Friday, May 16, 2014

Summer is for Linen: Jaime's new Kestrel Tank

I was pretty excited when Quince and Co. announced Kestrel, their newest yarn line. Kestrel is a 100% fine Italian linen made up in a ribbon construction. The best part? It is an aran weight linen with a gauge of 14 - 16 stitches to 4 inches. In plain speak, that means it knits up real fast. This little tank took me a mere 4 days to whip up! Welcome to summer knitting, friends.


Pattern: Togue Pond by Pam Allen
Yarn: Kestrel, 6 skeins in Urchin
Size Made: 33"
Alterations: I picked up a fewer number of stitches on both the neck and arms due to my large 1x1 ribbing gauge.


I love this tank. It was a simple knit, worked bottom up in the round. Short row shaping on the bottom adds a subtle hi-lo hem. The arm shaping adds a bit of interest to the otherwise plain body. The arms and neck are picked up and ribbing added to finish them. In short, this pattern had just enough going on to keep my interest, but it was still simple enough to be the perfect beach knitting project.



The ribbon construction of the Kestrel yarn makes for a cushy fabric on size 10 needles. The weight of the linen drapes beautifully for a simple tank like this. The nice people over at Quince have several other patterns for this unique summer yarn. We can't wait to see what you make.


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