Pattern Faves

You are currently browsing the archive for the Pattern Faves category.

Scurry!

December 11, 2012 in Pattern Faves, TIK Knits by thisisknit | No comments

There’s a lot of gift knitting going on just now, and most of it has been carefully planned for ages. But it happens to all of us: the need for a last-minute yarny present hits, and we look around for something that is fast and lovely (with particular emphasis on the “fast”).

It’s with this in mind that we bring you Scurry. It’s a scarf that you can knit in a few hours, and the result is simply gorgeous. The lovely pair in the picture above are both made from Malabrigo Rasta, which is stunningly cosy and has an amazing colour palette, but any superbulky yarn will work as well. And when we say that Scurry knits up fast, we mean it: each of the scarves in the picture were knitted by different knitters in two evenings. This thing goes like a rocket on 12mm needles, and takes just two skeins of Rasta.

In keeping with the season and with the tradition set by the Rivendell hat last year, this pattern is our Christmas present to you.

Scurry Scarf

Cast on a multiple of 3 stitches, plus another 2. (In other words, 17 will work (15 + 2), as will 20 (18 +2).) As long as you use this formula, you can make Scurry as wide or as narrow as you like. The red/purple scarf used 17; the orange used 20.

Row 1: *knit 2, purl 1, repeat from * until only 2 stitches remain, knit 2.
Row 2: knit

Repeat these two rows until a metre or so of yarn remains, and cast off.

And that’s it. Two simple rows of mistake rib, and a truly delicious result.

We hope you enjoy knitting Scurry, and we’d love to see your finished projects when you’ve made them, please. Now, if you’ll excuse us, there’s more Christmas crochet and knitting to do, and we’d better get onto that right now.

Home again

December 7, 2012 in Pattern Faves by thisisknit | No comments

Last week we promised you a look at some lovely accessories designed by Carol Feller that are currently on display in the shop. Well, it turned a bit colder in the meantime, so what could be better for keeping warm than two of her beautiful designs?

So it came about that in the picture above Jacqui’s wearing both the Mayu hat and the Maenad shawl. Although they weren’t designed to be worn together, they suit each other very well. The hat is a beautiful piece of colourwork, which works up fast in DK weight yarn. If you’ve been waiting for a first colourwork project, then this would make an excellent one.

Maenad is an elegant and cosy crescent-shaped shawl, made in sock-weight yarn on satisfyingly large 4.00 and 4.5mm needles. You knit the central panel in garter stitch, and then the lovely lacy border is knitted on parpendicularly. It’s just enough lace to be special and just enough garter to be TV knitting – the perfect combination for this time of year.

And if you’re in the mood for a touch of easy lace, then may we recommend Carol’s Centrique?

This beautiful example is made from a single skein of Malabrigo Sock (this is the Persia colourway). It starts with a very easy stocking stitch panel before easing you into those lovely lace leaves, and the instructions are both charted and written.

All of these lovely things are in the shop right now, so if you’re passing, drop in and have a closer look. We’re very proud to be able to showcase the work of such a very talented Irish designer.

New and old

November 6, 2012 in Classes, Pattern Faves, TIK Knits by thisisknit | No comments

One of the best things about the Autumn/Winter season here at This Is Knit is discovering how well the new yarns work with well-loved existing patterns. So imagine how delighted we were to make this connection: our Glenties möbius cowl and brand-new Mirasol Api. We’ve added a few stitches to the pattern (it’s free with the purchase of the yarn) for even more snuggle, and it’s so soft and cosy. And just look at the colours…

Api is a lovely blend of alpaca and Highland wool, and this cowl takes just two skeins. Cowls make splendid and rather economical gifts, too, if you’re pondering Christmas knitting.

The pattern’s a true möbius, starting at the centre with Cat Bordhi’s clever cast on, and it’s free with the purchase of the yarn. If you’d like to take a class on this method of construction, then we’ve got one coming up at the end of the month, and you can make a booking at this link.

Boingy boingy!

October 12, 2012 in Pattern Faves, TIK Knits by thisisknit | No comments

That’s not really the name of this cowl – it’s actually called the Willow Cowl, but it’s got that nickname in here because it’s the most delightfully elastic, tactile object. It snuggles round your neck and gives you the gentlest, warmest hug.

It’s such an easy knit too, with rounds of stocking stitch alternating with a very very simple eyelet pattern, so that you get that clever concertina effect. It takes just a single skein of Araucania Botany Lace, and this sample was knitted on 3.25mm needles.

We’ve been talking about the boingy boingy all afternoon, probably because there’s a teeny little bit of a chill in the air the last couple of days – that, and we’ve just got some new colours of Botany Lace into stock. Just imagine a cowl made in one of these…

This cowl is so elastic that it’s good to use a nice stretchy cast off: we recommend Elizabeth Zimmermann’s sewn one, which we blogged last year at this link. It’s easy and it stretches beautifully.

