The Eiffel Tower Skirt
Symbol of Paris weaved in cables of a long winter skirt
The Eiffel Tower skirt is special for several reasons…
Firstly, it’s commonly known that we, modern time women, rarely wear long winter skirts; or skirts at all in winter time. Summer skirts are abundant, and it’s absolutely great that dresses and skirts have come back into fashion making women feminine again, but you’ll hardly find a thick winter skirt in shops these days.
However, in the last couple of years there have been an increase of knitted skirts that you can wear in very cold weather (or if you’re just as sensitive to any coldish weather like me).
Secondly, we are all somehow wrapped in black or grey – hardly ever can you spot city dwellers in bright colors during the winter. This melange texture that I chose kind of enriches the grayness of town quarters when we have very little sunshine.
And finally, and most important;y for me, is that this garment is a real big challenge for experienced and skillful knitters. The pattern is a bit more complex and requires good concentration, but it takes everyone’s breath away the moment they lay eyes on it.
Inspiration
The idea for this skirt came from the site Ravelry, where you can see 2 completely different garments – a skirt and a shawl. To be more precise, Elena Kuzmina knitted this lovely skirt according to the shawl design by Renate Haeckler.
Renate’s cable pattern was incorporated in the lower section of the skirt, while for the rhombuses Elena used a different cable stitch. Her combination of these two cable designs fit in the “A”-line skirt perfectly.
Free pattern for the shawl can be downloaded on Renate Haeckler‘s ravelry page.
In the moment of inspiration, I had pink and grey yarn so I knitted my Eiffel Tower skirt by combining those two colors. One day I’d definitely like to make another one like this in beige or off white, just like Elena’s, because the pattern and beautiful texture of the cables are much more prominent.
level
To make The Eiffel Tower Skirt, you will need upper-intermediate/advanced knowledge of knitting skills. Skills require knowing how to do knit and purl stitches, knitting cables, and doing increases
material
- 9 – 12 balls of DK blend yarn (900 – 1200 gr)
- Circular knitting needles 4.5 mm (US G7)
- Yarn needle
- Elastic band 1,5 inches wide
size
S/M – L/XL – 2XL/3XL – 4XL/5XL
abbreviations and symbols
st(s) – stitch(es)
K – knit
P – purl
Instructions
Intro
I made my skirt by knitting in the rounds, holding 2 strands of yarn together, and using circular needles 4.5 mm. I followed Diagrams that you will find below but due to my bulky yarn I made some changes to the number of sts – Following Diagram 1, I did cables with K4, P6 (instead of K4, P8). Next, following Diagram 2, i worked K4, P8, unlike the diagram which shows a larger number of stitches. However, I gradually increased the number of P sts to obtain the number of sts like on Diagram 2.
Additionally, because of the reduced number of sts, the number of rounds was also smaller in my case. I knitted the rounds in a way that my work dictated.
All in all, I changed original diagrams both in width and length because I held 2 strands of yarn and not 1, as in the original. In further text you’ll find the exact number of sts needed to begin work for your size, as well as the reduced number of sts in the pattern for 2-strand-hold, comparing to the original. Naturally, if you’d like to make your skirt using 1 strand of yarn, The Eiffel Tower can be knitted with smaller needles, let’s say, 3 or 3.5 mm. In that case, follow the two diagrams as they are given.
Part 1 – 12 Rhombuses
My size is S/M. I started by casting on 120 sts and closing them in a circle. I did 7 rounds of ribs 4/6 (K4, P6) before I started following Diagram 1. I did 6 repeats of the pattern from Diagram 1. Later, when the skirt was finished, these 7 rounds were folded to the wrong side, sewn up and elastic band was inserted in the so obtained waistband. The number of sts at the beginning of work should be wide enough for hips to go through them. Elastic band, of course, will adjust the waist measurement.
Part 2 – 6 Eiffel Towers
After finishing Diagram 1, I continued according to Diagram 2. Diagram 1 proposes 12 repeats (12 rhombuses). On the other hand, Diagram 2 is designed to have 6 repeats of cables, on every second rhombus. These cables are the part of the skirt that resembles The Eiffel Tower. Between the “towers” you do only K sts. On this segment of K sts we will later do increases where long narrow triangles are formed.
I started doing the increases from round 16 of Diagram 2 by adding sts in the K sts segments like this:
- add 2sts in every 14th round 5x
- add 2sts in every 11th round 3x
I continued without increases till the end.
After finishing round 89. of Diagram 2, I repeated rounds 75 – 89 3 times. Next, I followed the diagram from round 90 to round 98.
Finally, i K 3 rounds, and did the moss stitch in the final 5 rounds, like this:
Rnd 1 – K1, P1
Rnd 2 – P1, K1
Rnds 3 and 5 – like rnd 1
Rnd 4 – like rnd 2.
I cast off all sts in one rnd.
Idea
The Eiffel Tower skirt can be made as a pencil skirt as well, if you don’t widen it in the section of K sts. I believe this variation would be very effective. A short, midi, or long skirt with a slit – the possibilities are endless…
Number of stitches according to size (with 2 strands of yarn)
S/M – Start with 120 sts
Diagram 1 – K4, P6, 12 repeats
L/XL – Start with 132 sts
Diagram 1 – K4, P7, 12 repeats
2XL/3XL – Start with 144 sts
Diagram 1 – K4, P8, 12 repeats
4XL/5XL – Start with 156 sts
Diagram 1 – K4, P9, 12 repeats
Finishing
Steam iron the skirt very gently on the wrong side and leave it to cool down.
Fold the first 7 rows of the waist inside and sew it to the skirt by hand using yarn and yarn needle. Leave about 1/2 inch opening. Insert elastic band in the opening. The length of it should be about an inch shorter than your waist measurement.