Saturday, June 02, 2007

odessa inspired tank top

i love the odessa hat (http://www.magknits.com/feb06/patterns/odessa.htm) so much that i decided to make a tank top with the same stitch pattern.

here it is laying on my red sheets:


here it is on...i'm trying hard to get a good shot of the whole thing, but that didn't work well, so...

...i set the timer and set it on something...sorry for my roommate's colorful socks drying in the back...i'm in the bathroom...haha

here's a fuzzy close-up of the stitch:


the yarn is king tut egyptian cotton and it was knit on size 9 needles.

to make your own, definitely do some swatching to figure out how many stitches to cast on. round that number to the nearest multiple of 10. using circular needles, cast on that number of stitches and knit one inch of 3x2 ribbing.

after that start with the odessa stitch pattern: *ssk, k6, yo, k2, repeat from * continue until you reach the end. knit that until the whole piece measures approximately 13" or whatever length you like best.

at this point, you'll be working the front and back separately. work the front for 2 and a half inches of 3x2 ribbing and then the back for 1" of ribbing. sew together the separation you get between the front and back pieces at the armpit.

at the edge of the front of the tank top (the side with the longer edge) pick up 6 stitches. knit the straps in the following: row 1: * sl1, p1, k1, p1, k1, p1 *, row 2: *sl1, k1, p1, k1, p1, k1 * (so basically 1x1 ribbing with the first stitch slipped). repeat rows 1 and 2 until the strap is 15" unstretched. repeat again for a second strap.

finally sew the straps on to the back section of the tank top (try it on to see where will work most comfortable and cover up straps underneath) and tuck in all your stray yarn pieces.

let me know if that doesn't make any sense or if you have any questions!

thanks for looking!

z

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I really love your tank top =) I had seen your post a while ago and then it hit me this morning that I really wanted to find the pattern again! If I make one, I'll definitely let you know. Thanks! - aliciakatie (craftster)

Miss Dickens said...

Can't knit for shit but loving those tank-tops.. Def something i have to learn.
Great fun finding your blog!

Ilix said...

Looks great! I love that you found a stitch pattern you loved and found something eles to make from it!

Kim said...

Hey, could this be done on regular needles instead of circular needles? It looks so neat, I want to try to make it, but I can't find my circular needles lol.

z said...

see my latest post (11/22) for instructions on knitting the tank top flat...
thanks for the compliments!! :) glad you all like it!
z

Anonymous said...

Months and months later, I actually cast on for this project (with circular needles)lol. Now I'm wondering if it's possible to add any waist shaping or if I shouldn't bother.

z said...

you probably could work in some shaping on the sides in the stitch pattern. i'm thinking adding some decreases in the knit part of the stitch pattern...depending on how much you want to decrease. let me know if you want some help in figuring this out!
z

Anonymous said...

I wound up doing some waist-shaping, if you can call it that. In between each stripe, there are 6 stitches, I reduced it to 5 for a few inches. It probably makes no difference whatsoever, but that's okay. :)

Now I'm up to the part where you start the ribbing at the top. I thought the front and back were worked separately to give more room for the arm holes, but then I read that you're supposed to sew up the sides. Couldn't we just work that part on the circular needles like the bottom ribbing? Maybe I'm misunderstanding something.

Thanks a lot for your help so far. :)

z said...

you can definitely work the ribbing in the round then cast off the back and work the front separately...i really don't know why i did it that way!!! haha
z

Teacher and Learner said...

I love it.

Sas said...

I know it's a bit late, but try switching to a smaller needle size at the waist for some subtle shaping that doesn't change the pattern look at all....