Alteration as of March 2024: This was too large in the waist and hips and I’ve decided to reknit it from the underarms downward for a full bust measurement of 35” including waist shaping that gets me to 33”.

• My post-blocked gauge on 3mm needles is 28st and 39R in 4” or 7st and 9.75R per 1”

• First go round I made weird alterations on the original so that I’d have a way to best work decreases) which is why I have 104st on front body and 116 on the back body as of join at underarm. Needless to say, this is wonky and I’ve now got a better understanding of how best to decrease and increase in 2x2 rib. But, the armholes are where they are and, at the end of decreasing, I’ll have to have decreased 4st on either side of the back body (or dec 8st total over 4 dec rounds) to keep the ribbing in pattern.

• A part of me wants to inc on the front body BUT I don’t think that I want 8 increases on the front body, I really only need 4, so I will likely just choose to leave the front and end up with 212st (B 108st and F 104st).

• Here’s how I’ll work the decreases (Back body only): Move the BOR marker 1st to the left (between 2 knit stitches). Move the side marker one stitch to the left (between 2 knit stitches). You’ll move these back to where they belong after you do the decreases…

• Work front body to side marker (now between 2 knit st), slip marker, work 4st in pattern, slip 1 st kwise, k next st TBL, PSSO previous st, work to final 6 st of R, k2tog, work 4 st in pattern to EOR. (2st decreased on back body)

• Just for future reference: Here’s how I would work the increases (Front body only) if I were to choose to make them: (Work 4st in pattern, M1R, work in pattern to 4st before the side marker, M1L, work 4 st in pattern, slip marker. (2st increased on front body)

• I want to be at 212st by approx 20R beneath the join at the underarm and I’ve decided to leave the front body as is:

Work 3R in pattern
Dec R (F 104st / B 114st) - 2 back st dec
Work 3R in pattern
Dec R (F 104st / B 112st) - 2 back st dec
Work 3R in pattern
Dec R plus Inc R (F 104st / B 110st) - 2 B st dec
Work 3R in pattern
Dec R plus Inc R (F 104 / B 108) - 2 B st dec

• I’ve decided to start 1” (8st) of waist decreases as of 7” below the underarm join by removing 8 additional back body stitches using the same method and interval as used on the initial back body decreases. That will leave B - 100st / F- 104st, more reasonable proportion of back to front stitches given that this yarn grows a lot.

• I’ll knit until 14.5” from underarm and then switch to smaller needle size for 1x1 twisted rib (ktbl, p) for 10R or 1”. Update: This wasn’t long enough after rewashing and drying in dryer (which I’ve done many times with this garment. I wonder why it opted to shrink this time??! Maybe it generally does shrink BUT because it then grows with wear, and given that I previously knitted it too big, hence this course correct, I’m really observing how the depth is eaten up by circumference). At any rate, I used the remaining 10g of yarn to knit as many more rows as I could work and to get this back to as close to 15.5” from the under arm as possible. I will still wash and dry this garment but I’ll make sure that it’s still a bit damp when I remove it from the dryer.

• One other thing: It would appear that I stupidly went down a needle size (or 2, apparently I didn’t document the size) when working the ribbing this time, which isn’t called for and which I didn’t do the first time I knitted this garment. I think I confused this pattern with instructions from a similar pattern I was making at the same time. Having said this, I opted to use the 3mm to knit the extension of the ribbing because the smaller needle yielded a bit more negative ease than I was looking for, esp after bind off at hip depth. At first I thought I’d go down to a US1.5, what I prob used last time, but then I said fuck it and just returned to the original 3mm needle size. Is it observable? When scrutinized, yes. The smaller needle rib def looks firmer and neater and on balance I agree with my unwitting choice to have sized down. But I do want a bit more ease as the fabric gets closer to my hip and I just can’t be bothered to knit this ribbing for a 4th time. If I find it noticeable when worn, then I will rip back. Otherwise, I’m keeping it like this.

• Took 7g to knit 10R in larger needle size in 2x2 rib. If I add 15% to this amount, I should begin the 1x1 final ribbing at the point at which I’m either a) at ~15” from BO OR b) when I have 8.0g of yarn remaining, whichever comes first.

• The ribbing did take ~8g of yarn but I started it when I had 18g remaining. I felt this garment was long enough at 14.5”. This would leave me with 10g of yarn remaining.

• I really don’t know how I cut 2” (10R) of length AND 2” of circumference (16st) and still only retained 10g of yarn. And this version is definitely smaller with the 16st removed. I wonder if, when blocking, putting this in the dryer on high (by accident) shrank it, though it had been put through the washer/dryer on multiple occasions before I ripped the yarn back to reknit and reblock it.

