“Kinky,” by Kim Hargreaves is a classic top that knits up very quickly. It’s a good project for the beginner knitter, ready to expand their skills with a few new terms and techniques.

This cute top is knit flat in a simple rib of knit-two, purl-two. So, if you’ve got the knitting basics down, (casting on, casting off, and the knit and purl stitches) you are halfway to owning a brand-new top!

So, what’s to learn, you ask? Well, you may have never seen these two funny pieces of code before: P3tog and P3togtbl (which stand for purl 3 stitches together and purl 3 stitches together through the back loop). And, perhaps it is your first time picking up stitches to add a collar.

I promise that once you understand these few terms and techniques, you will be able to knit the top in no time. And who couldn’t use a cool top like this one in their closet?

The design works perfectly well in spring and fall, shows off your shoulders, it’s nice and warm, and you can dress it up or down. Can a girl (a.k.a. middle-aged woman) ask for more? 😉 (I thought the New Yorker article was really funny, especially since I’m officially a 40-something, middle-aged woman now, too!)

P3tog: purl three together 
P3togtbl: purl three together through the back loop 

P.S., I would love to show you how to pick up the stitches at the neck’s edge but I don’t have a very good setup. Here’s a link to a nice video showing you how to do it. The intro is a bit outdated, but she is a really good teacher. Don’t you love YouTube?