This easy fitting top puts your gradient, self-striping or patterning sock yarn out front-and-centre. Bordered with bias-knit sections, the top drapes beautifully and flatters with a high-low hem.

I Can’t Even is worked flat in two pieces, from the bottom up. The front uses an intarsia colour switch to move seamlessly from main colour to the feature panel and back to main. The back is knit in a single colour, and the pieces are seamed at the shoulders and sides. Stitches are picked up around the neck and arm openings to work garter stitch edgings.

Gradient yarn kits for I Can’t Even are available at shows and sometimes by special order from the yarn dyer.

XS (S, M, L, XL, 2X); to fit bust 32-34 (36-38, 40-42, 44, 46, 48-50, 52-54) inches/81-86 (91-97, 102-107, 112-117, 122-127, 132-137) cm.

Finished bust size: 38 (42, 46, 50, 54, 58) inches/97 (107, 117, 127, 137, 147) cm. This garment was designed with 4-6 in/10-15 cm of positive ease.

Choose a fingering weight yarn that is breathable with some drape.

Blue gradient version shown in coriand3r knits Merino Silk Shawl Length - Gradient (80% superwash merino, 20% silk; 600 y/549 m per 5.29 oz/150 g), colours are unnamed.

Yarn Requirements: MC 960 (1060, 1265, 1365, 1465) y/880 (970, 1060, 1160, 1250, 1340) m or 2 (2, 2, 3, 3, 3) skeins; CC 190 (210, 230, 250, 270, 290) y/175 (195, 210, 230, 250, 265) m or 1 skein for all sizes.

Black fade version shown in (MC) The Plucky Knitter Primo Fingering (75% merino wool, 20% cashmere, 5% nylon; 440 y/402 m per 4 oz/115 g) in Morticia with (CC) Hedgehog Fibres Sock (90% merino wool, 10% nylon; 437 y/400 m per 100g) in Magpie, Typewriter, Boombox, and one unlabeled leftover yarn.

Blue with orange striped centre panel was a prototype, made of discontinued yarns, but shown so you can see the effect of using a self-striping yarn. The size of the centre panel is kept within a stitch count associated with socks, so that many self-striping yarns will work nicely.

The purple with green centre is a 1/7 swatch, showing front and the neat intarsia colour changes on the reverse.

This pattern has been professionally tech edited by Joanna Fromstein, and yarn support was generously provided by coriand3er knits.