The Sweatshop of Love Blog

Our KAL ended a couple weeks ago and there were a few knitters who finished on time. Naturally there were some knitters that ran a little behind! We’ve been following their progress on on our KAL forums and now we’re ready to show of the next round!

Katie's Make Up Your Mind!

Stefanie's The Loop Entrelac Tank!

Emily's The Loop Entrelac Tank!

Gillian's The Loop Entrelac Tank

Kiley's The Loop Entrelac Tank

Sonia's Make Up Your Mind!

Everyone did such an amazing job! And something tells me there is going to be a part three with even more finished sweaters.

And another KAL is in the works! We’re going to vote in a few weeks. If you’ve got suggestions for big wooly sweaters shoot them my way.

I know. It’s showing off. Yesterday I got to show you my Make Up Your Mind tank and today I’ve got my The Loop Entrelac Tank hot off the needles!

The Loop! Looking Sexy!

Yes, I paid too much for that tiny skirt so I’m getting it as much face time as humanly possible, and trying to prove to myself that it can be worn with anything! My Make Up Your Mind AND my The Loop Entrelac Tank!

Just Chilling by the Logs!

But enough about the skirt, let’s talk about that tank! I expressed my concern for it being too small when I finished the front, so I added more stitches when I cast on for the back, increased more than was instructed, and blocked aggressively. And it fits! I wish it had a little more flow in the tummy area, but it fits and I’m just going to have to eat like a tiny bird when I wear it.

Boob Shot

Could the construction of the front of this tank be any more flattering? From the yarn over increases to where the entrelac is placed and crisscrossed, it all works. I like it in one color, too! It’s almost too commercial looking, you know?

Yep! Arnold is Still Under There!

The one thing I’m not happy with is the side seam. I really don’t know what I was thinking with the visible, hole increases. It looks messy. But with boobs like that who is going to be looking at my seams? AM I RIGHT?!

Cute!

I’m really happy I revisited this pattern. It was fun to knit (besides that never ending K1P1 rib in the back that I neglected to take a picture of!), turned out great, and totally wearable. I hope you guys all had as much fun knitting it as I did!

Pattern: My The Loop Entrelac Tank

Yarn: Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport in Bermuda Heather

Needles: Size 4s and 7s

Ravelry Project Page

WE’RE DONE! We started this adventure 8 weeks ago and this week we’re finishing up. Can you believe it?! Time flies when you’re knitting a pattern you love.

Make Up Your Mind

Biblioholic's Make Up Your Mind!

We made it through a challenging week last week and finished up the front. Next up? Knit that back! Julie’s instructions are super straight forward – just make sure you’re checking your stitch count every few rows and keeping your lace rib on on pattern and you’ll be fine.

Lisa's Make Up Your Mind!

This Week’s Make Up Your Mind Goal: Finish the back of Make Up Your Mind! You are putting your held back stitches back on your needles, joining your yarn, and working those back stitches. You’ll be decreasing for a bit, then increasing for a bit, then binding off for the back of your neck before you graft, or three needle bind off, those straps together.

BONUS GOAL: Remember that if you started week 1 with the Cellular Stitch the bottom of your tank will curl so you’ll have to add a few rows of single crochet to the bottom of your tank to weight it down a little. Four rows should do it and look fantastic!

Weave in those ends, block it to work those pattern stitches down a little, and you are DONE!

The Loop Entrelac Tank

Bibliholic's The Loop Entrelac Tank!

And yet again we are in the same spot with The Loop Entrelac Tank as we are in the Make Up Your Mind! We’re finishing up the back of the tank and adding our rounds of single crochet to the bottom.

Rachel's The Loop Entrelac Tank!

This Week’s The Loop Entrelac Tank Goal: Finish the back! When you finish the back of the tank you’ll want to finish all your seaming. If you were like me I was only seaming one side to get the perfect sizing as I was knitting, so I had to take some time to seam the other side. Get a friend to help you figure out where your straps are supposed to be attached and seam those to the back of your tank.

Mary-Margaret's The Loop!

Crochet Edge: Starting at a side seam, work four rounds of single crochet around the bottom of the tank. This will keep your bottom from curling without adding unflattering bottom rib so the top stays loose and flowy.

Weave in your ends, block out any issues, and you’re done!

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First off, pat yourselves on the back! You finished your sweaters! That wasn’t so hard, was it? Remember to send me FO shots because I want to see you rocking out all your hard work!

And thank you so much for knitting along with me. I had an amazing time watching your sweaters take shape, sharing knitting stories, and problem solving with all of you. We’ll be casting on for another knit along soon so I’ll keep you posted!

Thanks again and I can’t wait to do it again soon.

Our ‘easy’ Make Up Your Mind knit along sweater took a turn this week when we all had to be problem solvers to get through the armhole shaping.

Make Up Your Mind Front!

I don’t like binding off on lace rows and needing to count over and over to see if I’m on, so I just ended up cutting my yarn after the armhole bind off row, slipping my needles back through the front stitches, and reattaching my yarn so I can work a RS row right after the armhole shaping row. I took a look at the Make Up Your Mind FOs on ravelry and there are bunch of projects with a St st stripe right across the boobs, or a hitch in the lace rib pattern right there. It’s such a shame! Should have been knitting along with us, right?!

