10 Free Tank Top Knitting Patterns for Beginners

Any one of these easy knit tank top patterns are a great project for beginners.

By: Kristi Levy, Editor, AllFreeKnitting.com

10 Free Tank Top Knitting Patterns for Beginners

There's a widespread misconception out there that knitting is just for scarves and sweaters. A lot of people think of it as a "cold weather hobby" that you drop at the first day of spring and pick back up again when fall starts. This couldn't be further from the truth, as a wealth of great knitting ideas, from skirts to headbands, are perfect even on the hottest August day. Knit tank tops are one such pattern, and there are a ton of beautiful free tank top knitting patterns for beginners out there that you can knit up as a layering piece for winter or a standalone shirt for summer.

Knitting tops and sweaters can be intimidating for new knitters, but each of these patterns will walk you through how to knit a tank top for beginners, which means you'll be able to understand with minimal experience. Not having to worry about sleeves already makes a project like this easier than your standard sweater! Just scroll through this list and pick your favorite beginner knit tank top pattern to tackle and read through the instructions. You may be surprised at just how doable they seem.

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We'll take a look at all 10 free tank top knitting patterns for beginners in order of simplicity, beginning with the easiest and ending with the most challenging—which most beginner knitters should still be able to finish easily.

1. Beginner Little Black Tank

The easiest of the easy is this Beginner Little Black Tank. Completing this pattern is just a matter of knitting two separate garter stitch panels and seaming them together to form a top. It's that easy! The bonus is that it's also stylish, so you can knit up a few in all of your favorite colors.

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2. Garter Stitch Tank

While of similar construction to the previous tank top, as being formed from two garter stitch panels being stitched together, there's some shaping involved in this top, making it slighlty more involved. That said, "shaping" in this beginner knit tank top pattern is just leaving some stitches to the side to pick up later, so if you're brave enough to tackle that, this top will be no sweat.

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3. Easy Tank Knitting Pattern

Can you spot the difference between this Easy Tank Knitting Pattern and the first two? That's right: this is our first stockinette stitch tank top. There's no need to panic, however; anyone who can purl can knit up this tank and live to tell the tale. The instructions are short, sweet, and to-the-point, and stockinette stitch lovers will prefer this over the first two.

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4. Easy Knit Tank Top Pattern

You'll have to do a little bit of ribbing at the beginning of this bottom-up pattern, but that's really all that separates it from the last one. Other than that, this pretty and minimalist tank top is just two separate pieces of stockinette stitch sewn together, so beginners are sure to find it approachable.

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5. Easy Summer Tank

This top is where things start to get a little more complicated. You'll be using multiple colors of yarn at once (but not in any colorwork technique—you'll just be holding them together as you knit) and you'll need to be able to bind off within the pattern and decrease stitches. If you're confident enough in your abilites to do that, this pattern will give you a more contoured, put-together look.

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6. Garter & Eyelets Knit Top

Yes, we're back to garter stitch, but this pattern has a twist: it's the first in this list to utilize eyelets. If you're unaware, eyelets are strategically placed holes in your knitting for a light, lacy appearance. You have nothing to fear as long as you know what a "yarn over" is--and if you can learn that, you can knit this gorgeous tank top. Of all the free tank top knitting patterns for beginners in this list, this pattern has the healthiest blend of beginner and intermediate-beginner skills.

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7. Summer Vacation Top

If you're confident enough in your ability to yarn over and knit ribbing, then this tank top will be a piece of cake. With a lacy panel at the top and a bit of ribbing at the bottom sandwiching in the stockinette stitch main body of the pattern, this top may seem complicated, but the three basic techniques are a cinch to learn and really elevate your knitting. Learn how to knit a tank top for beginners that looks a lot more complicated than it really is.

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8. Free Spirited Crop Top

You'd think a crop top would be higher up on this list in terms of ease, given the fact that it's just a tank top but shorter, but this lovely top utilizes slipped stitches and decreases, which are easy enough to get the hang of but probably a bit intimidating for people who only picked up their needles a week ago. If you're dead set on this crop top, give it a try! You, too, can learn these easy techniques.

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9. Basic Turtleneck Knit Top

This turtleneck pattern also involves creating two flat pieces that are seamed together (and in our good friend garter stitch), but shaping for the shoulders and armholes means more binding off and knitting an extra piece for the turtleneck. It's still great for beginners, and exudes a tasteful elegance, but if you're waffling over whether you could complete the first or second pattern in this list, you may want to start there first.

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10. Silver Spring Tank

The Silver Spring Tank almost didn't make this list because of the use of slipped stitches, the increases and decreases, and the utilization of both the 3-needle bind off, mattress stitch, and seed stitch, but advanced beginners can figure out these techniques, and newer beginners should be able to piece it together with a few tutorials. Yes, this stockinette stitch tank is reminiscent of others we've seen on this list, but the little, more advanced, details utilized help make this pattern look polished and flattering.

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