Starting and finishing Orlane’s Textured Shawl

by

Orlane's Textured Shawl

In the end, as you all suspected, everything is fine. With the knitting finished and the object blocked, it’s smaller than a shawl but bigger than a kerchief. I failed to measure anything before I blocked it, but I suspect it wound up about 32 inches wide. After blocking, it’s 42 inches wide and 21 tall. It’s just big enough to be useful, but I had an idea and it may be going to live with someone else anyway. I’ll definitely make it again, either way. I just love this combination of textures.

For the sake of anyone who’s wanted to knit Orlane’s Textured Shawl Recipe but didn’t know how to fill in the blanks, here’s how to do it:

It’s a top-down shawl, which means you begin with the few stitches right at the base of the neck and work outwards into the triangle, which is shaped by increases along the way. Start with the garter tab cast-on — Stephen West’s tutorial is terrific — which will leave you with 9 stitches on your needle. Now work a setup row: k2, place marker, m1L, k2, m1R, place marker, k1, place marker, m1L, k2, m1R, place marker, k2. You’ve now marked off the two edge stitches and the center stitch. The top edge (the two stitches on either end) is worked in garter stitch, so you’ll knit the first and last two stitches on every row. Every right-side row is an increase row, worked the same as the setup row above: k2, slip marker, m1L, work to next marker, m1R, slip marker, k1, slip marker, m1L, work to next marker, m1R, slip marker, k2. A wrong-side row in a stockinette or textured portion of the shawl is: k2, purl to the last two, k2 (slip all markers, obviously). Once you get to the garter border, a wrong-side row is just knit every stitch. Hope that helps.

If you’re smarter than me (especially if you’re using a yarn that’s a drastically larger or smaller gauge than her DK), you’ll knit a gauge swatch and measure your row gauge. If you have a target height you’d like your shawl to be, multiply that by your row gauge and you’ll know how many rows you’ll be knitting. Then you can divide those up between stockinette, textured and garter rows however you like.

Mine is 16 rows of stockinette (41 sts on the needles), then 14 rows of the textured stitch, 14 stockinette, 14 textured, 14 stockinette, 8 textured, 30 garter. The yarn is the really delicious Pioneer from A Verb for Keeping Warm, knitted on US8 needles.

Blocking the Textured Shawl

After consulting with Twitter friends, given that I wanted to block this fairly aggressively, I used Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn bind-off, and wow, I love it — this despite the fact that it took me THREE AND A HALF HOURS! I also took the time to use blocking wires on this to make it as perfect as possible. And it was perfect when the wires came out. But two hours later, when I took the photo on the right above, it had already started to go a little wobbly along the top edge again. Of course, when it’s around your neck nobody knows if that edge is straight or not. As long as the rest is flat and lovely, I’m content.

Cheers to Orlane. And heartfelt thanks if you’d favorite it on Ravelry.

.

In other news (for anyone who missed the edit), Pom Pom Quarterly is back in stock!

.

First of the best of Resort 2014: Sportmax

by

Sportmax Resort 2014 sweaters

The Resort 2014 images have been starting to roll in, and it is pullover mania, people. I’ll keep an eye on that developing situation, but meanwhile can we talk about these fantastic Sportmax sweaters? OK, that one on the lower left is only part sweater knit, but that just makes me want to draft a hybrid pattern for myself prrrronto.

.

New Favorites: Elsa

by

Elsa cardigan pattern by Andi Satterlund

How cute is Andi Satterlund? She’s the designer of that great two-tone sleeveless sweater in the latest Pom Pom Quarterly,* and last week she released her first ever crocheted sweater pattern, Elsa — a textured stripe-effect jacket with a zipper and nice detailing. I’m sure I’ve said this before, but for some reason when summer rolls around I get the urge to brush up on my crochet skills, and I always picture very small, short-term projects — which may be a big part of why I associate it with summer. But now I’m actually thinking of attempting to crochet a whole sweater. This is one that, if done in ivory, would fill a hole in my wardrobe left by the tragic pilling of one of my favorite cardigans ever. Do I dare attempt this?

Also: If Iz ever published a pattern for this sweater, I’d be similarly tempted. Just sayin’.

.

*I’m kind of surprised the additional copies haven’t arrived yet, but I promise I won’t forget to let you know when they do. [UPDATE: It's back!] I also have the extremely enticing new Kinfolk coming any minute, so stand by for magazine alerts!

Knit the Look: Evelina Mambetova’s baseball tee

by

How to knit a sweater version of Evelina Mambetova's baseball tee

This outfit of Evelina Mambetova’s is one of my all-time favorites to appear on Vanessa Jackman’s blog — a slouchy modified baseball tee and paper bag-waisted shorts? I wore almost this exact outfit when I was in high school (the Preppy years), and I would happily wear it again. Of course, the only thing better than this jersey would be a really stellar knitted version of this jersey, and that’s where pattern designer Laura Bryant comes in — with her Two-Color Baseball Tee pattern from the Spring 2013 issue of Knit.wear magazine. I would, however, knit it in a yarn that is both a natural fiber and less drapey than the recommended Tencel — either cotton or a cotton blend. How about Pickles Thin Organic Cotton DK in Hav and Hazel? Which might even give it a slightly slubby jersey look. Skip the waist shaping for a slouchier, boxier look. And even though the sweater is raglan rather than saddle-shouldered like Evelina’s tee, you could totally just stick with Bryant’s recommended contrast edging on the short sleeves, or go ahead and knit an elbow-length sleeve (or longer) in the blue. Adorable either way.

.

Street style photo © Vanessa Jackman; used with permission

.

In a somewhat similar vein, this week’s ICYMI is It’s all about elbow patches.

