691 Rose Sorbet Tank - Top Knitting Pattern for Women in Valley Yarns Longmeadow

691 Rose Sorbet Tank – Lace Knitting Pattern for Women by Krystalle Diaz in Valley Yarns Longmeadow

The 691 Rose Sorbet Tank, designed by Krystalle Diaz, is a beautifully feminine, lace-topped sleeveless tank top for women. Published as a downloadable PDF pattern, it is knitted in Valley Yarns Longmeadow, a lightweight DK-weight yarn, and is rated as an intermediate difficulty project. The finished garment is a loosely flowing, flattering blouse-style tank that suits a wide range of figures thanks to its clever, unconventional construction.

Garment Design and Construction Overview

What makes the Rose Sorbet Tank particularly distinctive is its unique two-phase construction. The upper body — featuring an ornate floral lace motif — is worked first as a top-down shawl, beginning with a garter tab cast on. This technique produces a neat, tidy starting edge and is commonly used in shawl knitting to create a smooth center-back origin point. The lace section grows outward from this tab, building the decorative yoke of the garment with increasing stitch counts row by row.

Once the lace section reaches the desired depth, the work is joined to work in the round, transitioning from flat, back-and-forth rows into seamless circular knitting for the body of the tank. This join is smoothed out with a short set of short rows — a technique where only a portion of the stitches are worked before turning, allowing the knitter to add extra length to one side without adding stitches. In this pattern, the short rows ensure that the front of the tank is approximately 5 inches longer than the back, creating a natural, comfortable fit without any traditional waist or bust shaping. Despite the absence of conventional shaping, the drape of the lace yoke and the flowing body create a silhouette that is described as flattering for any figure.

Lace Pattern and Stitches Used

The standout feature of this tank is its floral lace section, worked flat in rows before the garment is joined in the round. The lace is built using a rich combination of traditional knitting stitches and techniques:

• Yarn overs (yo) – the primary method for creating decorative eyelets and increasing stitch count within the lace motif
• K2tog (knit two together) – a right-leaning decrease used throughout the lace pattern
• Ssk (slip, slip, knit) – a left-leaning decrease that pairs with k2tog to create symmetrical lace shaping
• RTC (a cable or cross stitch) – used in the early rows of the floral motif to add textural interest
• Garter stitch borders – two-stitch garter edges (knit every row) frame the lace section on both sides throughout the flat portion
• Short rows – worked at the join point to create the front-to-back length differential
• Stockinette stitch – used for the body of the tank once the work is joined in the round
• Garter tab cast on – a specialized cast-on technique that begins with 3 stitches, works 8 rows of garter stitch, then picks up stitches along the side and cast-on edge to create a smooth, centered starting point

The lace rows increase steadily in stitch count, beginning with just 10 stitches after the garter tab cast on and expanding outward with each right-side row. Wrong-side rows are worked as simple purl rows with garter borders, keeping the wrong side straightforward while the right-side rows carry all the lace patterning. This structure makes the lace approachable for an intermediate knitter who is comfortable reading charts or written lace instructions.

Techniques Used

• Top-down construction – the lace yoke is worked from the top downward, mimicking shawl construction before transitioning to the tank body
• Lace knitting – an ornate floral motif forms the entire upper section of the garment
• Worked in the round – the body of the tank is knitted seamlessly on circular needles after the lace section is complete