Current version v1, dated 8/11/13

If you love variegated yarn like I do but feel it’s too much for an entire top, or have just one skein of a perfect colorway you want to feature, this is a perfect pattern. I wanted to really feature a great skein of yarn I had, and after playing with swatches, I came up with this pattern. The name comes from the pops of color provided by the variegated yarn: the lines across the yoke remind me of the childhood freckles sprinkled across my son’s nose (which he inherited from me), and I added the ruffles on hem and sleeve to please my daughter’s sense of girly embellishment.

The shirt is knit seamlessly from the top down with a circular yoke. A ruffle is added at the bottom of the body in the contrast color before bind off, and then the sleeve stitches are worked into a ruffle shaped with short rows, also using the contrast color. Only one color is worked at any time for the color work, which is created with slipped stitches and increases. Schematics and additional pictures are included after the instructions so you can choose to print them or not.

For those knitters who live in countries where they may apply, there are no licensing restrictions on this pattern.