This is not a shawl

by

Karen's Textured Shawl in progress

This is my Textured Shawl, you know. The one Kristine observed started out life as a moth, which has since evolved into a stingray. What it has not evolved into is, well, a shawl. My feet will give you some sense of scale, and while they are undeniably large, they are at least half the length of any self-respecting triangular shawl. I have only enough yarn left for a few more rows of the garter edge; the two skeins I have are apparently all I’ll ever be able to get. So I’ve been doing constant math trying to make sure I don’t run out.

As I near the last row, I’m not sure it’ll be big enough to qualify as a kerchief. I may need to select a small child to give it to.

But it’s puzzling. This is the hazard of knitting from something like Orlane’s Textured Shawl Recipe, of course. She’s given no gauge or dimensions. She says she used 2 skeins of Blue Sky Alpacas’ Suri Merino (DK, 164 yds/skein), and the Ravelry page shows that she used US9 needles. So I can’t know how my gauge compares to hers, but I’m using 2 skeins of A Verb for Keeping Warm’s Pioneer (worsted, 160 yds/skein) and US8 needles, so we should at least be in the same ballpark, right? Because I’m worried about running out, I knitted a row or two less, here and there, than she says she knitted — maybe a total of 5 or 6 rows less. Sure, her gauge could be really loose (although it doesn’t appear to be), but twice as loose? Doubtful. So I’m at a loss as to how mine is so much smaller than hers.

Also, raise your hand if you think this rhombus of mine will block out to a proper triangle! I’m hoping for multiple blocking miracles here.

.

I also hope everyone’s weekend is grand! Tell me what you’re working on, if you’re so inclined …

Best summer sweater knitting patterns

by

Best summer sweater knitting patterns

I’d tell you this was another request but really it was more like a demand. People in need of knitting patterns for little summer tanks and tees can be rather assertive!

Some of these have been seen on Fringe before, and not all are digitally available sadly, but here in one place is a whole slew of my favorite summer (or at least summerish) sweaters — too many to picture:

1. Gate Pullover by Margaux Hufnagel, knitted sideways with a little geometric lace across the top; see also: High Relief Dolman by Courtney Kelley (which I would knit wider and with shorter sleeves)

2. Kit Camisole by Bristol Ivy, lovely slouchy, textured tank; see also: Aproned Tank by Hannah Fettig

3. Hester Pullover by Amy Herzog, adorable

4. Mix No. 13 by AnneLena Mattison, allover mesh makes a great coverup

5. Francis by Olga Buraya-Kefelian, with really interesting construction; see also: Short Row Sweater from the Purl Bee (free pattern)

6. Knit T-Shirt from the Purl Bee, with contrast-lined pocket (free pattern); see also: Insouciant by Julie Hoover, Two-Color Baseball Tee by Laura Bryant

7. Shiro Shiriku by Vicki Square, which also applies to this!; see also: Lemon by Helga Isager, of course

8. Drop Stitch Tank by Pam Allen, the photo is a little unfortunate but the sweater is cute (picture it, as I am, in charcoal tweed — so summery!)

9. Riverine Pullover by Andi Satterlund, two-toned and two-textured (from the new Pom Pom Quarterly); see also: Cap Sleeve Lattice Top from the Purl Bee (free pattern)

10. Pebble Tank from the Purl Bee, which looks so cool in Habu’s Natural Cover Cotton (free pattern)

Please feel free to add your favorites below!

.

If I were a sweater, this is the sweater I would be

by

Improvised top-down raglan sweater knitting, how to

Feels a little funny to be showing you this sweater (again), given how many times you’ve seen it in various stages of knitting development and how hilariously basic it is. But of course I want you to see it finished and want to share (in summarized form) its particulars. So here we go:

- Gauge is 3.5 stitches and 5 rows per inch; yarn is Queensland Kathmandu Chunky

- On US10 needles CO 48 stitches, marked off as follows: 1 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 26 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 1

- Worked back and forth to shape the neck, with increases as follows: On right side rows, increased (kfb) on either side of each raglan seam and at each end (front neck); 10 sts increased each time

- Continued in that manner until piece measured 2 inches deep = 36 back sts and 10 front sts at each end (total of 20 front sts)

- Next row, cast on 16 sts to bridge neck (bringing front total to 36, same as back); joined for working in the round

- Continued increasing at the raglans (total of 8 sts) every other round until 4 inches deep, then spread out the last of the increases to third, then fourth, then fifth rounds — stopping at a total of 116 body stitches (58 front and 58 back) and 34 stitches per sleeve section (counting the seam stitches, which would eventually be divided equally among the 4 sections)

- Worked without any further increases until yoke depth was about 9.5 inches

- Had paused to knit the neck when the yoke was about 4 inches — picked up 80 stitches and ribbed 1×1 on US9 needles (probably should have used 8s)

- Divided body and sleeves — cast on 8 stitches at each underarm; put sleeve stitches on waste yarn

- No decreases in the body; worked straight until the waist, then increased a few times to maintain my ease over the hips; hem is 1×1 ribbing on same US10 needles (didn’t want it to cinch in)

- Sleeves were worked straight until the forearm, then decreased 3 or 4 times; cuffs are 1×1 ribbing on US8 needles

- Wet blocked and, when air-dried until just slightly damp, threw it in the dryer for 10 minutes

- Finished dimensions, post blocking: Length 24.5 inches; chest circumference 38 inches, about 2.5 inches of positive ease; armhole depth 9.5 inches; upper arm circumference 12 inches; sleeve length (from underarm) 16 inches.

For the same sweater in blow-by-blow detail, see my complete top-down sweater tutorial, for which this was the demonstration sweater.

(Also on Ravelry here.)

.