by Matt Waldrop

As a cool tank for the beach, a thin and simple shell under a jacket, or a dazzling showcase for fun fashion yarn, this versatile pattern lets your own sense of creativity and fashion shine.

Simple and stylish, it is designed to take power away from the pattern and give it back to the knitter.

That means that you pick your own yarn [somewhere between DK and chunky will yield the most predictable results] and you come up with your own gauge.

If there is a particular yarn you have always wanted to showcase and were not sure how to do it, consider this quick project a must.

models: Anne Boyer [top] Jamie Rust [bottom] photos: Matt Waldrop

Chest: 30 [36, 42, 48, 54] inches
Length: 16 [18, 20, 22, 24] inches

Note: Women with cup sizes larger than C are strongly encouraged to add short row bust shaping, proportional to their own body size, for a good fit. You can find a detailed tutorial on short row shaping here.

MATERIALS

Choose your own yarn of most any weight [best tested results from DK to chunky]. Material usage will depend on the weight and gauge of the yarn. As a very general rule of thumb, estimate 8[12, 14, 16, 20] oz. of cotton yarn with the understanding that yardage will vary depending on weight and content of the yarn. Always round up if you have any question of running out of yarn. If it is reasonable to do so, check your yarn store's return policy regarding unused skeins, and buy more yarn than you think you need.

1 24-inch circular needle of appropriate size for chosen yarn.
1 crochet hook of appropriate size for chosen yarn for finishing.
Stitch holder or a second 24-inch circular needle of same size or a length of scrap yarn to hold front stitches while you complete the back.
2 stitch markers
1 tapestry needle

Pick a needle of reasonable size given your particular yarn. Knit a gauge swatch. It doesn't have to be huge - just large enough for you to get a good estimate of the number of stitches per inch. Because your stitch gauge is all-important in this pattern, let's give it an abbreviation that won't get confused with anything else in the pattern: the Greek letter Sigma [s ].

From this point forward, s equals your calculated stitch gauge.

That's the hardest thing in the pattern. From this point forward, every time you see the s symbol, multiply the number just before it with the number that you calculated as your stitch gauge, and fill in the blank provided. That means that, if you have a stitch gauge of 5 stitches per inch, where you see 3s in the pattern you multiply 3 by your stitch gauge [in this case, 5] and write 15 in the blank space. Spend five minutes doing the math, then sit back and then you can knit all the way through your pattern.

If you have a decimal or fraction in your stitch gauge, you'll have to do some rounding. Take that into consideration when you're calculating how many stitches you'll have on each row. The calculations will give you a general idea of how many stitches you'll need, but there, you'll have to decide if you will round up or down. If this seems troublesome, adjust your needle size to come up with a round number for your gauge.

Using the Kitchener stitch, graft shoulder stitches [the ones on hold] together.

Work 1 rnd of single crochet around neck, armhole, and lower edges.

Matt Waldrop learned to knit at age seven and has been an enthusiastic enabler in all fiber arts most of his adult life. Dubbed Color Wizard by some rather zealous but very kind friends, Matt is a strong advocate of empowering knitters to customize patterns to fit their own specific needs. When he's not busy trying to keep ThreadBear Fiber Arts Studio and its associated websites running, he also spins, dyes, weaves, occasionally crochets and quilts, and wishes there were time to take up underwater basket weaving or advanced study in computer science. Crowing Ram is where Matt combines his passions for web development and the fiber arts.