Reef Knot Tank

I started the Reef Knot Tank, by Sarah Wilson, on the way home from Utah last summer.  But then there was a sweater knit along, sale wool, more wool, and I don’t know what happened, except that it ended up waiting in a bag in my closet for the next summer.

When I realized I’d have to wait on an order for the last two skeins of Beach White Hempathy in existence to finish my beach coverup, I pulled this tank out to fill the knitting void.  So what could have been an annoyance became a long overdue finished thingy.

First, I ripped out the bit I’d previously knitted because I read the pattern more carefully this time and realized I’d need negative ease.

I knit the size 30″ in Knit Picks Comfy Fingering in some kind of evergreen color way.  I also switched to size 1 needles once I was done with the provisional cast on.  Oh, yeah, and I grew up and actually did a real provisional cast on with a crochet hook.  The first time I did a provisional cast on I think I chained out a couple hundred crochet chain stitches by themselves, then knit into each one.  It was bizarre.  Needless to say, this tutorial was much less like an insane person’s solution to a new technique.

Getting used to the rhythm and tension of fingering weight takes a bit, but once I got it, this was a smooth knit, perfect for reading!  I did get a chance to try another new technique, besides the provisional cast on, with the eyelet I-Cord bind off.

Here’s what I love about this design:

-the knot, duh.  I was actually tying mine while my son worked on knots for Scouts right beside me on the couch.  I told him I could teach him a reef knot, but he just rolled his eyes.

-the picot, turned hem.  That’s a new one for me.

-the invisible nature of the kitchener stitch on something like a little strap.

– that it’s something I can wear in the heat and looks good layered over a swimsuit or sports bra, because that’s how it will usually be worn by me.  Can you believe- a knit you could wear on a long bike ride in the summer!

Next time I knit one of these, and I probably will knit another one because look how fast it knit up, I’ll try it in linen or hemp.

(more on ravelry, kollabora, flickr)

Speaking of hemp, would you believe those balls of Hempathy actually match my Hawt Sands top from another dye lot?  My relief at that outweighed my frustration at having no one to help me take photos of the Reef Knot until it was late and rainy in a park full of Looky Loo Bubbas in their trucks, along the river’s edge.  Sigh.  Yeah, it really does outweigh it.