Knitting a tank top using a drop shoulder pattern
The Winslow Tee is a drop shoulder shirt, knit from the bottom-up and featuring pretty slipped stitch stripes. I wanted to keep the striped aspect of Winslow, but change the neckline into a sleeveless tank. Not too big of a task, surely?
This project was a lot of fun and, after the initial maths and design sketching, it came together quite quickly.
I’ve done my best to document the process below, in case you’re curious about exactly how you go about editing a pattern this much!
Initial planning
Gauge. I needed to know how wide my stitches were and how tall - also known as gauge! Gauge is simply determining the size of your stitches and how many you need to fill a 10cm/4” space. If you know how big your stitches are, you know how many you need to create the finished desired size. I got the same gauge as called for in the original pattern, so decided to keep working with that. This allowed me to use the stitch count from the original pattern for the stitch count, making casting on easy.
Measurements. I needed to know what size the finished garment needed to be, and for this I needed to know the measurements of my bust, hips and waist. With this information I then decided how much ease I wanted - i.e how big the garment would be compared to my actual body measurements. I wanted a cool, breezy fit around the hips but a closer fit at the bust.
Shaping. Desiring a looser fit at the hem/hips, but a closer fit at the bust, meant that I needed to incorporate some shaping. My hips measure wider than my bust, so I decided to add a-line shaping to the sides of the tank. The a-line shaping gives me a loose, relaxed fit without being too big at the bust and is a style I love wearing.
I wrote all of the above down on a piece of paper and it made the whole process very simple. I knew my gauge, the size I wanted the finished garment to be, and the size of the person I was knitting for (me!). This top is knit from the bottom-up, so the first of my edits was the a-line shaping.
Planning the a-line shaping
A-line shaping is worked by decreasing 2 stitches at each ‘side seam’ on a decrease round - decreasing a total of 4 stitches in the round. This piece is worked in the round, so I placed stitch markers at the half-way points of the stitches to mark the sides.
To calculate the spacing of the a-line shaping, first I needed to know my desired stitch count at the bust. This is where we go back to gauge and ease. I wanted very little positive ease at the bust, so I calculated how many stitches I needed. To determine how many stitches to decrease between hem and bust, I took the stitch count from the hem and subtracted the stitch count at the bust. Then, using my row gauge, I calculated how many rows the decreases would be apart. I ended up working a decrease row every 12 rows/about 3cm apart, which resulted in a nicely spaced a-line.
I knit the first decrease row straight after the rib hem, with the final row finishing just above the narrowest point of my natural waist.
With all of this calculated, it was time to start knitting! The body of the tank went by quickly, with easy knit rounds interspersed by decrease rounds and pretty slip stitch stripes.
Before I knew it, it was time to knit the tank.
Knitting the tank top bodice
I borrowed the underarm shaping from Libby Jonson’s Reef tank. I’d knit this before and love the fit of this underarm shaping. As Reef is worked top-down, I simply had to reverse the instructions for my bottom-up knit. So where increases were worked, I worked decreases instead. Using another pattern that I’d already knit before as a template made this part very quick, easy and gave my extra confidence.
I also borrowing some of the neckline shaping from Reef, however I wanted a slightly wider and deeper neckline, so I started the neckline shaping sooner.
Knitting bottom-up meant I split the work in half at this point, working on the left and right fronts individually before knitting the back.
The final step was to join the shoulders together. I opted to graft the shoulders together using Kitchener stitch, but you could also cast off and seam the shoulders together. A three-needle bind off is also a great finish.
And that was it! My tank top was nearly finished. The final step was to finish off the neckline and armholes. I opted for a simple finish - pick up and knit, then cast off.
My Winslow Tank was finished, and it is the exact fit I was after. The colours are fun and summery, the yarn is super soft and the boost of confidence this project has given me is amazing!
If you want to make major changes to a garment pattern, don’t be scared! Just go for it. There is a bit of planning and maths in the beginning. I found sketching out my desired look really helped, too. Oh, and use a lifeline! I put one in before starting the work on the bodice!
I would like to thank Libby from Wardrobe Toolbox for helping me with the a-line shaping. If you’re keen to dive deep into garment knitting, I highly recommend joining Wardrobe Toolbox the next time the doors open!
Let me know if you have any questions about this project and I’ll do my best to answer them!
Until next time, happy knitting!
Sarah x
Project Details
Patterns used: Based on the Winslow Tee by Florence Spurling and Reef by Libby Jonson
Yarn: Onion Organic Cotton Sport in Hot Pink, Bright Baby Pink, Orange and White