Eezy-Breezy Striped Tee Pattern
This striped cotton tee was inspired by a design I did a few years ago for Mollie Makes magazine, which I loved but as I sadly don’t have the sample anymore, I can’t wear it! This tee uses a similar boxy shaping and a semi-cropped length, and introduces stripes, a rolling stockinette hem and collar, and a scoop neck. This was the third of my striped knits pre-lockdown, and I must have been channeling some sort of cosmic vibes to create a trio of jailhouse inspired knits. Weird huh?
This tee is knitted in the round from the hem to the underarm, then the front and back is worked flat separately. The sleeves are worked in the round and seamed in, and then the neckline is picked up in the round and worked for a few rows before casting off loosely. Super simple, and perfect for some mindless knitting while watching TV.
OK, let’s get knitting!
YOU WILL NEED
- 5.5mm knitting needles with a long cable (I usually use one about 100cm long for any project)
- 5 (5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12) balls in total of Knitcraft It’s Only Natural Light DK yarn in Cream and Peach, 50g; 105m, or an equivalent DK cotton yarn. (Please note, yarn estimates are approximate and will vary according to needle type, fibre content, tension, your mood while knitting, and how many cups of coffee or glasses of wine you’ve had!)
- Sewing Needle
GAUGE
16 sts x 20 rows in stocking stitch
SIZES & FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
This pattern includes instructions for multiple sizes. When the stitch instructions differ between each size, the instructions are given for the smallest size first, then medium, then large, and then the largest size, and is indicated by stitch counts in brackets, eg: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL)
The Eezy-Breezy Striped Tee is an oversized fit. You may wish to knit a smaller size for an oversized fit.
The adult model (LOL - me...) is a UK size 10-12 and is wearing the Eezy-Breezy Striped Tee in size medium.
ABBREVIATIONS
K knit
P purl
St/Sts stitch/stitches
Rnd/Rnds round/rounds
K2tog knit 2 sts together
P2tog purl 2 sts together
SSK slip slip knit
Tbl through back loop
NOTES
I decided to work thicker stripes across the body, and thinner on the sleeves, but you can do any combo of colours/stripes/etc you wish. I think it would also look fab worked up with some different combos, such as:
- colour blocked, with contrasting sleeves and neckline
- in rainbow stripes
- Using stripes that decrease in thickness from the hem to the neckline
Whatever you decide to do, be sure to take loads of photos and tag me on instagram!
If you prefer a longer body on your tee, knit more rows from the hem to the underarm. If you prefer a longer sleeve, just knit more rows here too. Keep in mind that this will impact your yarn usage, and will also weigh down your tee so it might stretch and grow over time.
For the yarn, it was kindly gifted by the lovely team at Hobbycraft without any conditions attached to it. I used 278g in total, just under 5 balls of Cream and about 1.5 balls of Peach. I’m quite frugal with my yarn, and hate having long tails that get cut off and are wasted, so if you’re a bit more generous you might need more yarn.
For weaving in ends, I was super duper lazy, and just hid them in the seams or tied tiny knots. I find a looser gauge really difficult to hide the woven in ends, and I’d rather not have random patches of double thickness, but that’s my personal preference. You do you!
The Pattern
BODY
The tee is started at the hem, working seamlessly from the bottom to the underarm.
STEP 1 Cast on 178 (190, 206, 222, 238, 254, 270, 286, 302) sts, join in the rnd taking care not to twist the cast on edge.
STEP 2 Work in stocking st for 48 (49, 50, 54, 59, 64, 69, 74, 78) rnds, alternating stripes of Cream for 15rnds and Peach for 4rnds. Don’t cut the yarn at the end of each colour change, just carry it up every 2-4ish rows (this is so you don’t have loads of ends to weave in at the end, because I think that is not very fun. Basically whenever I remembered, I’d twist the other colour and carry it up. Remember not to yank too tightly as this will pucker the rows, but also don’t leave a big loop of yarn because you’ll get snagged in it when you take it off!)
You will now work the front and back of the tee separately. Divide the sts exactly in half - half for the front, half for the back. Work the back sts first, leaving the rest of the sts on your circular needle (or you could move them to a stitch holder or scrap yarn, but I don’t!)
BACK:
STEP 3 Continue working in stocking st for 41 (43, 44, 46, 47, 49, 51, 52, 54) rows across only 89 (95, 103, 111, 119, 127, 135, 143, 151) sts, maintaining the stripe pattern. As we are working in odd rows, you will sometimes need to cut the yarn at the end of the row and rejoin it later. Cast off all sts.
FRONT:
STEP 4 Rejoin yarn to work the remaining 89 (95, 103, 111, 119, 127, 135, 143, 151) sts, and work for 25 (27, 28, 30, 31, 33, 35, 36, 38) rows, maintaining the stripe pattern. Again, due to the odd rows, you might need to cut the yarn and rejoin it to continue a stripe.
STEP 5 Next Row: K 40 (43, 46, 49, 52, 56, 59, 63, 66), co 9 (9, 11, 13, 15, 15, 17, 17, 19), k to end
P one row
Cast off 3 sts, K to end
P one row
Cast off 2 sts, K to end
P one row
SSK, K to end
P one row
SSK, K to end
P one row, K one row
P until 2 sts rem, P2tog tbl
K one row, P one row
STEP 6 The instructions now vary for each size:
For sizes XS and S only:
Cast off all sts
For sizes M, L, XL only:
SSK, K to end
P one row
Cast off all sts.
For sizes 2XL and 3XL only:
SSK, K to end
P one row
Rep these rows, 1 more time
Cast off all sts.
For sizes 4XL and 5XL only:
SSK, K to end
P one row
Rep these rows, 2 more times
Cast off all sts.
STEP 7 Rejoin yarn to work the remaining sts. Beginning with the RS, K to end
cast off the first 3 sts then P to end
K one row
Cast off 2 sts, P to end
K one row
P2tog, P to end
K one row
P2tog, P to end
K one row, P one row
K until 2 sts rem, K2tog
P one row, K one row
STEP 8 The instructions now vary for each size:
For sizes XS and S only:
Cast off all sts
For sizes M, L, XL only:
P2tog, P to end
K one row
Cast off all sts.
For sizes 2XL and 3XL only:
P2tog, P to end
K one row
Rep these rows, 1 more time
Cast off all sts.
For sizes 4XL and 5XL only:
P2tog, P to end
K one row
Rep these rows, 2 more times
Cast off all sts.
SLEEVES
Follow instructions twice to make two sleeves. You may like to try knitting them two at a time for an even speedier sleeve
STEP 1 Cast on 65 (67, 70, 74, 77, 82, 86, 89, 93) sts, join in the rnd taking care not to twist the cast on edge.
STEP 2 Work for 23 (25, 30, 35, 40, 43, 48, 50, 52) rnds, alternating stripes of Cream for 4 rnds and Peach for 1 rnd. Cast off all sts.
FINISHING AND NECKLINE
STEP 1 Sew front and back together at the shoulders. Find the centre point of the sleeve and match to the shoulder seam, then sew in sleeves. I matched the jog line of the body (the bit where you changed yarn colours to make the stripes) with the jog line of the sleeve, so it looks tidier.
STEP 2 Using Peach, pick up and knit 26 (27, 39, 32, 34, 36, 39, 41, 43) sts across the back neckline and 22 (24, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37) sts across the front. K 3 rnds, then cast off loosely.
STEP 3 Weave in all ends. Wear your Eezy-Breezy Striped Tee and do a little dance, then make a cup of tea and decide what you’re going to knit next...
