Foliage Bolero in BC Garn Baby Alpaca - 2353BC - Downloadable PDF

Foliage Bolero in BC Garn Baby Alpaca – Pattern Summary (No. 2353BC)

The Foliage Bolero is a beautifully delicate knitted bolero designed by Karen S. Lauger and published by BC Garn as pattern number 2353BC. This free, downloadable PDF pattern produces a lightweight, open-style bolero featuring an elegant leaf motif that gives the garment its botanical name. With its refined texture and graceful silhouette, the Foliage Bolero is an ideal layering piece suited to warmer seasons or special occasions where a touch of handcrafted luxury is desired.

What Is Being Made

This pattern creates a bolero — a short, open-front jacket-style garment that typically covers the shoulders and upper arms while leaving the front and midriff open. The Foliage Bolero is worked in three sizes, making it accessible to a range of wearers:

• Sizes: S, M, and L
• Back width (armhole to armhole): 44 cm (S), 50 cm (M), and 56 cm (L), measured slightly stretched
• Sleeve length: approximately 36 cm (S), 39 cm (M), and 42 cm (L)

The finished bolero has a light, airy character that is enhanced by blocking, which opens up the leaf lace motifs and allows the natural drape of the yarn to shine through.

Yarn and Materials

The pattern calls for BC Garn Baby Alpaca, a 3-ply (lace-weight adjacent) yarn made from 100% baby alpaca. Baby alpaca is prized for its exceptional softness, natural sheen, and lightweight warmth, making it particularly well-suited to delicate lace knitting. The fiber's inherent drape allows the leaf pattern to bloom beautifully after blocking.

• Yarn required: 150 g of BC Garn Baby Alpaca (au100) in all three sizes
• Needle: 3.5 mm circular needle

A circular needle is used, which is common in garment knitting even when working flat sections, as it comfortably accommodates the number of stitches involved.

Gauge

Achieving the correct gauge is especially important for lace knitting, where the open structure of the fabric can vary significantly depending on tension. The pattern specifies:

• 25 stitches and 33 rows = 10 × 10 cm in the little leaf pattern, measured after a light blocking
• The individual little leaf motifs (as charted in Chart B and Chart C) measure 4 cm wide and 6 cm tall

Blocking is therefore an essential finishing step, not optional, as it sets the gauge and fully reveals the lace patterning.

Techniques Used

This pattern is rated intermediate in difficulty, meaning it is best suited to knitters who are comfortable with basic lace techniques and reading knitting charts. The construction involves working from charted stitch patterns, following symbol keys, and managing yarn-overs and decreases in combination to form the leaf shapes.

• Lace knitting — creating open, decorative fabric through the systematic pairing of yarn-overs with corresponding decreases
• Chart reading — the leaf motifs are presented in chart form (Chart B and Chart C), requiring the knitter to follow a grid-based visual representation of the stitch pattern
• Blocking — wet or steam blocking to open the lace and set the final dimensions of the garment
• Circular needle technique — working with a circular needle, likely for flat knitting with the added capacity for stitch count

Stitches Used

The Foliage Bolero's leaf motif is built from a combination of classic lace stitches. Based on the symbol key provided in the pattern, the following stitches are used:

• Knit on the right side, purl on the wrong side — the foundational stockinette-based background