HOT HOT HOT Bikini Top

Well, shoot! I had no intentions of posting anything more today, but I'm so pleased with the way this hot little number turned out, I think it deserves a photo & a few words. I made it at the request of my 15-yr-old great-niece - sorry, it's not for sale.

Dare I admit it? I used a pattern (GASP!), something I almost never do. Here's the thing - as much as I'd like to say I was able to come up with some totally new & innovative way of creating bra cups, I just couldn't, I didn't & I probably never will! I mean, really, let's face facts...the bikini/bra consists of exactly two triangles held in place by some sort of band that fastens around the back & two straps to fasten over the shoulders or around the neck. That's it. Oh, I suppose I could have designed something with one cup round & the other a triangle, but would anyone buy something that made them look like they just stepped out of a Picasso painting? I think not. Just my opinion, but I think bras (aka bikinis) are like mouse traps. Lots of folks have tried to invent a better one, but the old basic style still works the best.

So...mea culpa, mea culpa, I went in search of pattern that actually looked like it would fit a real woman with real breasts. No easy task, believe me. Some were knitted absolutely flat & then gathered with sewn-in elastic cording. Hideous creations! Then there were the ones that had no shaping & no elastic. Since only the truly unfortunate among us are that flat-chested (& those that are wear 1-pc. Speedos, if they put on a bathing suit at all), I dismissed those patterns out of hand.

Finally, I came across this pattern from Tina Whitmore at http://knitwhits.com. Buy it online for $5.50. Or...do as I did & grab it for free off the DIY Network Knitty Gritty pages. Tina was Vicky Howell's guest on the show with this little trifle. If you're "into" knitting bikinis, be sure to check out Tina Whitmore's other patterns. They're very good looking & have beautiful fit.

This pattern has two things going for it. The first is the shaping, of course. The second is the choice of yarn. The pattern calls for Cascade Yarns "Fixation" (98.3% cotton-1.7% elastic) in 3 colors. This is wonderful yarn! Nice stretch & excellent memory - & the colors are yummy. Check it out here: http://www.cascadeyarns.com/cascade-fixation.asp Even on Size 5 needles, it works up really fast, too. It would benefit from blocking, although these photos were taken before-hand & it doesn't look bad right off the needles.

Gee, I'm glad I got all that off my chest. Now I need to go write a hundred times, "i don't use patterns i don't use patterns i don't use patterns...."