Showing posts with label Benwick. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Benwick. Show all posts

11 February 2016

Pattern: Benwick


Benwick on Ravelry $8 (no account necessary)

To celebrate the publication of Benwick (and Valentine's Day), use code persuasion2016 at checkout to receive 20% off this pattern, as well as my favorite Persuasion-inspired patterns, A Vest for Charles, An Aran for Anne, and An Aran for Frederick, from 11-14 February 2016.

[Captain Benwick] had an affectionate heart. He must love somebody. 
—Chapter 18, Persuasion, Jane Austen

Louisa Musgrove takes the air on the Cobb. She has finally recovered from her interesting illness and is escorted, of course, by Captain Benwick. A passing breeze gives our invalid a chill. Our gallant captain wraps his coat around her shoulders. How very interesting she is! And how ready to fall in love is he!

Far from an exact replica of naval dress, this cardigan nods to Royal Navy uniforms with it's epaulet-like braids and clean front closure. It is also trimmed with matching braids at the collar, cuffs, and hem. In a nod to all the love Captain Benwick has to give, there is a heart on the sleeve.

Feel like the heroine in your own novel!



What you'll love about knitting Benwick:
  • Seamless saddle-shoulder construction is so much fun to knit - you'll feel so clever using the specified decreases to set in the sleeve and make a saddle for each shoulder
  • Matching braid at collar, cuffs, hem, cardigan fronts, and epaulets are delighfully matchy-matchy and a good excuse to practice cabling without a cable needle
  • Who doesn't want to knit a heart on their sleeve? This one makes clever use of increases to make a lovely heart
  • Finishing work is modest: seam up the sleeves (or work them in the round if your gauge is similar working flat vs. in the round), weave together the underarms, and sew on those hooks and eyes

What you'll love about wearing Benwick:
  • You've got your heart on your sleeve!
  • Matchy-matchy cables makes everything look sharp
  • Hook-and-eye front closures are crisp and elegant



Size/Finished Measurements
32 (34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44) inches bust circumference, closed. Shown in size 36-inch with two inches negative ease

Materials
  • Seven Sisters Arts Nova (100% Bluefaced Leicester; 200 yds [183 m]/4 oz [113 g]): cobalt, 5 (6, 6, 7, 7, 7, 8) skeins {approx. 900 (950, 1050, 1150, 1200, 1300, 1400 yds}
  • Size 6 (4 mm): 29-inch circular (cir) needle (ndl)
  • Markers (m)
  • Cable needle (cn)
  • Removable stitch markers (rm)
  • Stitch holders or waste yarn
  • Tapestry needle
  • 7 hook-and-eye sets, sharp-point sewing needle, and matching thread

Gauge
20 stitches x 30 rows = 4 inches square in Stockinette St.

Skills Needed
  • casting on
  • binding off
  • knitting
  • purling
  • increasing
  • decreasing
  • working stitches out of order (otherwise known as cabling)
  • following charts



Thanks!
Previously published in: Jane Austen Knits, Fall 2013
Photography: Angela Lee

Everything you need to create your own beautiful Benwick is provided in the professionally designed (by me!) pattern.



Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

14 October 2015

Rhinebeck? Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck!

It's that time of year - the last big fiber festival is this weekend up in Duchess County, New York! New York Sheep & Wool Festival is an annual get-together of fiber folks from the farmers who tend the lovely creatures giving us wool, alpaca, cashmere, mohair, etc. to the dyers and spinners who turn fiber into yarn to all of us fiber lovers, whether we "just" knit or crochet or weave or are designers and "industry" folk.

I wasn't able to go last year (due to some not-fun stuff) so am extra excited to get up there this year for cider donuts, turning leaves, staring at sheep, and trying to decide which yarn HAS to come home with me (um, all of it).

