An airy lace tee pattern for Spring/Summer in 10 sizes
I’d like to present Tenby, my latest knit lace tee pattern for intermediate to advanced knitters. I designed this top in collaboration with The Fibre Company using their Luma yarn as I wanted to create something loose for the Spring/Summer/Autumn months. Luma is a blend of 50% Merino wool, 25% organic cotton, 15% linen and 10% silk, so I knew from the description it was going to feel soft to the touch and have the qualities I needed to create something with great drape for warmer weather, but also be great for layering.
Luma was beautiful to work with and feels amazing against your skin. I truly can’t get enough of this yarn and it was absolutely the right choice for this design.
Sizing and construction
I’ve sized Tenby to fit a chest circumference of around 71-157cm (28-62in) with around 11-17cm (4.5-7in) of positive ease. This simple lace tee pattern is worked in the round from the bottom up to the armholes, and then worked flat to the shoulders.
The size inclusive instructions differ slightly depending on size for the armholes as I wanted the armhole bands to end at a similar place on the arm across the size range. For the larger sizes, stitches are cast off and decreased slightly to get to the desired width. For the smaller sizes, a gusset is created as knitters working these sizes will need to increase before the armhole divide. After working straight to the shoulders, the top is then shaped gently using short row shaping and cast off using the three needle technique.
An enjoyable knit
Tenby is an enjoyable lace tee pattern to knit and the stitch pattern is easily memorised. When you get to the neck shaping, it helps to be able to read your knitting as you’ll still be working the lace while shaping. It’s fun and satisfying to see the shoulders match up when cast off.
Due to the boxy shape of this pattern, you could easily size up or down depending on if you’d rather have more or less ease – see my tester images below for inspiration.
I wanted the shape to be loose enough to be worn with a long sleeve tee or vest underneath on its own. I felt that the stitch pattern lent itself well to an all over pattern but I wanted to add in the garter side panels to make it easier for grading, and if people wanted to easily add modifications or side shaping.
