My first FO!

I am so proud of myself! My first non square/rectangle item is finished! I decided that my first knitted garment would be the Double Eyelet Rib Tank from the Tahki Summer 2006 collection. It was categorized as EASY and thought it was the perfect summer tank for me.

The project started off without a hitch. I got the correct stitch gauge on my first try, even with using a different yarn than what was recommended. My row gauge was a bit off, but not terribly off, so I left it alone. I wasn't going to drive myself crazy knitting 20 gauge swatches to get the row gauge exact. Besides the pattern gave instructions to knit the length by inches, so it was very easy to compensate.

I chose a yarn from my ever growing stash: Debbie Bliss Cotton Angora in Dusty Rose. It's a lovely pale pink and incredibly soft. It was wonderful on the hands while knitting. It also shows the stitch details nicely as well.

I knitted the front and back along quite quickly and finished blocking it this morning. Then I set off to watch my DVD "The Complete Beginners Guide to Knitting" by Nici McNally (it's great!) to learn how to seam it together. So right after dinner tonight I learned the mattress stitch and seamed the tank up effortlessly. I weaved in the ends, and viola! This is what I got:



Shows some great cleavage, huh? Unfortunately, even though I have the cleavage to show, it wasn't the look I was going for. Urg! One thing that I forgot to mention was that I added an inch to its length thinking that I needed it. I'm not sure why, because I have a short torso. I've always had a short torso. I must have been under the influence of ice cream or something when I made that decision.

I'm trying to look on the bright side of this. I did get the stitch gauge right on, and so the width around the piece fit well.

Anyhow, this is how it is supposed to look:

If you want it, it's yours. It's incredibly soft and comfortable. Here's the measurements (laying flat): 22 inches width, 24 inches from shoulder to hem. I wear a women's size 18 top, so if you have a longer torso than me this should fit wonderfully~