Dunbar’s Point Mittens
Comments (15)Do any of you have a signature color? One to which you faithfully return even despite your best efforts? My friend Danielle does, I’ll let you guess what color it could be. A few weeks ago, Danielle accepted a great job offer after a long and frustrating hunt for the perfect position. I am really proud of her for landing the job for which she worked so doggedly. This clearly called for some celebratory knitting, and I had the perfect yarn on top of my stash: some leftover scraps from a project with Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes in Petunia. I didn’t quite have enough yarn for full-sized mittens, but I knew I could eke out a nice pair of fingerless mittens with what I had (about 120 yards).
Dunbar’s Point Mittens are basic stockinette, fingerless mittens with simple lace edgings knitted on afterwards. The pattern offers photo tutorials of a provisional lace cast-on and the knitted attachment of the edging. Dunbar’s Point provides the opportunity to learn and practice new techniques in a small, unintimidating setting.
Both seamless and fairly easy, this is a perfect project for using up scraps too big to throw out and too little for much else. Plus, the knitting flies by rapidly – I knitted the pair in one evening, then attached the edgings the next evening.
Although I considered using lace edgings on the thumb, I decided against it to give the thumbs need more freedom. After all, these should be useful, not just pretty.
I hope these will serve Danielle well in her brand new office. At the very least, I feel fairly confident they will match whatever she’s wearing on any given day. Good luck on your first day, Danielle!
Hallett’s Ledge
Didn’t I tell you twist collective’s Fall 2010 issue would be amazing? If you have not yet seen the 30 beautiful patterns, I encourage you to check them out! I feel so honored that my latest design, Hallett’s Ledge, is included among them. Allow me to share some of twist’s photos, taken by the talented Jane Heller. Hallett’s Ledge is a modern interpretation of a fisherman-style sweater. It takes its name from a shoal in Nantucket Sound, off the southern coast of Cape Cod.
Copyright Jane Heller
Knitted in Rowan Felted Tweed Aran, Hallett’s Ledge is a tailored and textured women’s cardigan that will prove both interesting to knit and easy to wear. The garment employs ribbing below the empire waist, garter eyelet rows marking the empire waist and echoed at the elbow, and an interesting cable pattern at the bust, upper back, and upper arms. It is intended to be worn with about 2″ of positive ease at the bust.
Copyright Jane Heller
The body is worked in one piece from the bottom to the armholes, after which point the fronts and back are treated separately. The close fitting sleeves are knitted in the round to the armhole, and then the sleeve cap is worked flat and sewn into the body. The neck band and button bands are picked up and knitted onto the body.
Copyright Jane Heller
This was another project I swatched last fall, hoping to create a modern, flattering interpretation of an aran sweater for women. As you may know, it is my firmly held opinion that heavily cabled garments should be trim fitting, with as little excess fabric as possible, due to the weight and bulk of the cabled stitch pattern. After all, there is nothing worse than a heavy, droopy, bag-shaped, boxy sweater. Nothing!
Copyright Jane Heller
I received my yarn only days after learning we would be moving 800 miles away in less than a month’s time. Consequently, I did all of my math and worked out pattern sizing before we left, and knitted the bulk of the garment on the road between Kansas and Ohio. Let me tell you, this was the most compelling sight along the interminably dull trek!
The sweater itself knitted up quite quickly, although blocking took forever (DAYS!) because our washing machine had not yet been delivered to our new house. Who blocks the old-fashioned way? The spin cycle reduces drying time a hundred fold!
Of course, as with any ribbed garment, blocking is key. Look at the difference between the shriveled up in-progress body and the neatly blocked one.
Because the ribbing shrunk up so much on itself, I also aggressively pinned down the button bands.
The design element I love most about the garment is the centered cable running down the top of the sleeve. I love the symmetrical look of centered sleeve cables; consequently, I use them frequently.
As with the sleeves, the cabling on the upper back is also centered.
This requires a bit more math to set up the stitch pattern, but I feel it’s math worth doing. After all, I did not suffer through 7th grade algebra for nothing! Why didn’t anyone ever tell me algebra could be so handy?
