I truly have let this blog lie dormant for far too long–I’ve been busy the past few weeks turning 39, getting a new computer, fulfilling my teenage dream of seeing the Police in concert… what else?  Oh, and of course I’ve been knitting and making jewelry.  I’ve just been too occupied to blog any of it.

Today, however, I finished a project I had high hopes for.  To some extent, the hopes weren’t dashed–this halter top turned out precisely how I wanted it to.  Hence, the good news:

This design is from Speed Knitting–24 Quick and Easy Projects by Kris Percival. 

I knew going into this project that there might be a problem with fit.  I’ve lost some weight in the last couple of years, but I’m still fairly large up on top and halter tops, much as I love them, don’t generally offer enough support to be flattering on me.

To address this issue, I decided I’d put some short rows in each cup to give some additional room in the bust.  This has previously been a technique I didn’t really "get," but one of my WIPs is the Scarlett Woman tank top by Jennifer Tallapaneni at PieKnits.  I chose this project specifically because of the short row shaping in the bust and because it is "bra-friendly."  I’m almost finished with it, and I’ll definitely blog it when I’m done, but I mention it now because just as I’d hoped, it did a great job of explaining short rows as they apply to bust shaping.

After completing this halter top, I tried it on and knew immediately that there was no way it was gonna be supportive enough to actually wear out of the house.  It looked rather ridiculous, actually.

Nobody panic!  I had purchased a sew-in bra for another knit project that I never completed, so I decided to try it here.  I pinned the bra in then sewed it, using a simple running stitch.

Now for the bad news:

It still doesn’t fit!  I guess it’s time to panic.

I could probably get away with it, but it would be a stretch–literally.  So what’s a girl to do?  Give it to a smaller friend, I guess.

It might just be time to admit that I need some industrial strength undergarments to keep these girls under control and a skimpy knit halter top just doesn’t fit the bill.

I have to look at this as a learning experience (I’ve been having a lot of those lately).  Aside from the fact that this top, regardless of the size knitted, probably shouldn’t be worn by anyone larger than a C-cup, I think I could’ve chosen a better yarn.  The yarn I used is a "suede" tape and it’s too stretchy for this project.

But I’m really happy I modified the design and it actually came out the way it was supposed to.  It was worth it for that alone!