Hola! It's been a long time between posts, hasn't it? I'm sorry about that! March was an especially busy month for me. I do have a new design for you, though: Summer Comes Early to Downton, a floral wrap double-knit in mohair. You can probably guess what series I was watching when it came time to name the pattern. The wrap is truly reversible, with knitted-on lace at each end. The idea came from someone who requested a "large, graphic floral in red and black." The rose motif was based on a flower in a 16th century Venetian fabric, with my own leaves and swirls added. I knit the shawl in red and black (actually, it's a very dark navy blue, if you look closely). I think it would be gorgeous in light, summery colors, perhaps white and lavender or cream and sky blue. KnitPicks has a new mohair-silk blend yarn, Aloft, which would be perfect. But first you'll need the pattern ... 

Summer Comes Early to Downton
Download for $5.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish

Meanwhile, I have recently discovered Pinterest. It's a great online pinboard, wonderful for visual bookmarking. I'm having lots of fun collecting and grouping things. For years I have been the queen of subfolders, using them to organize my photos and other files. Pinterest makes that so quick and easy! If you have a few moments, you may enjoy visiting my boards. My favorite so far is Paradise. Adam and Eve may have lost Eden for the present, but there are still places where we can see glimpses of it. Imagine the entire earth looking like that, because one day soon, it will! On my other boards, you can see My Designs, Best Knitting Resources, Design Inspiration, Books I've read more than once (and will likely read again), and more. I hope you'll find something new that you will enjoy too.

I have another busy few weeks coming up, but there will be more patterns for you in the next couple months. In the works: a laceweight cardi in 9 sizes, great for the warm weather. The sample is approximately 70% complete. Stay tuned.

A vintage-inspired capelet pattern

A new pattern for you: the puff-shouldered Darrieux Capelet is named for French actress Danielle Yvonne Marie Antoinette Darrieux, who wore a similar garment in the 1954 film “The Earrings of Madame De …”. Hers was of woven fabric and unadorned except for the brooch she used to fasten it. This knitted, lace-trimmed version is worked from the top down with a knitted on lace border and contains instructions for 9 sizes from 30-62" bust. As you can see, there is a fair amount of ease. When choosing your size, remember that the cross-back measurement (shown in the sizing chart on the final page of the PDF) is more important than your bust measurement.

Knit as shown in a richly colored yarn like Brown Sheep Company's Serendipity Tweed in colorway “Chocolate Lily,” the capelet is elegant enough for any formal occasion. Worked in cream or white, it would be a lovely vintage-style wrap for a bride or other member of the wedding party. Fasten it with a button, brooch or shawl pin. With the current popularity of vintage garments and shows like Downton Abbey, this is both a classic and a fashion-forward garment. The capelet is dressy enough to make in white for a bride, or any other color for members of the wedding party.

I worked much of the garment shown while watching Sherlock, the BBC's excellent modernization of Conan Doyle's mysteries. It's amazing how well  the characters translate to the modern day, and the writers adhere to the spirit - if not always the details - of the originals. Holmes is a consulting detective with a cell phone; Watson keeps a blog. ("A Study in Pink" is title #1.)

Darrieux Capelet, $6.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish

A note about the embroidery tutorial mentioned in a previous post: I have, in fact, put one together for the Cloche Encounter hat. It's fairly extensive, with step-by-step photos. The 4-page tutorial PDF is now part of the pattern and can be downloaded from Ravelry or Patternfish. The pattern itself is unchanged and can stand alone, but the additional 4 pages are added at the end. You can print (or refer to) whichever parts(s) of the tutorial you need. If you've already purchased the pattern, thank you - and please check your library at either website to get the updated pattern with tutorial.

Happy knitting!

Happy Sweater Day

I hear that today is National Sweater Day in Canada. Don't you think we should all have a Sweater Day that lasts through all of the cold weather? I do!

Meanwhile, I have four new patterns for you today. Ironically, none of them are sweaters. I hope you will enjoy them anyway.

Nonotuck Silk Cloche

Have you ever worked with mawata? That is the term for stretched, unspun cocoons. It can be tricky, and there don't seem to be many patterns written for it. I couldn't find any specifically for hats, so I designed this one. You could also use any fingering-weight yarn could be substituted. The seamless hat is knit in one piece from the top down and edged with a vintage lace pattern adapted from a Florence Knitting Silk pattern booklet published in 1882 by the Nonotuck Silk Company in Florence, Massachussetts. Pure silk is not stretchy, so the pattern uses a ribbon tie to adjust it to your head size.

