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Petra's blunder
One day at The Yarn Company, Petra and Julie wanted to knit up a sample tank top – one that was quick and simple but at the same time unique. They found a beautiful multicoloured yarn they liked, but it was very thin and would not be a quick knit. Julie and Petra decided to try doubling this yarn with a solid yarn. It looked great, but something wasn't quite perfect. After bouncing numerous ideas around, they finally decided to use two different solid colours separated by a stripe of the multicoloured yarn in the middle. This added just the right bit of uniqueness. Then, as Petra was knitting the tank top, she spaced out and forgot to finish the neck shaping. When she completed the first side of the neck, she looked at it and laughed at her mistake. But she liked the way it came out. The result was a square neck, and we loved it.

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Click to view pattern piece measurements

Yarn
A and B: Tahki, Cotton Classic (108 yards/50 g ball); C: Filatura di Crosa, Pixel (176 yards/50 g ball)

Fibre content
A and B: 100% cotton; C: 80% viscose/20% polyamide

Colours
A: 3096; B: 3204; C: 10

Amount
A: 3 (3, 4, 4); B: 1 (2, 2, 2); C: 3 (3, 3, 4) balls

Total yardage
A: 324 (324, 432, 432); B: 108 (216, 216, 216); C: 528 (528, 528, 704) yards

Gauge
4 sts = 1 inch; 16 sts = 4 inches

Needle size
US #9 (5.5 mm) or size needed to obtain gauge; I (5 mm) crochet hook

Sizes
XS (S, M, L)

Knitted measurements
Width = 15" (16", 17", 18"); length = 21" (22", 23", 24")

* Yarn is worked double throughout the sweater – this means you should hold 1 strand of A or B together with 1 strand of C as if they were 1.
* When piece measures 13" (14", 15", 16") from cast-on edge, you will hold 3 strands of colour C together as if they were 1 and work in St st for 1".

Back
With #9 needle and 1 strand of colour A and 1 strand of colour C, cast on 60 (64, 68, 72) sts. Work in St st until piece measures 13" (14", 15", 16") from cast-on edge, ending with a WS row. Cut colour A and work with 3 strands of colour C for 1". Cut 2 strands of colour C and work with 1 strand of colour B and 1 strand of colour C. Continue to work in St st. AT THE SAME TIME, when piece measures 14-1/2" (15", 15-1/2", 16") from cast-on edge, ending with a WS row, shape armholes: Bind off 3 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Bind off 2 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Then decrease 1 st at each edge, every other row 3 times until 44 (48, 52, 56) sts remain. Continue working in St st until piece measures 21" (22", 23", 24") from cast-on edge, ending with a WS row. Bind off all sts loosely.

Front
With #9 needle, 1 strand of colour A and 1 strand of colour C, cast on 60 (64, 68, 72) sts. Work as for back, changing colours where noted until piece measures 14-1/2" (15", 15-1/2", 16") from cast-on edge, ending with a WS row. Shape armholes: Bind off 3 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Bind off 2 sts at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Then decrease 1 st at each edge, every other row 3 times until 44 (48, 52, 56) sts remain. Continue working in St st until piece measures 16" (17", 18", 19") from cast-on edge, ending with a WS row. Shape neck: Bind off centre 20 (22, 24, 26) sts. With no further decreasing, continue working each side separately until piece measures 21" (22", 23", 24") from cast-on edge, ending with a WS row. Bind off all sts loosely.

Finishing
Sew shoulder seams together. Sew side seams. With an I crochet hook and 2 strand of colour A, work 1 row single crochet around neckline and armholes. Then, with 2 strands of colour B, work 1 row of single crochet around the bottom edge of the tank.

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Excerpted from The Yarn Girls' Guide to Knits for All Seasons, copyright 2007 by Julie Carles and Jordana Jacobs. Excerpted with permission from Potter Craft, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced except with permission in writing from the publisher.