I finished up my Tahari Tank, using my handspun Rambouillet, this past Saturday, and blocked it. It was dry yesterday, so I tried it on. There are many things that I love about this project, but there are some things that I just can’t abide. I love the fabric. The knitting looks great, and I am super pleased with my handspun yarn, and my dye job. But the armholes are too big, and they gape, and also come down a little too far for my comfort. Not really indecent, but just outside of my comfort zone. Of course, being a breast cancer survivor, and only having one boob, does affect how things fit. I could wear a knitted knocker to be symmetrical, but then I would have to wear a bra, which I don’t, because I don’t need to (because my remaining one is small).
It doesn’t look too bad on my dress maker dummy, but on me, not so great. And then there is the whole retro bathing suit vibe. I do like the stripe of lilac, but it hits right across the middle of my buttocks. The top itself comes down to just past. And while I did work increases to try to keep the ease going over the hips, I was only partially successful there, so there isn’t as much ease over my hips, tummy and buttocks as I might otherwise like. I also didn’t realize how far this yarn would go, and realized that I could make a pullover, which I think I would get more wear out of. So, in the end I decided to treat this as a giant gauge swatch. I measured my gauge and went hunting for another pattern, which I found, and it was already in my library, which makes it even better. It is a simple V-neck pullover, that is very customizable, so I can use up as much yarn as possible. I’m not sure if the lilac will make another appearance - maybe as ribbing? We’ll see. Anyway, I spent most of yesterday picking out the tubular bind-off, which took me quite a while, although I did get pretty good at it. And now the yarn is re-skeined, and had a bath, and is currently drying on my yarn drying rack in the bathtub of the spare bathroom, which is also where I do my dyeing.
The yarn held up beautifully to being frogged, which also makes me proud of my spinning. The moral of this story? Don’t be afraid to frog. That is one of the best things about knitting, you can get a do-over, provided that the yarn takes frogging well (there are some that don’t). I like the pattern, and will probably make it again, in some other yarn, and as a proper tank top. It was very well written, and I mostly liked the fit, except for those armholes, which to be honest, I had some doubts about when I was working them. Another moral - listen to your instincts. Would I have kept it if the armholes were better? Probably not. I did think about just taking the top in under the armholes, but there were those other fitting issues that I couldn’t really fix that easily. But all in all, a great experience. I learned lots and I really enjoyed the knitting itself, even if the top didn’t come out quite as I had envisioned it.
Pattern: Tahari Tank by Tanis Lavallee
Yarn: Rambouillet, handspun by me
Needle: US 5 (3.75 mm) and US 4 (3.5 mm)
