I decided to tackle a bolero for my friend R…, and figured it would be easy because it’s a Lion Brand free pattern.  It stumped me a little at first, because of instructions like “and at the same time” in all caps.  But I took it apart, started over again, and am pleased to report that I have now finished the left front.

Read on!

First, we found the pattern at the store, but it’s also available online.  Click here.

Since R… has a dress code at work, we decided to use a black tone for the sweater so she could use the bolero there. We settled on 312 Edwardian, Art #790, Lot #10289.

Once I finally got the hang of it, it was easy to do.  The instructions “and at the same time” made more sense once I realized there’s a distinct left side and right side to the piece – in this case, when I say “side,” I mean “edge.”  See below:

At the bottom of the image is a blue tie, to indicate “center front.”  Once I realized that, the schematic helped me to determine that the shaping (note the pronounced slope on the left) of the piece.

After that, finishing the left front piece was a snap.  Here it is, using the simple expedient of an extra knitting needle as a stitch holder:

All of a sudden, it begins to look like a sweater!

For you stitch-a-holics out there, here’s a detail of the pattern stitch:

It’s called a broken rib stitch.  All wrong-side rows are knit; all right side are K3, P2.  It’s a nice, nubby texture; particularly with the Homespun brand yarn.