I am struggling with a fit question on the Paid in Full tank. I have finished about 8 inches of this tank, which is knit in-the-round and bottom-up. I did almost all of this while on my trip to Malaysia, during which I was too lazy to transfer the stitches to a super long needle and try it on. In fact, because I was knitting it on a 24″ needle, I kept thinking it was on the small size, but was content with the fact that the lace would make it very stretchy. I have now taken the opportunity to try it on, and to be honest, I am fretting about the fit. I think it’s too big.
It feels really loose. I don’t think it looks terrible in the above photo, but I have already put in all of the waist shaping and there is still too much fabric around the waist. Here is a different view:
If you look at the pattern photos, the tank is not skin tight and does have some ease, particularly on the back view. I really like the way this looks on Deb, where it clearly has a bit of ease but not too much. (This is the tank as worn by Deb Hoss, the designer. She looks good in everything.)

© Deb Hoss
When I compare mine to Deb’s, I think mine looks a little bit big, but it feels VERY VERY BIG! It is super stretchy, as you can see here:
Below is a photo taken with a measuring tape. For zero ease, I would need 42″ across the bust. I am getting about 36″ on the un-stretched piece laid flat, measured just after the first set of waist decreases. So, this piece shouldn’t be too far off. Even allowing for a lot of stretch in the lace, it SHOULD fit.
When I cast on, I had to choose between a size 38.5 or a 44. The 38.5 would give me 3.5″ of negative ease, while the 44 would give 2″ of positive ease. I went for the 44 and I think that was a bad choice. However, 3.5″ seemed like a lot of negative ease. I didn’t want to end up with something that was tight and thus didn’t get worn.
There is a moral here: when knitting in the round, try it on! Try it on before you knit 8 inches! Laziness is a terrible excuse! Even if you are sitting on a fabulous beach on an island in the South China Sea while knitting it! (Note that the moral of the story should always be accompanied by exclamation points; the more the better.)
I now have a dilemma. I can’t decide what to do, and so I am in limbo at the moment. Here are my choices:
- Pretend everything is good and carry on.
- Rip out a couple of inches and add in more waist shaping. I have 5 sets (20 stitches decreased), and I could possible make 8 sets (32 stitches decreased).
- Brace myself, rip the whole thing out, and start over.
Note that my options don’t include “Throw it in a basket and forget about it till next year.” That is because I love this pattern and I love the yarn. I want to have this tank in my wardrobe. Help me, dear readers! What to do? I need some advice.