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Wee Closer Cowl
Wee Closer Cowl — € () or This cowl is a toddler version of Closer. This no-fuss cowl will keep your little one warm, and is perfect for the active toddler. Draping deeply at both front and back, it uses only a tiny bit of sport weight yarn. Like its grown-up version, it is easy to make it larger or smaller. Measurements are given in both centimeters and inches. MATERIALS YARN Sport weight Shown here: Malabrigo Arroyo (100% Merino; 306 m/335 yds, 100 g/3.5 oz hank; color #133 Reflecting Pool): 1 skein Yardage: 120 m / 130 yds, including 10% allowance NEEDLES 3.5 mm / US 4 circular needle of…
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The impossible mission – writing a perfect pattern
As a designer, I want my patterns to be as perfect as humanly possible. Whenever I see room for improvement in a pattern, I rewrite part of it. As an independent designer, I’m after quality and not quantity. When you have too many designs, it becomes impossible to review all of them regularly. By the time a pattern is ready for purchase, it has already been reviewed many many times by me, my technical editors and test knitters. But errors can still slip through, especially simple typos that our brains are incredibly good at auto-correcting. Recently I have started adding version numbers to my patterns. I have added a page…
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Spring KAL
Spring is a good time for KAL (Knit-along)! After all the winter knitting, it’s time for a quick accessory. I have just released Closer Cowl and I am hosting a KAL for it in my Ravely group. The KAL will run from the 1st of May to the 15th of June with prizes for everyone! Come join us for fun! See you there! What is a KAL? A KAL is where several knitters knit the same thing at the same time. You can share your progress, yarn choice or whatever related to the project in the KAL thread. Or you can ask questions if you are stuck. You can post…
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Closer Cowl
Closer Cowl — € () or Closer is a cowl that drapes deeply at both front and back. It will keep the chill out over the lowest-cut neckline. You can make a statement piece by pairing it with some unique buttons. Using just 165 m / 180 yds of yarn, this is an ideal stash buster project. It is easy to make it larger or smaller, too! Measurements are given in both centimeters and inches. MATERIALS YARN Worsted weight Shown here: Knit Picks Swish Worsted (100% Merino; 101 m / 110 yds, 50 g / 1.75 oz skein; Color Marine Heather: 2 skeins) Yardage requirement: 165 m / 180 yds…
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Diverting Scarf
Diverting Scarf — € () or → See it on Ravelry Diverting Scarf is a reversible garter stitch scarf. Shaped as a parallelogram and worked on the bias, this scarf uses an intriguing technique that involves only cast-on, bind-off and knit stitch; no increase, decrease nor short-rows are used. It makes a great on-the-go mindless project. Have fun with your knitting! FINISHED SIZE The finished scarf measures 168 cm / 66″ in length (tip to tip) and 12.5 cm / 5″ in width. MATERIALS YARN Sport weight Shown here: Malabrigo Arroyo (100% Merino; 306 m/335 yds, 100 g/3.5 oz hank): 1 skein Yardage: 280 m / 305 yds, including 10%…
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Choosing patterns for plus sizes
A sweater in size 2XL is not an enlarged version of the sample size. When grading is not done properly, you will get an unrealistically wide shoulder width, exceptionally long neck to waist measurement, etc. I had a hard time picking a good pattern when I was looking for a pattern for a plus size friend. Fortunately it is relatively easy to identify a poorly graded pattern from the schematic measurements. It won’t take you much time and will potentially help you save a huge amount of frustration. The key measurements to compare are shoulder width (or back width), back length (neck to natural waist) and armhole depth. You can…
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Matilde Cardigan
Matilde Cardigan Sizes 76-152.5 cm / 30-60″ — € () or Matilde is a sideways long sleeve cardigan with a unique construction. A combination of short rows and raglan shaping ensures that the cardigan fits without pucker. It is worked mostly in garter stitch with a face framing cable to keep the knitting interesting. This design looks best with semi-solid yarn but can handle variegated yarn. The pattern includes a 3/4 sleeve version for those living in warmer climate. Written and charted directions are given for the stitch pattern. Measurements are given in both centimeters and inches. All the important steps are illustrated by photos. MATERIALS YARN Worsted weight Shown…
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Knitting related FAQ
What are those numbers within the parentheses () {}? The numbers in the parentheses refer to different sizes. The sizes available are usually 1 (2, 3, 4, 5) {6, 7, 8, 9, 10}. So, for example, if you are a size 3, it means that whenever you see a sequence of numbers like that, the second number in the round parentheses refers to your size. I would recommend circling the numbers related to your size before starting. They have nothing to do with metric or imperial measurements. The metric and imperial measurements always have units like “cm”, “inches”, and are separated by a slash “/”. Can I use German short…
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Weaving in ends
I confess that weaving in ends is the least interesting part for me for every project. No exception. I can easily spend one hour weaving in all those ends. So when I worked on my Minimissimi Sweater Coat, I had to find a way to make it less tedious. Below is an excerpt from the pattern. I hope that you find it useful 🙂 Joining a New Ball of Yarn What is: A knotless and “froggable” method to join in a new ball of yarn for those who find weaving in ends tedious and time consuming. How to: When you are at the last 25 cm / 10″ of the…
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Increases and Decreases
I’m obsessed about increases and decreases. I almost always make a swatch for each project to decide on which increase and decrease to use. Top down designs are particularly challenging as increases often have to be worked on every row and not many increases look good that way. In my most recent design Matilde Cardigan, I had one more problem: the design is asymmetric. One raglan seam is worked with increases and the other is worked with decreases. After trying out all the increases I knew about, I came up with my own. Here you are: Lifted increase used in Matilde Cardigan inc1-L – insert left needle into the st…