Although I intended 2″ of positive ease at the bust for this cardigan, I had to try on my sample despite it being a size too small for me! As you can see, this is a much closer fit (roughly 1″ of negative ease at the bust) on me.
I do think the drape is better with positive ease, although your mileage may vary.
For more information about the pattern itself or to purchase a copy, please see the pattern page at twist collective. I hope you enjoy it! Please be sure to check out all the other lovely patterns, articles, and photos in the Fall 2010 issue. There are stunning works from many of my favorite designers in this issue!
New cowls: Mill Creek and Northumbria
Hello, there. Do you know you’re reading a knitting blog during the dog days of summer? What are you thinking??? If you are like me, you’re looking for some quick and easy projects to carry you through the remains of the summer before wool for fall sweaters lands with a thud on your doorstep.* I’d like to introduce two quick cowls to you, both made with lovely yarns, the first available in my pattern shop, and the second in the Fall 2010 issue of Knitscene. Perhaps they will do the trick. I hope you enjoy them!
Mill Creek Cowl is a simple lace cowl worked up with a 10-stitch lace repeat over 12 rounds. After ripping back once for not following my own instructions (it happens, I have trouble following directions), this knitted up quickly in a day or two. I used Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock, a 100% merino sock yarn that comes in delightful semi-solid shades. This is knitted in Sheridan Circle, which was a blue-green I just could not pass up. I cannot tell you how much I love it!
This is an excellent stashbusting project, for those of you with a spare 250 yards of sock yarn kicking around. What? No one has lonely sock yarns? Hmf! I don’t believe you.
Like most nice lace stitch patterns, this looks as good on the wrong side as it does on the right side, I think.
Beatrix definitely prefers the wrong side.
She likes to be contrary.
She also likes the cowl-as-snood look.
The second cowl, Northumbria Cowl, appears in Knitscene, Fall 2010 magazine.
Copyright Knitscene
The ribbed lace pattern is simple – very simple – but makes for a nice mindless project in an absolutely delightful yarn, madelinetosh pashmina.
Copyright Knitscene
Pashmina, a blend of 75% superwash merino wool, 15% silk, and 10% cashmere, produces a lovely knitted fabric; however, it is the dye that truly makes the yarn. I felt relieved that my cowl pattern was so simple, as I think a more complex stitch pattern would both be lost in and detract from the beautiful shading of the yarn.
This is shown in Ginger, a color that positively announces autumn! Track down some Pashmina for yourself, you will not regret it.
Finally, if you really are thinking about knitting at the peak of summer, be sure to check out my new sweater, Hallett’s Ledge, in the Fall 2010 issue of twist collective, which launches tomorrow! I cannot wait to see the whole issue! Judging from the list of contributors, I just know it will be a great one.
* Yes, I do patronize my LYSes, but the yarn I look forward to this fall is coming by truck, for better or worse.
Point Gammon Pullover
Last winter, back when I was really pregnant, hopped up on hormones, and a little bit crazy, I sketched out 483902734890294023573489573489 ideas for future knitting patterns. Next, I proceeded to do something a woman preparing for many sleepless months with a newborn and a likely move thereafter should not have considered: I submitted several full-sized sweater ideas along with a battery of stranded mittens and hats. I don’t know what I was thinking, but fortunately (and, quite miraculously), everything worked out well.
Copyright Interweave Knits
Point Gammon Pullover, published in Interweave Knits, Fall 2010, is the first in a series of works that will appear in the coming months, the result of my knitting in the middle of the night with a new baby, en route to medical school interviews, and while laid up after tearing my calf muscle playing soccer. I knitted like a fiend this winter and spring, and I cannot wait to share my projects with you!
Copyright Interweave Knits
This follows in a series of cabled knits inspired and named for the waters I sailed on Cape Cod, Massachusetts as a child. Point Gammon is a somewhat obscure lighthouse marking the outcrop of Great Island into Nantucket Sound; it is a point reachable only by sea, as the land upon which it sits is private. Growing up on Lewis Bay, the bay whose entrance the lighthouse announces, Point Gammon Light seemed at once both intimately familiar and utterly foreign to me. I always admired the peculiar structure, wished I could see it up close, and wondered what the view must have been like from the other side of the bay, the private, off-limits side.
