Initial Thoughts:

• First MFT pattern and it comes without a schematic, which irritates me right out of the gate.

• Errata: Page 7 indicates to work the neckline on US 0 / 2mm needles but pg 8 then says you work the neckline using a 2.5mm needle. Maybe the intent is to CO with 2mm and then knit in 2.5mm (and then CO in 3mm). If that’s the case, this is not clearly stipulated.

• Re: Suggested needle size for body: I determined that I should go down to a 2.75mm needle (instead of the 3mm) because my gauge is more open than called for.

• While the 2.75mm really throws off the row gauge (at least before the weight of the garment plays a factor), it does create a better fabric, IMO. It’s less open / less drapey / has more recovery than the original swatch in 3mm. So I’m going to work with 2.75mm.

• I’m going to make a size 2 until the split for sleeves, at which point I’ll inc to a stitch count that gets me to ~34” (Size 4). Not sure if I’ll decrease by an inch or so at the under bust. Probably not unless it seems like there’s not going to be enough recovery in the fabric to be worn multiple times without it stretching out. Spoiler Alert: This is how I worked “Version 1” of this garment. I eventually ripped back and restarted. More below in The Figuring Out.

• Remember to put lifelines into the front and back body on the last rows before split for sleeves. Then it will be easy to rip back if the cast on of underarm stitches needs refinement. For Version 1: To get from size 2 to size 4 did 2 things: 1. increased 6 stitches on front body at the join of the right and left front pieces (25st vs 19st). 2. increased at the under arm by 39 st on each side (20 on each side of front body and 19 on each side of back body). That’s an effing lot of stitches to pick up (but those stitches are very small). If I/ve over-compensated with the number my gauge suggests, I’ll just rip back and revise the underarm cast on numbers.

• The recommended length from split for sleeves to hem is 10.5”. My boobs and not-flat stomach take up more length given projection and I tend to like tops like this at high-hip length so I’ll knit to 13” before beginning the hem (which, if I’m interpreting things correctly, is approx 1.25” - 1.5” deep). 14.5” from armscye to hem is what I“m going for.

• The YouTube video which shows how to work the hemming of the edging / bound edge is not in English. It’s still useful but, given that the pattern is provided in English, I feel that a link to a technique video should also be in English (or it should be indicated in the pattern page that it’s only in Danish so that people can decide if that works for them before they purchase). Some people are linguistic vs visual learners and this could be challenging, esp since the seaming method is not one I’ve seen before (in 12 yrs) and it’s not named (so I don’t know how you’d search for a video in English).

The Figuring Out:

• Not thrilled to have spent 10USD and more than 2 hours of my time scrutinizing the pattern to create my own schematic. If only the designer indicated vertical dimensions in writing (more frequently than once or twice) it would have been helpful. Based on the math I did, the size 2 has an armscye depth of 10” prior to knitting on the bound edge / binding / edging (as designer calls it), which I believe then raises that armscye by 1” (to give a final depth of 9”). That is way too deep for me (I top out at 7.5”). When I pay for a pattern, I expect a schematic so that I can be confident that the proportions can be maintained, even when altered, without having to learn the pattern in depth (and then to wonder if I interpreted what I read correctly).

• Version 1: The thing that confuses me is that, for size 2, the back body has a pre-edging depth of 9” but the front body has a depth of 11.5”. Given that the seam is at the shoulder top (this isn’t one of those patterns with the diagonal seam on the back body), I assume I need to split the difference between the 2 depths - 20.5 / 2 = 10.25”. I still need to remove an 1.25 - 1.5” from the pre-edged armscye because having mine deeper than 8.0” in the end is not going to work on my frame. That’s 14R I need to remove at my gauge. Update: I’m correct in that you need to split the difference to determine the full depth of the armsyce before adding the edging. I am also correct that this seam doesn’t involve short row shaping (as do most seams that fit on the back body) but it doesn’t sit at the top of the shoulder, as I imagined it would. I wonder why this is. Currently, my assumption is that it prob makes the neckline increases mathematically easier to work to get to the desired shape but I could be totally wrong. I can’t imagine that it was done this way to shift a potentially visible seam from the top of the shoulder to the back of the shoulder. It’s not particularly visible (and could be invisible if you opt to use a provisional cast on and graft front to back shoulders on each side).

• I’ve decided to remove the excess depth below the join of the front and the back because I don’t want to shorten the dimensions of the front or back necklines. As such, on the front body, I’ve deleted the rows in the segment I’m calling Armscye 1 (this section is on both front and back bodies, the first part of the armscye shaping where the increases happen every 4th row). On the back body, there are multiple rows in the section I’m calling “Join Back” (where you work plain before starting Armscye 1 section). I split the removal of 1.25” of depth by taking 0.4” out of Join Back section and 0.85” out of Armscye 1 section. Fortunately, given that my gauge is so much shorter than instructed, I had enough rows / depth to remove the requisite number of rows on both front and back such that I wouldn’t need to start the armscye shaping before the neckline shaping is complete. (In brief, I just changed the rate of increase in Armscye 1 so that I got the number of increases required in a shorter depth).

• A propos of what I said above, I first had to figure out the dimensions as the designer intended and then I had to revise it to match with a) my specific measurements and b) my rather different vertical gauge.

• Presuming I’m correct, after making the changes to the armscye depth (removal of 1.25”), this should bring the combined depth to 9” which will be raised by about 1.5” (to 7.5”) by knitting on the edging - and not picking up too many stitches when I do so. I’ll measure as I go to confirm that my interpretation of things is accurate. If I need to shorten things further after joining at the underarm, I can raise the armscye by picking up fewer stitches for the edging.

• Mid-knitting Update on approach used above: The vertical dimension mods worked. Having said that, it would appear the top is drafted with a very narrow fit in the upper bust. I usually make the first or second size in the shoulders/upper body and, in this instance (and having already unsuccessfully made the size 2, grading to size 4 at full bust), I am pretty sure that the size 3 (for horizontal measurements) will be the best path forward.

• When I added the zillions of under arm stitches on version 1 (and it seemed like a ridic number to begin with, small gauge notwithstanding), it became clear that I’d created way too much circumference. I could have continued with the size 2, increasing to ~228st but really, it made more sense (given the narrow fit of the upper body) to add the increases into the bodice (and not just at the underarm). As such, I ripped it all back and casted on for Size 3. The extra 1/2 inch or so that it provides on either side of the armscye will likely improve the fit for me- though note that I haven’t done the neckline or armscye finishing (which I intend to do shortly after joining fronts and back at underarm). Update: If I were to make this again, in addition to making the size 3 for the upper bust segment, I would likely cast on an extra 4-6 st on the back (perhaps when joining the shoulders or maybe when working Armscye 2), something I also did on the front body (25st vs 21st) to give it a bit more coverage. As it is (and blocking may ameliorate the issue), my bra straps are still partially visible at the back body. Worst case scenario, I will wear this garment with a racer back bra. As per pretty well every tank top I’ve seen by MFT, the straps are seriously cut in which gives an odd look and is not bra-strap friendly.

• Next knitting update: Version 2: At this point I’d knitted (in terms of stitch count) as per the size 3 - including increasing 24st under each arm. I reconfirmed that my stitch gauge hadn’t changed (it had not). Alas, the garment was still way too big at underarm. Here’s the thing: This top gets to its full circumference at the underarm. For me, that’s where I’m smallest (except for under bust) and I’ve got 3” of length from under arm before I get to my bust apex, given that my breasts are proportionately large for my frame and quite projected. As such, I had to to rip this back to the lifelines and cast on fewer stitches at the underarm. To ensure the appropriate circumference, thereafter I increased at the side body to 234st (size 3) as of the depth of the full bust (see more below). I was still concerned it was going to be too long in the armscye but I persisted…

