Glittering party scarf

I knit this scarf for my sister as a small thanks for her almost limitless endurance and understanding when it comes to my knitting obsession. She's not that much interested in knitting herself, but always gladly accompanies me to my frequent trips to yarn stores.

I actually have a lot to be thankful for because her understanding almost came to an end on our recent trip to Gran Canaria. Naturally I had managed to find the address of the presumably only yarn store on the whole island; Palacio de las Lanas in Las Palmas. On a map the distance to the store from the bus station looked fairly manageable by foot, about 2-3 km. What I hadn't accounted for was that half of that distance was up a rather steep hill. So after walking an hour in the hot midday sun, on the brink of dehydration and still nowhere near the store we finally had the common sense to take a taxi. I bought the Gatsby yarn from the store.

Luckily my sister has since forgiven me my knitterly eccentricities yet again. Until next time that is.


Pattern:

Size: About 175 x 13 cm

Yarn: Katia Gatsby (77 % viscose, 15 % nylon, 8 % polyester, 118 m per 50 g ball), color 16 (red), 2 balls (100 g), about 236 m

Needles: 5,0 mm

Unfortunately I forgot to measure gauge before giving this to my sister but since this is a scarf it's not that essential anyway


Pattern notes:

I'm sure this scarf would look nice knitted with any type of yarn. I chose this stitch pattern so that when using synthetic fibres it will still look open and lacy even without blocking.

If you end up using Gatsby, please beware that it's a very slippery yarn. It falls off the needles rather easily.

Making the scarf thinner or wider is rather easy. Just start with an even stitch count.



Cast on 30 stitches. Knit 8 rows of garter stitch.

Row 1 (elongated stitches): knit, wrapping yarn 2 times around needle

Row 2 (crossing stitches as you go): *Keeping all the stitches on the left needle, knit the second stitch. Knit first stitch on the needle, slip both stitches off.* Repeat * - * to end of row, 15 crossed stitches.

Row 3: knit

Row 4: knit

Repeat rows 1 to 4 until your scarf is long enough or you're starting to run out of yarn.

Knit 6 rows of garter stitch.

Bind off.

Weave in ends.

Go party!

Stripes sweater

This sweater is actually the first knitting pattern I've designed from scratch all by myself (Bella-shawl came later). The inspiration for the stitch pattern came from the Show-Off Ruffle Skirt in Lace style. I kept thinking about how nice that twisted-rib pattern looked and how well it would fit a sweater. I happened to have the Gong-yarn in my stash in a beautiful red and I realized that the yarn and the idea went together perfectly. So Stripes began. It was exiting and scary at the same time. I had no idea where I would end up. I had the picture of the sweater as I would have liked it to be in my head and I tried to reach that idea while knitting. Luckily the top turned out better than I could have ever hoped for. It's one of my favourites now.

I finished the sweater almost a year ago and, with my notes, I'm trying to write the pattern as best I can. Determining the original gauge (since I didn't write down the right one) from the sweater which I've worn many times, was especially a drag. But I've calculated the figures all over again and with these stitch counts and the gauge I've given, you should reach a top with the given measurements. If you find any mistakes, please let me know.


Pattern:

Size: Chest 102 cm, waist 90 cm, length of body 53 cm, (hem to armholes 38 cm), sleeves 33 cm. I'll draw a diagram once I get around to it.

Yarn: Ornaghi Filati Gong, (100% mercerized cotton, 130 m per 50 g ball), color 516 (red), 10 balls (500 g), about 1300 m.

Needles: 3,0 mm circulars or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 25 sts / 38 rows in twisted-rib pattern = 10 cm

You also need 2 stitch markers.


Pattern notes:

I almost run out of yarn while knitting this. I maybe had 5 g of the last ball left. To be on the safe side, you should probably preserve an extra ball of yarn for the project.

Gong is a typical mercerized cotton yarn with no special qualities. Substituting the yarn should be rather easy.

I intentionally knitted the top with smaller needles than were recommended for the yarn to avoid the fabric becoming sloppy when worn.

My chest measures about 108 cm and my waist 96 cm on a good day, so the top should have a bit of negative ease to it. The top does stretch a little.

So far I only have this one size. I might add others in the future. If you need help in adjusting the size to fit you, please contact me and I'd be happy to help.


Abbreviations:

k= knit
p= purl
k2tog= knit 2 together
p2tog= purl 2 together
ssk= slip, slip, knit
RS= right side
WS= wrong side


The top is knitted in one piece in the round from the hem to the armholes. After this, the front and back are knitted separately with raglan decreases for the sleeves. After knitting the sleeves, they are attached to the body. With the stitches of both body and sleeves, a neckband is knitted to the sweater.

Important note: The back is slightly longer than the front. Also, to match this, the sleeve caps are longer from the other side.