You know, the general level of excitement’s quite high here, because tomorrow night we’re attending the Grafton Media Blog Awards. If you follow us on twitter (we’re @ThisIsKnit), we’ll be tweeting the evening’s proceedings from the Osprey Hotel in Naas, so you can follow along with us. We can’t wait!

Going off road

October 10, 2012 in Customer Gallery, Pattern Faves by thisisknit | No comments

We’ve talked in the past about how to substitute yarns, concentrating on keeping the qualities as close as possible – DK for DK, Aran for Aran, and so on. But there are, as they say, no knitting police, and very often you can get the most gorgeous results by using a yarn very differently to how it was intended.

For example, that majestic-looking Swallowtail shawl above is knitted in Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino. We’re familiar with this for beautiful babies’ and children’s garments, but here it’s used in a vivid colour (and the colour range is stunning) to make the most glorious lace. Knitted on 5.5mm needles and taking just four skeins of yarn, this is the cosiest shawl you can imagine.

Here’s another example of unexpected but amazing lace: this is a Luna Moth shawl (like Swallowtail, this pattern’s a free download). It’s knitted in Lamb’s Pride Worsted, a wool and mohair single-ply yarn which is easy to work and wear. On 6.00mm needles, this knits up like lightning – just the thing to have in the drawer for a possible cold snap or for a last-minute warming gift.

Both of the examples so far have been shawls, where exact size isn’t really a consideration. If your stitches come out a little (or a lot) bigger or smaller than the original in the pattern, that’s ok – knit a bit more for a bigger thing, do fewer repeats for a smaller one. But we’ve recently met a project where fit did matter, but where working the yarn at a much tighter tension than suggested worked superbly well.

That’s a pair of Bella’s Mittens (yes, this one’s free as well), worked in Debbie Bliss Paloma. Paloma is a delicious chained yarn that was introduced last winter and which has proved very popular, with its pattern book full of lovely relaxed garments.

But earlier this year, a student in one of our beginners’ classes made a hat in Paloma on much smaller needles than the 10.00mm recommended on the ball band and the resultant fabric was so delicious that we began to wonder what else you could do by dropping needle size…. This pair of mittens was the result, knitted on 5.5mm needles, and taking three skeins of yarn. The fit is perfect and the fabric is firm and supple, with cables that pop beautifully.

These mittens have left for cold-weather service off the east coast of North America; we feel very confident that they’ll keep their new owner warm as toast.

We’re sure that our readers and customers have lots and lots of projects like this, where going off-road resulted in delightful finished objects. Why not tell us about yours in the comments below? We’d love to hear about them!

This just in!

October 5, 2012 in Pattern Faves, Stock Updates by thisisknit | No comments

A couple of weeks ago, we showed you some of the new Louisa Harding yarns and patterns, and they’ve been proving very popular. We’re happy to tell you that we’ve got the Amitola and Orielle pattern books back into stock this week. That’s not all, though – we’ve also got two other collections from Louisa.

The first, called Sorella, uses beautiful yarns like Grace, Nerissa and Sari Ribbon, and it features thirteen lovely garments. For example, this gorgeous sleeveless top, in Grace, is Heron:

Firecrest is a spectacular little cardigan, shown in a luxurious mix of Grace, Grace Hand-dyed and Grace Hand-beaded (since the three yarns are interchangeable, you could make it in just one or two of these if you liked).

The second new collection is a book of accessory patterns. There’s lacy scarves here, and pretty hats, and delectable shrugs like this one, Grebe:

Wagtail is a versatile little hat (and it’s definitely getting into cosy hat season), and it can be made in any of the Grace family.

So as you can see, Autumn-Winter 2012 is going to be both warm and elegant. Thank you, Louisa!

Wasting away

October 2, 2012 in Pattern Faves, Techniques, TIK Knits by thisisknit | No comments

You know that part of a pattern where you’re instructed to “put the next (however many) stitches on waste yarn”, putting them aside to be worked later? The part where you have to put down the knitting and find the yarn needle, only to find it’s disappeared down the sofa cushions? Well, we’ve come across a way to simplify the process, and here’s how.

This technique works if you’re using Knitpro interchangeable needles, which have the little tightening hole in the metal join. (It’s the hole that you use the little allen key in – see our blog post here for details). You’ll also need some fairly fine waste yarn; crochet cotton or dental floss will work beautifully.

First, thread your waste yarn through the little hole.

Then just work the stitches that you’re told to put aside in a completely unremarkable fashion.

When you reach the end of the waste-yarn stitches, your work will look rather like this:

Slip the stitches you’ve just worked back onto the cable a little and pull the waste yarn free on the left hand side of the work. At this point, it’s going right through the stitches you just worked, running alongside the cable.

Unthread the waste yarn from the wee hole in the needle, leaving the stitches sitting happily on the cable and the waste yarn.

Now just slip the needle rightwards out of the stitches, leaving the waste yarn behind.

For safety’s sake, tie the two ends of the waste yarn together so it can’t try to work out of the stitches later.

And that’s it! That’s your stitches on waste yarn without a yarn needle. If you have more stitches to put aside for later, then repeat the process.

