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Jaime's Zara Tee

Oh hey summer linen sweater. I started this little tee back in the beginning of May and it did take a while, but it's here and luckily it's still a million degrees in Denver so it's getting some use. Welcome Zara Tee!

Pattern: Zara Tee by Dianna Walla of Paper Tiger
Yarn: Shibui Linen in Graphite (main color), Shibui Twig in Ash for the contrast plaid
Size Made: 41.5"
Modifications: lengthened the body of the tee by 4"
The Zara tee is an oversized, boxy cropped tee. I chose to make mine a bit longer so I lengthened the body by about 4 ". The tee is knit in pieces from the bottom up. The shoulders are seamed with a three needle bind off (my favorite!) and then the sides are seamed. The sleeves are then picked up and knit down from the body in the round. I love this type of construction and it made for some blissful, care-free summertime knitting.

The most interesting part of this sweater is the windowpane plaid. The horizontal stripes are done by knitting one row every 4". The vertical stripes are added after the sweater is completed by working a crochet chain into a reverse stockinette stitch that is placed every 4". I have to admit I rarely crochet, but I wasn't scared of a little crochet chain. Boy was I wrong. The crochet chain ended up being very tedious to execute and I spent 3 hours one night and only got through one and a third of them. I was disheartened and frustrated. I blame it on my lack of crochet experience or maybe I'm just bad at crochet, but I really disliked this part of the sweater. It was difficult to get the chains to look straight and perfect. I ended up asking Caitlin, our resident crochet expert, if she would help me finish it and like an elf, she completed the chains while I was in Sweden. I came back to my finished sweater! Thank you Caitlin!
Linen. I love working with linen yarn in the summer time and make at least one tee out of linen every year. This pattern is written for Quince and Co. Sparrow, but I have a hard time getting gauge with Sparrow. I chose to use Shibui Linen, which I have worked with before and love. Shibui Linen is made with a chain construction which makes it drape beautifully and withstand wear very well. Sadly this yarn is being discontinued, so if you want to try it, now is the time. I love this grey-blue color for my main color, but there wasn't the perfect contrast color for my plaid in the Shibui Linen. I decided to use Shibui Twig for my contrast and chose a cool white. I love the contrast and it was fun to get to work with these two awesome yarns.


Overall I love this simple tee. The linen is so comfortable to wear in the summer and I've already worn it a few times. This shape and style is my go-to favorite so it's no surprise that I love it.

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