Thursday, July 24, 2008

Heidi knits a preppy top

Mountain Man and I visited friends in some serious mountains over the weekend. It was glorious: snow-topped peaks,meadows of alpine wildflowers, intense blue skies and glacial lakes. When I pulled out my knitting on the 12,000 foot pass, I felt like a modern-day Heidi!


In case you're wondering, modern-day Heidis knit themselves preppy little tube tops. Here's what I was working on, all finished now in Vermont:


Yarn: Knitpicks' Shine Sport in 'grass,' 3 balls
Needles: size 5 bamboo circular
Pattern: improvised -- just a stockinette tube with 1x1 ribbing at the top and bottom and ribbon straps.

The story behind this is that I received 3 skeins of Shine sport from Studio Knit, as part of an awesome prize that I won on her blog (also included: spinning fiber from Hanks in the Hood). I loved the color and immediately started planning a top that I could finish in just 3 skeins.


Initially, I thought I'd make a lacy camisole. But my lace swatches looked so unbearably bulky. And, frankly, I find those lacy camisoles kind of annoying to wear. (In my mind, the whole point of a tank top is to have a lightweight garment, so I find it bothersome to have to layer them.)

So, a tube top it was. It took a few false starts to get the sizing due to the incredible stretchiness and drape of the fabric. In the end, I decided to forgo waist shaping because I realized that as I wore the top, the fabric would stretch downwards and the waist could move. The solution: I designed it to just fit my waist and have negative ease elsewhere. Worked like a charm! And to finish, I sewed some simple straps out of matching ribbon.


I feel pleasantly preppy in this little top, mostly because it matches my high school color (girls' boarding school in Connecticut -- can't get much preppier than that!). The clean lines and grosgrain ribbon help, too. :)

5 comments:

Aidan said...

So pretty! And so is the tank ;) . Where were the big mountains? And when are you coming up to Montreal with Mountain Man for a visit? I'm waiting up here :)

Knit Witch said...

OMG! I love it!!! It looks great on you too! Congrats!

Rachael said...

Nicely done!!

kathy b said...

WOw, It is really really lovely on you. I wondered if I'd like That Knit Picks yarn myself. it is a great knit.

Rachel said...

I found your blog (and your other site green knitter) a few months ago but haven't yet taken the time to comment. Just wanted to say that I've enjoyed both sites and appreciate not only the information, but also the goals that you are striving for in your knitting and your life.

BTW--saw you were a returning PhD student...I'm working toward my doctorate in Natural Resource Sciences (wildlife with emphasis on elk nutrition). I did 3 years of fieldwork, then finished up my classes in May. Looking at pre-lims and data analysis/writing now. Hopefully being done in about 2 years! Good luck with yours!