FO: Stoney Brook Tee

Hey, what do you know, another FO post! Today I’m going to finally talk about my Stoney Brook Tee.

If you remember, I hosted a Stoney Brook Tee knitalong last autumn, and then promptly failed to finish knitting my own. It was not the first time nor the last time I’ll miss self-imposed deadlines—see also “Baby Blanket Bonanza” (first baby has arrived, second one is due any day, third and fourth about 10 weeks out, and I’m almost half way through with the first blanket). Oh well.

Stoney Brook was designed by Rusty Baker, and appeared in the Sumer 2014 issue of Holla Knits. And I immediately fell in love with it. As did many other people. The pattern is well-written and cleverly designed and yet, I don’t know that I’m in love with wearing it, mostly because of things I could have avoided. Allow me to elaborate—this pattern gets it’s shaping from the bound off and cast on stitches that form the ever-widening wedge at the side. It’s really smart and really cute and definitely unique, but I think it also has the potential to be rather unflattering.

Part of the problem is my choice of undergarments. I chose a light beige camisole to help show off the stitch work, and I think for that reason, it’s the best choice. A darker camisole, however, might have made this look more flattering on my lumpy body. I also think if I’d loosened my gauge just a bit, it would have more flow and less cling, though it looks like the garter stitch fabric just wants to cling no matter what—you’d have to knit this with at least 4″ of ease to completely avoid a clingy fabric. Which is not to say it’s a bad thing—show off your curves if you want!—but I like showing off different curves than what I think this sweater highlights.

All of that said, I finished this in December, which is decidedly not holey-short-sleeved-tee-wearing weather, so as the temperatures rise over the next few weeks (sob!), maybe this will get some action and I’ll find that I do enjoy wearing it.