The Hilarie Tank Top features one of my favourite stitch patterns – I do love a garter stitch rib in all its variations! This design strikes the perfect balance between mindful knitting and relaxing knitting – one row to concentrate on, followed by a pure knit row where you can just switch off and enjoy the rhythm of the stitches.

Originally, I designed this tank top without an armhole edging, but when I finished it, I thought it could look great with a little extra detail. So, the pattern includes instructions for an armhole edging, but you can choose to leave it off if you prefer.

All Purl & Jane pattern names have a story behind them. I often forget why I named them, so I’m including the reason to remind myself and, hopefully, make you smile! I chose Hilarie because it’s a unisex name, just like this tank top. The name came about after a bit of a journey around Google – I searched for ‘rib’ and ended up reading about Rigid Inflatable Boats (RIBs), which led me to the RNLI and its founder, Sir William Hillary. The name Hillary comes from the Latin for ‘cheerful’, which felt like a perfect fit.

The Hilarie Tank Top is knitted in pieces – front and back – and then joined together using mattress stitch for a neat, structured finish.

CONSTRUCTION
The back and front are knitted flat from the bottom up in seperate pieces and joined together. The neck edge is picked up and knitted. There is an option to pick up and knit the armhole edges or you can leave them as is.

TECHNIQUES USED
Cast on, knit, purl, decreasing at the armhole and neck shaping, cast off. Joining seams. Optional but recommended to create the feeling of joy when joining your pieces: mattress stitch and three needle cast off.

YARN
4(5:6:6:7:8) 50g balls of WYS Pure DK for short version.
5(6:7:7:8:9) 50g balls of WYS Pure DK for long version.
100% Falkland wool, 112m/122yds per 50g
2(3:3:3:4:4) 100g hanks of WYS Bluefaced Leicester DK for short version.
3(3:4:4:4:5) 100g hanks of WYS Bluefaced Leicester DK for long version.
100% British Bluefaced Leicester wool, 166m/182yds per 100

SUGGESTED KNITTING NEEDLES
3.75mm and 4mm.

GAUGE (tension)
21 stitches and 28 rows to 10cm/4ins square over garter rib stitch pattern. I obtained this gauge with 4mm needles.
It is important to obtain the correct gauge so do work a swatch before you start the pattern and change your needle size to achieve the correct gauge if you need to.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
I recommend a negative or positive ease of 0-6ins/0-15cm at the chest.

Chest circumference
85, (93, 104, 116, 131, 146)cms
33½, (36½, 40¾, 45½, 51½, 57½)ins

Length (short version) (from top of shoulder to cast on edge)
48, (50, 52, 56, 60, 65)cms
18¾, (19¾, 20½, 22, 23½, 25½)ins

Length (long version) (from top of shoulder to cast on edge)
56, (58, 60, 64, 66, 70)cms
22, (22¾, 23½, 25¼, 26, 27½)ins

NEED HELP?
I am here for you! Pop into the Skipton studio, send an email, or check out the Purl &Jane YouTube channel for tips, inspiration and guidance including handy resources like gauge (tension) guides and how to tutorials.