A Tank Top to Get You Thinking about Summer

I knew I wanted to share this particular knitting pattern with you (mostly because I really want to knit one, too) and I grappled with the idea of whether it was time to pull together a roundup of tank top knitting patterns.

I think it might be a little early in the season for that, at least where I live, but I promise to have more tank top and summer top patterns for you soon.

In the meantime, I think Maxie’s Tank Top pattern from Ainur Berkimbayeva deserves its own post.

This sleek V-neck is worked in one piece from the top down. It uses fingering weight yarn (in particular, Knit Picks Lindy Chain, which is a linen and cotton blend and a chainette yarn that’s great for summer stitching) and has an allover ribbed pattern. This allows you to knit it with a lot of negative ease and still have it fit comfortably. It also includes bust darts for a better fit.

The pattern comes in nine sizes with an actual finished chest circumference of 23.75 to 50 inches, or 60.5 to 127 cm. The sample is shown with 7 inches/17.8 cm of negative ease, but the pattern includes tips on choosing the right size for you. It also says you can use the back neck portion of the pattern as your gauge swatch, which is fun.

Tank tops are great to wear by themselves when the weather is warm, but they are also great layering pieces, under a sheer top or even under a long-sleeved shirt or sweater when the weather gets colder.

I feel like I need a lot more tank tops and summer things that I made myself, so this one is definitely going on my list.

You can grab the pattern with a pay what you can cost model (please support designers the best that you can!) on Ravelry.

[Photo: Ainur Berkimbayeva]

Next Pattern:

Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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