I finally finished my Saco Stripes tank top, knit up in Quince and Co.’s delicious linen yarn, sparrow, in the sans color way for the main and pigeon for the stripes.

A few mods:

I didn’t pick up stitches and bind off around neckline and sleeve line, because when I did, it actually looked sloppier. Figured I’d block it out after seaming one more time, maybe try again, or maybe just leave it. My picking up of stitches for finishing can sometimes be a mess, especially with linen yarn, which shows every imperfection. Perhaps I might consider an i-cord edging? Do you think it looks terrible without this finish?

I also decided to leave the bottoms of the side seams open, for ease of fit around the hips. Plus, I asked a few people if they liked it with open side bottoms, and they agreed it gave an even more professional finish. I like how it hangs as a result.

This project was a great primer for practicing my terrible mattress stitch skills. I often avoid seamed knitting; I hate finishing and I’m not strong at it. But, I realize, if I want to improve my knitting skills, I’ve got to try it out. Since this had only a few seams, it made the project manageable and good practice. It was also a test to line up striping with seaming and I think I was downright successful. So cheers to that; I will definitely not be so afraid of seaming from here on out and continue to challenge myself. Perhaps I’ll take a seaming course.

All in all, I love the results of my first knitted tank top. It may be a little long for my short body. If its ill fitting or I don’t see myself wearing it often, I will gift it to my much taller, longer sister. It would look great on her.