Body:

Cast on 256 stitches. Join to work in the round. Knit one round in [k1, p1] pattern, without twisting the stitches. At the same time, mark the first knitted stitch as the beginning of the round. Also mark the 129th stitch (a knitted st) as the other side "seam". The stitch markers should now have 128 stitches in between them.

Rounds 2 to 8: *k1 through back loop, p1*, repeat to end of round.

Round 9: *k1 through back loop, p3*, repeat to end of round, 64 times in total.



Continue with the established pattern until the body measures 10 cm.

Start waist shaping:

Row 1: *Knit (through back loop) the marked stitch, p2tog, p1, continue in the twisted rib pattern as established until you are 2 stitches away from the second marked stitch, p2tog.* Repeat once. 4 stitches decreased.

Row 2: Knit row in pattern.

Row 3: *Knit (through back loop) the marked stitch, p2tog, continue in the twisted rib pattern as established until you are 2 stitches away from the second marked stitch, p2tog.* Repeat once. 4 stitches decreased.

Row 4: Knit row in pattern.

Row 5: *Knit (through back loop) the marked stitch, k2tog, continue in the twisted rib pattern as established until you are 2 stitches away from the second marked stitch, ssk.* Repeat once. 4 stitches decreased.

Row 6: knit row in pattern until you are 1 stitch away from the beginning of the round.

Row 7: *slip 2 stitches to the right needle as if to knit, k1, pass the 2 slipped stitches over the knitted stitch. Continue in the twisted rib pattern as established until you are 1 stitch away from the second marked stitch.* Repeat once. 4 stitches decreased.

Row 8: knit row in pattern.

Repeat rows 1 to 8 of the waist shaping once more. 32 stitches/8 twisted stitch stripes decreased. 224 stitches in total.



Continue in pattern until the top measures 25 cm.

Start the increases:

Row 1: *make 1 stitch before the marker, knit marked stitch through back loop. Make 1 stitch. Continue in pattern to the next marker* Repeat. 4 stitches increased.

Row 2: Continue in pattern. Knit the stitches added in the previous row through back loop.

Rows 3, 5 and 7: repeat row 1.

Rows 4, 6, 8: Continue in pattern. Purl the stitches added in the previous row.

Repeat rows 1 to 8 of the waist increases one more time. 32 stitches/8 twisted stitch stripes increased. 256 stitches in total.



Continue in pattern until the body measures 38 cm. Knit the last row until you are 4 stitches from the marked knit stitch and the begin of the round.

Start the armhole shaping and the raglan decreases. From now on the front and back will be knitted separately:

*Bind off 9 stitches (4 st on both sides of the marked stitch + the marked stitch)*, continue in pattern, until you are 4 stitches away from the next marked stitch. Repeat *-*. Continue in pattern to end of row.

Back:

Leave the sts of the front on holder. From now on, on WS rows, purl the twisted sts from back loop.

Turn, bind off 2 stitches. Continue in pattern to end. Turn, bind off 2 stitches, continue to end. Turn, knit 1 row in pattern. 115 sts.

Begin raglan shaping:

Row 1: P1, k1 from back loop, p2tog. Continue in pattern until you are 4 sts from the end of round, p2tog, k1 from back loop, p1.

Row 2 and all even rounds: continue in pattern

Row 3 and 5: repeat row 1

Row 7: P1, ssk. Continue in pattern until you are 3 st from the end of round, k2tog, p1.

Continue the 8 row repeat of the raglan decreases 6 times more. 28 decreases/side, 56 stitches decreased. Leave the stitches (59) on holder.

Front:

With right side facing, attach yarn. Bind off 2 stitches, continue in pattern to end. Turn, bind off 2 stitches, continue in pattern to end.

Next row, begin raglan shaping as in the back. Repeat the raglan decreases 6 times in total (1 repeat less than in the back.) 24 decreases/side, 48 sts decreased. Leave sts (67) on holder.



Sleeves:

Cast on 63 stitches.

Row 1: p1, *k1, p1*, repeat *-* to end.

Rows 2 to 8: p1, *k1 through back loop, p1*, repeat *-* to end.

Row 9: p1, *k1 through back loop, p3*, repeat *-* (15 times) until 2 sts remain, k1 through back loop, p1.

Continue in pattern for 10 cm. Start the increases: p1, make 1 st, knit in pattern until 1 st remains, make 1 st, p1. Increase stitches at both sides of the piece every 8 rows 9 more times. Knit the increased stitches in pattern. 20 sts increased, 83 sts.

Knit in pattern until sleeve measures 33 cm. Begin the armhole and raglan shaping. Bind off 4 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows. Bind off 2 stitches at the beginning of the following 2 rows. 12 stitches decreased, 71 sts.

Begin raglan decreases at the next row in the same manner as in the back. Decrease 1 st at each end of the sleeve every 2 rows 4 times. Then decrease 1 st every 4 rows 10 times. 14 decreases, 28 stitches decreased, 43 sts.

