Good Idea Jeans

You’re all wondering how my little dryer + cotton tank adventure went, right? Well, I’m happy to report that even though I threw the tank in the dryer for about an hour total on high heat, I did not turn it into a baby tank top. No. The tank actually shrunk very little. Basically just enough so that I felt alright about not ripping it out and instead threaded a length of yarn right under the bust to cinch it up. So how did I escape certain ruin and retribution from the knitting goddesses? It’s all in the timing.

First, the tank was still wet when I threw it in the dryer. This helped immensely. It basically didn’t shrink at all until it was mostly dry. Second, I started out leaving it in the dryer in ten minute intervals. Then fifteen. Then finally, twenty. At that point I thought it had probably shrunk all it was going to (or, alternatively, if I threw it in again I would end up with a tank top sized for an infant) so I decided just to call it good. As you can see, the result is that the tank top is still loose, but not so loose that it looks like I’m borrowing my much larger friend’s clothes. I will say that the arm holes, through no fault but my own, are a little uneven, and I may rip the bigger one and redo it. I just don’t know yet. Also, I really can’t bend over in this tank unless I wish to expose both of my breasts to everyone within sight distance. I expected this though. If you look at the model whose wearing the tank in the inside of the magazine, you can see that the bust line is a bit loose. Like there should be a decreasing row right before the top is bound off (or some other kind of shaping that would achieve the same goal.)

All in all I’m pretty happy about the tank. It’s cute. It fits reasonably well. Best of all? It’s cheap to make (mine cost me less than $27) and the lotus blossom lace is very pretty.

Project Stats:

Pattern: Lotus Blossom Tank, Summer IK
Yarn: Okay, I don’t really know since the manufacturer’s name is written in Greek on the ball band but here’s what I got for you: Butterfly, Mercerized Cotton, EL. D. Mouzakis, Super-10, in a blue-gray color
Needles: Size 5 and 6, circulars

By the way, that thing I’m standing on in the picture? My new deck. You see, by nature I am lazy, cheap and like my house to maintain a layer of dirt and clutter. As you might imagine that means that I would have liked to spend my one week of vacation a year doing absolutely nothing except knitting and watching Good Eats on the food network. However, I am married to Stephen and he is one of those sick individuals that actually likes to work and enjoys a clean house. So, I spent my vacation demolishing the old deck that was rotting away beneath our feet and constructing a new, non-rotting deck. More on that tomorrow.