I designed this pullover with the lighthouse in mind, intending the central cables to evoke a lighthouse beacon.
In keeping with the ocean theme, I placed netting cables up the sides. In my opinion, both cables that extend from bottom hem to neckband and cabling at the underarm in place of a seam signal a well planned, hand knitted garment. Any machine can churn out a cabled something or other, sew it up the sides, and slap on disjointed bands. Cabling done well should be difficult to recreate in a factory.
The fit is trim (i.e., 2″ of positive ease, if I recall correctly); both the ribbing and the set-in sleeves emphasize this. As I have said before, despite the traditional form, you will not find any drop shoulders around these parts, thank you very much. The sleeves are little more than basic rib sleeves with cables interspersed at the same intervals as on the body, with one cable running down the center of the sleeve. I love symmetry, I can’t help it.
While it may appear difficult to work out how to run the cables into the neckline like this, it is not very hard. Once I determined how many repeats of the cable pattern I wanted down the front, I centered the repeated section, then held stitches at the base of the neck instead of binding off and picking up for the neckline.
One benefit of a side cable is that it can be completely bound off at the underarm, so there is nothing left to keep track of. And, it looks complicated while completely avoiding the question of how to treat the seam. Although it makes shaping more difficult, one could certainly work decreases along the flanks of the side cable. I briefly contemplated making a shaped version for me, but you know I never knit anything twice unless I have to, right? Of course.
Because Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes was unfamiliar to me at first, I knitted a positively gigantic swatch. I do not feel terribly confident about my gauge with refined, luxury fibers, as the fabrics knitted in those fibers often grow. I swatched, I measured, I washed, I measured, I blocked, I measured. Anticipating this post, I thought I would show a picture of the pre-blocked body (missing sleeves, of course). It was so tiny, despite needing to fit a man (albeit not a large man).
Before washing and blocking, it had a 30″ chest.
After blocking, the chest measured 36.75″. Be wise: swatch aggressively and believe in your swatch, do not second guess yourself!
I thought I would include a photo of the underside of the sleeve blocking. Is there a secret to getting ribbed increases to block to straight lines? I can never make mine perfect!
Let us take a minute to discuss the yarn, shall we? Blue Sky Alpacas Worsted Hand Dyes might be the nicest yarn I have ever – or will ever – work with. Once I finished the garment, I had to try it on, even though there was no way it would fit me well. I have told anyone who will listen that wearing a sweater made in this yarn feels like wearing a hug. I have one sweater’s worth of it in my stash, which I am saving for The Best Sweater in the History of Time; the yarn really deserves the perfect pattern.
Initially, I worried it would be too heavy for a men’s cabled pullover, as its yds per gram ratio is only 1. For other worsted weight yarn comparisons: Cascade 220 has 2.2 yds/gram; Berroco Blackstone Tweed 2.6 yds/gram; Harrisville Designs New England Highland has 1.9 yds/gram. Thus, for the same yardage as another worsted weight sweater, Worsted Hand Dyes yields a garment that is twice as heavy. Indeed, the finished product is heavier, but it’s one of the things I loved most about the fit. There’s a sentence I never expected to write, but it is absolutely true. I think its weight combined with its softness make you feel as if you just wrapped yourself in the most lovely cocoon that could possibly exist. It’s expensive – very expensive – but as the cheapest knitter you will ever meet, I say it’s worth it if the pattern is perfect for you.
On that note, I hope some men out there find this pattern perfect for them! As for the rest of you, go check out the rest of Interweave Knits Fall 2010 (or see it on Ravelry) – it is the best issue in ages! I could make full-time work of knitting all the sweaters I want to make in this one issue alone!
