Tag: wrap

Knitting

New Textured Triangle Shawl

Iris Rose

I haven’t had a lot of extra time this week, but I have made a little head way on my new shawl. I plan to start installments of the pattern as I did with my Northern Rose Shawl and the Gradient Shawl here on my blog. This one should need five installments so stay tuned.

I really love the buttery colour of the yellow that I started with; the photos don’t do it justice. This is stash yarn by the way, and the closest I can compare it to is a sock weight mercerized cotton. It is so soft that I think that this will be a favourite.

I decided to use the standard triangular, top down shape and knit the garter tab with four stitches for eight rows. I like to use a yarn over and slip the first stitch at the outside edge. I think that is such a pretty edge and very easy to knit once you grasp it. I have illustrated how this is done in garter stitch on an earlier blog if you are interested in looking.

The first section of the shawl is pretty basic, and I plan to keep going with that theme. I knit several rows of stocking stitch and then alternated four rows of seed stitch with six rows of stocking stitch. Easy, peasy TV knitting for you if you are confident enough to start before I write up the first section.

I am almost at the end of the first skein and have caked the next colour. Now I need to figure out how to softly integrate the new with the old. I will show you the result next time!

Thanks for reading and I hope that you will join me in creating a lovely new shawl. In the meantime, have a great week filled with happy thoughts and kindness.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Wrong Dye Lot Disaster

Iris Rose

You would think that I should know better by now.

I made this wrap/poncho with the same yarn that I am currently working with and did not pay attention to the dye lots. It looks okay, I can’t see any difference I thought. Well, I ended up tearing out a whole skein of yarn and reknitting as the difference was very obvious.  The line in the photo is crease from folding not a different colour as it looks.  What’s up with my photos today?

Did I learn my lesson from that disaster? Nope, I used a different colour of the same yarn, merrily wound it into cakes so that I could avoid knots and flaws and threw away the bands without checking the dye lots. You guessed it, I ended up with this. It was way easier to see in real life; the photo doesn’t show the difference as clearly.

I, fortunately, had another skein that matched the one I started with so I am saved except for the ripping back, arg.

I did finish a round baby shawl on my machine. I crocheted the edging to stop the outside edge from rolling. It turned out quite pretty, I think. It was fairly easy to work but needed constant attention.

One success and one failure, not bad for a week’s work.
Have a lovely week and I should get back to you on Thursday. I am trying to get back on track!

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Yet Another One?

Iris Rose

I find myself too driven lately. I know that I am a competitive person, yes, I can hear you who know me well sarcastically say, really?

I have been concentrating so much on design and creation to try to develop my business that I have lost a bit of the joy of just making. Well, I rebelled against myself this week and decided to take back the joy of creation, to hell with the consequences. That is really a sad/funny statement because, although I keep on pugging, I sometimes feel like I am standing still.

 

I love knitting shawls. I really love knitting shawls but had stopped as I have so many of them. Enter rebellion and, voila, another shawl is being born. Too bad, so sad competitive, compulsive me. You will just have to put up with yet another one.

Anyway, enough whining and let’s have a look at my mini rebellion. I have a stash of many, many, many skeins of yarn that I bought on an ebay binge a few years ago. I really have to use them or lose them so that I have room for something new or at least room to move in my craft cave.

These skeins are labelled as silk, wool, and cashmere. I would happily bet that they are made up of bamboo, cotton and acrylic but they are very soft and very pretty. I am not sure of the colours together. I may dump the brighter green but am waiting to see what my brain puts out in the way of a pattern after the yellow bit.

I actually remembered to write down what I am doing so that, if it ends up being as pretty as I hope it will be, I can share the pattern.

Thanks for listening and I hope that you have a happy week ahead.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Simple Summer Wraps

Iris Rose

This time of year I am always, as I am sure most of us that live with at least four months of winter are, ready to ditch the heavy jackets and scarfs. It is time to break out the light and lovely things of spring. We have snow in the forecast again, but I am going to ignore that.

I have been looking through my designs to see if anything that I have written for winter could be double purposed as a summer wrap. I have a couple that, I think, will do very well in a lighter colour and a cotton blend or bamboo yarn.

The first one is a paid pattern, Simple Stripes Wrap, that is an easy knit with a touch of simple blossom lace for the border. The main wrap is knit lengthwise which is my favourite way to work a long piece. I get so bored working side to side that I usually end up with a wrap that is too short to drape properly.

I think that this pattern will look lovely knit up in a light colour with pastel stripes, maybe cream with peach to light blue or white with dark yellow to mauve. A gradient for the stripes will be very pretty too.

My next choice for a light summer wrap is my Latte Scarf (free pattern, even better). Even though I called it a scarf, with a couple of pattern repeats, it will work very well as a shawl. This one is made with one Caron Cake but, I think, will look lovely made with a single colour bamboo, cotton blend, or acrylic. Any yarn that will give you a nice drape when blocked will work great. You will need to increase the amount of yarn that you use to about 400m from the 350m that are included in the Cake.

I hope that you are inspired to get out the needles and give either of these a try. Both are worked with larger than normal needles, 6mm and 6.5mm respectively so are a little bit faster to work up than your average lace shawl.

Thanks for reading and have a happy week filled with yarny, crafty goodness.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Curved Shoulder Scarf for Spring

Iris Rose

I know that I have been missing for the last couple of weeks, my apologies. Sometimes life just takes over and leaves little time for the fun stuff.

