Summer knits: 2 designs by Lily Kate France

After my great experience with the Movement Tee by Lily Kate France, I decided to try more patterns from her. Well, actually, one day on Instagram I saw that she had a sale for spring/summer patterns and I bought two. The Calm Down Tee and the Take Turns Tank. I've finished the Tank and I'm halfway through the Tee.

Take Turns Tank

First, the Tank. I had a work trip to Bali in May. I know, I know, I'm very lucky in the places I get to go for work. But I didn't have much in the way of Summer clothes and I thought this would be perfect (Ravelry page here). It's a tank that almost has a racer-style back and comes in two options: raised stripes on the upper back, or all-over stripes. It also has some cute rolled detail on the armholes, which adds interest. As with the Movement Tee, I loved the red and white striped sample from the designer, she really makes stylish things! So I had to make that. I had never heard of the yarn used in the sample, YarnArt Jeans, so I went looking for it and found it at this cute little website, Our Little Craft Co. It's UK-based, and they don't ship internationally at the moment, sorry. They stock YarnArt Jeans and lots of other YarnArt yarns. Jeans is a sport weight blended cotton/acrylic yarn, which I wasn't sure I wanted if I was going to wear this in a hot place. Then, I spotted YarnArt Luxor, which is also sport weight, but 100% cotton, so I bought this instead, in red and white. I ordered 5 skeins of red and 1 skein of white.

I did end up with a bit of a gauge issue. I swatched and was too big on the suggested needles. I couldn't be bothered to try with a different needle honestly, so I dropped a size after looking at measurements and doing some calculations (size 3 instead of 4, for a 39 inch bust). Overall, I had a lot of fun with this knit. It was nice and fast, and I like the resulting garment. I did make several adjustments:

• I made row 4 of the neckband a purl row so the folded neckband was easier to do (like in the Movement Tee).

• Also, like the Movement Tee, I changed the hem to be 1x1 rib to avoid bulk.

• I found, like a few other makers I saw on ravelry, that the stripes on the left and right front shoulders end up being 1 row off from one another, so I left one row off one side to match them in the middle, but it's not really noticeable.

• I was originally worried about the armholes being too big since my gauge was off and I thought I might have to add extra rows to the edging, but when it was done they turned out absolutely fine. With a bit of wear, they can be a bit loose and are a bit low for me so I've bought some elastic to sew in and see if that helps. I will update!

Blocking the Take Turns Tank

I loved the yarn and the pattern. The yarn felt really smooth and nice to work with, and wasn't hard on the hands at all for me, as I've heard cotton can be for some. Nice final product, so I do recommend the combo, and the yarn is VERY affordable. Bonus! Maybe spend longer swatching than me though!

Calm Down Tee

Second, I am working on the Calm Down Tee (Ravelry page here), which is a classic, slightly fitted tee with some nice ribbed detail down the sides. For this one, I chose Sheepjes Linen Soft, which I chose on a bit of a whim, at the same website as before. I got it in a teal-green colour, which is much more usual in my wardrobe than red. It's a DK weight yarn in a Linen-cotton-acrylic blend. Again, a very affordable yarn. This yarn is a bit rougher to the touch, and I have had some wrist issues with this project after the sections that are worked flat before joining in the round. Usually, I do a Norwegian purl since I knit continental, but I had to switch to bringing the yarn to the front for purling after the wrist pain. Thankfully, I have now joined so much less purling required.

Partway through the Calm Down Tee

Other than that, the project is going well. I like the feel of the fabric that is being created. I'm currently working on the hem, and still need to pick up for the sleeves and neckband. My wrist has mostly recovered now, and I can't wait to finish it!

Happy Summer Knitting!