Dora the Supermodel
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.
What a cute top! I love the contrast ties!
Comment by laura b | June 23, 2007
[…] The hand in the photo is RM of course. She was very interested in my little photo session this morning. She kept taking the soaker off and putting her toys there instead. So we had a little teddy bear photo session as well. Dora did such a nice job modeling for us the other day, we decided to give this bear a go at it as well. The rabbit I think is just there for moral support. […]
Pingback by andreas04: close to attraction | June 27, 2007