Pattern Testing the Tulip Tank

I was keeping a very close eye out for the pattern test call for this top from Morthunder. I fell in love as soon as I laid eyes on it the first time Morgan posted it. When the call came it was going to be a 5 DAY test! As there are no sleeves of course, it seemed doable so I committed. Shortly after starting the test was extended, though I did still manage to knit it within the original deadline!

This pattern doesn’t have sizes, but rather uses your own gauge with whatever yarn you’re using for your tank, plus your body’s measurements to determine your stitch counts. This means you don’t have to worry about getting gauge, and if you’re someone who doesn’t gauge, you’ll be sort of forced to gauge, but you’ll be assured that it’ll fit.

As with many tops, it starts with ribbing. Ribbing and cotton is not my favourite. The secret to making it look good though is definitely to use a smaller needle size than the rest of the garment. And ribbing is kind of slow, what made it worse – I created a death spiral the first time. What’s a death spiral? It’s when you join to knit in the round but your stitches are twisted. You would think that this would become apparent within a few rows, but I didn’t notice. I was almost done the ribbing when I did finally notice, so I had to frog. But you know what happens when you frog a death spiral without winding it at the same time? A GIANT tangle. I had to cut my losses, literally.

So, once I got the ribbing done without a death spiral, things really picked up! If you’ve been following for awhile, you know I have a loooong torso, so I ended up doing 9 repeats of the repeated pattern for the drop stitches on the side to get it to my belly button. It was the first time I’ve ever done dropped stitches. They are so simple, but it is a little weird the first time through when you just flick stitches off your needle on purpose.

I did the top section in the “traditional” way, though there are also directions to give you a little more coverage across the chest. Because of the width of my top I was decreasing more rapidly than if you have a smaller width measurement. Apparently for my long torso, the distance between my armpit and neck is kind of small? So once I was done the decreases, I was essentially done the section (and the 2nd time around, the top!)

Why is this pattern fun?

• Morgan is HILARIOUS, I laughed out loud 3 times when I read the pattern though the first time
• It’s fast to make
• It’s cute & you will get compliments when you finish & are wearing it around

Tips for success:

• Try your top on as you near the end of your decreases, I stopped at this point, though there are further instructions for more length
• Keep in mind that most materials will stretch as you wear it
• Morgan’s not kidding, crocheting a chain for your tie is drastically faster than doing an i-cord
• Check the length of your tie before you stop chaining or knitting to make sure it’s long enough for you
• Make sure you stay straight as you seam the tunnel for your tie (see how I did it below)
• Block your piece, it made a very dramatic difference for me this time and really evened out my stockinette stitches

Getting your tie through the tunnel you’ve created can be a little challenging. I took a piece of scrap yarn and threaded it through my darning needle, and then put it through the end of my tie and made a loop by putting the other end through the darning needle as well. I then threaded the needle through the tunnel and pulled the tie through. I know that’s a bit of a convoluted description, but hopefully the picture helps.

I highly recommend adding this one to your summer wardrobe, you can get the pattern from Ravelry or Etsy, and I think I’ve heard there’s a crochet version coming soon too!