• Next Knitting Update - Version 3: I determined my next steps by remeasuring my upper bust circ (33”). And I remeasured multiple inches of my current-state, pre-blocked garment to re-confirm that my gauge was aligned with my expectations. My gauge changed slightly from 30st in 4” to 29.3st in 4”. To get the desired full bust measurement with 6” of negative ease, the size 3 is actually small for me based on 39.5” full bust measurement. But seriously, there is a huge amount of ease at the underarm - it measured at ~ 38.5” with 24 st cast on at each underarm (having knitted the body dimensions at the size 3). I do realize that the arm finishing would bring things up and in, but I couldn’t see how it would perform that function to the tune of removing 7+ inches of circumference. So I removed 16st from the circumference at the underarm (casting on 16st at each underarm instead of 24st - as did Ausifer. She too made the 3rd size and said that the removal of these under arm stitches did not impact the fit of the bust (though in truth, not sure if her bust is like mine so it’s hard to extrapolate whether this will also work for me). Fortunately that doesn’t matter so much because I can increase stitches via increase rounds, after joining the body.

• OK - this time things are working out as per my preference. Picked up so that I had 218 st at the body join which provided adequate circumference for my upper bust (note this count includes an extra 4st in size 3 that I casted on at the front neck when I joined the front shoulders - 25st vs 21st). This stitch count aligns my modified garment with the pattern size 2 - though the body was knitted in size 3. How does this make any sense from a drafting perspective? Effectively, I knitted this such that my version provides more bodice fabric above the bust BUT far fewer stitches than instructed (for any size) at the under arm. That puts the fabric where it’s needed, in my opinion.

• Neckband and Arm Edging: Next up - I knitted the edging for both armscyes and neckline to confirm that my altered depth/length would work:I picked up 125st at the underarm and knitted 8R on US0 and then tried it on, to get a sense of the overall width at my gauge. Note: 9R folded over is the full width, as instructed, for the the edging but I wanted to check a bit sooner, in case I preferred less width (which might have been necessary, depending on how tight the armscye was, because of a) my bodice depth alterations and/or b) my cast on of far fewer stitches called for on the armscye edging. At 8R, the width over the shoulder looked good as did the depth (the edging at the underarm wasn’t too high).

• Then, for my first attempt at the neckband, I picked up 152 st at the neckline and knitted 9R of the neckband (half of the rounds instructed but this edging is folded over and, as such, this represents the full width). I’m glad I went with this number (aligned with size 2), despite my previous mods and instructions about the rate of pick up, because this neck, while it starts off looking quite deep, does rise (per design photos) once then neckband is knitted on.

• After doing this - though I had not yet seamed either edging - I tried the top on and it did look like the armhole would be at an appropriate depth when all was said and done. Moreover, if after having completed the sew-down of the neckline, the process actually pulled up the armscye more than anticipated, I’d have just ripped out what I’d done of the first armscye edging and cast on additional stitches at the underarm (perhaps 6-8 more). Update: This wasn’t necessary.

• More About the Neck Finishing - First Attempt: I steam blocked the band before beginning to seam which made it easy to pin the band evenly around the neck. There wasn’t much need to ease the neck into the band, given it’s construction and the fact that you bind off with a larger needle. If you bind off tightly, you might need to work some easing as the band edge is seamed to the actual neckband (below the join of the neck band to the neck).

• More Still About Neck finishing: Something told me that my neck binding (the fabric made with US 0) was going to bag out. The designer indicates that this is possible and inserting elastic might ameliorate the issue. Here’s the thing - I don’t want my natural wool garment to have a piece of plastic in it. So I un-seamed and ripped back 11R of the edging and reknit the majority of the neckband slightly tighter, using US00 (for the first time ever), and a smidge shorter (17R total).

• About the Armscye Finishing: I can confirm that I managed to get a 7.5” deep armscye, what I was going for, by a) removing 1.25” of depth in the garment and b) picking up 125st at the armhole (aligned with size 2). Based on this, my perspective is that the armscye is drafted long. Most size 2 patterns that I knit have a shorter armscye by probably 0.5” - 1”. If you have a narrow frame with a short armscye and bust of note, you’re probably going to want to alter this pattern by shortening the armscye and then graduating the increases from the body join to the full bust. As it happens, this edging worked better than the neck band, in terms of how the it fits into the bodice. But it was also harder to seam and a bit of easing was necessary over the sharp curves at the under arm. I don’t get the sense that this will lose its shaping and it looks great on the front-facing / right side.

