A tale of two tops

My daughter, Maddy, came to visit us in February, just before Corona Virus had such an effect on all our lives.  She lives in London and travelled home, quite apprehensive, with hand sanitiser and a pack of cleansing wipes tucked into her pocket.  Little did we know we wouldn't be seeing her again for months to come.  

I offered to knit something for Maddy as I imagined I might have more crafting time then usual and showed her this pattern by Jessie Maed Designs.  She loved the Ripple Bralette, chose yarn from my not inconsiderable stash, and airily waved a hand over the pattern, stating she was usually an XS.  So I cast on for that size.

Cookston Crafts 4 ply in the Hairst colourway

It looked like it would fit my upper thigh but I persevered because blocking* can solve a multitude of sins. (*blocking is the process of wetting or steaming your final piece of knitting to set the size and even out the stitches.)

Whilst blocking achieved all these things, it can't work miracles and didn't actually make the top any bigger.  It was clearly way too small for Maddy, even if she is a beautifully willowy 22 year old who normally wears XS!

I must stress that any errors were of my own making and not the fault of the pattern.  It is inclusive when it comes to sizing and includes a useful schematic as well as a table of dimensions.  The trouble was I didn't really look at it before I cast on - then I doggedly continued knitting without reference to the likely finished outcome.  So the fact that it just didn't fit is entirely down to me.

Eager to make amends, and create a summer top whilst it is still summer, I went in search of another pattern and selected the Spotty Totty top by Katie Jones.  This is made from seven colourful crocheted squares.  I already had all the cotton yarn I needed in my stash, leftover from other projects, so there was nothing to stop me.

I challenged myself to make one square a day.

And by the end of the week, I was joining the squares together...

and getting the finished top ready to post.

But what about the other top?  

Maddy chose merino sock wool dyed by Claire at Cookston Crafts.  I remembered Claire has a young daughter the top might fit so I parcelled it up and sent it off - along with Haribo for her big brothers.  

Here's six year old Ailsa modelling the tiny top...

And Maddy wearing hers!

I've also plenty of the original yarn Maddy chose to make her a Ripple Bralette one day.  But I'll be getting my measuring tape out first!