Detailed Knitting Pattern for an Extreme Zigzag Striped Tank Top with Color Sequence

Extreme Zigzag Striped Tank Top

Julia, one of many spectacular Russian Ravelrers posted a gorgeous sleeveless top with Missoni-like colors and knit pattern. I am so inspired by her. She used Aria by Lana Grossa which is a light weight DK or sports weight as it has more than 180 yards per 50g ball and has a tape construction. I decided to make my own zigzag top using CEY's Verde Collection Allgoro in five colors, Imperial Purple (red), Raw Umber (orange/brown), Skydiver (light blue), Parchment (ivory), and Azure (dark blue). I used a little more than one ball of Raw Umber, almost one ball of Imperial Purple and Azure, .8 ball of Skydiver and .2 ball or less of Parchment, with the total of about 200g. Yarn Spec: 70% organic cotton, 30% linen, 152 yards/50g, 6 stitches per 1’" with 3.75 mm needles. I used the stripe pattern below and 2 12 pattern repeats per front or back (105+2 stitches each) to achieve 35" circumference.

Extreme Zigzag Pattern: 42-stitch by 36 row repeats:

Row 1: k21, \*yo, k9, knit 3 tog with center back, right on top (slip1 as if to knit, k2tog, slip the slipped stitch over k2tog), k9, yo, k21 \*, repeat from \* to \*. Row 2: p21, \*\* p2, p1 into the bar before the next stitch, p7, purl 3 tog with center front, left at back (p2tog, rearrange the next stitch so that the right leg is in the back, slip it over the p2tog), p7, p1 into the bar before the next stitch, p2, p21 \*\*, repeat from \*\* to \*\*. Repeat Row 1 and Row 2 eight more times with total of 18 rows. Row 19: \*yo, k9, knit 3 tog with center back, right on top (slip1 as if to knit, k2tog, slip the slipped stitch over k2tog), k9, yo, k21 \*, repeat from \* to \*. Row 20: \*\* p2, pl into the bar before the next stitch, p7, purl 3 tog with center front, left at back (p2tog, rearrange the next stitch so that the right leg is in the back, slip it over the p2tog), p7, p1 into the bar before the next stitch, p2, p21\*\*, repeat from \*\* to \*\*. Repeat Row 19 and Row 20 eight more times with total of 36 rows completed. sequence and row numbers in the order of knitting from the bottom (total of 92 row

Front and Back a like: Cast on 107 stitches (one stitch at each end for seam) with Azure and knit 4 rows in garter stitches. Switch to Imperial Purple and start the zigzag pattern, place a marker every 21 stitches of the stripe pattern. When 4”’ completed from the hem, start side shaping at Row 33 of zigzag pattern: i.e. the fifth row at (A),: reduce one stitch at each end every 8 rows for four times, and increase one stitch at each end every 8 rows for four times. Continue through Row 102 (Parchment). Remember to switch zigzag pattern every 18 rows. Armhole Shaping: On the first row at (B) on the second round of color sequence, start armhole shaping: Cast off 7 stitches at the beginning of Row 103 and 104. Starting with Row 105, decrease 1 stitch at each end of every right side row for 14 times total (65 stitches remain). Continue with the zigzag pattern through Row 150. With Imperial Purple, knit in garter stitch for five rows, and cast off knit-wise loosely, leaving some yarn for shoulder seams. In order to differentiate the back and the front, you may want to cast off slightly tighter for the back. The front and the back pieces were connected by armhole edging only: simply picking up stitches along the front and then the back armhole in Azure (make sure to pick up stitches tightly) and cast off knit-wise, and using the yarn end in Imperial Purple, sew together the end stitch on the last row on the front and the last row on the back.

Extra:

If you want to use a worsted weight yarn, need to go down in the pattern dimension. Suppose I want my tank top to have 36" bust circumference. Assuming gauge of 20 stitches per 4", 36" bust can be accomplished by 180 stitches cast on in round, or 90 stitches each for the front and the back. 90/5=18. I need odd number for the 1/2 repeat. So, the pattern will be changed to 19 stitches per 12 repeat, or 38 stitches per full repeat. Accordingly, I should repeat Rows 1 and 2 total of 8 times, with 32 row repeat for the pattern, instead of 36.

Extreme Zigzag Pattern: 38-stitch by 32 row repeats:

Row 1: k19, \*yo, k8, knit 3 tog with center back, right on top (slip1 as if to knit, k2tog, slip the slipped stitch over k2tog), k9=8, yo, k19 \*, repeat from \* to \*. Row 2: p19, \*\* p2, p1 into the bar before the next stitch, p6, purl 3 tog with center front, left at back (p2tog, rearrange the next stitch so that the right leg is in the back, slip it over the p2tog), p6, p1 into the bar before the next stitch, p2, p19 \*\*, repeat from \*\* to \*\*. Repeat Row 1 and Row 2 seven more times with total of 16 rows. Row 17: \*yo, k8, knit 3 tog with center back, right on top (slip1 as if to knit, k2tog, slip the slipped stitch over k2tog), k8, yo, k19 \*, repeat from \* to \*. Row 18: \*\* p2, p1 into the bar before the next stitch, p6, purl 3 tog with center front, left at back (p2tog, rearrange the next stitch so that the right leg is in the back, slip it over the p2tog), p6, p1 into the bar before the next stitch, p2, p19\*\*, repeat from \*\* to \*\*. Repeat Row 17 and Row 18 seven more times with total of 32 rows completed.