Venice Beach Tank - Self-Striping Yarn - Knitscene Summer 2013

What possessed me to start a summer tank at the end of August? I think I thought I'd get it done in time to still enjoy it, but boy was I wrong! Part of it was that I was working on other projects in between, but I also had to rip out and fix several things on the tank that I didn't like.

Remember how I said that I'm going to add an inch to the length of every project from Interweave that I knit from now on? Well, I think I'm also going to add a half inch to an inch to every armhole. I knit to the project's specifications, tried it on, and the armhole was waaaay too tight.

(Yes, that's a picture of my armpit, sorry).

It's a quirk of mine, but I really like a lot of movement in the armhole area. This also caused some puckering when I put it on, and was uncomfortable.

Then the neck came up too high, too. So I had to rip out down to the armhole and add an inch of depth, which also shifted the neckline down. Not a huge deal, but still a pain.

This pattern was knit from an i-cord edging which was joined in the round. Then the stitches were picked up from the bottom and knit up, with a typical increase/decrease pattern through the body. The same as the Ryann Tunic I also knit from this issue, actually. On the armholes you knit an i-cord edging and bind-off, which was my first time using that technique. I really like how it turned out and I think I'll be using it on my own projects in the future. On the neckline you pick up stitches and knit the border with the holes to braid the i-cords through, then you knit three i-cords and braid them through the openings.

So the actual knitting time wasn't a lot of work or bother, but the finishing definitely took longer. I'm pleased with how it turned out and I couldn't resist wearing it once despite the weather (with a cardigan over it for warmth!). Once I'd finished modifying it I think it turned out quite flattering.

Here's a view of the front;

Here's a view of the back;

And here's a close-up of the braided neckline, which I think looks really cool;

Though I'm still not a fan of all the yellow in the self-striping yarn, I think I can live with it. Now I just have to wait six months for spring to be able to wear it again!

- D