The knitting being worked on here is a Garter Yoke Baby Cardigan, a terribly doty pattern which is free on Ravelry, and the yarn is Debbie Bliss Rialto DK – machine washable and cosy. The recipient isn’t born yet, but there’s a knitted snuggle waiting for him.

A little colour

September 25, 2012 in Pattern Faves by thisisknit | No comments

The weather’s been pretty dismal over the last few days, so what better to cheer us up than some really, really bright yarn? These are some of the more vivid shades of MillaMia. We’ve been stocking this yarn since spring, and it’s been one of our most popular offerings. This is no surprise – it’s a sportweight superwash pure merino yarn, which is perfect for children’s garments.

Unlike many children’s patterns, MillaMia typically offers several years’ worth of sizing – from birth to five years, for example. We’ve all had the experience of finding the perfect baby cardigan, except the intended wearer is four rather than two, so a broad range of sizing is a very good idea.

We’ve had some lovely sample garments in the shop for the last week or so, and we thought you’d like to see them too.

This is Gabrielle, from the Close Knit Gang book. In this colour, it’s a gorgeous eyecatching jumper, with a practical buttoned shoulder and a simple all-over cable pattern, but it would also work beautifully in a subler colour.

Hanna, from Little Rascals, is one of the happiest cardigans we’ve ever seen – hot contrasty colours and those jolly bows! You could use softer colours, or even just one (but it would be a shame to leave out the bows, don’t you think?)

If a vibrant palette isn’t to your taste or the lucky wearer’s, then here are some of the cooler colours in the MillaMia range.

This dress is elegant as well as practical. It would be great over a t-shirt if the weather’s chilly or by itself when it’s warmer, and with that charming ribbon detail it’s smart enough for parties. It’s called Lina, and you’ll find it in the Wonderland book.

Is this what they call a grandad cardigan? It’s comfy and warm and just like the grandad of one’s dreams would wear, except that it’s sized from one to seven years. This one’s also from Little Rascals, and it’s called Magnum. (It’s got a very high ahhh! factor, we think.)

We’ve just ordered fresh copies of all these books today – if you’d like, we can keep you a copy when they come in. Just call us or email us and we’ll do the rest (our contact details are here).

Of course, there’s plenty of adult garments that call for sportweight yarn too. We know for a fact that there’s a Ravi (Carol Feller’s lovely garter stitch cardigan) in progress in Millamia. So it’s not just a yarn for children – happily, the rest of us can enjoy it too!

Ahhhh!

September 21, 2012 in KALs, Pattern Faves, TIK Knits by thisisknit | 1 comment

One of the biggest stars of last week’s Yarn Tasting was this little poncho, the Little Emilia Poncho from Sublime Book 663. When we displayed it, it received such oohs and ahhs that we thought we should share the details with you today.

It’s the simplest garment imaginable: just two rectangles joined together. One of the pieces is a lovely swooping cable with some bobble accents. The other is an easy-as-pie four-row lace pattern (and two of those are just purled).

It’s made with just two balls of Sublime Baby Cashmere Merino Silk, so it will work up in no time at all. If you wanted to have a go at either cables or lace, this would make a fantastic learning project.

Of course, if you wanted you could make both rectangles in the cable pattern or both in the lace, and you’d have designed your own adorable little poncho.

Talking of new skills, we’ll be having a wide range of classes in the coming months: knitting or crochet, beginner or intermediate, or skill-specific sessions on lace or cables or mobius. Keep an eye on our Classes and Events page to see what’s coming up.

Finally, we waited until we had all the new yarn to choose from for the prize, but we’ve got a winner for our Spring KAL 2012. Congratulations, mlb00013 – to claim your prize, get in touch with us! And well done to everyone who took part in the KAL! It was great fun, and we’re already looking forward to the next one!

A closer look

September 14, 2012 in Events, Pattern Faves by thisisknit | 1 comment

Back in July, we mentioned that we were looking forward an awful lot to Louisa Harding’s new Orielle, a luxurious alpaca yarn with the subtlest touch of gold sparkle.

It’s now in the shop, and it’s even lovelier than we imagined. You can see the colour range in the picture above. And because we’ve got a lot of sample garments to show at the Yarn Tasting tonight, we’ve had a chance to see how it looks in a finished garment.

This is our current favourite from the Orielle pattern book. It’s called Zarina. You can make it simply as a rectangular lace scarf, but you can also join it into this elegant little cape – just perfect for layering over an evening frock during the coming party season.

And if you haven’t marked HandmAid Craft Day in your diary yet, it’s on Saturday of next week in the Damer Hall on St Stephens Green. There’s classes, there’s yarn, there’s crafted gifts to buy, there’s tea and cake, and it’s all in aid of the DSPCA. Last year’s Craft Day was a lot of fun and an enormous success, and this year’s bound to live up to the challenge!

Now, if you’ll excuse us, there’s still a bit to do for this evening….

« Older entries § Newer entries »