Hot on the heels of the last Fit to Flatter installment, here’s a nice, portable summer tank pattern to keep you cool.
Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL)
Final Measurements: Bust sizes measure: 32 (36, 38, 40, 42, 46, 50)”/ 81.5 (91.5, 96.5, 101.5, 106.5, 117, 127) cm
Length from hem to shoulder: 23 (23.5, 24.25, 24.5, 24.75, 25, 25)”/ 58.5 (59.5, 61.5, 62, 63, 63.5, 63.5) cm
Featured Materials: Schulana Sojabama (120 yds/110 m per 50g ball), shown in color 23 Dark Olive: 6 (7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10) balls or approximately 671 (771, 840, 893, 950, 1048, 1139) yards / 614 (705, 769, 817, 869, 958, 1042) meters in an alternate yarn.
Gauge: 20 stitches and 36 rows = 4”/10 cm in stockinette stitch, blocked. Recommended needle size of US 6.
Pattern Notes:
Bryony is a fitted, drapey tank top for hot summer days, with an aran braid cable twining around the V-neck and down the back. It is knit in two pieces from the bottom up and then seamed together. An applied I-cord edging is worked to finish the armhole and neck edges. Vertical darts are used for shaping, and are placed to ensure that the cables on the front and back of the tank line up properly when seaming.
(All images in this page copyright splityarn. She’s awesome.)
Bryony offers a very balanced visual impression and can flatter a large variety of body types depending on where on the wearer’s body the hem falls. Proportional and top-heavy shapes should ensure that the tank ends at the widest point of their hips; bottom-heavy shapes should wear the tank slightly shorter to end an inch or two above their widest point. The V-neck slims and flatters a larger bust; smaller-busted knitters may want to bring the V-neck up a bit by working an extra inch before splitting the V.
Vertical darts allow for extremely flexible shaping, customized to fit your body. Should you desire less waist shaping than specified, you can omit or decrease the shaping rows entirely on the front of the tank. Bustier women can accommodate their needs by performing more increases on the front of the sweater, and not in the back. These extra stitches can be decreased into the cable on the neckline.
Applied i-cord is used on the unfinished edgings of the sweater and give an unobtrusive but neat, “finished” appearance to those edges. It also stabilizes the openings provides structure. I’m hoping to do a post on the edging later this week–I just adore the way it looks in the tank, and want to share before and after pictures of the armholes with you.
Schulana Sojabama is a glossy, incredibly soft bamboo/soy blend and I highly recommend it. I got mine from the ever-awesome Ellen (and she does mail order!), and it should be widely available around the country. If you’d like to use another yarn, be sure it works to a drapey but opaque fabric at 5 stitches to the inch.
Many thanks to the completely gorgeous Kellee for modeling the sweater. It was a struggle to get the tank back from her, and I hope you enjoy your tank as much as we enjoy this one!
Bryony may be purchased here or from my ravelry pattern store for US$6.00.
Amy Herzog Designs