My plan is to drive up Saturday morning and do the Ravelry meetup at noon. I'll be at that meetup on Sunday, too, because it's so much fun to see all the knitters. The rest of the time I plan to visit the sheep, fondle the yarn, hang with my dear friend/former roomie, and hug all the people I don't see often enough. I'm also going to talk with a small group of knitters my friend is bringing up on Sunday morning.

If you will be there, I'd love to see you! I will try to do a Periscope broadcast or two, if Verizon puts out a decent signal. Otherwise, I'll take some videos and post them on YouTube.

Now to just decide what to wear to what someone on the Rhinebeck Ravelry forum called "Yarn Prom"! Here's what I'm thinking...

Saturday: Benwick

Hoping I will have finished my Benwick cardigan (working on the shoulder shaping now) to wear on Saturday. It should be cool and sunny according to my weather app, so a fitted, worsted-weight sweater seems like it will work. And once the sample is knitted up, I'll be able to publish my version of the pattern for you!

Hoping the me-sized Benwick will be ready for Saturday
This is the original from Jane Austen Knits 2013

Sunday: Caught in the Rigging

It's supposed to be chilly on Sunday, so something like Wavelette with Caught in the Rigging on top. "Layers" is always a good game plan for things like this. Plus, it will be fun to take Caught in the Rigging back to where she originated (I bought the yarn from Miss Babs in 2013). Wavelette is a fingering-weight pullover, which seems like it will give me the right amount of wool with some ventilation from the lace. Thistle Leaf Pullover is my other thought, though its shorter sleeves might leave me chilly, or maybe Bloc Pulli with those orange cuffs peeking out.

I'm thinking Caught in the Rigging cape for Sunday (high of 48F!)
I'll probably bring my red boots, too, since there's a chance of rain :)

Will I see you this weekend? Let me know in the comments or just say "hi!" on the Fairgrounds. I can hardly wait!!!

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,

09 June 2015

Benwick Cardigan KAL

As I look ahead to the rest of the year, I see that it is time to self-publish my lovely Benwick Cardigan. But! I can't fit into the wee sample originally published in Jane Austen Knits, Fall 2013. What's a designer to do? Well, I could hire a model or buy a sample-sized dress form or knit one for myself. While I live uptown from ModelLand, at this point I prefer to model my designs, since they are very personal. Living in a New York City apartment, I'm not exactly keen on adding more stuff to the apartment. So, knitting one for me it is!


The original pattern was worked in String Theory's DK yarn, which was lovely to work with, though possibly on the challenging side to photograph. String Theory's two dyers decided to go their separate ways last year, and one of the dyers remained "String Theory", while the other formed a new dye studio called Seven Sisters Arts. I plan to knit the new Benwick in SSA's Corona DK.


There are quite a few special touches to Benwick:
  • Aran braids (same stitch pattern) along horizontal and vertical edges, as well as in epaulet form on the shoulder saddles
  • Hook-and-eye closures harken back to Regency-era Naval wear
  • Heart on your sleeve
  • Saddle shoulder construction
  • Crisp collar
  • Straight fit to the body, though waist shaping could be worked here if desired
  • Body and sleeves are worked flat for gauge consistency, while the saddle shoulder yoke joins sleeves and body together seamlessly



So, who wants a Benwick of their very own? I'd love some company in a knitalong as I work up my own sample. The Jane Austen Knits version of the pattern is currently available from Interweave here*. It may take me a bit to get my yarn and begin (we've got some upcoming travel plans that are not conducive to having a pile of wool in my lap), so we have a few weeks to get ourselves sorted.

Let me know in the comments below, via email at kathleendames at gmail dot com, or on Ravelry, if you'd care to join me.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,





*That is an affiliate link for Interweave, from which I will earn a micropayment if you purchase the pattern through that link. I only provide affiliate links to items of mine that you cannot get through my Ravelry store. You can easily bypass the link by typing "Benwick pattern" into your favorite search engine.

03 July 2014

A Vest for Charles + Benwick now available from Interweave as individual downloads

A Vest for Charles and Benwick are now available from Interweave as individual downloads, and it looks like they are on sale at the moment.

