Tips for Knitting Summer Tops

I knitted this summer top in late spring last year and have been wearing it multiple times a week since. It’s a lovely easy pattern that was super quick to knit up and is perfect for wearing even on hot Australian summer days.

The pattern I used is Daybreak Tee by Destiny Meyer. The yarn I used is Fibra Natura Cottonwood DK, a 100% certified organic cotton yarn. The breathability of the organic cotton knitted fabric is fantastic. I find natural fibres are so much cooler than artificial ones, especially when knitted into a breezy style like this. Organic cotton is also very hard-wearing yet soft, with a lovely drape to the knitted fabric. I’ve been washing this in the machine and you wouldn’t even know - just use a cold cycle. I also put it into a garment bag so that the lace doesn’t tangle with anything else in the wash. Dry flat and it’s ready to wear again!

The pattern is modelled with a more fitted look, but I wanted mine to be a bit looser. I find looser cuts breezier to wear in summer. To achieve the look I was after I made a couple of alterations:

My gauge was under what the pattern required. I moved up to a 4.5mm needle but still, my gauge fell a little short. I didn’t want to use a bigger needle size however, as I liked the look of the fabric. I felt if I’d gone up to a bigger needle by fabric would have been looser than I would have liked.
To account for this, I chose the size up in the pattern. This also gave me a looser cut in the finished shirt and allowed me to knit the top so that the hem sits on my hips but without being fitted. Again, I like looser clothing in summer!
The pattern is measured on your bust size, and as I’d knitted a size up I had to be careful once I started knitting the lace. I didn’t need the lace panel to be as deep as the pattern asked, as my bust is smaller than the size I was knitting. I really didn’t want the lace panel to be too deep as I wanted to wear the top without a camisole underneath. To get around this I simply tried the top on rather than following the measurements of the pattern and cast off a little early.

To summarise: Don’t be afraid to tweak things to achieve the desired result!
You can knit a size up or down to alter the fit of a pattern i.e make it more fitted or looser respectively. Just be aware that you may need to check the length if you’re knitting in a size above or below - you may need to knit some parts longer or shorter than the pattern recommends.

Tip for working a garment in the round: This top is knitted in-the-round from the bottom (hem) upwards. This means you have a large number of stitches on your need from cast on. I find it really easy to accidentally twist my work when I’ve got a large number of stitches. To work around this I knit the first 2cm flat, then join the work in the round.

Find the yarn used in this project at Say! Little Hen Shop here.