Pattern: Summer Shift Tunic

Summer Shift Dress by OMG! Heart

So easy and breezy. Inspired by this dress made by Waejong and Anna from Loopy Mango. Super simple satisfying knit. Knit 2 giant rectangles in Garter Stitch all the way around. That’s it! It’s also a very efficient use of yarn. 2 balls was all it took for either a long tunic or shirt dress length top!

Anna helped me figure out this pattern. My version is slightly sportier but can be dressed up or down as you like! I also discovered a new yarn I fell in love with, Lang Yarns Sol Dégradé Collection in Autumn Paint. It. Is. Gorgeous. The colors are amazing and the texture is a curious silk/suede sheen. It is a fine ribbon or tape yarn in the Novelty or Fancy category. Lang Yarns is from Germany.

If you’d like to try the long dress version, it will take a total of 3 balls of Lang Sol Dégradé! Feel free to mix and match yarns. Again, Habu would be a great substitute for a slightly different look/feel and a nice showcase for their exquisite yarns. See here for my post on the Long Summer Shift Dress.

Pattern #1 of my Beaches, Bikes, & Babes Collection to celebrate Spring/Summer 2011. 5 more patterns coming soon!

Materials:
2 Balls Lang Yarns Sol Dégradé, Autumn Paint, 100% Combed Cotton, 220 yards. $20 per ball
US Size 15 [10.00mm] Circular Knitting Needles, 24″ Clover Takumi Velvets, $15

Skill Level: Advanced Beginner

Measurements & Sizing*:
Width: Approx. 21 inches
Height: Approx. 30 inches
One Size Fits All

Pattern:
Body:
Cast on 50 stitches. I used the Long Tail Cast On.
Rows 1-36: Knit stitch until end of round (You will be knitting very loosely)
Row 37: Cast off. Leave a long tail, about 6-8 inches.
Make 2.

Finish:
Now you will have 2 rectangles. Join the 2 rectangles at the sides from the bottom corner to about 6-8 inches from the top. *If your pieces are not the same length, it may be safer to join from the 6-8 inches from top down instead. This may leave the piece different lengths but that’s ok too!

For the Armholes: Do not join all the way to to the top. Leave about 6-8 inches from the top for the armholes.

For the Neckline: Join the tops of the 2 pieces from the outer corners in to the middle. About 6-8 inches in. This will leave you with a boatneck style neckline.

Weave in ends.

Optional:
Finish with an additional border at the bottom with a different yarn. A nice heavy yarn would be perfect to help stabilize the knit and give the piece some body. Simply crochet it on, freeform.

Notes:
Cast on tight. Or at least at a normal tension. This will define how wide (and floppy) your piece will be.

Also, knit the first row pretty tight. Or at least at normal tension. Mix in some tighter rows if you’d like to also help stabilize the piece.

When knitting, use an extremely loose knit. Each loop actually hangs down over an inch from my needles. Varying the stitch “height” makes for a nice texture.

This loose knit stitch is easy but hard to wrangle since the loops are extremely loose. They will slide off the needles if not careful. I did a lot of stitch picking up!

Joining the piece was tough too, the stitches were so loose it was hard to pick out where to join.

Going back I would have chosen a US Size 13 Needle [9.00mm] instead for longer, narrower stitches. But the 15’s were just fine too depending on the look you’d like to have.

Each rectangle takes about 1 ball with more than enough left over to join seams.

The piece will look super short when knitting. It will almost look like a short wide shirt. When you’re done, the looseness and the weight of the yarn will drag it down making it almost knee-length! So don’t worry if it looks too short when complete. Just hang overnight on a dress form or from a hanger.

It’s both flimsy and filmy so choose a nice bikini top, tank, or slip to go underneath. Lovely belted too, which is how I wear it.

*Measurements & Sizing: The measurements for this piece were taken when laid flat. The piece is airy and lightweight but has a good amount of drape due to the very loose knit. So it will stretch and sag indefinitely. The measurements given are a minimum size and will fit most average body-types from very petite to big/tall. I’m 5′ 4″ and about 145 pounds. It fits very loosely on me and hangs down almost to my knees!