A Vest for Charles - download from Interweave

Benwick - download from Interweave


For those of you who are kind enough to worry, please know that I do receive a royalty on all patterns sold by Interweave. However, I will sell my own versions of these patterns once the exclusivity term is up, which will be late Fall 2014, at which point I will make them available on Craftsy, Etsy, and, of course, Ravelry.

04 October 2013

Jane Austen Knits 2013

Just when the birthday let-down was kicking in, along comes the new Jane Austen Knits in which I have two patterns for you! The 2013 issue is now available for preorder, and printed copies will arrive in November.

A Vest for Charles
A Vest for Charles, Jane Austen Knits 2013, photo © Christa Tippmann
Inspired by the knit-purl patterns on the vest (a henley-style pullover, really) worn by King Charles I, this button-front vest is worked all in one piece from hem to neck. Finished off with short row shaping and three-needle bindoffs at the shoulders, this one is truly seamless. I loved working with Brooklyn Tweed's Shelter again and am looking forward to making one for myself. Care to join me in a KAL?

A Vest for Charles, Jane Austen Knits 2013, photo © Christa Tippmann
Isn't the model a handsome example of an Austen man? As always the JAK staff have done a lovely job of bringing this issue together.

A Vest for Charles, Jane Austen Knits 2013, photo © Christa Tippmann

King Charles Brocade pattern above the welting, diamonds and crosses below, with seed stitch edging everywhere. I found the lovely leather buttons at Mood and got to give Swatch a scratch behind the ears.

A Vest for Charles details
Finished Size: 32 (36, 40, 44, 48, and 52)" chest circumference, buttoned. Vest shown measures 36".
Yarn: Brooklyn Tweed, Shelter (100% Wool; 140 yds/50g skein): #08 truffle hunt, 4 (5, 6, 7, 8, 9) skeins.
Needles: Size 6 (4.0 mm): 29" circular. A second needle of the same size is helpful for three-needle bindoff.
Notions: Markers; stitch holders or waste yarn; tapestry needle; 10 (11, 11, 12, 13, 14) buttons.

Benwick
Who doesn't have a soft spot for the sad, romantic Captain Benwick in Persuasion? I reimagined what a naval captain's coat might look like when worn by Louisa Musgrove: braided edging and epaulets, seamless saddle-shoulder construction, and a heart on one sleeve.

Benwick, Jane Austen Knits 2013, photo © Christa Tippmann
This time I got to use String Theory's lovely Merino DK yarn. So soft yet nicely plied - a real pleasure to work with. Sometimes I love the crazy variegated colorways you find in hand-dyed yarn, but this time it was the subtle gradations that created little highlights in the cables that made me so very happy. The Cobalt colorway captures that Regency Navy and looks beautiful doing it. String Theory is extra-special for me, as they are in Blue Hill, Maine.

Benwick, Jane Austen Knits 2013, photo © Christa Tippmann
 I think I'm going to need one of these for myself, too, so let me know if you are interested in a KAL for this, too.

Benwick, Jane Austen Knits 2013,  photo © Christa Tippmann

Benwick details
Finished Size: 32 (34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44)" bust circumference, closed. Cardigan shown measures 32".
Yarn: String Theory, Merino DK (100% Superwash Wool; 240 yds/4 oz skein): cobalt, 4 (5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 7) skeins.
Needles: Size 6 (4.0 mm): 29" circular. 
Notions: Markers; coil-less safety pins or removable stitch markers; stitch holders or waste yarn; tapestry needle; 7 hook-and-eyes, sewing thread to match yarn, and sewing needle.

Jane Austen Knits 2013 will arrive at your LYS in November (or in your mailbox if you preorder), but you can get the digital edition now in the Interweave shop. Having had a brief chance to flip through the digital edition, I have to say my queue is about to get a bit longer! And don't get me started on the article on Dorset buttons. I showed it to Nick and he said "Well, that's right up your alley."

Happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen