I’ve been working on, then reworking a little tank for RM. I got some of the Adara yarn from elann.com in a pretty blue green colorway, then started hunting down a pattern. When I didn’t find exactly what I wanted, I decided to give a try at just winging it. After all, it was just a tank, not exactly requiring a great deal in the way of shaping and construction.

I’m a little embarrassed to admit how long it took me just to figure this out. But I persisted and did manage to put something together, and something not bad looking at that.

There was a teeny, tiny problem though. When I put it on her, it slid off her shoulders and she pulled her arms out. She then proceeded to run around the house with it draped off her hips like a skirt. It was cute, but not exactly what I was going for. I slipped it into a drawer thinking to save it for a little later in the summer when she grows a bit.

I don’t think it was two days later when I saw the new Knitty and this adorable tank. I had one of those profound “duh” moments when I realized what I needed to do: make adjustable ties.

Of course I had completely used every bit of both skeins of Adara the first time around, so I dug out some Sonata in a complimentary blue. I actually ran it through the bind off stitches also to tighten things up a bit, then made the ties. I’ve never mastered a decent I-cord, and I doubt I’ll have the patience to any time soon. I make a crochet chain, then slip stitch back along the length of it. That makes a nice cord without too much stretch to it.

Isn’t it nice of Dora here to model for me? If she ever gets tired of exploring, I think she has a future on the runway.

Now I feel the need to make one more of these, to make my decreases a little neater and improve the shaping at the top a little bit. But all in all, I’m pleased at my first simple attempt to go it without a pattern. I love the yarn too, it feels nice and sturdy, shapes well but it light enough for summer. I’d love to make the shawl pattern pictured on the site, but I don’t see 12 balls of even this yarn in my budget anytime soon. It’s just as well though, I have enough projects underway and in the wings to keep my busy for awhile.