The Back! The Back!

My knitting schedule has been a little cramped while I’m in Michigan with the babies (knitting during nap times!) but I’m making it happen! I got an awesome start on the back of my The Loop Entrelac Tank. It’s almost done!

Seaming As I Go

I’m regretting it now, but I thought having cute little holes along my side seams, so I did an open M1 increase instead of a KFB and it looks really sloppy. Luckily that’s just the side seam! It will just drive me crazy since no one else will see it.

And yes! In the pictures on the pattern the back is in a K2P2. I changed the pattern last minute to a K1P1 because I thought it would look better and I think I’m right! Doesn’t the back look awesome? And that will suck in the top better, too, to give you a nicer fit.

It’s going to be HOT in Michigan this weekend, so I’ll be in the baby pool and laying in front of a fan watching Harry Potter. I wish you the same!

We’re in the home stretch! By this time next week we’ll be working on finishing our sweaters. So let’s play catch up this week so we can all wear our sweaters together in two weeks!

Make Up Your Mind

Knitting patterns are hard to write. There is a shit ton of math and you drive yourself crazy with numbers and sizing and so naturally mistakes happen. This week is going to be a little lesson in common sense knitting and fixing pattern issues on the fly.

Katie's Make Up Your Mind!

The first step we’ve got to take this week in our Make Up Your Mind tank is separating our front from our back with some arm hole shaping. I got a jump on this last night and came across a problem.

Lisa's Make Up Your Mind!

As written, I ended my Lace Rib on a Round 1, the actual YO lacy row, then I moved on to my bind offs. I BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] sts, then k44[46, 51, 57, 60, 62, 71, 76], BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] more stitches and k to end.

Then things got hairy. Knowing I had to just continue working my lace rib, I knew my next row had to be a lacy Yo row, a RS row, as stated in Julie’s notes, however now I’m working back and forth on just the front part of my top and having just worked a RS row, my next row (WS), as written, would be a dec purl row, since at the end of the BO row I’d have to turn my work and work a WS row. This would put a two rows of St st next to each other, breaking up my Lace Rib and putting a line of St st right across my boobs. Not cute!

So we’ve got a problem, and there are 2 ways to fix it. Since I was already finished with my BO rows and didn’t want to pull those out, I cut my yarn, slid my needle back across the front section of stitches, and reattached my yarn so I’m on the RS of the work ready to work a RS row.

The second way to fix it is to end your Lace Rib before you do your BOs on a Round 2, the K only round, and work your BOs on a Lace Rib, so the BO line would be written

BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] sts, then work in pattern 44[46, 51, 57, 60, 62, 71, 76], BO 6[6, 6, 7, 7, 8, 8, 9, 10] more stitches and work in pattern to end – make sure you count your stitches because binding off lace is always tricky. This way you’d be able to turn, work your WS row (purling) as written, and continue as written for the rest of the front.

Problem solving knitting is just part of the game! It’s why you’ve got to pay attention and trust your knitting instincts. If something sounds off it just might be!

Moving forward – you can just leave the back of the tank, the section with 45[47, 52, 56, 58, 61, 63, 72, 77] sts, on your circular needle, unworked this week, or you can slide those stitches on a holder or scrap piece of yarn. We will be continuing on only the 73[76, 81, 85, 88, 93, 96, 105, 113] sts, for the front.

And finish that front! This is a confusing one because of the tiny mistake here so if you’ve got questions be sure to email me or post them on the forum and we’ll work them out.

This Week’s Make Up Your Mind Goal: Finish the front of the tank! Keep in mind that the wrong side of your tank is going to be your purling and shaping row, and your right side row is going to be your YO lace row. And be sure to read over Julie’s note about lace shaping in her notes section and keep an eye on your stitch count. It’s easy to think you’re decreasing when you aren’t with lace.

You will be shaping your neckline this week, too! It’s a mini version of your armhole shaping. So on your wrong side row you’ll purl 14[14, 14, 16, 16, 16, 18, 18, 20] and place these sts on st holder for right strap; BO next 43[44, 47, 47, 50, 53, 52, 57, 57] sts (these are your neckline), and purl to end. So you’ll have 14/16/18/20 sts on a holder on your right side and 14/16/18/20 stitches live on your needle for your left strap.

Finish both those straps and you’re golden!

The Loop Entrelac Tank

No big surprise here: We’re tackling the back this week! There is only one part of this tank missing!

This Week’s The Loop Entrelac Tank Goal: Get a healthy jump on the back section of the tank. You’re starting with the top of the back with a K1P1 rib to make sure you’ve got a snug fit for the ladies. We’re sticking with the seam as you go technique to make sure the rib stops once the you’re past the boob flaps. Switch over to St st and finish like you did for the tummy panel, increasing to the end.

You don’t have to finish the entire back this week. Next week we’ll be finishing the back and finishing the entire tank, so do what you can. We’re tackling our crocheted bottom edge next week, so if that’s foreign for you be sure to allow extra time for it.

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Keep me posted with your progress on the forums, by email and on twitter! I love seeing your pics and hearing what you’re up to. Good luck this week and I can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Happy knitting!