Pisces Camisole

Around this time last year, I was struggling with designing a child's tank dress, and when I encountered struggle with shaping the bodice, I gave up on the design, and morphed that piece into something else. In the past year of knitting, I have done some pattern modification, and eventually some designing, and have gained confidence in my ability to knit beyond the pattern. I took a giant leap as a knitter, and I credit blogging. Besides reading other blogs as an endless source of inspiration and information, this blog has forced me to be more thoughtful, more purposeful in my knitting, and my brain is engaged in my knitting more than ever.

I joined the CAL as a way of committing myself to successfully executing a design, and finishing the project, no matter the frustration or lack of initial success. I wanted to knit through the problems, and frog until I got it right. I wanted to further challenge myself and write up a sized pattern when it was done.

So it is with a little pride that can say that although it took several tries to get the bodice right, but I am finally satisfied with the denim tank.




Pattern: Pisces Camisole, designed by me
Yarn & Needles: Rowan Denim/Elann Den-im-nit - I noticed no discernible difference in the yarns, US 8 needle.

This camisole was conceived as a way to use up some oddballs in the stash. I have tons of leftover lightweight cotton yarns in the 250-350 yd range, perfect for summery tops for my little girl, including denim, one of the Create Along yarns.

My original intent was to come up with a basic tank recipe which I could easily modify in gauge or details, but I got inspired by the fishtail lace pattern and created with this lacy-but-rugged layering piece. It's no standard tank top recipe, but after knitting the bodice multiple times, I have a real sense of how to shape armholes and necklines without a pattern as a guide. I also know to consider edging details and bulk under the arms. So, I am satisfied that I have learned enough about tank construction to begin cranking out more little tops for Rosebud.

The neckline went through several iterations, including the blogged-about applied i-cord which I can only now call wishful thinking. It was a good idea, but in reality, it was way too bulky for the top, and it had no relation to the rest of the piece. I needed something simple, something that would mirror the scoop neck of most of her cotton tanks. The desired rounded look for the neckline of the tank was finally achieved through short-rows. The finish around the neckline was achieved with a simple, decorative bind off, and the armholes have a row of single crochet to flatten them a bit.

I did keep a lot of detailed notes as I made this camisole, hoping to further challenge myself and write up a sized pattern. However, I began to run out of steam (hence the wishful post about the i-cord) and the notetaking suffered at the end. The decreases around the straps are, um, improvised; those beads are not just for decoration.

I also made the i-cord straps extra long so it can be adjusted for growth...

Of course, I could swatch a bit or reknit just a bodice piece and carefully perfect the line of the tank. Sizing would be a piece of cake -- just add or subtract a lace repeat.

I think I'll just be satisfied with the tank as it is. An original design by me.

And the name? First, I used the Fishtail Lace pattern. And my Rosebud? She loves the water, and a Pisces, too.

x-post to CAL

Creating Along Update

I briefly posted about a cami I was knitting for my Rosebud, my contribution to the Create-A-Long blog. There has been a long silence about that little cami for a tiny 6 year-old, no?

I hit a road block, and the piece needed its requisite time in the penalty box. The neckline was too low, even for a top meant to be worn as a layer. And I needed to decide on some kind of treatment to neaten the edges up, and nothing was coming.


The denim yarn was tripping me up. There is an inherent challenge when designing with denim -- the shrinkage, of course. See, with shrinkage, you get all sorts of surprises. For example, when I swatched, I discovered that the diagonal lace caused my top to shrink in both length and width, rather than just lengthwise. The significant changes in gauge make it a true guessing game to add unwashed yarn to an already-shrunk piece -- what needle size should I use? What will it do when I wash it again?

I also really wanted to protect the main design element of the camisole, the transitions of the lace pattern up the bodice, and the contouring of the straps around the final lace repeat. They worked exactly the way I intended, and I didn't want my solution to interfere with it. I also wanted to keep the tied straps, so I could have the option of adjusting them on my growing kid.


So I consulted with a brilliant designer over a cup of coffee last week, and we together hatched a solution. I would frog back to the armholes and using my unraveled swatch, reknit a significantly higher neckline , and keep all the stitches live on holders for the application of an i-cord edging that would extend into the tied shoulder straps.



The bad news is that now the neckline is a little too high and, but the good news is that it will work fine for the back, and I will start the neckline a couple of rows lower for the front piece. The other issue is that the strap transition has lost its pointiness, and now has a rounder look around the arm. I think it might straighten out once worn. Either way, I think I am going to live with it.

The wonderful surprise is the eyelets along the neckline created by applying an i-cord to decreased stitches. I love how it echoes the laciness of the pattern. I decided to leave the armholes unfinished for now, with the idea that I may single crochet around the edges once it has all been washed and seamed.