The Olive tank top is knitted seamlessly from the top down. It has a minimalistic design which makes it perfect for everyday use and easy to use as a layering piece under a cardigan or a jacket. The pattern has two options for the back neck: a higher neck or a lower one showing more skin at the back. Note: you can even wear the tank top with the back at the front for a lower neck at the front!

The tank top is started at the shoulders by knitting the shoulder separately before joining at the neck. The front and back are joined at the underarm. The body is knitted in the round with a few increases on the sides to make it slightly a-line. The hem is shaped with optional short rows.

The Olive tank is best suited for cotton, viscose or linen blend yarns that have a lot of drape. I recommend choosing unicolor or slightly tonal colorways. If you want to make a marled top, use one strand of one color and one strand of another color.

Sizes
1 (2, 3, 4, 5) (6, 7, 8, 9)
Finished bust circumference: 80 (90, 100, 110, 120) (130, 140, 150, 160) cm / 31.5 (35.5, 39.25, 43.25, 47.25) (51.25, 55, 59, 63) inches, intended to be worn with 0-5 cm / 0-2 inches of positive ease around the bust.
Circumference at hem: 92.5 (102.5, 112.5, 122.5, 132.5) (142.5, 152.5, 162.5, 172.5) cm / 36.5 (40.25, 44.25, 48.25, 52.25) (56, 60, 64, 68) inches
Armhole depth: 22 (22, 22, 2, 23) (24, 25, 26, 27) cm / 8.75 (8.75, 8.75, 9, 9) (9.5, 9.75, 10.25, 10.75) inches
Body length from hem to underarm: 30 (30, 30, 30, 31) (31, 31, 31, 33) cm / 11.75 (11.75, 11.75, 11.75, 12.25) (12.25, 12.25, 12.25, 13) inches, (adjustable)

Yarn
Note: The tank top uses two strands of light fingering weight yarn held together, but they can be substituted for a single strand of DK weight yarn. If you wish to work a DK weight version, omit all the instructions where it says “hold the yarns together”. For the DK weight version, you will only need half the yarn amounts listed below.

820 (900, 990, 1090, 1200) (1320, 1450, 1600, 1760) m / 890 (980, 1080, 1190, 1310) (1440, 1580, 1740, 1920) yards of light fingering weight yarn held double.

Green sample: 4 (4, 4, 5, 5) (6, 6, 7, 8) skeins of Knitting For Olive Pure Silk (100% silk; 250 meters / 273 yards per 50 g) shown in the colorway Olive. Shown with the higher back option.

Black sample: 4 (4, 4, 5, 5) (6, 6, 7, 8) skeins of Knitting For Olive Pure Silk (100% silk; 250 meters / 273 yards per 50 g) shown in the colorway Charcoal. Shown with the low back option.

Needles
For the hem:
3.5 mm / US 4 circular needles with a cable of 80 cm / 32 inches for sizes 1-5 or 100 cm / 40 inches for sizes 6-9 for the hem

For the main part:
4 mm / US 6 circular needles with a cable of 80 cm / 32 inches for sizes 1-5 or 100 cm / 40 inches for sizes 6-9 for the body

Gauge
16 sts and 32 rounds = 10 cm / 4 inches of Stockinette stitch with the yarn held double, on the larger needles in the round, blocked.
Note: always use the needle size that gets you the right gauge!

Notions
2 stitch markers
2 locking markers
sewing needle
waste yarn