Final Pre-blocked (Changed) dimensions:

Length from underarm to hem: 14.5” - updated to 15.5”

Note that, when blocked, this shrank quite a bit vertically to about 13.5”. After adding length to it again, pre-blocked the length is 15”.

Bust circ (very lightly stretched and not held): 12”

Hem circ (very lightly stretched and not held AND with loose bind off) 13.5”

• While I appreciate this yarn for its summer properties and wearability, it is no fave to knit with. It’s splitty - esp after you’ve ripped it back, re-washed and re-balled it. It has little recovery and it’s somewhat unrelenting. I’ll work with it for what it produces but it’s not my fave knitting experience, esp on 1.5 and 3mm needles, re:knitting most of it for the second time to yield a (hopefully) better fit on the same exact garment. I hope that future me respects this path.

Original Version - Completed July 14, 2022:

US 2 (2.75mm) / 2x2 rib:
Pre-blocked gauge: 52st and 41R in 4”
Post-blocked gauge (pinned): 28st and 44R in 4”

Then I went up to 3mm needle and, unsurprisingly I get a looser gauge:

Pre-blocked: 41st and 38R in 4” entirely unstretched and measured from the garment as I worked. I didn’t knit an pin out a new swatch…
Post-blocked (pinned to achieve requisite dimensions): 25st and 43R in 4” or 6st and 11R in 1” - this is larger and longer at gauge than pattern calls for but I like the fabric.

Modifications:

• Because I want to use up a full amount of summer stash yarn, I’m going to make this in one colour (not striping).

• I don’t like how closely positioned to the midline each armhole is - essentially the borders are deeply cut in, a very casual look - and one that necessitates a racer back bra. I’m going to widen the upper body. See below for more…

• I also require a shorter armscye than is provided for at the first size (I need 7”). At first I thought I’d shorten the back body by 1” above the “Shaping of the Armholes” section because that section occurs over an 8-row repeat, 6 times (for first size) and, at pattern gauge, that’s ~4” (and the first segment is 4” in length). Then I realized…

• …I want the back upper body to be ~12.5” in width to start with - or a 76st cast on (a multiple of 4, as required by the pattern) - to give me more coverage. That means, I only need to do 4 of the 8-row repeats (not 6) to get to my desired depth. At my gauge, 32 rows comes to 3”, which means at this point I should be at a 7” armscye, what I’m going for.

• I’ll cast on 14 stitches at the front “Left Shoulder Part” and “Right Shoulder Part”. At my gauge that’s 2.3” of width at the top of the shoulder - about the width I’m looking for… I’ll knit the fronts for 18R (NOT 20) before starting the Connection of Left and Right Shoulder Parts to align with the required depth, at my gauge.

• Connection of front left and right parts: I’ve opted to increase 8 stitches when attaching left and right front parts because 12st will mess up my numbers later on (in terms of 2x2 rib). So, after joining the 2 front pieces (to turn them into one), I’ve got 108 st on back body and 64 st on the front (28 + 28 + 8).

• At this point I had to determine whether to knit a number of front body rows plain, as per instructions, fewer than instructed or none / just to move directly to the Shaping the Armholes. To keep the armscye short and even fr/back - and to lower the neckline, I opted to work only 2 rows plain before beginning the armscye increases… On mid-project (agressive) blocking, I got 7.5” depth on the front armsyce (same as back). That should work given that I need to create the armscye finishing which will be ~0.75” in depth, raising/shortening the armscye length.

• After shaping the front armholes, there are 204st - 108st on the back body (~17.3” of circ at my gauge), 96 st on front (~15.3” on front) = 32.6” circumference. The garment (armscyes) are 7.25” deep at this point. Update: I decided, later on, that I wanted to get to about 8” of depth at each underarm because I’m going to have to knit a good inch of armscye ribbing to make the shoulder and upper body portion wider than it currently is. So I did 4 more rows on front and back (no increases) before joining the front and back bodies at the underarm. I did get an upper torso that’s much wider / less racer-back than the pattern recommends, by casting on the back body at almost as many stitches as instructed for the largest size, but that didn’t go as far as I’d hoped. My best chance of fit that I’ll like is knitting the bands thicker, and that will raise the armscye because of the band fabric under the arm, hence knitting the armscye longer than I normally would.

• Connection of the Front and Back Parts: After joining the front to the back I have 104st on the Front and 116st on the Back - 220st in total - see below for more detail. I am aiming for a full bust circ of 36.5” because that aligns with the amount of negative ease recommended in the pattern. My bust is 39.5”.

• Having said this, note that my gauge is larger than the pattern instructs so I will only need to get to ~220st (not 248st) to achieve that full bust circumference.