I have a free pattern on Ravelry that has been very popular and deserves another feature here for you. It is a very easy shoulder scarf that is perfect to keep the chill off when you are wearing your pretty sundress or tank top.

I have knit this up in worsted weight, both light and heavy, in a couple of colours and like each one. I rated this one as easy to make and it is actually a pretty quick knit as well. I think that it would look lovely in a soft and fuzzy yarn as well.

Change up the lace for a different look. There are a ton of antique lace patterns out there that could easily be substituted for the one I used.

This curved shoulder scarf is shaped with short rows and decreases and edged with old fashioned garter lace which is knit first. I used a diamond edging but any 12 row garter lace edging up to about 15 stitches wide could be substituted. Please note there are now two different garter edges at the top of the scarf; one is straight and the alternate curved to cover the ends of the lace.

Needles: 6.5mm (US 10.5), 80cm (32”) circular needle, two stitch markers.

Yarn: any worsted weight yarn. I have used DK to the heavy worsted pictured above.

Abbreviations:
K = knit P = purl

K2Tog = knit 2 stitches together

K3Tog = knit 3 stitches together

YO = yarn over

W&T = wrap and turn, turn work, slip the last unworked stitch onto the left hand needle, bring the yarn to front, slip the stitch back to the right needle and bring the yarn to the back, reverse front to back on purl rows.

Diamond Garter Lace Edging:
Cast on 9 stitches
R1: K3, (K2Tog, YO) x 2, K1, YO, K1
R2: (K1, P1) x 3, K4
R3: K2, (K2Tog, YO) x 2, K3, YO, K1
R4: K1, P1, K3, P1, K1, P1, K3
R5: K1, (K2Tog, YO) x 2, K5, YO, K1
R6: K1, P1, K5, P1, K1, P1, K2
R7: K3, (YO, K2Tog) x 2, K1, K2Tog, YO, K2Tog
R8: K1, P1, K3, P1, K1, P1, K3
R9: K4, YO, K2Tog, YO, K3Tog, YO, K2Tog
R10: (K1, P1) x 3, K4
R11: K5, YO, K3Tog, YO, K2Tog
R12: (K1, P1) x2, K5

Work 21 repeats of the edging, cast off with row 12 of final repeat and leave the last stitch on the needle.

Body of scarf:
Pick up and knit 125 stitches along top edge of diamond lace (126 stitches total including the one on your needle to start). If you pick up one stitch between each knot at edging row ends, you will have a smooth join. If you pick up in the knots, you will have a seam.

R1: Wrong side of work, purl all stitches.
R2: K1, (YO, K2Tog) to last stitch, K1.
R3: Purl all stitches, placing a marker after 42 and 84 stitches, dividing the work into 3 equal sections. This is where you will decrease to shape the shoulders.
R4: Knit to 1st marker, slip marker and work a left leaning decrease by slipping the two stitches after the marker knitwise, slipping them back to the left needle and knitting them together. Knit to 2 stitches before the next marker, knit these 2 stitches together for a right leaning decrease and slip marker. You will work every right side row this way until 22 stitches remain between the markers. Knit to 37 stitches after the last marker, wrap and turn (W&T).
R5: Purl across working 37 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R6: Knit to 1st marker, decreasing between the markers as described in R4, knit 32 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R7: Purl across working 32 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R8: Knit to 1st marker, decreasing between the markers as described in R4, knit 27 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R9: Purl across working 27 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R10: Knit to 1st marker, decreasing between the markers as described in R4, knit 22 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R11: Purl across working 22 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R12: Knit to 1st marker, decreasing between the markers as described in R4, knit 17 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R13: Purl across working 17 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R14: Knit to 1st marker, decreasing between the markers as described in R4, knit 12 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R15: Purl across working 12 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R16: Knit to 1st marker, decreasing between the markers as described in R4, knit 7 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R17: Purl across working 7 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R18: Knit to 1st marker, decreasing between the markers as described in R4, knit 2 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R19: Purl across working 2 stitches after the last marker, W&T.
R20: Knit to end picking up the wraps at W&T and decreasing at the markers.
R21: Purl across to end picking up the wraps at W&T. If you are going to knit the Alternate Edge, cut your yarn here, leaving all of your stitches on the needle and go to the Alternate Edge Instructions at the end of the pattern.
R22: Knit across, decreasing between the markers and removing the markers as you go. 106 stitches remain on your needle.
R23: Knit (wrong side).
R24: (K8, K2Tog) x 10, K6. (96 stitches remain)
R25-27: Knit.
Cast off loosely, weave in ends and block. I always give my knitting a good tug in all directions before blocking to even out the stitches, a throw back to when I learned to machine knit.

Alternate Edge: See note below
R22: With the right side of your scarf facing you, start at the bottom edge of the lace and pick up and knit 12 stitches along the side (9 on the lace and 3 on the body of the scarf). Continue knitting the stitches that are on your needle, decreasing between the markers and removing the markers as you work. Pick up and knit 12 stitches across the end of the scarf (3 on the body and 9 on the lace). (130 stitches)
R23: Knit all stitches.
R24: K19, K2 Tog, (K8, K2Tog) x 9, K19 (120 stitches).
R25-27: Knit.
Cast off loosely, weave in ends and block.
Note: If you are using a yarn without much stretch, you should increase 1 stitch on R24 between stitches 11 and 12 and in the same place at the other end to allow your edge to curve when blocked without pulling.