DEGEN SUMMER TANK PATTERN

I love my tanks from Arq (and undies too) and I really wish I felt good about nipples in public…. but I don’t so I essentially wanted to create a style that sort of felt like you’re wearing nothing except your Arq tank. So I set out to design the perfect summer tank with attributes of feeling breezy and covering the nipples.

arq tank and undies, my favorites

I also wanted this style to go with my high waisted pants- but as always you can lengthen/shorten to the desired length for you. This would be a very cute super crop tank.

Materials:

-3 (3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 6) skeins of Hu Made Watercolor Cotton DK.

I, like a lot of y’all, don’t prefer knitting with cotton but this was super enjoyable because of the openness of the brioche stitch. It didn’t feel like it was lacking stretch or too squeaky. Squeaky is how I would describe most overly dried, mercerized cottons because of the crunch when you squish it. But this yarn knit beautifully and it was fun to pay attention to the speck and flecks as I knit.

finished tank

Fit + Construction:

The fit of this sweater is intended to have positive ease to make it easy to wear, but still look like a “standard fit.” It is knit from the shoulders down beginning with the back and moving to the front, joining in the round at the underarm. The trims draw the garment in to create a neat look. As with all of my patterns I will grade up or down as needed to accommodate your size. It is trim and fitted at the neck with narrow shoulders and low armholes for maximum airflow. The sizes are XS (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL) Please see the fit chart below.

•Finished Chest Width 15.5 (17, 18.5, 20, 21.5, 23, 24.5)”

•Finished Body Length from Bottom Edge to Underarm: 7 (7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, 9.5, 9.5)“ but please make your sweater the length that you want it!

•Finished Body Length from Bottom Edge to Top of Shoulder: 17 (18, 19, 20, 20.5, 21, 22)”

SAMPLE: The tank pictured is a size Small

the gorgeous shaping and armhole finishing

Styling:

I wanted to see how versatile this garment actually is so I did a few different looks to show it its range. See below for some style inspiration. Look 1: wide shorts with tank super summery. Look 2 fun pants with simple tank- great for transitional weather. Look 3. Keeping it simple with some pants.

One extra note about the pattern that Id like to remind everyone- knits in general but in particular this one can look a little weird while knitting for many reasons: has not been blocked, trim is not yet added, brioche is an amorphous blob. So please be gentle on yourself as you knit with confidence that it will all work out in the end. If you are feeling like the armhole is too low / long as you knit, its likely because trim has not been added. Check the spec page for details on measurements before and after trim is applied. And happy knitting. I’d love to see your versions and outfits!