Tranquil Tank Top Knit-Along – A Photo-Finish

Well, I have finished the Tranquil Tank Top and it is still Spring!  It has been great to see pictures of the finished tops that many of you have created during our Spring Knit Along.   If you have not finished, don’t worry – we will keep the posts of this KAL available long after this final post. (Click here to view previous posts.)

Finishing this top was a fairly quick job, with only 4 seams and sewing the bottom of the left front to the inside of the right front.  No sleeves to set in or stitches to pick up!

After I finished my front, I turned it over and used some detachable stitch markers to make sure those cast-on stitches for the left front would lay flat and even (I could also have used safety pins for this.)  Just as basting is necessary in machine-sewing a final seam, having your pieces in the correct spot with pins or markers assures that the finishing will progress evenly.

(Click images to enlarge.) 

With those cast-on stitches in the correct place, I carefully sewed the bottom edge of the left front to the top of the ribbing inside the right front.  I made sure the stitches didn’t show on the front by sewing into only part of the stitches above the ribbing.

Now all that was left was sewing the shoulder and side seams.   I sewed together the front and back shoulders from the right side.

Then, I tackled the side seams.  In my earlier posts, I had mentioned how I made sure to have 2 knit stitches on both sides of the right sides of both of the front and back ribbings.   I knew that this would allow me to work a “mattress stitch” seam that would look virtually seamless when done:

Did you know the Lion Brand website has a tutorial that shows you these finishing techniques?  Both the mattress stitch used for the sides and the technique I used to sew the shoulder seams can be found here.

All that was left after sewing those side seams was weaving in the ends.   Then came the best part…admiring this very pretty top so many of you voted for as our Spring Knit-Along.   The end of this spring finds both of my daughters back home from college and the decision which one of us will wear this top first!

Thank you for being a part of our Spring KAL and here’s wishing you all a great season of warmer weather knitting!

Please share your photos in the comments as you finish your project! We would love to see them. Simply click the “mountain photo” icon as you write your comment to upload your photo from your computer.

Previous Posts from this Knit-Along:

• Knitting on the Flip Side
• Knitting the Front is Off The Charts
• Ribbing and Knitting the Back
• Additional Sizes (or How to Resize a Pattern)
• Gauge Swatching
• Join Our Spring Knit-Along Featuring the Tranquil Tank Top