Nonotuck Silk Cloche: $5.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish

Halo Braid Headband and Collar Set

It's been an exceptionally mild winter, but it's still winter. As a change from hat, a wide headband and matching collar knit in lofty wool will keep you both toasty and stylish. A cabled braid (simpler than it looks!) makes a lovely halo, while seed stitch borders add texture and depth. Use two special buttons to fasten the collar. At three and a half stitches per inch, the set works up quickly for yourself or as a gift for someone you love. The headband tapers at the back for a comfortable fit.

Only one skein of yarn is needed for the headband, 2 skeins for the collar if they are being made separately. Set shown used less than two skeins total of Crystal Palace Yarns Iceland in colorway “Periwinkle”. It can be made in any yarn - the pattern measures in lengths instead of widths. Use soft yarn if you plan on wearing the collar next to your skin - the Iceland is warm but itchy. The headband was one of my first designs, dating from 2007. I still wear the one I made back then.

Halo Braid Headband and Collar: $5.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish

Two Double-Knit Scarves

I love double-knitting. It's reversible, which has the benefits of giving two different appearances and having no wrong side. Designs can have longer distances between color changes without worrying long floats that distort the knitting or get caught on things. Here are two patterns for you.

Delysia in yellow and grey is DK weight, and Miss Pettigrew in grey and lime is worsted weight. Both were, as you might guess from the names, inspired by the movie “Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.” The design for Delysia was based on a pair of earrings worn in the movie by Amy Adams, and the shapes in Miss Pettigrew echo some wrought-ironwork from the railway station scene.

Delysia: $5.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish
Miss Pettigrew: $5.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish

And before I forget, Happy Chocolate Day to one and all.

Absolutely floored

Dear Allfreeknitting.com,

What a happy surprise to open my email this afternoon and find that my Peacock Jewel scarf is your Reader's Choice featured pattern today! I was absolutely floored by the love on the Facebook survey page that I hadn't even known existed. Thank you for featuring my pattern, and thank you to everyone for their kind comments. I hope everyone enjoys making the project. I'll look forward to seeing your FO's!

Happy knitting,
Caroline

An obsession with cloches

Remember this Target commercial? "I could wear hats - if I partook in hat-like things..."

In the end, she determined that she 'totally wears hats.' I agree; I totally wear hats too. Over the last two weeks, I went through a bit of an obsession with hats, cloches in particular. Cloche (French for “bell”) hats were invented by French milliner Caroline Reboux in 1908 and were especially popular during the 1920’s and early 1930’s. Hatshapers.com has an interesting slideshow demonstrating how a felt cloche is made, starting from scratch with a wool batt and a hat form. It's very hands-on, and also a bit messy - kind of like an adult version of fingerpainting with an extremely cool hat as the end product.

Since it's January and I had a nasty cold, I didn't think working with that much water would be good for me. I did have knitting needles and lots of yarn, though, so I decided to knit one. First up: Escargot, from Knitty. It was such fun to knit, and it's so cute! Apparently cloches are like potato chips; I couldn't knit just one. Enter three new patterns: Nefret, La Bonita, and Cloche Encounter. They're all variations on the cloche theme, but each has details that makes it unique. All three are shown at left, with two versions each of Nefret and Cloche Encounter. You can see how different color combinations give each hat personality.

The Nefret Cloche was named for the daughter in the Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters. Nefret, accented on the second syllable, is an Egyptian name meaning "beautiful." You may recognize some similarity to the name of Queen Nefertiti, meaning "the beautiful one comes." The Nefret Cloche is a versatile beauty which can be knit in a solid color or using contrasting yarn for the picot edges. Several embellishment options are included in the pattern: a blooming rose, an I-cord rosette, I-cord bow, and double bow.

Nefret Cloche, $5.95 from Ravelry and Patternfish

The La Bonita Cloche has a welted hem and ridges. The sunburst / flower accent is knit separately and is reversible. It can be sewn or pinned on. As shown, it's attached with a coilless safety pin which passes through both the shank of the button and the fabric of the hat.

La Bonita Cloche, $5.95 from Ravelry and Patternfish

Cloche Encounter is, believe it or not, the simplest knit of the three. The hem is formed of welts, then the rest of the hat is plain stockinette stitch. The hat is finally embroidered. It looks complex, but don't be afraid - it's not hard, and a full-size diagram is included in the pattern. Watch this space for a how-to post in the near future.


Cloche Encounter, $5.95 from Ravelry and Patternfish


Happy knitting!

A vest to go with the socks

After that little venture into sock patterns last month, I decided that it was time for a change and that a vest would be a good project. Presenting Daughter of the Sea, knit in Cascade 220 Heathers, color 2422 (lavender) with trim in Cascade 220 Wool, color 8010 (cream). The lavender yarn is the same color that was used in the Larkspur Lane socks; they'd make a good set, don't you think?

