A tank for my mother

While my mother was in Los Angeles becoming a yoga instructor, I was here in Massachusetts planning and knitting her a tank top. I found a beautiful hand-dyed cotton yarn on sale at the North Andover Sheep Shearing Festival. I wound it into three and half good size balls, and knew it would turn into something for my mother, as a surprise for when she got back. I thought of something that she could wear in the summertime, throw a jacket over in fall or spring, and something she could wear in the yoga studio. A tank top seemed to be the right choice.
I measured a sweater of hers that I know fits her well, and I made a pattern, using a gauge swatch that I had washed and dried in hot water, and on high heat.
It took me about two weeks to finish. I shortened the distance from the shoulder to the underarm decrease because it looked too long when I tried it on. Also, the space between the shoulders sagged outward. I wanted to tighten it up without frogging the whole top, so I added a tie to cinch it tighter.
I was so excited to give her the shirt and have her try it on to see if the fit was right! When she finally came in from L.A., I gave it to her. Her response: “Cool.”
That was it! I was pretty heated that she didn’t seem to appreciate the amount of time and energy I spent making it for her.
A few days later, though, she was wearing the tank, and telling me how many compliments she’s gotten on it. She even asked me to make her a matching handbag. But we’ll save that for another post.

Here’s the finished tank: