I have finished this test knit for the Road's End Tank, by Karel Chan of KCKnittingCo. This is a lovely, lightweight, and elegant tank that is perfect for summer. The pattern is size inclusive, producing a finished bust circumference of 32" to 65" (81.5 - 165 cm), and is intended to be knit with a DK weight cotton or linen blend yarn. The pattern also offers a cropped version, or a longer version, which I chose to make. It calls for three colours, and transitions between them using stranded colourwork. This tank is knit top down, with a provisional cast on that allows you to go back and knit the straps after you have finished the body.
[Image description: A photograph of a white woman wearing a tank top, with only her torso visible. The tank is knit in a gradient, from white at the top to turquoise at the bottom.]
I used 4.0 mm needles, and Diamond Luxury Collection Pima Lino Lace (a cotton linen blend), in 157 White, 548 Pearl Grey, and 811 Turquoise. Because this yarn is a lace weight, I held four strands together after some swatching. Holding strands together gave me the opportunity to marl the yarns and introduce some complexity into the colour above what could be achieved through colourwork alone. For C1, I held three strands of white with one strand of grey, for C2 two strands of grey and one each of white and turquoise, and for C3 three strands of turquoise with one strand of grey. I have never knit colourwork in cotton or linen before, and my tension wasn't perfect, although it did improve over the course of the project. I added some length to the top after the colourwork (it is about 1.5" longer than the pattern suggests for the longer length), and I also chose to do fewer short rows, leaving me with a more gently curved hemline. I also determined the length of the straps by trying the garment on as I went, rather than following the suggested length in the instructions. Overall I am very happy with how this turned out!
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