The Violaine Tunic

Remember these?

They became this:

Violaine is a top designed by a French designer, Sylvie Damey - although the instructions are written in English. You'll also find it on ravelry:

I made this top with an informal look in mind; this is definitely not something I'd wear to work, but I made it for these days when I can work from home and want to feel more relaxed (and warm!) but still a bit cute.

I changed the shells pattern from the empire waist down:

Starting row of shells: SH in first sc, *skip 1 sc, sc in next sc, skip sc, SH in next sc*, repeat between * to end;
Following rows: SH in each sc, sc in ch-sp of each SH to end.
I did the first row of shells with a 5.5-cm hook, and the following rows with a 6-cm hook for an airier effect. I switched to a 6.5-cm hook from the low waist down.

If you're interested in making this design and want detailed notes on my alterations, they are on my Ravelry project page.

The top closes with a couple of buttons at the back, a detail I found really cute.

I did block the tunic, but it has grown a bit more since these pictures were taken.

This tunic is lightweight, but the yarn (Tosca Light by Lang Yarns) is very warm. And people - just look at the colours: blue, turquoise and purple (AKA the shades I keep obsessing over) softly, softly merging one into the other... Can it get any better than this? ;)
I cannot praise this yarn enough: I am now craving for it in its purple-red colourway...