Showing posts with label Knitty. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Knitty. Show all posts

11 June 2014

Pattern: Bloc Party cardigan, Knitty, First Fall 2014

Today is a frabjuous day, calloo callay: I have a new pattern to share with you in the First Fall 2014 issue of Knitty (or, more accurately, KnittySpin)! Bloc Party cardigan is a fingering-weight button-up with a sideways yoke knit in the most divine handspun (courtesy of my talented friend Anne of Wooly Wonka).



There's some clever short-row action in the yoke to shape it up over the shoulders, but don't worry if you've never done short rows: in this garter stitch yoke you don't even have to wrap the stitches! The body is knit simply (no shaping, but you could add your own; however, the Wooly Wonka Artio Sock with its gleaming silk content drapes so beautifully that you don't really need it), and the sleeves, as written, are 3/4 to add a little femininity (again, you could make the sleeves longer - up to you).


So, you start with the sleeves and body at the lower hems and knit your way up to join them. There's an integrated button band.


Then the yoke is worked sideways, nipping off a body stitch every other row. Your finishing work consists of sleeve seams (if I'm working a cardigan flat, I work the sleeves flat, too, to make sure my gauge is consistent), weaving underarm stitches, and putting on some fabulous buttons.


Can you believe those buttons?! They are a perfect, sparkly, purple match for this sweater. I found them on one of my button hunts early this spring at M&J Trimming. The purple sparklers don't seem to be available online, but lots of other options are (and check out my vintage and handmade button treasuries on Etsy. If you want to go on a button hunt with me sometime, let me know. I'd be happy to put together a little tour of my favorites (check in later this week for my newest discovery).


And then you'll be ready to party!

Anne has created kits if you want to spin and knit your own. She's even been kind enough to offer a kit with commercially spun yarn for the yoke, if you're not a handspinner (and aren't lucky enough to convince your bud to spin some for you :)

Backstory
I showed a version of Bloc Party to Anne back when it was in commercial yarn (Jaggerspun Maine Line in Pewter and Madeline Tosh Sock in the Rhubarb colorway, which was the impetus for this design - how could I best show off this beautiful and highly variegated yarn?!). As a talented dyer and spinner, her mind immediately jumped to how great this design would work with handspun. I'd submitted it to Knitty in it's colorful iteration, but Amy thought it might have more appeal in a more moderate version. So, Anne, Amy, KnittySpin editor extraordinaire Jillian, and I put our heads together and came up with this. I love my original, but there is something so special about this version with it's beautiful color and luscious silk - party shoes are definitely required!

27 October 2010

I'm in!

Yes, a sweater design of mine will appear in the Deep Winter issue of Knitty! As you might imagine, I am beyond thrilled. Details will have to remain under wraps until January, but I hope it is well received and leads to more good things.

Speaking of online knitting magazines, have you seen Tangled? They're bi-craftual (knitting and crochet). Good-looking patterns, some free; sweaters look to come in four sizes and cost $6.50; accessories are $5. Neat stuff with yarn made from t-shirts called "Tarn". I thought the skirt pattern in knit or crochet was pretty interesting.

If that weren't enough, Ennea Collective also recently joined the interwebs. Their focus is on knitting, spinning, and weaving, really on using handspun in knitting and weaving projects, and they are based in Canada, so prices are $CAD. Beautiful shawls are $7.50, accessories are $4 (mitts, cowl), and there is a free phone cozy pattern. Interesting articles about spinning and fiber, as well as a weaving calculator. Their second issue is coming in December, so it looks like they will be a quarterly. E.T.A. Whoops! They publish bi-monthly.

I'm really happy to see more online publications join Knitty and Twist Collective and thrilled to see more patterns offered for sale. Free patterns are all well and good, but if our craft is to progress, we need to start supporting the creatives. Self-serving? Perhaps, but I'm pretty sure I'd still be upset by the way some publications treat their talent, even if I weren't designing. It's a complicated issue, no?

In other news, I'm working on the Twitter sweater and think I've gotten the sleeve volume I'm looking for. Not as voluminous as the original, since I'd like to wear this more than once, but still, I think the inspiration will come across. Once I finish the sleeve I'll snap a shot, so you can see, too. ... Just realized that I didn't tag some tweets with the #kdsweater tag, so I have to figure out what to do about that. I plan to gather the sweater tweets once a week and make a blog post, so they'll be easier to find in the future (when I'm famous, ha).

And I've got to see about another skein of Berocco Vintage for my new nephew's gift.

The kitteh-ns are settling in nicely. Little George slept next to me most of the night rather than under the couch. And Henry waits to catch my eye for a shoulder cuddle - he's not a lap cat but a shoulder cat.