Panicked pattern queuing
Nothing gets me more panicked about knitting for my kids than July and August. The school year approaches, you know! What’s that? You say my kids aren’t in school yet? Hm, yes, well there is that. However, as many of you know, I will begin medical school in less than a month, so at least one of us has to prepare for the school year. As you might expect, I feel a bit panicked about losing my knitting time; naturally, I’m spending my last month of freedom planning lots and lots of projects!* I must remind myself that because I knit while I study, August 2010 does not mark the end of my knitting days. Whatever you do, please do not leave a comment asking how I will ever knit again, OK? Thanks.
Despite my impending lack of time, I have been planning what I will make for my kids this year. I thought I would share my ideas with you. For Beatrix, I would like to cast on for a Morgan’s Flower Garden by Amy Herzog.
Copyright Amy Herzog
Everything is red with Beatrix these days, so I will probably have to change the main color to appease her. Although the pattern calls for Cascade 220, I intend to use some Berroco Ultra Alpaca bits floating about in my stash. With shrinking knitting time, I need to make sure what I knit for the kids is both cute and functional; this definitely fits the bill.
For Odysseus, I hope to make an Ella Funt by Pamela Wynne before Chubby outgrows the pattern sizes. Perhaps I should get started on this first, since my tubby seven-month-old is already 22 lbs. He wears things for a week before outgrowing them.
Copyright Pamela Wynne
The pattern calls for sport-weight yarn, and boy, do I have sport-weight scraps! In fact, my stash seems to be comprised almost exclusively of them. I am somewhat embarrassed to admit I have only made one sweater for little O in his life and I made it before he was born. That is to say, of course, it doesn’t count. The little man needs some woolens for the winter when his mama is away in the anatomy lab, don’t you think?
Finally, I’m planning grumperina’s Budgie Striped Sweater for sometime this fall/winter. Isn’t it adorable? True, I am a sucker for anything striped, but the zipper is what makes it a very useful, day-to-day garment. Once they start teething, little babies tug every button in sight to get it into their little mouths, which is dangerous for them and disastrous for their sweaters.
Copyright grumperina
Stacey recently sent me some of her own handspun, and it is burning a hole in my stash. I have never used handspun, and this stuff is gorgeous. I only worry about selecting the wrong project and wasting it! It would look great with this pattern, but a baby sweater might be a waste of handspun, don’t you think?
Like grumperina, so many of my friends and relations are expecting babies right now. I feel like my list of baby standard sweaters has dwindled to a few about which I’m not terribly excited. It’s time to shake things up a bit and find some new go-to baby knits. I think both Ella Funt and Budgie will fill the void.
I’ve also been swatching a little bit on my own for some baby items, playing around with gauge and color values, but I have not yet found anything I must knit.
What baby and kid patterns excite you?
*This can only fail.
Bayview Street Cardigan
Last fall, I began sketching a collection of works inspired by the landscapes – seascapes, rather – of my childhood on Cape Cod. About ten years ago, as a new knitter, I made a simple, raglan pullover for my grandmother. She would never buy herself a fancy sweater, and I thought it would be nice to make one that fit her very petite, barely 5′ self. For it to be worn at all, it needed to be something she could grab on her way out the door to wear down the street to the beach, where she liked to watch the ferries coming and going into and out of Hyannis Harbor. She loved it, partly because, for once, nothing needed to be altered: it fit perfectly. What made that sweater so perfect? It was simple, easy, it fit, it went with everything, and she could wear it anywhere. My other designs may be knitterly (i.e., with knitting interest like steeks, cables, and lots of color changes), but they are not articles I would wear anytime, anywhere. Last fall, I decided to design a cardigan that would be both knitterly and appropriate to wear every day.
Bayview Street Cardigan is the product of my efforts. I decided to name it after Bayview Street Beach, where I spent a good deal of my childhood. Down the street from my grandparents’ home, it may very well have been my first beach. As you can see, Beatrix has spent some time there too.
For this particular project, the yarn holds just as much appeal as the design. I wanted something soft, but I rarely use 100% merino yarns because they often fall apart so much more quickly than woolly wools. I selected Frog Tree Meriboo, which is 70% merino and 30% bamboo, in hopes that the strength of the bamboo would add some durability to the garment. The knitted fabric is both soft and strong as well as a little shimmery. One of the funniest parts of this design story involves the yarn. When chose Meriboo, I noticed Frog Tree was based on Cape Cod. When I spoke to Trish, one of the owners, she explained they were located only a few miles from this beach. Small world, no? In any case, Trish sent me a lovely card and a good deal of yarn to complete this project, for which I am very grateful.
