Notes: I wanted to put this on the class roster for next semester, but wanted to make sure I could actually make it; while I love to look at knitted toys and have many in my mental queue, I’d never actually *made* one. AND NOW I AM IN LOVE. Well, I’m not in love with the mouth, I really feel I borked that one up. But… live and learn!
Notes: Did for a class at the shop, and while this is not the first Cookie A sock I’ve done, it did give me a whole new respect and love for her designs.
It’s like a billion degrees outside. OK, maybe just in the high 90′s. And I know I live in Florida and it should be hot but SWEET ZOMBIE JESUS IT HIT 96 ON THE FIRST DAY OF MAY! That’s too early to be peeling my skin off and diving into the nearest ice machine.
So I want to knit a tank top.
But here’s where my pickiness gets the better of me.
Requirements of a tank top that I will wear, knitted or store-bought:
- must have straps wide enough to cover my bra straps, I don’t care that that’s not a fashion faux pas any more, I still think it makes you look like a drunk hooker. Can have a built-in bra, if it’s supportive enough for the girls. And trust me, my girls need a lot of support.
- must not need me to wear a strapless bra, I hate those things.
- must not have some sort of open design over the boobs that either shows the bra through the design or is so open that you need to wear a second tank top underneath it. If that’s the case, why not just wear the single tank top?! OK, actually I admit there are times I like the layered look – I’m addicted to tank tops and thin long-sleeved thermals. But for some reason when I think about knitting a tank top in the next couple of months, I just want to knit a single-layer tank! Gah!
I’m having a lot of trouble finding a tank top that meets all these apparently crazy needs, that is also something of which I like the look.
Oh yeah, and specific knitting requirements -
- Must get the gauge, or close enough to the gauge that I can mess with it, to be able to use the yarn I want to use.
- Must either be a pattern I already own (in a book or magazine) or a pattern I can easily get.
After spending about two days looking through books I own and Ravelry, I think I have it narrowed down to five. I’ll try to link to someone’s Flickr pics for those that aren’t on Ravelry who might want to see what I’m talking about (you guys do still read this blog, right?). Some of these could probably be called loose t-shirts rather than tanks, but I’ve had to open my criteria a bit because apparently I’m too narrow-minded.
Pucker – Pros: blousy, cute. Cons: not the right weight yarn so would have to fudge gauge, would have to order the book. Normally I would consider ordering the book a deal breaker, but I have to wait for the yarn to come in anyway; if I ordered the book this week it would still come in before the yarn does.
Lillian – Pros: Straps and bust meet my requirements, calls for very close gauge to what I’ll be getting. Free pattern. Cons: don’t love the pattern on the bottom half, although I could modify it to one that I like.
Buttercup -Pros: blousy, cute, looks good on chesty girls. Free pattern. Cons: often shown in photos with tank top underneath; however, designer says recent update to pattern has taken that into account and modifications have been made.
Valpuri -Pros: this has been on my “want” list for a long time (y’all know how much I love the cables). Free pattern. Cons: not really the gauge I’m looking for, and if the math didn’t work out for me to be able to follow the directions for a different size, it could go badly.
Mud Flap Girl – Pros: Also been on my “want” list for a while. Already own the book that the pattern is in. Hmm, gets closer to the gauge I need than I originally though. Cons: straps are too thin, although that could be modified, perhaps.
Oh, hey! I should put a poll up!
So… anyone have any thoughts? Because actually, after writing all this out (hey, guys, thanks for listening!) I don’t feel nearly as cranky as I did before. I have some great patterns listed here and perhaps one day will get around to making all five…
Notes: So named because for a while they were just a pair of lonely toes used to teach someone how to knit toe-up; then they languished while I had other more pressing knitting. Surprise, I cranked the rest of the socks out between Saturday night and this morning. However, I did run out of yarn so they’re not as long as I wanted them to be… also, I had to use a different yarn for the last couple of rows and the bind-off. I hope that’s not too noticeable (I hesitate to even say that, since these are going to be a gift later this year…).
Yarn: Aslan Trends Glaciar del Cielo and SWTC Vickie Howell’s Craft (my favorite cotton, ever).
Pattern: More of a recipe than a pattern– see the notes below.
Notes: There’s a knitting technique based on a quilting technique, and it’s called Log Cabin. You start with a box in the middle and then add strips of color around always heading in the same direction, with each strip getting longer. I wanted to learn this technique but don’t have the time/energy to put out another afghan right now, so I did a dishcloth. Usually one binds off each color and then picks up stitches; I thought that might drive me mad so I did it on four circular needles and kept the stitches live. I’m not entirely sure I’m going to become a fan of this technique, although I do like the finished product (from the front). From the back all I see are the picked up stitches and woven in ends – you could hide this in an afghan by sewing something to the “wrong” side, but not with a dishcloth.