The pattern name is the translation of the Latin name Cordelia, much favored by Anne of Green Gables. I originally intended to call the vest Cordelia, but there were already a number of patterns with that name, and confusion isn't such a good thing. Enter the translation "Daughter of the Sea," which seemed appropriate because of the mother of pearl buttons used to fasten the vest. Matching buttons are used on a small decorative belt used to accent the back.

Main yarn: Cascade 220 Heathers, 100% Peruvian highland wool, 220 yd / 200 m, color 2422 (lavender) - 3 (3, 4, 4, 5) 5 skeins or about 560 (650, 800, 880, 1000) 1200 yd / 515 (600, 735, 805, 915) 1100 m of any worsted weight yarn.

Contrast yarn: Cascade 220, 100% Peruvian highland wool,
220 yd / 200 m, color 8010 (cream) - 1 (1, 1, 1, 1) 1 skein or about 105 (110, 115, 115, 120) 130 yd / 96 (100, 105, 105, 110) 120 m of any worsted weight yarn.

Notions: Stitch holder, yarn needle for weaving in ends, 7 buttons (shown: Favorite Findings “Shellz,” 5/8”, #1801), sewing needle & thread for attaching buttons.

Construction: Worked flat from the bottom up, then seamed. Stitches are picked up for armhole ribbing, which is worked in the round. Attached I-cord is worked around the hem and front openings.

Skills: Knitted cast-on, knit, purl, increasing, decreasing, stranded colorwork, following a chart, picking up stitches, I-cord.

Notes: The vest is designed to be worn with zero or negative ease. Choose the size nearest your actual bust measurement. Read through the pattern before beginning; neck shaping and armhole shaping are worked at the same time. For a less fitted silhouette, waist shaping may be omitted. Photos show size Medium.

Daughter of the Sea: $6.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish

Warning: Socks are addictive

I liked the results of "Inga Loves Fröderick" so much that they were immediately followed by two subsequent worsted-weight sock patterns which happened almost on their own. Here they are: Larkspur Lane and Bells On Her Toes. (Speaking of the Inga socks, congratulations to KatherineR, who guessed the movie which inspired the pattern name: Young Frankenstein, starring Gene Wilder as Frederick and Teri Garr as Inga.

The "Larkspur Lane" Socks are knit in the round from the top down. They feature a ribbed lace cuff and matching accents at the gussets. The lace rib pattern is easily memorized, with a 4-stitch, 4 row repeat which is provided in both written and charted form. The smooth stockinette foot makes these good to wear with shoes or boots, but they also make cozy, comfortable house or bed socks.

Detailed instructions are included for the Eye of Partridge heel flap, which is especially comfortable for those with wider feet. For a more narrow heel, a plain or slip-stitch ribbed flap could easily be substituted. (Instructions for alternate heel flaps are not included.) Yarn shown: Cascade 220, 100% Peruvian highland wool, 220 yd / 200 m, color 2422 (lavender). Skills: Knit, purl, knitting in the round, following a simple lace pattern, short rows, picking up stitches, grafting. Note: Photo shows size Small on woman’s size 8 foot.

Larkspur Lane: $5.95 from Ravelry or Patternfish

Remember those lace-edged anklets you had when you were 8? These are a grown-up version. The "Bells On Her Toes" Socks are knit in the round from the top down. They feature a ruffled and ribbed cuff which can be worn pulled up with a flare at the top or folded down. The smooth stockinette foot makes these good to wear with shoes or boots, but they also make cozy, comfortable house or bed socks. The majority of the sock is knit in either rib or stockinette, making it a very quick, easy knit - in fact, they were the quickest pair of socks I ever made! From cast-off to blocking, they took about 7 hours. Done in day; can't beat that. They're easy, too - the majority of the sock is worked in either ribbing or stockinette stitch. I like them both folded over and pulled straight up.

The pattern includes detailed instructions for the Eye of Partridge heel flap, which is especially comfortable for those with wider feet. For a more narrow heel, a plain or slip-stitch ribbed flap could easily be substituted. (Instructions for alternate heel flaps are not included.) Yarn shown: Cascade 220, 100% Peruvian highland wool, 220 yd / 200 m, color 7805 (hot pink). Skills: Knit, purl, knitting in the round, short rows, picking up stitches, decreasing, grafting. Note: Photos show Adult Small on woman’s size 8 foot.

Bells On Her Toes: $5.95 at Ravelry or Patternfish