Simple warmer weather sweater

The weather is cooler now, but I did get a chance to wear this earlier in the month when it was quite warm. This is a no-pattern sweater that is just a simple shape with a lacy front yoke and a lacy rectangle on the back. I call the back section my "ventilation panel" because it makes the sweater comfortable in warm weather. The yarn is Zooey by Juniper Moon. It's 60% cotton and 40% linen. This is a comfy yarn for summer, but at 5 sts/inch, it can still be a bit warm because of the thickness of the garment, so the open panel is great.

I've decided that this simple shape works well for me for summer knits. It's not quite sleeveless but cool enough. It has about zero ease at the bustline, so it's almost but not quite fitted. There's enough drape with the cotton/linen to keep it comfy. I can use this sweater template for many styles by varying stitch patterns on the yoke, front, back, etc. Here are my notes on this particular sweater:

• It's essentially knit as two rectangles with decreases and increases for some gentle waist shaping.
• I increased one stitch at each side of the front and back at the point where the armhole starts. This marks the spot and also makes it easier to finish off the armholes.
• I made the neckline as a wide crew, where the front neckline starts about 1" lower than the back.
• The shoulders are slanted with short rows and 3-needle bind off joins the front and back. I believe I had 4 wrap and turns on each shoulder.
• The front yoke lace section starts about 1.5" after the armhole starts.
• The back open section starts about 2 rows after the armhole starts.
• This particular lacy pattern is a looser gauge than the stockinette. For the front yoke, I used one needle size smaller. I used the same size for the back rectangle since it's only 1/3 the width. The top neckline bind-off keeps it scrunched in.

Here's the simple lace pattern, without including any selvedge stitches:
Row 1: k2tog, yo, repeat to end
Row 2: p
Row 3: yo, ssk, repeat to end
Row 4: p

I need to mention that for some reason, this yarn causes a ton of biasing. Since I knit the top as two pieces, the side seams keep the biasing in check. I have 3 more balls of this yarn in another color and I might try another top with the same shape. If I do, I'll do something besides all stockinette for the body and perhaps the biasing won't be so bad. All in all, I'm very happy with this top.

BTW -- There's still time to comment on my magazine giveaway.