• The Handwork Process: I love that this garment utilizes a reasonable amount of hand sewing. I also think that the design impact is terrific. Having said this, patience is required. A bit of sewing experience wouldn’t go amiss. Though the video does show you how to work the stitching, it doesn’t show it being worked on a curved edge. Expect to have to undo things a few times as you figure out what’s going on and how/where to ease the edging into the bodice. It took me about 90 min (per edge) to sew down each edge - and I worked the neckline fully twice. No doubt, if hand-sewing isn’t your thing, you may find this tedious because it takes thought and time (and prob ripping back a few times per edge). I recommend a glass of wine and some good music while working the edges. Make it fun.

• Body: A propos of circumference of the body (which I returned to once I completed the neck and arm edging successfully), I increased for the first 3ish inches to get from 218st (what I started with as of joining) to 234st over a span of 32R, increasing every 8th round - 4 increase rounds of 4st increased per increase round. Update: To confirm that I had enough circumference - in case I needed to add a couple of additional increase rounds before getting to full bust - I worked these increases every 6th round. In the end, I opted not to increase any additional stitches, over and above the 234st, because the top appeared to be fitting, even though on paper, it should be snugger than it is.

• Note: as of transition to 2.5mm needles for the fold over hem, I have 21g of the third ball of KFO fingering merino. I suspect that this is going to take 150g (exactly what is recommended). Of course, I’m knitting mine longer and I also started the body sooner than called for (by 1.5”). So I definitely think one can make a size 3 with 150g of the KFO merino. In the end, my goal was to make this 13.5” - 14” from under arm and I got to 13.5”. Next time I’d make it 0.5” longer in the body. Also, I could have saved yarn by making the hem shorter (specifically by adding more length on the body before starting it) because everything knitted in the hem takes 2x the amount of yarn. I made the hem 1R longer on each portion (as per larger sizes) because I wanted an inch of length). But I think I’d go 2R shorter the next time (and add any additional length I might want before beginning the hem). I find it interesting that the increase in the length of the garment under the arm (for the first 4 sizes) is 0.75” between each size. So this garment is not quite as cropped as instructed, as I originally thought, given that I made the size 3 in the end (with mods), not the size 2…

• About the Recommended Ease: Rec ease in this pattern is 5-6” of negative ease. My bust measurement is 39.5” and my current pref for “fitted” bodice circ below the bust is about 33”. Size 3, which aligns with my bodice stitch count is 31.25” in circ - at the bust and body as instructed (no waist or hip shaping in this pattern). I’ve confirmed that this is indeed the circ of my garment (well, mine is 31.75” but close enough…) This puts the garment at 8.25” of negative ease and it fits well in both the bust and hip. Admittedly, as a curvy person, I find that tanks fit better on the fitted side, but I would not want less negative ease than this. Important caveat: If I’d knitted the pattern as instructed in the size 3, given my silhouette, it would have been too narrow (not enough coverage) in the upper chest and the armholes would have been gapey. And, if I’d knitted the size 4 (which would yield a 34” bust circ as written), this would have been way too large at the under arm (before my bust measurement becomes relevant) and probably too large to produce the negative ease which defines the lines of this garment. I don’t want to have to re-block this garment every 5 minutes to take it back to its “firm” dimensions so I am happy with the fit. Note: it skims nicely below the bust, isn’t sausage-y. It fits quite snugly in the upper chest, shoulders and bust, but not so snugly that the stitches stretch out in comparison to those below the bust.

Final Thoughts:

• This design is compelling in its simplicity. It’s a true basic and constructed to mimic RTW fashion. It can be altered to knit up at other gauges. It’s a very practical garment that’s also elegant.

• As with most Euro patterns, this is instructed with limited written support, but the instruction is clear. If the pattern had come with a schematic and a video in English, I would have been more impressed and it would have got a 5-star clarity rating from me.