I finished the pattern just after Odysseus was born, creating another problem: how to photograph it? Fortunately, my dear friend Ingrid came to the rescue with the perfect measurements to model the work. I thank her for the impeccable styling, modeling, and photography! Don’t they look great? I think it’s funny that although I did not tell Ingrid the story of the cardigan, she styled her photos at the beach.
As for the sweater details, the cardigan features tubular cast-ons at the hem and cuffs, tubular cast-offs at the neck and button bands, tapered sleeves, tailored waist shaping, and a very simple, 5-stitch lace repeat over the body. The cardigan and sleeves are each knitted in the round in one piece to the armholes, then worked flat. The only seaming required is to sew the sleeve caps into the armholes. I debated about adding a belt, but decided against it in the end because it would have required too much dull knitting for not enough use.
I am particularly happy with how the tubular edges look. Although it is a terribly fiddly endeavor, the finished product is worth the effort. Plus, it yields a nice and stretchy edge.
The buttons caused me no end of grief, as every kind I tried either looked or photographed poorly. In the end, I bought a fat quarter of coordinating fabric and made fabric-covered buttons myself. My grandmother would definitely approve of that, as she was quite the seamstress in her day! All in all, I will call this project a success. I hope you’ll think so too.
For more information about the pattern, please see the Bayview Street Cardigan page. The pattern is also available on Ravelry for $6.50.
**Photo/model credit: Ingrid Deon**
Socks Revived Design Contest Winners!
Voting has officially ended in the Socks Revived Design Contest! At long last, I can conclude this design contest and share with you the lovely prize baskets. Moving from Kansas to Ohio a few weeks ago, we packed two adults, two kids, two aging dogs, the mortgage papers, the kids’ vaccination records, and contest prize yarn into a tiny car. I know you would have done the same; after all, fancy yarn is important!
As all of the judges will attest, picking winners was quite challenging because there were so many terrific patterns from which to choose. I had hoped that a large panel of judges would result in a little something for everyone: easy, hard, simple, complex, mindless, and anything but. Happily, the winning patterns do indeed reflect the diversity of sock interest on the panel. I hope you will see work you like too! It is my pleasure to announce the five winners in order of the number of votes received followed by the beautiful prizes the contest sponsors generously donated. Each winner will receive yarn for three pairs of socks, a gift certificate for yarn for another pair, a Wee Lil’ Pouch from Splityarn, either a circular or DPN set in sock sizes, and tasty baked goods from me. I would like to add that I stalked the winners’ Ravelry pages for their color preferences when divvying up the yarn into five equal prize baskets; that is, I made no value judgments in deciding which yarns went to whom, only color judgments. Without further ado, here are the five winning designers and their patterns:
- 1st Place:
Brocade Socks
by Lauren Osborne [lauren0 ]
- 2 skeins Spud & Chloe Fine in #7806 Calypso
- 1 skein Dream in Color Smooshy in #16 Velvet Port
- 1 skein The Plucky Knitter 100% Merino Superwash Fine in Honey Wilkes
- 1 gift certificate for 2 skeins of Simply Socks Yarn Solids in her choice of colors from Simply Socks Yarn Company
- 1 Wee Lil’ Pouch in the her choice of print from Splityarn
- 1 32″ 2.25 mm Addi Turbo Lace circular needle from Skacel
- Not pictured: soon-to-be-baked goodies from me, likely involving heavy amounts of sugar, fat and chocolate (unless other ingredients are preferred)
- 2nd Place:
Burning Stripes
by Susan Luni [
- 1 skein north loop yarn superwash merino sock in spring grass
- 1 skein The Plucky Knitter 80/10/10 MCN Fine in Bennett Farm
