructions and it will all line up. Bottom Trim measurements are given on schematics. The DCK patterns are mirrored Right and Left. For reasons I no longer recall the Right DCK is worked with the Left Eyelet Leaves (EL) and vice versa. The last row decreases to the stitch count needed for the Eyelet Leaves patterns. The size M instruction uses two lines of text.
Back Panel: Read the Notes. If your row gauge differs, you will want to adjust the number of times the pattern is repeated.
- Work Back Decreasesthen go to Upper Back Pattern to work length needed.

Bellevue Right Sleeve

Right Sleeve Bottom Trim: This is set up the DCK pattern is matched to the Eyelet Leaves as it was on the back. The final row increases a stitch in preparation for the EL pattern.
Right Sleeve Establish Pattern: One 37-stitch EL pattern is worked, with additional stitches at the beginning and end in stockinette. Work only the three repeats—even if your row gauge is different. Trust me on this design detail.
Sleeve Pattern Fill-In: Worked over a single Eyelet Leaves repeat, this is the same for all sizes except for the stockinette stitches before and after the markers. The Sleeve will be approximately 6.625″ plus the DCK trim at this point, but measuring should be done over the stockinette.
Sleeve Shaping: Work the increases as set out, adjusting as needed for any change in length you may need. With sleeves, any adjustment made in the armhole needs to be reflected in the sleeve—and vice versa.
Sleeve Cap Shaping: The shaping is all done in stockinette and the Sleeve Cap will fit into the Back shaping without pulling (see the Schematic). Leave the stitches live for joining to the Back later on.

Bellevue Left Sleeve

This mirrors the Right Sleeve, starting with Right DCK, then working the Left EL pattern at the bottom of the sleeve. Any changes made to the Right Sleeve should be repeated on the Left.

Bellevue Finishing

I think Finishing is the secret to most projects. To master techniques before doing the finishing I always test things like picking up and working trim stitch patterns on my gauge swatch. The finishing on Bellevue uses a stitch pattern we’re already familiar with, but is done using a different needle size. Always adjust stitch numbers if you have adjusted length.

Blocking: Be sure to wet block all your pieces before doing the seaming.
Joining: Follow the instructions for joining the sleeves to the Back armholes. Be sure you match the correct sleeve to the armhole. Take care that your bind off is loose enough to not pull either the Back or the Sleeve Cap in from it’s blocked width/length.
Neck and Front Trim: This is done on needles the same size as used on the Back. If you change the pick up number, be sure to make it a multiple of 4 sts + 2. When finished with the Trim, work the bind off in pattern, taking care not to pull your trim tight.
Working in Ends: This is all that is left to do except blocking your seams and the Front Neck Trim.
Final Blocking: Wet block the Front Neck Trim. Seams can be steamed if you aren’t re-blocking the entire project.

Bellevue Techniques & Abbreviations

These are on page 30, the last page of the written portion of the pattern. The crossing technique used in the DCK is set out and a few other techniques that are good to have handy. Everything else can be found at JillWolcottKnits.com. The bottom of page 30 has a box containing a list of every abbreviation and technique used in the pattern. These too are found at JillWolcottKnits.com.

Seattle Charts / Stitch Patterns / Appendices

Bellevue Stitch Patterns & Charts, pages 17 through 26

The stitch patterns are given in both written and chart form, this is a great reference and perfect for swatching! We present them in order of appearance in the pattern. Each stitch pattern chart has a key.

Left Diagonal Crossed Knots (Left DCK), page 17
Right Diagonal Crossed Knots (Right DCK), page 17
Right Eyelet Leaves (Rt EL), page 18
Left Eyelet Leaves (Lt EL), page 19
Right Eyelet Leaves Additional Stitches, page 20
Left Eyelet Leaves Additional Stitches, page 20

Bellevue Shaping Charts, pages 21 through 27

We have created charts for each size where the shaping is done in Eyelet Leaves, so you can easily follow just what you need. The charts have been split into beginning and ending charts to allow us to keep them a readable size. For each size, these are the charts, in order of appearance:

Bellevue Right Back Decreases
Bellevue Right Back Decreases

Charts are created by Wendeline O. Wright. We collaborate on content and she designs the layout with input from Jill Wolcott.

Bellevue Schematics, pages 27 and 28

The schematics give you measurements for final blocked Bellevue pieces. Bottom Trim measurements, interim length measurements, and all the measurements used in the pattern are shown. Schematics also give you a visual of what your piece will look like—always useful.

I hope this helps you see how we have choreographed this to take you carefully through the process of creating Bellevue. There will surely be highs and lows, but we’ve got you covered.

You can see all the page 2 information on any of the pattern pages on Jill Wolcott Knits, Craftsy, and Ravelry, as well as photos.

Bellevue Barre Report

Bellevue by Jill Wolcott of Jill Wolcott Knits Jill takes an in-depth look at the Bellevue Ballet shrug written pattern, charts, and schematics.