• I really like the impact of the hand-finishing. I think it’s ingenious and I’ve not seen anything like it before. It’s the reason I purchased the pattern. Having said this, I don’t love how the seaming looks on the wrong side / garment interior. I hope my technique will improve with experience. (In future versions, I might opt to modify the technique if I can figure out how to achieve the same RS with a neater interior.) The interior neckband looks fine (it’s no disaster) but it has a slightly whip stitched look vs a cleaner back stitch look.

• This pattern is drafted as most of MFT tank top patterns seem to be - with serious cut in at the shoulders. I am a narrow-framed person and I still knitted the size 3 above the bust, just to have adequate width (I also added 4 extra st on front body at the join of the neckline.) Next time, I’ll likely add another 4-6 st on the back body to improve the fit / make it more bra-friendly. (Note to self: If you do this, remember to remove that 4-6 st from the underarm given that 234st at this gauge, in this yarn, is the optimal bodice st count…)

• I feel that the drafting is lazy inasmuch as most of the increasing is added at the underarm - unnecessarily quickly given that the underarm join is where one achieves the widest circ of the garment, as instructed. Of course, the armscyes are also drafted rather long/open (another element of many Euro-designed tank tops), so one issue may cancel out the other if you have dimensions that work with the pattern, as drafted. Note: If you are a narrow person with high/short armscyes and proportionately large breasts, this pattern is likely to fit sub-optimally, in a technical sense, unless you alter it. It is designed for a non-curvy / straight-framed body with a long waist.

• The first 3 sizes call for 150g of KFO fingering merino. I used exactly that amount and I made the body 1.25” longer than called for. I also started working in the round higher up because I shortened the armscye, which would have used up a bit of extra yarn. If I make this again, I’ll still only purchase 3 balls of the yarn. If I need slightly more (cuz I will make the garment 5R longer next time), I’ll just knit the interior hem (the part that folds up on the inside) with another colour. It won’t be visible and even if it pokes out on a very rare occasion, I’ll ensure that it looks intentional.

• About the Yarn: The KFO merino is not as splitty as the last batch that I used. It does bleed dye when wet-blocked but that’s not surprising given that it’s black. As with the previous batch, it’s overspun and twists back on itself. However, it is MUCH cleaner than the last batch (which was perhaps the grimest yarn I’ve ever worked with). I know that this yarn wears well, feels just fine (not transcendent but in no way itchy/prickly/rough - from the zillions of knitters who use this yarn, it would appear to be next-to-skin for many), is quite affordable and the colours are awesome. Since it’s what’s called for in this pattern, I figured I’d follow the recommendation.

Preblocked Dimensions: Note that this garment has a lot of stretch which compensates for its negative ease.

Circ at body join: 31”
Bust circ: 32.5”
Hip circ: 34.5” (the fold over hem really loosens things up at the hip, esp if you don’t work it tightly…
Full length from back neck (below neckband): 19.5”
Length from under arm: 13.5”
Width of neckband: 0.6” (not incl braid)
Width of arm edging: 0.6” (not incl braid)
Length of folded hem: 1”
Depth of armscye: 7.75”
Depth of front neck: 3.25”

Post-blocking, these dimensions were retained but I pinned the length from under arm to hem and easily got 15” so I likely wouldn’t knit this any longer in the future.

Gauge Swatch:
Preblocked - US 2.5 / 3mm - 29st and 38.75R in 4”
Postblocked - US 2.5 / 3mm - 28st and 40R in 4”

For US 2.5 - Stitch gauge grows by 3.5% and row gauge shrinks by 4% when blocked. Having said this, I knitted the swatch flat and a lot of the garment will be knitted in the round. While my gauge generally doesn’t change knitting flat vs in the round, if it does, I assume that it will get slightly tighter.

Preblocked - US 2 / 2.75mm - 30st and 42R in 4”
Postblocked - US 2 / 2.75” - 30st and 43R in 4”

For US2 / 2.75 I get stitch gauge with no shrinkage (these stitches are already very firm) and a vertical shrinkage of 2-3%. Note that I’ve calculated measurements with a 42st gauge so that I can add more rows if necessary once I’ve knitted and measured a section (the shrinkage is really minimal). Also, I suspect that, with the weight of the fabric, as this garment grows, the row gauge will get a bit longer.