Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Look Valerie! It's Finished!

Just last week I was showing you a cone of yarn. This week I show you a finished tank top. Oh, I had planned on blogging in between of these two posts. I had the entry planned, photos taken, rough outline in my head…then I got busy and that particular blog topic never happened. And it probably won’t happen until I get back from my trip. It will be an odd post in which I talk about the yarn and the knitting of a tank that’s already finished. (That’s assuming that I still think it’s a good entry.)
In the pink, again
Please excuse crappy indoor photo. My photographer is taking the bar exam and the sun refuses to come out.

Pattern: Go With the Flow tank from Inspired Cable Knits, second size
Yarn: Brown Sheep Cotton Fine in Pink-a-boo (part of 1 cone) 80% pima cotton 20% merino wool
Needles: 2.5 mm (labeled US 1 by Addi, which is incorrect. US 1 is 2.25 mm)
Cat: Scout taking a bath
Modifications and Notes:

1) Knit in mini knit along with Valerie. She’s making a pretty red one--go look! This also counts as an Amazing Lace project because of the lace at the bottom.

2) After following the Salt Peanuts pattern to a T, I needed a bit of a challenge. I decided, contrary to my normal beliefs, to convert the pattern to be knit in the round. This really is a big step for me because (a) I love seaming and (b) I believe that seams give sweaters structure. I decided to deviate from my hard-headed beliefs because this tank is knit out of such fine yarn that I didn’t think the sweater would need the seams to give it structure.

it's fake!3) But of course, I couldn’t simply knit the thing in the round—oh no! I decided to try a new trick. I put in phony seams ala Elizabeth Zimmermann. Yes, I am “the absolute boss” of my knitting! I was going to take photos of me actually making the phony seam as part of the planned entry, but when seam time came, I didn’t want to stop. I’m quite pleased with the seam--it's subtle but it makes me feel so much better about not doing a real seam (since I am still quite hard-headed about seams)

4) And of course, short row shoulder shaping and 3-needle bind-off. I think everyone should do short-row shoulder shaping even if they don’t do a 3-needle bind-off. It just looks so much better: no stair steps, no odd looking rows--just perfect!

5) I made the tank with even ease because it’s mostly cotton and I expect it to get a bit baggy with wear. I’m happy with the way it fits around me but…

6) I feel kinda chesty in it. The problem (for me) is a result of the way the armholes are shaped. The armholes cut fairly far to the center. I think 20 sts were decreased on each side--that's a lot even in fingering weight yarn. Having the “straps” set-in and narrow make my shoulders look broader, which makes me look wider. I guess I’ll have to remember that I prefer my tanks to have wider-set straps.

7) Interesting construction note: the larger sizes add length in the bottom border rather than in the cabled part.

Random close ups


27 comments:

monkeemaven-fruitcakeknits said...

!Laura++
!Laura++
!Laura++
!Laura++
!Laura++

Agnes said...

Lovely! And you are FAST!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gourd, it's gor-jus. Also, drive-by chatting is mean. :p

Lorette said...

Gorgeous, and you are a freaking fast knitter!

Anonymous said...

Beautifully done and I love that pink.

Anonymous said...

Oy. Not only fast, but with cool mods too. You rock.

Etcgirl

Valerie said...

I hope mine looks that good when it's finally finished!

Interestingly, the little cable sections in the lace and the center section don't align on mine.

Mine doesn't have any modifications (well, except the armhole length--I thought it was a bit much), so we'll see how it turns out.

Karen said...

lovely tank. Now I need to borrow that pattern.....thanks a lot! :)

ladyfunk25 said...

Tops done in lighter weight yarns often look great - yours is no exception. Don't know if I would have the patience! Great job, you should be proud.

amylovie said...

She turned out great. I love the fake seaming. That's a new one to me.

Amy

SAM said...

This is gorgeous! I had to read 12 posts to catch up. Love Salt Peanuts too - the Vermillion looks great on you.

Jennifer said...

Lovely! Gorgeous cable pattern and gorgeous knit! You look beautiful in it.

Anonymous said...

That is so pretty!! I love the color. ;)

Anonymous said...

that is just gorgeous!
- purrl

Meredith said...

Lovely lovely lovely, as usual!

Anonymous said...

Another lovely knit. you may feel busty but I think the tank is flattering on you. Happy holidays...

shetha said...

It's absolutely gorgeous! I nearly got you the yarn for this but it was backordered and you got yours before I could send you some!!! I picked a lilac color though -- your pink color is just perfect. Nice features, too! Good for you for being the boss of it!

soapy said...

That sure was a fast knit!
IT looks GREAT!! You look great in it!

suzmcq said...

the lace and cable detail is so pretty. the pink is sets it off nicely. I am in awe of your speed.

Terby said...

That looks fantastic. Please show closeups of the short row shoulder shaping when you have time! You've sold me on using fine gauge yarn for a tank. I've read about the fake seams but yours is the first I've seen in the wild - thanks for showing the detail.

Anonymous said...

That is absolutely gorgeous. I'm putting it on my (so long I don't really even maintain it anymore) list. And the lighting in the indoor photo is actually quite lovely!

There seem to be quite a few patterns our right now that mix cables and lace, and I'm really liking them.

Someday will you tell me how to convert patterns to short-row shoulders? I know how to do short rows, and I could probably guess how to do it, but a mini-tutorial probably wouldn't hurt.

Tara said...

oooo-so pretty! Did the making cables with the cotton hurt your hands? Was it more difficult?

Annie said...

Wow! Color me impressed! It's gorgeous!

Ali said...

Laura,

WHEN are you going to write a knitting book?!? Fake seams, I've never heard of such. You're a Geneyus:)

Laura said...

Oooh, so pretty. I think it looks great on you.

And I am with Rachel. Would love to see short-row shoulder shaping mini-tutorial some day.

Anonymous said...

It's gorgeous! And the photo isn't that bad.

Anonymous said...

That sweater is stunning! And I love the faux seam, I'm definately going to look up that technique.