Sunyata

Sunyata Bolero by Kristen TenDyke

What is Being Made

Sunyata is a knitted bolero designed by Kristen TenDyke, available as a downloadable PDF pattern from Caterpillar Knits. This garment is a short, open-front cardigan or shrug that drapes across the shoulders, making it an ideal layering piece for various occasions. The bolero is worked in a lace pattern that creates an elegant, openwork fabric suitable for warm-weather wear.

Finished Measurements

The bolero is offered in seven sizes with finished measurements around the shoulders ranging from 40¾ inches (103.5 cm) to 69½ inches (176.5 cm), accommodating a wide range of body types and fit preferences.

Knitting Techniques

This pattern employs several foundational knitting techniques appropriate for beginner-level crafters:

• Provisional Cast-on Method: The pattern uses a waste yarn provisional cast-on technique worked with a crochet hook. This method involves wrapping yarn around the knitting needle counter-clockwise and drawing the yarn through a loop on the crochet hook to create live stitches that can be picked up later, allowing for seamless finishing or two-way construction.
• Lace Knitting: The garment features an openwork lace pattern that creates decorative holes and texture throughout the fabric.
• Yarn Overs and Decreases: The lace construction relies on yarn overs (yo) to create the openwork effect, paired with strategic decreases to maintain stitch count.

Stitches Used

The Sunyata bolero incorporates essential knitting stitches organized within a repeating lace pattern:

• Knit Stitch (K): The foundational stitch used for structure and edges.
• Purl Stitch (P): Used in the lace pattern repeat to create texture and definition.
• Slip, Slip, Knit Decrease (sk2p): A left-leaning decrease that removes two stitches while maintaining fabric integrity.
• Yarn Over (yo): Creates the characteristic openwork holes in the lace pattern; the pattern specifies double yarn overs that are worked into separate stitches on the following row.

The lace pattern repeats over a multiple of 3 stitches plus 2 edge stitches, creating a balanced, symmetrical design across the garment width.

Materials

The Sunyata bolero is designed to be worked in chunky-weight yarn, making it a quick knit suitable for beginners. The pattern sample is shown in Classic Elite's Sprout, an earth-friendly yarn composed of 100% organic cotton. Each 100-gram hank yields approximately 109 yards of yarn. The pattern requires 2 to 3 hanks depending on size, totaling approximately 140 to 300 yards of comparable chunky-weight yarn.

The pattern calls for standard knitting needles appropriate to the chunky yarn weight, as well as a crochet hook for executing the provisional cast-on method. The use of organic cotton yarn aligns with Caterpillar Knits' commitment to sustainable, earth-friendly design practices.

Difficulty Level

Rated as a beginner project, the Sunyata bolero is accessible to knitters new to the craft. While it incorporates lace techniques, the straightforward stitch pattern and chunky yarn weight make it manageable for developing knitters building foundational skills.