Sun’s Out at Knitscene!
The new issue of Knitscene has us ready for warm and sunny weather! I am too, already on my second summery top for the year, and I’m excited to have a bunch of new, fun patterns available to shake things up.
There is an entire section of the magazine devoted to tanks (and a pair of booty shorts – I’m not quite on board with those). I like to wear my hand knits all year, and in the summer I rotate between several knit tanks. The cover piece is a striped tank knit up in Juniper Moon’s Findley DK. This silky, soft blend of silk & wool has a sheen that tends to dress it up. The stripes shown in the magazine make it a bit more casual, although I’d be keen to knit this up in a solid just as well! A different, less conventional yarn choice for this top would be to knit it up in Conway + Bliss’s Cotton Lolli. You’d definitely bring out the sportiness of this tank with this yarn choice, but the fun flecks of color would look awesome whether you choose to make this striped or solid!
The Blocker tank is a sporty tank, a lot like the Togue Pond which has been a popular pattern over the last several years. This tank has stripes along it’s second half, creating a fun, color blocking effect. Written for a DK or sport-weight yarn, try knitting this up in Sueno’s sock weight yarn, Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino or Sublime’s Baby Cashmere Merino Silk DK. You want a little wool in this pattern to give it bounce and elasticity, and that’s the only reason I shy from a purely cotton option like Cascade’s Pima Cotton. There are a couple other cute tanks worth checking out, but those two caught my eye.
Joni’s Lacy Cowl looks like a modern, light, lacy dream. Knit up in a light fingering weight yarn, I think this would be elegant and refined in Shibui’s Pebble or Juniper Moon’s Herriot Fine. To add some fun color, try to knit this up in Knit One Crochet Too’s Kettle Tweed. While this is lovely for spring and summer, this sort of piece is striking to wear any time of year.
The Kricka Top is a boxy, lacy top. Call it a poncho or whatever, it’s cute as can be, and a lovely and distinctive layer for warm weather. Knit it up in something like Criative DK with it’s straight up, saturated color to let the lace speak for itself. Or try knitting it up in Findley DK Dappled to add a little more dimension to the lacy texture of this piece.
I’m usually not a fan of reverse stockinette stitch, but the Foglia top has challenged that opinion of mine. Knit in a DK weight cotton, the reverse stockinette stitch seems to be the perfect canvas for this striking row of leaves that travel up one side of the front and back of this otherwise simple short-sleeve top. You have a lot of yarn choices for this one – it would be perfect in Juniper Moon’s Neve, Cascade’s Pima Cotton or even Lana Grossa’s 365 Yak.
Stop by to check out the entire issue at Wool & Grace. We’ll have even more ideas and inspiration for you here in the shop!
woolandgraceblog.com 