WS: Knit 1 row in pattern.

On the next right side row bind off 11 sts. Knit in pattern to end until 4 sts remain. P2tog, k1 through back loop, p1. 31 sts.

WS: Knit 1 row in pattern.

RS: Bind off 11 sts, knit in pattern to end. 20 sts

WS: Knit in pattern.

RS: Bind off 11 sts, knit in pattern until 3 sts remain, k2tog, p1. 8 sts.

WS: Knit in pattern.

Bind off remaining 8 sts.

Knit the other sleeve in the same way, until you have made all the raglan decreases.

Next row (WS): Bind off 11 sts. Knit in pattern to end. 32 sts

RS: p1, k1 through back loop, p2tog. Knit in pattern to end. 31 sts

WS: Bind off 11 sts. Knit in pattern to end. 20 sts

RS: p1, ssk, knit in pattern to end. 19 sts

WS: Bind off 11 sts. 8 sts remain

RS + WS: knit in pattern.

Bind off last 8 stitches.


Finishing:

Block pieces to measurements.

Sew the raglan seams, matching the twisted stitch stripes of the body and sleeves. Make sure you also match the back of body to the longer side of the sleeves. You can also sew the sleeve seams or leave it for later.


Knit neckband:

Attaching the yarn and marking the first knitted stitch as beginning of round, pick up the 59 stitches of the back, which were left on holder earlier. Pick up 1 stitch for every stitch of the sleeve (43 sts). Pick up the stithes of the front (67) and again 43 sts of the sleeve. You should have 212 sts.

Begin round from the marked knitted st with *[k1 through back loop, p1]. Knit like this until the first raglan seam. P2tog the 2 purl stitches there.* Repeat *-* to end of row. 4 stitches decreased, 208 sts.

Knit in pattern for 6 more rows.

Bind off loosely in pattern.

Wear and enjoy!

Bella -shawl

This is the first pattern I've ever written, so if you have any suggestions for corrections about the pattern or the text, I'd be happy to hear them. Also let me know, if the charts are too small/large, or don't show off correctly.

I came up with this shawl inspired by the rectangular shawls in Victorian Lace Today. I'd been dreaming about designing a shawl for a while, but had to admit, that designing a triangular shawl went way over my head. So when I realized, that shawls could be constructed like this as well (not much of an epiphany as epiphanies go :) ) Bella got started. The actual designing was surprisingly easy. I already had an idea what the shawl should look like and the rest was just about finding the right patterns to suit that idea. For yarn I chose Wetterhoff's Silvia, which is definitely one of my favourite laceweight yarns. I named the shawl Bella, because I knitted most of it watching "Mi gorda bella", a Venezuelan telenovela that I'm completely addicted to.

But enough with the ranting and on to the


Pattern:


Size: About 170 x 70 cm

Yarn: 3 skeins/150 g Wetterhoff Silvia (70 % wool, 30 % silk), colour 917 (red). About 500 m/skein, which makes 1500 m for the whole project.

Or similar laceweight yarn.

3,5 mm (80 cm circular) needles.

3 mm crochet hook for the edging


(Notes about altering the shawl's length to your liking:

To lengthen or shorten the shawl, you can add or delete as many repeats of Chart A as you like. Chart A and the pattern repeat of Chart B are both dividable by 8, so the stitch count will always match. You just have to pick up 24 stitches more or less for each repeat of Chart A you add or delete.)


Click the charts to make them larger.


Now let's take a look at how the shawl is constructed:


Chart A is knitted first. Then, according to Chart B, the centre is knitted to the side of A. Lastly Chart A is knitted again, knitting the stitches of the last row of B together with A, one at a time.


CO loosely 73 stitches. Purl 1 row.

Work the 48 row repeat of Chart A 12 times. Bind of loosely, matching the tension of the CO row. Cut yarn.


Now, with right side facing pick up the slip stitches of the straight side of the piece you've just knitted as well as 1 extra stitch from the CO and BO rows. You should have 290 stitches. Purl 1 row.

Start with row 1 of Chart B. Repeat the 8 stitch repeat, indicated with red borders in the chart, a total of 35 times. Work the 8 row repeat of chart B 4 times.


Knit 1 row.

Keeping the 290 stitches on the needle (and without cutting the yarn), CO loosely 73 stitches. Purl 1 row. Work the 48 row repeat of Chart A for 12 times. On the WS rows, knit 1 shawl stitch together with the last stitch of Chart A, as indicated in the chart. BO loosely, matching the tension of the CO row.


If you want, you can crochet a picot edging to both ends of the shawl. Make sure that you crochet the edge loosely. Otherwise you'll have trouble when you block the shawl.

Attach yarn, *3 sc, 3 ch, 1 sl st to the first ch.* Repeat to end, 3 sc. Cut yarn. Crochet similar edging to the other end.



Block to measurements.