spring garden tee

so it isn't Spring, but it doesn't really have to be Spring to knit and wear this cute little top. I'm sure it will be equally loved and worn in Autumn here too. Probably even Winter under a long t-shirt.


So yes, this is the Spring Garden t-shirt a lovely little pattern from Alana Dakos.
I knit it in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, the leftovers from my Something Lime. I just had enough to squeeze this little top out of the 1.5 balls I had left.  And I mean, just. There was enough yarn leftover for another round and that is it, five metres!  Not much at all.  So by Shopping The Stash I already reduced the stocks of cotton fleece this year, and Lily and I both have green tops, hmmmm.

I made quite a few little adjustments to this, mostly to do with tension.  The pattern calls for 24 stitches per 4 inches, and that would be just a little firm with the Cotton Fleece, which really is a worsted cotton but knits up nicely at DK weight tension.

I knit the size 12 month which at the looser tension equated to about the size 3 to fit Lily’s petite frame and gave about an inch positive ease. I did consider knitting the 9 month size which would have resulted in about a 20.5” chest, the same as the size 2 measures on 24/10cm.

Knit to size 3 length before sleeves CO

sleeve mods: I purled sleeve stitches on the last row, cast off using my underarm neatening technique so therefore only CO 4 stitches under each arm. 
I worked these mods not because I thought it would be neater, but because, simply, I couldn’t be fagged with the waste yarn for one row and weaving in the extra 4 ends. I’m happy with the end result, it’s neat enough

increasing mod: I used m1L and m1R one stitch in from each stitch marker, worked every 14 rounds.

worked extra length (16 inches), and used the lace on the hem; 5 repeats the same as the sleeves and finished with a purl round before casting off.

and an answer to a question: what do we do to our peach tree?  umm, nothing.  Really nothing, it doesn't even get watered and usually suffers from a bout of leaf curl early in the season. Which I always think I should probably do something about  but never get around to it.

Yep, we're still eating peaches daily.  Best get to preserving some soon.