lace

Lace  n.   [lās]  A delicate fabric made of yarn or thread in an open web like pattern.

The hot part of the summer … August.  For many of us, this summer has been unusually hot for weeks already.  Hot weather does not always inspire knitting.  At least not for me.  So I thought if I knitted something light and airy I might not feel the heat so much.

So what could that project be?  A lacy scarf?  No, you wear scarfs for style and warmth.  A shawl or wrap?  No.  Again that is something you wear for warmth.  Then it dawned on me:  a knitted mesh tank top to wear over a solid tank or a bathing suit!  This is not a piece of clothing I would probably have in my closet so it was time to poll my young nieces.  All of their suggestions resulted in a soft, stretchy tank top in a cheery summer yellow.

This month’s Summer Mesh Tank is knit in one piece from the top down in a very basic lace stitch using large knitting needles (size 15).  If you have ever knit with large knitting needles you may have discovered that it is almost impossible to achieve a flexible, flat bound-off edge.  By the very nature of the bind-off stitch the fabric pulls together and loses its stretch.

So for this pattern I have incorporated a useful technique to avoid this problem.  It might seem odd when you read through the pattern, but basically the technique has you doubling the number of stitches on the row just before the bind off row.  Doing this gives you a flexible edge with a pretty braided look to it.

This technique is useful on all sorts of projects when you need to help the bound-off edge a little. 

Why not knit up a cool summer tank to be cool … and cool!