Knititude

Galena Tank

The focal point of the Galena Tank is the unusual lace yoke, which is worked sideways, not in the round. I found the original stitch pattern of lace circles in Barbara Walker's Third Treasury of Knitting Patterns awhile ago, and after swatching, made some changes to the stitch pattern so that the circle outlines stand out more clearly. I also placed them on a background of garter stitch. 

I was thinking of combining this stitch pattern with a lace border in a garter-based shawl, but never got around to completing the design. Then I got the idea of working a single column of the lace circles, adding short rows to shape the column into a curve, and turning the resulting curved strip into a yoke. I decided to keep the rest of the top simple, and found a very special yarn, Quince & Co.'s Willet, that shows off the textured stitches of the yoke AND works into a light, smooth fabric for the body. It's made of a responsibly sourced cotton that is grown, spun and dyed in the USA. 

The other unusual feature of the yoke, besides the lace stitch, is the duplicate stitch method that I used to graft the ends. When using this method for a circular item such as a yoke (or a cowl), you cast on in a contrast color waste yarn, work a couple of rows, then join the main yarn and work to one row before the end. You then cut the main yarn leaving a long tail for grafting (very important!), join the contrast color yarn, work a couple of rows, and bind off. Next, you thread a tapestry needle with the long yarn tail and with the contrast color rows as a guide, use duplicate stitch to graft the ends of the yoke together. Sound complicated? This is a case where a picture (or better yet, a video) is indeed worth a thousand words. 

If you knit a lot of socks, you are probably pretty comfortable with using Kitchener stitch for simple stockinette, but the duplicate stitch method is a wonderful way to graft lace or other stitch patterns, because there are no complicated grafting charts to read! And since there are no live stitches hanging loose, there is no fear of dropping stitches, AND you can readjust the tension of your grafted stitches as much as you like, or pull the graft stitches out and redo them if you make a mistake. Once you are happy with the graft row, you carefully cut away the waste yarn stitches. 

After finishing Galena's yoke, stitches are picked up from the bottom edge and worked down for the body. There are some short rows to shape the top of the front and back to the curve of the yoke, but after that, the rest of the body is pretty simple. After you reach the bottom of the armholes, it's worked in the round; some waist shaping and a simple rolled hem, and you're done.

By the way, this tank was not named after the mineral, but after the town of Galena in Illinois (I hear it's quite nice!).

(All photos copyright Tom Moore Studios)

Prickly Pear

(photo: Crissy Jarvis)

The Prickly Pear sleeveless tank pattern is now available at Twist Collective! It's a great quick knit for warm weather, and can be worn on its own or layered over another top. The hem hits just above the hips, but since there is no waist shaping, it is easy to change the length. The stitch gauge of the lace is smaller than the stockinette stitch gauge (fewer stitches per inch), which means that for most sizes, the bottom edge of the top is 3-4 inches bigger in circumference than the bust. According to the Craft Yarn Council Woman Size Charts, this means that Prickly Pear can be lengthened to hip length, and the hem will still be wide enough to clear the hips with well over 2 inches/5 cm of positive ease in every size except XS (1/4-1"/.5-2.5 cm positive ease).

(photo: Crissy Jarvis)

The yarn chosen for this project, Classic Elite Hanako, is a blend of cotton and linen that works wonderfully: it has great stitch definition, showing off the lace nicely, and has some drape but also some body, so that it doesn't cling. It should also get softer with wear.

The lace pattern is an adaptation of the "Candle of Glory" stitch pattern from Barbara Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns. For maximum impact as a border, I made each "candle" bigger, and set them in a single row instead of staggering them. The construction of each lace motif is interesting: on one row, eight stitches are increased in a single stitch, and then on every right-side row after that, two stitches are decreased, until the original number of stitches is restored. Theoretically, the size of each motif is limited only by the number of stitches you can squeeze into a single stitch on the increase row!

(photo: Crissy Jarvis)

The other main feature of this top is the scooped neckline. I decided to make one side a shallower scoop than the other, so you can wear the deeper scoop in the front or in the back, which adds a little versatility. The shoulders are shaped with short rows and the shoulder straps are wide enough for bra coverage. 

(Surprising how different the color of the yarn looks in my photo; the true color is somewhere in-between the bright yellow-green of the first three photos and the pea green of the fourth.)

But even if the shoulder straps of a tank are wide enough to cover bra straps, that doesn't guarantee that the bra straps will stay covered! I have a few tops that came with bra strap holders on the inside of the shoulders, which I think is a great idea. They are simply snaps where one side is sewn to the inside of the garment, and the other is attached to a short cord or tape, so that it can be closed over a bra strap, holding it in place.

Sometimes I use a small safety pin as a DIY strap holder: I pass it through the inside of the shoulder seam, making sure that it doesn't show on the right side, and then close it so that it encloses but doesn't pierce my bra strap. It actually works well enough that I just leave the safety pins in place on a couple of my tops, but the bra strap does tend to catch on the safety pin closure, so I'm thinking I should sit down one afternoon, and just make bra strap holders for a few of my favorite knitted sleeveless tops. 

Marietta Tank

I wore the Marietta Tank for the author photo on the back cover of Knitted Tanks and Tunics. It is one of my favorite designs in the book, but I decided to wear it (and not one of the other designs) for two reasons: because it fits me well, and because the color is very flattering.

