the blue blog archives: teeny tiny tank girl

Thanks for all your crossed fingers out there - tiny tank is just my size. It's a bit shorter than I'm used to, but only bothers me when I've got the low riders on. After sewing up the sides, slipping the tube on and fiddling with the ribbon for about 40 minutes to get it the right length, I realized that I had no idea how I was ever going to get it off! Yup, the thing fits so well, that there's no extra wiggle room for getting in and out. I've got to do that almost double-jointed arms straight above your head dance to get it on. Once it's on though it's so comfy, it's like naked comfy. And then I need a spotter again to get it off. Hey, nobody said looking good would be easy!

posted by alison at 12:08 am | in tank girl chic

Comments

Wow, fab! Very nice. And a lovely colour. ps: I finished my Chickami!

Posted by: marrije at August 5, 2003 2:41 AM

It looks fantastic Alison ! I wish I had thought of knitting one...

Posted by: Isabelle at August 5, 2003 3:18 AM

Well, I guess you have to keep in shape somehow to keep fitting into these tiny tanks, so the workout may as well be in taking it off. It looks great! :)

Posted by: other alison at August 5, 2003 4:20 AM

What? Your Lady-In-Waiting must be on vacation? Isn't she in charge of dressing you everyday? We know how darn hard those bustiers and corsets are to lace up. ;) Looks great!

Posted by: Kerstin at August 5, 2003 6:20 AM

I love it Alison, great job. The fit looks perfect, I hope mine turns out as good. And the ribbon co-ordinates really well doesn't it?

Posted by: kerrie at August 5, 2003 6:40 AM

it looks great - now how much smaller was your gauge to make up for the "expands when wet" ? or did you just make a smaller size? - tank spotters = isn't that what husbands are for? that's what i heard.... (yeah there's NO ONE else in my house when i need to get a tiny tank off! i can't tell you how many i've RIPPED!)

Posted by: carolyn at August 5, 2003 7:12 AM

Do you think you deserve the award for tiniest Tiny Tank? Why I think you do! Lookin' fine.

Posted by: claudia at August 5, 2003 7:24 AM

Yay Marrije! I've been checking in to see if you'd finished. It looks great - perfect yellow for watching the Tour de France!

Carolyn, do not say rip! Now I'll be so nervous, I'll really have to have my husband spot me. As for the gauge, I didn't measure my exact gauge on pre-stretch. I went down a needle size to 5.5mm and liked the fabric that resulted then checked how much that stretched. I cast on for the size closest to my measurements and hoped that the stretch would bring it back up to the correct size. And the finished product has the exact right gauge. Imagine that!

Kerrie, I love the ribbon I found! It matches perfectly. The picture was taken at night and the flash has made the ribbon stand out more, but you can see from my post a few days ago that it really matches. What a great find! Another good reason to swatch - I brought the swatch with me to pick out the ribbon.

Posted by: alison at August 5, 2003 8:17 AM

Great job! Looks wonderful on you.

Posted by: Chris at August 5, 2003 9:02 AM

Totally FAB !
It's looks teeny tiny gorgeous on your teeny tiny bod [spit !].
Have fun wearing it & going nearly naked ! Does your husband like it ?

Posted by: Emma at August 5, 2003 9:04 AM

oh p.s. the rips were not on knitted items -- on sewn tiny tanks! i'm sure the knittin' stretches!! but sewin'? not so much!

Posted by: carolyn at August 5, 2003 9:18 AM

Ooh, it looks fab. Love the color.

Posted by: Phuong at August 5, 2003 10:50 AM

Teeny tiny terrific! :-)

Posted by: Marg at August 5, 2003 11:07 AM

Teeny tiny tank looks great on you!!! :)

Couldn't you have made teeny tiny buttonholes and attach buttons at the end o your ribbon straps, then un button to put on or take off. Just an idea! :)

Posted by: ~Jo~ at August 5, 2003 11:44 AM

Yes, hubby likes it very much. He helped a lot as I was trying to get the straps just right. I'm sure he'll be a willing tank spotter. ;)

Jo, I followed the directions for the ribbon in the pattern, which have you run it through a stitch at the front then the back and then back through each, knotting in the front and then snipping the ends real short. So, it's not really sewn on such that it can be opened again. If it is really too annoying, I can buy more ribbon and think up a new method that's undoable! Thanks for the suggestion. :)

Posted by: alison at August 5, 2003 12:13 PM

Hellooo Tiny! You look great. I love how the yarn zig zags.

Posted by: Melissa at August 5, 2003 8:06 PM

What a great looking tank! Is that yarn Valeria di Roma Topacio (cotton/acrylic) in colour 244? It looks amazingly like a cotton top I'm making with yarn I got from Elann -- right down to the cool colour zig-zags! :-)

Posted by: Terri at August 7, 2003 9:10 PM

Hey Terri, the yarn is actually Phildar's Copacabana. It's a ribbon yarn. Unfortunately, it's not available in the US and is being discontinued by Phildar, so I'm glad to hear that there might be something similar out there at least colorwise. I've heard good things about the Topacio - isn't it a bit like all seasons cotton? (PS - LOVE reading your reality show reviews!!)

Posted by: alison at August 7, 2003 9:25 PM

Alison, it's a very nice yarn. I'm still knitting on my top, so I don't know how it actually drapes and wears yet, but I like it so far. It's 60% cotton and 40% acrylic and has a really nice texture to it. Very smooth, but not "flat" like 100% cotton. It's not a ribbon yarn, but almost looks like a micro-fibre. I got mine at http://www.elann.com .

Posted by: Terri at August 8, 2003 11:27 PM