A couple of months ago I decided I wanted a new Coachella.  My previous one was stolen by gremlins in the laundry.  Cristi gifted me some aMAIZing yarn to do a Coachella KAL with her but I couldn’t wait for her to get done with her sock knitting mojo.  LOL  So I plunged ahead.

We all know that one of the many complaints about Coachella is the fact that the cowl neckline hangs too low, usually exposing your boobs.  I remedied that by running some of the same yarn through the cast on edge and pulling it to create a gathered look.

But my fave part about my new tank is the back.  I subbed the plain t-back for a wider, prettier lacy one.  Some of you may recognize this as the same stitch pattern used in my soon-to-be-published Corazon lace scarf.

I started off the strip with more sts than what the pattern suggests and I worked more increases into the stitch pattern going down the back, resulting in the wider back AND armholes that aren’t as deep.

The yarn was kind of weird to work with as it’s basically woven fabric strips.  But it does feel nice in the finished garment!  (Thanks Cristi!)

I do want yet another one of these maybe with an all-lace back.  Let’s see what I can come up with.  :o)

Coachella

• Source: Knitty, Summer 2007
• Size: 1X
• Yarn: South West Trading Company aMAIZing (corn fiber), 4.4 skeins, approx. 630 yds used
• Color: Pink #371
• Total cost: approx. $23 (but yarn was a gift!!)
  
• Needles: US 8
• Gauge: 5 sts & 7 rows per inch in st st
• Started: May 5, 2009
• Finished: June 21, 2009
• Mods: Read above for the biggest mods.  In addition to those mods, I only did two rows of short rows for the bust. I finished the bottom with 1×1 ribbing instead of the ktbl. BTW, I AM wearing a razor-back bra with a wide back piece under this tank.

Because I’m the type of person that when she sees something shiny, she runs after it, after seeing the progress on Cristi’s gorgeous Striped Tomato, I knew I wanted one.

A few posts ago, I showed how horribly ugly the front was coming out where the jog was.  I solved that by ripping back almost to the neck edge, moving the start of the round to the side seam and using Meg’s Jogless Jog to do the striping.  This method made my jog practically disappear.  With this method you:

1. Pick up the new color and knit one round.
2. On the second round of the new color, remove your marker, lift the right leg of the stitch under the next stitch on the left needle, place it ON your left needle and knit it together with your next stitch (the one that this leg was sitting under).  Place your marker back on the right needle (it has now moved one stitch to the left).  (BTW, this lifting leg thing is similar to the Cat Bordhi’s LRinc except you’re not actually doing an increase because you are knitting the stitch together with the other.)
3. Knit as many rounds as needed in this new color.
4. Repeat from #1 for as many stripes as you have.

The yarns I used, Noro Silk Garden and Ella Rae Classic, work very well together.  This top is verrry soft to me and feels great when worn.  I went with the solid for the ribbed edgings on the sweater.

(gratuitous boob shot)

All in all I’m TOO pleased with this great top that fits nicely and was a pleasure to knit.  At the end, I almost didn’t even want to bind off!  Thanks for the inspiration, Cristi!

Tomato (in stripes)

• Source: No Sheep for You (was also given as a Knitting Daily free pattern)
• Size: 44.5″ bust
• Yarn: Ella Rae Classic in Blackberry (2 skeins, $3.53 each) and Noro Silk Garden in colorway #205 (4 skeins, $6.05 each)
• Needles: US 6 (same needles used for ribbing also)
• Cost: $31.26
• Started: March 11, 2009
• Finished: March 27, 2009
• Mods: Obviously, I did striping instead of the fair isle in the original Tomato pattern.  I only decreased 3 times for the waist instead of 4; and, increased 3 instead of 4.  I cast on 8 sts at the armhole instead of the few called for by the pattern for better fit under the arms.