• I casted on 8st at each under arm to bring me to 16 more stitches (over and above the 204). That brought me to 220 st - what I was looking for and divisible by 4 and maintaining the 2x2 rib from front to back.

• At this point I opted to do the neck finishing and arm finishing to ensure that I was going to have an upper body that fitted.

• Neckband: I ended up casting on 122 st for neckline and knitted 8 rounds before binding off in pattern. While this fits over my head, I wouldn’t want it any smaller in circumference.

• Armscyes: See update, above, for more info about how I lengthened the armscye after completing the underarm increases on front and back. I casted on 46st on the back body (from centre underarm to shoulder seam) and 42 st on the front body for a total of 88 st. Final depth is ~7.5” and the fit works well. High armscye (as per my preference) but not too high. Note that I originally bound off in pattern but then realized it was too tight given the height of the armscye. So I redid the bind off using the method by Very Pink Knits (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbzeEg6XMwM&list=PLx9...) and it worked very well.

• At the full bust, I determined to do increases at the bust. I required 8 stitches of increasing on the FRONT body only to provide about 1.25” of additional ease. This took me to 36.5” of full bust circumference at my gauge. 116 st on back and 112 st on front - 228st in total. I opted not to decrease at the under bust because rib works differently than stockinette and I wanted to ensure skim vs sausage. Update: I should have decreased at the waist. This yarn flares at the hem and there’s no recovery in this yarn (other than what 2x2 rib provides)… I’m likely going to rework the bind off more tightly in the hopes that it will resolve the issue.

• From the point where I joined in the round, I had ~3.5” or ~38 rounds until I reached the latitude of the full bust. I had 8 stitches to increase over 4 increase rounds. How?

• Starting on the 4th round after joining the front and back, worked increase round of 2 stitches on either side front. (Remember that the first increase is left leaning and the second is right leaning. Stay in pattern - and determine if you want the increases to happen right next to the side and BOR markers, delineating the side “seams” of the garment, or whether you want to keep the 2 purl stitches at the seam as one column.) Update: I kept the 2 purl stitches as one column.

• Then worked increase round every 8th round thereafter. I got to desired full bust circumference after 28 rounds (approx 1” above the full bust). After completing this I had 112st on the Front and 116st on the Back for a total of 228st (or circ of 36.5”)

• Knitted body to desired length (15” from underarm when worn / 16.5” measured unworn and prior to blocking) and cast off in pattern, after blocking to ensure that there would be no need to remove or add any length.

Final Thoughts:

• With my mods, I like this pattern a lot and I’ll likely make it again because the garment fits well (hem looseness in this version notwithstanding). It’s a useful layering piece and it could be made in wool for a winter layering garment.

• I was concerned about the yarn, having never worked with it before and given that I’m not familiar with viscose paired with cotton and linen. But I find it quite durable. I have machine washed and dryed this garment (on delicate cycles in both cases, in pillow case). I removed it when slightly damp and let it finish drying flat without pins. It completely bounced back, having stretched quite a bit over multiple wearings. I will def use this yarn again. The colour, while not the shade of sage green I was expecting, is really nice and flatters my skin tone.

• I might make the next one a smidge shorter (maybe half an inch), esp in a fabric with lots of recovery.

Pre-blocked Dimensions:

Note that these are challenging to determine given the rib stitch pattern and because part of the garment (the upper back and upper front. I pin blocked the garment to get to my desired “key” dimensions - 7.25” armscye depth / 14.5” upper torso above armsyce / 15” from underarm to hem cast off

Length from shoulder to underarm: ~7.25”
Length from back neck to front neck opening: 3”
Length of hem rib: 1”
Length from underarm to hem: When unworn - 16.5” / When worn - 15” (cuz what you gain in width you lose in length)
Width of arm-edging: 1”
Circumference at bust - really all the way to hip/hem: ~25”

Post-blocked DImensions:

Note that I opted only to pin at the hem (to keep the length at about 16” from underarm) and the upper torso (where I wanted to block assertively). I left the tube of the bodice without pins…

Length from shoulder to underarm: “
Length from back neck to front neck opening: “
Length of hem rib: “
Length from underarm to hem:
Width of arm-edging: “
Circumference at bust - really all the way to hip/hem: “

For future Reference:
I first tried to get gauge for the Wietske Tank - very similar design - but it wasn’t working. Everything was too large and loose - though I restarted on 2 needle sizes and 2 pattern sizes. Also - it’s a bottom up construction (not my fave) and I find the ribbed collar and sleeve openings to be a bit dense / too thick. Not sure this pattern is optimally considered from a design perspective based on the time I spent with it.