Inspiration
Tee Time: Six Fresh Tops
The simplest of shapes, the tee. In the hands of these designers, it becomes a canvas for truly lovely expressions of texture, color, and pattern. Hats off to these talented folks who really dazzle us with these designs. Summer’s coming! Let’s lighten up!
Floodlight Tee by Tanis Lavallee
Combines a mix of fibers to sophisticated effect, with a keyhole closure in the back. So good!
Yarn Idea from the MDK Shop: Sylph
A Study in Pink by Melanie Berg
Delicate lace is the news here, combining texture and pattern. Melanie is always bringing this kind of thoughtful design work.
Yarn Ideas from the MDK Shop: Mohonk Light, Tynd, Tvinni, and Summerlite 4Ply
Green-Tee by Lone Kjeldsen
What a cool construction this is: top down, with raglan seams that just don’t stop. The whole thing is seamless, and the result is something very modern.
Yarn Ideas from the MDK Shop: Mohonk, Nua Sport, and (for a fabulous multi-color version) Euroflax Sport Linen Mini-Skeins
Trelawny Top by Tamy Gore
Short sleeves make this a quick finish, and the yoke is so pretty. This proportion—a little bit cropped—looks so great with a favorite skirt or high-waisted pants.
Yarn Ideas from the MDK Shop: Tynd, Tvinni, Rustic Fingering, and Summerlite 4Ply
Sylphe Top by Lana Jois
This really does look like springtime. Twisted stitches and lace twirl and lean, a great puzzle to make and an airy result. Wow.
Yarn Ideas from the MDK Shop: Nua Sport, Felted Tweed, and Mohonk
Linear Top by Paula Leme
Horizontal rib stitch gives us the texture stripes here. Really cool construction, too. Stripes are what spring is all about—and the aran weight yarn here gives a little warmth for the cooler days.
Yarn Ideas from the MDK Shop: Atlas for a cozy shell and Creative Linen for the ideal spring and summer layer.
Ranunculus by Midori Hirose
We can’t talk tees without including an all-time favorite with over 12,300 projects on Ravelry. This sweater has been made in pretty much every yarn under the sun, from bulky to lace weight. And every single one is a beauty.
Yarn ideas from the MDK Shop: Sylph and Creative Linen. Find Ravelry knitters who used Sylph for Ranunculus here. Knit at an open, airy gauge, many knitters used as few as two skeins. Find Ravelry knitters who used Creative Linen here.
We all have been waiting for this,, ready to buy yarn after search the stash and wondering what y’all think about the Ergonomics needles from Germany …..Frym
Thank you for introducing us to Lone Kjeldsen. She has some wonderful patterns. I have some of your Euroflax Mini-skeins that I might incorporate in a mostly solid version. Love some of your other suggestions as well!
I second that! I didn’t know her work at all, she has some really comfy looking sweater patterns, and I love the Green Tee.
Love, love, love these tees and also love getting suggestions for pattern/yarn pairs. Thank you!
Creative Linen! That’s new! Is it chainette construction? Have my eye on the Linear Top;)
Creative Linen is cable plied with a Z twist. Not splitty.
Just what the doctor ordered!! Thank you. Now I don’t need to spend hours searching Ravelry. I’d rather be knitting than looking.
I love the green tee and have some of your many colors of the euro flax. Will have to try playing with this! Unless someone tries it multicolored before me!
Thank you! Already have the Melanie Berg in my favorites, adding two more from this line-up. Hope to get one done before Shakerag!
wonderful choices. All of them so interesting
Some lovely patterns, but I do wish designers would show their garments while worn – particularly something like Green-Tee, with its unusual construction. None of the projects on Ravelry show it on a “person” either.
I agree – the garment looks intriguing but without any pics on a real body, I have no idea if it would be flattering. Too bad!
One of my pet peeves on Ravelry. Put the garment on!! I don’t care what a tee/shawl looks like on a tree, how do I style it and what is the neckline like under the model’s hair ? I’m tired of fun-to-make knits that look pretty but don’t fit my wardrobe.
Wish some creative designers would come up with the equivalent of darts for a better fit that doesn’t pull up in front.
It’s called short rows and the Vogue Knitting Book has the instructions if you cannot find out how elsewhere.
I’m a huge fan of Tamy Gore and knit Trelawny. It’s the perfect tee. I just wore it this weekend!
Regarding the question of the neckline on something like the Green Tee which may be a little too low and wide for my taste – I heard/read recently on a podcast/ blog that an easy mod to raise it up a bit is to bind off more tightly. Have not tried it and don’t know if it works for plant fibers as well as for wool, for example. Just seems like an easier fix than to unpick a bunch of rows after you’ve gotten to the top and it’s disappointing, so therefore worth a try. Please share if you know this to be wrong. Also the pattern description states that the silhouette has a slight/subtle A-line shape which tends to work for me, so I’m going for it.
Bind off more tightly will NOT do the job. Will produce puckering that does not steam out of plant fibers, may in wool. Fill neckline in with more rows of knitting, add an i-cord band, or crochet trim if you want to avoid ripping out.
Hmm.. maybe I should have qualified this…The highly influential knitter/blogger who suggested this hack was referring to her specific project with her specific yarn.
Can’t remember what it was now something like Basic Sweater done with a wool or other natural fiber mix. I guess like most things your own mileage may vary according to specifics. Way back in the past my own experience tightening my bindoff did not go well, but that was with acrylic yarn. Sorry if I’ve misled anyone.