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At the start of summer I went hunting for an easy summer sweater pattern that I could knit up with my favorite cotton yarn, Shine Sport. I’m not the fastest knitter in the world so I wanted something that would be perfect for late summer and early fall weather. I found the Hope Tee in the Knit Picks 2024 summer tops pattern collection and it was perfect!
The Hope Tee is knitted flat in two pieces with minimal shaping and simple finishing. The stitch pattern is easy enough that you don’t need to stay glued to the pattern but interesting enough that you don’t get bored. (I can’t stand knitting sweaters that are just endless rounds of stockinette!) I love that it’s a size-inclusive pattern (thank you, Knit Picks!!!), and it’s designed to be worn with 3-4” of positive ease, making it a flattering fit for those of us who carry a little extra weight in the tummy area.
To be honest, summer is wicked humid here in Boston and I wouldn’t wear most sweaters until at least August. That’s why I really love this tee – because I could knit it during the summer and know that I could wear it into the fall. Why didn’t I just knit a fall sweater, you ask? Again: it’s wicked humid and there’s no way I’m knitting with wool when I have sweaty hands. I’m a huge fan of working with the Shine Sport yarn in summer because it’s mostly cotton but it’s blended with modal so it’s amazingly soft and has a beautiful sheen. This top, in particular, really shows off Shine’s beautiful drape. I’ve posted a full review of Knit Picks Shine Sport already, so I won’t draft a full ode to this wonderful yarn today, but just know that it gets two thumbs up from me.
Here is a picture of the top laid out flat. I ended up seaming the shoulders into the shaping of the boat neck because it was really wide and I didn’t want it to show the straps of the cami I’ll wear under it. That said, the neck in the pattern photo does not look as wide as it looked on me, so it’s entirely possible that I messed up the shaping.
One of my favorite parts about this pattern was the cool neckline shaping technique. I’ve never done it this way before and it was so simple and looks so smooth.
Well, I hope you enjoyed this review of the Hope Tee! If you knit it, let me know how it goes!! Here are the usual project details I include in all my posts:
yarn details
Knit Picks Shine Sport in French Blue
Sport Weight
60% Pima Cotton, 40% Modal
Machine Wash Cold, Tumble Dry Low
50 g/110 yd skein
project details
pattern: “Hope Tee” by Aire Nitsotolis (buy the individual pattern or the whole collection as an ebook at Knit Picks)
size knit: 42” bust
needles: US size 6 (4.0 mm), circular needles from my Prism Set (arm bands on 16” circulars from my interchangeable shorties set)
gauge: 22 st & 30 rows over 4” in pattern
yarn used: exactly 7 balls, including swatch – 770 yards (350 grams)
duration: June – August, 2024
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