My mom gave me "Chicks with Sticks (Knit two together)" for Christmas. (It's...cute.) There are a couple of patterns in the back, and this was one of them. I probably wouldn't have ever knit any of them, but I was about six months pregnant (which means I was trying to find things to knit for the baby like there was no tomorrow) and needed to keep my hands busy for a three-hour drive to Flagstaff (six hours of round-trip driving...hmm...the perfect amount of time to make a baby tank!)The original calls for yellow yarn (the color of butter...thus, the "Buttered Toast" bit), but I don't really like yellow. I was also trying to not knit anything in little-baby-girl pink. Not because I don't like it as well, but because most (read: ALL) of her store-bought clothes were that color already. I guess I was trying to branch out. :) So, I guess this is more of a "Jam-on-my-buttered-toast Tank." The original is also for "big girls," not little baby ones, so I modified it quite a bit, although, the changes I made turned this already simple knit into a super-quick, easy peasy knit. (Ah, my favorite kind!)
I cast on 84 stitches and ignoring all shaping (because what little baby needs waist and bust shaping....of course this is before I knew my baby would have a Buddha-like silhouette, but even then....)worked for about 6 inches and then worked the froofy little scallop pattern for 2 2/3 inches. Then I figured out where I wanted the straps to go and picked up 3 stitches for i-cord tie-them-in-a-bow straps. (I am addicted to i-cord. I use it for everything. There is just something about the way it looks...I can't get over it!)
So, even though I knit this thing just out of curiosity (and too much time on my hands), it has ended up being one of my favorite little baby outfits. She wore it one of her first times out of the house (about a week old) as a little dress. She has worn it as a little vest over a onesie and pants to keep her warm. Now, at six months old, it is a cute little tank. I never could have guessed how practical and versatile it would be. I highly recommend all baby girls have one!
(Even if you don't have the pattern (which I doubt you do), you can probably figure it out from the pictures and my mods and add your own, much cuter trim.)
