Category: finished object

Roundabout Leaf Tank
Pattern: Roundabout Leaf Tank from Knitting Nature by Norah Gaughan
Yarn: Nashua Ecologie Cotton, 6 skeins
Needles: Denise US 7

I knit pretty much this entire tank on my trip to Texas and the cruise in May, but held off just on sewing the straps down until just now! I had to do one of them twice, actually, because I’d knit one strap just slightly (about 3 rows?) longer than the other and it was noticable to me when it was all done. So I had to detach that strap, rip back a few rows, bind off again, and sew it back on.

The yarn is really nice stuff, naturally dyed and makes a fabulous fabric. A bit splitty, as with most multi-ply cottons, but nothing overly annoying. The slight variation in the colour really works with this design.

The pattern was really great fun. Easy to remember (although some of my leaves may be slightly larger than the pattern called for due to my inability to count rows), easy to just pick up and put down whenever. I knit quite a bit of it on the plane from Detroit to Houston, and a lot on the cruise, in the evenings in the room.

I did have some futzing to do with the decreases around the bust – I think I may have joined a little earlier than the pattern called for, and my row gauge was probably off (yes, I am being vague) so I ended up needing to do a lot more of the “work even” part once the decreases were actually done, to have it end in the right place. And even then, I don’t think it really did….but it all worked out.

Also, in the back, my straps don’t meet in the middle like is called for in the pattern. I’m not actually quite sure what happened there, but it looks fine.

Now the big question of course, why aren’t I modelling it myself? Well, firstly I wanted to take it to the store as a sample for the yarn, and didn’t have a chance to do the modelling thing at home before I did. And well, I’m not super thrilled with it – I really, really love the way it looks on the hanger, but I’m not that hot on how it looks on me.

I think the shorter portion of the body is a bit too short, so it shows a bit of belly which I’m not hot on. And I don’t know that I actually wear knit tanks, even with all my knitting of them! Maybe I’ll like it as more of a vest over another shirt, or something. Or maybe I just need to give it a little time to grow on me (also literally, perhaps it will lengthen slightly with hanging).

I’m just bursting with things to blog about! More soon!

“Lace Nightie”

Pattern from Interweave Knits (web pattern), available here, size 29″. (yay negative ease)
Yarn: Alchemy Silken Straw in “Scarlett’s Dark Secret”, 2 skeins (with significant leftovers), 100% silk.
Needles: 3.5 mm

Finally done (okay, it was actually pretty fast). It is SO not a nightie, but I love it! It goes well over a cami for a bit of a dress up without heaviness – it only weighs maybe 60 grams. My row gauge must have been pretty off – I lengthened the body by another pattern repeat before the back bind offs, and it’s still not nearly so long as the one in Interweave’s photo.

On the Silken Straw: a wee bit tricky to knit with, because it is not a plied yarn. Instead, it’s just a bunch of threads held together with a sizing. It’s pretty easy to not catch all the threads, especially in the lace pattern, but once you get used to it, everything goes pretty smoothly. The skeins are quite large – I have maybe a little less than half a skein left!

Before blocking, the top was all scrunched up and also? tiny looking. But a good soak, a nice stretch out and although it still only measures 30″ at the bust (I’m 35″) it stretches nicely. The fact that it has such a low back probably contributes to that! The fabric is sooooo nice after blocking – crisp, but very smooth and drapey.

More, and flat, photos at my flickr. Did I mention I love it?

Happy Canada Day!