Today’s the day! Hoa Sen Tee is out in full.
There are a lot of top-down circular yokes out there in the world, which gave me a bit of pause as I was formulating this design. I don’t want to design patterns that don’t add anything to the world. You’ll recall from my preorder post that the inspiration behind Hoa Sen Tee was my Vietnamese heritage; but I didn’t want to just say that and then produce something generic. Most likely you all will be a better judge of my success (or lack thereof), but I have to say, I’m thrilled with the result.
The fit is intended to be trim, but still comfortable; I’ve been wearing mine any chance I get, and I couldn’t be happier with the way it moves. And yes, it’s wool, but I can wear it comfortably in humid weather. I layer mine over a half tee and have paired it with jeans, linen skirts, and pencil skirts. The only drawback is that, wise guy that I am, I knit it in white. It goes with everything in my wardrobe and I needed a white tee, but I just so happen to be the person that snags themselves on kitchen drawer pulls and manages to brush against every smudgy thing at waist level. Suffice it to say that I plan to knit another in a darker color, and wear them both with glee.
And if you’re wondering about the odd pose in the photo below, know that my photographer, my brother, asked the same question. I have been told that some knitters won’t buy circular yokes because they’re concerned about them being too deep and restricting arm movement, or of bringing the whole sweater with them upon such actions as getting down plates from a tall shelf. Behold: I may not become known as one of the world’s great thinkers, but I do know how to write a yoke.
Hoa Sen was actually a submission to a magazine that didn’t work out, and was about to go on the back burner as rejections usually do, but then Jocelyn of O-Wool reached out to me out of the blue with an offer of yarn support, and that was that. I used her O-Wool Sport, which is soft, breathable, drapes well, and is easy on the hands. It also comes in a wide selection of gorgeous colors; choosing one was crazy, crazy hard! 10/10 recommendation from me.
Per usual, the pattern can be found on Ravelry and Payhip. If you make this tee, I hope you’ll share photos on Ravelry and/or Instagram; I always love seeing your projects. Happy knitting!
