Call for Testers: Without A Purl Dress / Top

Please refer to my Ravelry project for photos. There are only photos of the V-neck version at this time. I am currently sample knitting the square neck version.

Meterage is extremely variable based off the size you choose for yourself. You can get a pretty safe estimate by taking 1.75 times your usual sweater quantity for the dress, and you will definitely have plenty for the top with your usual sweater quantity, since there are no sleeves.

Design Notes 

Please note that the V-neck versions of both dress and top only go up to a finished bust size of 48"/120cm. The Square neck version goes to 60"/150cm.

I am especially looking for testers in sizes 46"/116cm and up, as well as people who have large differences in circumference between bust and waist, or waist and hips etc.

I cannot emphasize this enough: you will get extra support from me during this test, more than normal pattern support if you purchased the pattern. So if you have always wanted to knit a dress, but worried that it will not fit, please get in touch.

This is a modular design, and the pattern is written to help you choose your own size, based on your shoulder length, cross-back, full bust, waist, and back-neck-to-waist measurements.

General Notes 

I will run this test in Slack, without exceptions. All queries etc will be re-directed there.

All measurements etc will be in metric. (It will be published in imperial measurements, but I do not work with them while pattern writing.)

My target finishing dates are October 15th 2018 for the top and January 1st 2019 for the dress. The actual finishing date is negotiable, and I will negotiate that on a one-on-one basis, taking into account the size that you are knitting. For every 24 hours I'm late in sending the next instructions, you will get an extra 2 days added (to account for timezones) to your deadline.

Other than the standard knitting notions, you will also need a weighing scale that weighs in grams up to 1kg (a bit more than 2 pounds).

Yarn

Nua is a true sport yarn, knit to a sturdy but flexible 24 stitch gauge.

If you do not have sport yarns in your stash to work with, I would recommend DK yarns (might be a little less drapey) or fingering yarns held with a strand of laceweight. I am very unlikely to accept a typical superwash fingering yarn, approximately 400m per 100g, for this test to be used by itself. 

The dress, in particular, is a large garment. You are welcome to use different yarns/colors, one each for the body panels and one for the garter panels, and to finish the neckline, armholes and hem in a third, if you would like to knit it from stash.  

I would highly recommend commercially dyed yarn over hand-dyed so you do not have to alternate skeins.

Your Deliverables

(Everything below is assuming that we negotiate an acceptable finish date, and you decide that you would like to proceed to test.) 

This is a public test, and I would love for you to post as many photos as you want online. Take it to knit night etc. 

I need you, or the person it is being knitted for, to be willing to model the dress. If there are issues, I would also like photos to help you diagnose it. I will never share these photos without your permission. 

The modular construction of this garment allows me to send you instructions in sections. The milestones for sending the next instructions will be:

1. Stockinette swatch and body measurements
2. 4 Stockinette body panels + Garter swatch
3. Garter side panel instructions 
4. Garter front and back garter instructions + Finishing instructions.

If you send me photos of the swatch, and for some reason, the project does not pan out, I will give you a USD3 discount code for the finished pattern.

Please sign up for the test here.

Rewards

(Rewards below are as per the milestones in the previous section. They are not additive, meaning that if you finish the test on time, you will only get the 5th reward.)

1. USD3 discount for the finished pattern.
2. USD4 discount for the finished pattern. 
3. USD5 discount for the finished pattern. 
4. Entire Without A Purl pattern collection. (Everybody who finishes by their deadline gets the entire collection.) 

I will be dividing the testers into 2 groups, larger garments (plus-size and extra-tall) and regular. The first 2 finishers in each group will get reward 1 plus a choice of 2 or 3, and the next 2 will get reward 1.

1. My summer 2020 top collection -- and you get them as I get them back from the TE, not when it is released. There will be at least 3, possibly 4. 
2. Pick a garment pattern on Ravelry, and we will arrange a Skype/Zoom/something call, and I will walk you through how I would adjust that to fit your body. (I will buy my own copy of the pattern.) 
3. 2 patterns up to a total cost of USD16 on Ravelry.