I'm not tall, and I had to make the samples for the book patterns in a size that would fit a model (not me), so many of the book garments are a little long in the waist for my body. The Marietta Tank is slightly cropped, so the narrowest part of the waist hits me just right-- at my natural waist. That is an important consideration for the best fit whenever a knitted garment has waist shaping. In fact, I included a section in the book called "Making Sure Your Knits Fit," which includes how to change the position of waist shaping if necessary. Generally, a top will be most flattering if the narrowest part of the waist shaping falls at or slightly above the natural waist.

I'm also fond of this design because I find twisted stitch patterns both pretty and fun to knit (especially once you learn how to work the twists without a cable needle!). I love the elegant little twisted rib cable that runs from the hem up the center front and back, and then splits to frame the twisted stitch panel on the front. I enjoyed designing that panel, but It was a challenge to grade all of the sizes so that the panel starts at the right place for each one.

You can also wear Marietta with the panel in the back, and the V-neck in the front, which is another plus for this design. 

And finally, the yarn I used, Rowan Softyak DK, is an unusual and lovely yarn, produced in heathered shades, and constructed of mostly cotton with a bit of yak and nylon. The yak and nylon help it hold its shape, while its chained construction gives the finished fabric a nice drape, and makes it resistant to splitting while it is being worked. 

(all photos copyright Tom Moore Studios)

Related articles

Press - Knititude

Odessa Tunic from Knitted Tanks and Tunics

Sheridan Tank - Knititude

Astoria Tunic

I'm glad that the Astoria Tunic graces the cover of Knitted Tanks and Tunics; I really like the fun retro feel of the high rounded collar and the center front pleat, and I also think that the A-line shape and tunic length make this a style that is flattering to many body types.

The body is very simple: it's worked in the round, and has regular decreases along the sides to give it that A-line shape. The armhole edgings are worked at the same time as the body, so no additional finishing is required. Once the upper front is reached, things get a bit (but only a bit!) more complicated: while working the upper front, purl columns are started, to allow the back part of the pleat to fold neatly, and a few short rows are worked to shape the upper edge into a curve. The inverted box pleat is formed by folding the fabric toward the center front along the purl columns, and then back toward the sides. 

The layers of fabric have to be attached to each other to hold the pleat in place; I experimented with several techniques to find the best way to do this without creating a lot of bulk at the top of the pleat. 

For the collar, stitches are cast on between the top edges of the front and back, and then worked in the round. The collar is then folded in half to create a double layer, which helps it stand away from the neck.

I used Schachenmayr Catania Grande yarn for Astoria; it's 100% mercerized cotton and worsted (#4 medium) weight, but I used larger needles to create a less dense fabric with more drape. This yarn comes in a wide range of colors, from neutrals to pastels to brights, and the mercerization gives the cotton a nice sheen and excellent stitch definition. 

(all photos copyright Tom Moore Studios)

Bethel Tank

The Bethel Tank is one of the three projects in Knitted Tanks and Tunics that uses more than one color of yarn (the others are the Roanoke Tank and the Beverly Tank)-- but the only one that uses the stranded or Fair Isle technique. In this technique, many colors may be used, but traditionally only two colors are used in any one row or round.

For stranded designs, the color choices are all-important: when combining yarn colors, a particular color displays very differently depending on the adjacent hues. Traditionally, Fair Isle knitters use a fingering (#1 super fine), Shetland wool yarn such as Jamieson's Shetland Spindrift, which comes in over 200 colors! The Brown Sheep Company makes a similar yarn, Nature Spun, from U.S. sourced and spun wool, which comes in over 80 colors, but since Bethel is primarily a warm-weather garment, I decided to use Brown Sheep's Cotton Fleece yarn for this project. Cotton Fleece is 80% cotton and 20% merino wool AND it comes in over 60 colors. It's also a borderline DK/worsted (#3 light/#4 medium) weight, so it knits up much faster than a fingering weight yarn. And finally, I was already familiar with Cotton Fleece, having used it for the Sherwood child's pullover, one of my first published designs, back in 2006.

I used Brown Sheep color cards to choose the yarn colors, found a few suitable stranded motifs in Alice Starmore's Charts for Color Knitting (highly recommended!), and then I did a lot of swatching, arranging the colors in different ways. I ended up with two favorite motifs, and I went with the one that I thought would have more of the effect of a necklace in the finished design.

Bethel's stranded yoke is worked in the round from the bottom up, and then stitches are picked up from the lower (cast-on) edge and worked down for the body. I used short rows to shape the top of the front and back along the edge of the yoke, so that it keeps its natural round shape. One of the advantages of working top-down is that the top can be tried on while work is in progress, to check the placement of waist shaping as well as the finished length. The hem, neck and armholes of Bethel are all finished with an attached I-cord, which creates a simple, clean edge.

One word of caution: The darker colors of Cotton Fleece can bleed if washed in warm or hot water, so take care to use cold water when washing!

(all photos copyright Tom Moore Studios)

*I used the runner-up stranded motif for the Zinnia Tank, also worked in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece.

Related articles

Windley

Zephirine Cardigan

Honey Pullover