- 1 skein Dream in Color Starry in #VR480 Midnight Derby
- 1 gift certificate for 2 skeins of Simply Socks Yarn Solids in her choice of colors from Simply Socks Yarn Company
- 1 Wee Lil’ Pouch in the her choice of print from Splityarn
- 1 pair 6″ US 2 (3 mm) Addi Natura double-pointed needles from Skacel
- Not pictured: soon-to-be-baked goodies from me, likely involving heavy amounts of sugar, fat and chocolate (unless other ingredients are preferred)
- 3rd Place:
Denature
by Margaret Mills [
- 1 skein Fleece Artist BFL Socks
- 1 skein hazel knits artisan sock in #228 ShannyPants
- 1 skein The Plucky Knitter 80/10/10 MCN Fine in First Crush
- 1 gift certificate for 2 skeins of Simply Socks Yarn Solids in her choice of colors from Simply Socks Yarn Company
- 1 Wee Lil’ Pouch in the her choice of print from Splityarn
- 1 pair 6″ US 0 (2 mm) Addi Natura double-pointed needles from Skacel
- Not pictured: soon-to-be-baked goodies from me, likely involving heavy amounts of sugar, fat and chocolate (unless other ingredients are preferred)
- 4th/5th Place (tie):
Angler’s Loop Socks
by Andrea Mules [
- 1 skein The Plucky Knitter 80/10/10 MCN Fine in First Crush
- 1 skein sundara yarn sock in end of day
- 1 skein Dream in Color Smooshy in #22 Tokyo Creme
- 1 gift certificate for 2 skeins of Simply Socks Yarn Solids in her choice of colors from Simply Socks Yarn Company
- 1 Wee Lil’ Pouch in the her choice of print from Splityarn
- 1 24″ 2.75 mm Addi Turbo circular needle from Skacel
- Not pictured: soon-to-be-baked goodies from me, likely involving heavy amounts of sugar, fat and chocolate (unless other ingredients are preferred)
- 4th/5th Place (tie):
Graveyard Socks
by Mandy Powers [
- 1 skein Dream in Color Starry in #VR480 Midnight Derby
- 1 skein The Plucky Knitter 80/10/10 MCN Fine in First Crush
- 1 skein Mama Blue Knitting Goods Troika Sock in Juniper
- 1 gift certificate for 2 skeins of Simply Socks Yarn Solids in her choice of colors from Simply Socks Yarn Company
- 1 Wee Lil’ Pouch in the her choice of print from Splityarn
- 1 24″ US 3 (3.25 mm) Addi Turbo Lace circular needle from Skacel
- Not pictured: soon-to-be-baked goodies from me, likely involving heavy amounts of sugar, fat and chocolate (unless other ingredients are preferred)
Congratulations to the winners! I wish to thank all entrants, judges, and sponsors for contributing your time and efforts. All participants will receive a free copy of the goofy little sock pattern I designed for the contest, Culture Socks, which can also be found on Ravelry for those of you who did not participate in the design contest. I hope you like it. More importantly, I hope you feel this was a valuable experience.
This contest could not have come about without the generous support of the following sponsors. Please thank them for their contributions! Now, let’s go queue and knit some socks, shall we?
Socks Revived Design Contest Entries
Before I announce the five winners of the Socks Revived Design Contest (the voting will end Friday evening), I thought I would take a moment to share the 53 beautiful contenders. I am thrilled to have so many wonderful and creative designers enter sock patterns. There is no doubt that socks are on my agenda for the summer! See for yourself, I dare you not to be inspired by these works!
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Amphora Socks
by Melissa K Williams [ -
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Any Which Way Socks
by Orli [ 
Bamboo
by Alysa Joaquin [-
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Beaded Curtains
by Deb [ -
Bonus Socks
by Laura Penner [ -
Brick Lane
by Katrin Salyers [ -
Brocade Socks
by Lauren Osborne [ -
Burning Stripes
by Susan Luni [ -
Circuitry
by Caryl Pierre [ -
Darcey’s Hugs
by Jackie [ -
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Diamond Cherry
by Isabelle Boutin [ -
Diluvian
by Hunter Hammersen [ -
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Drift
by Melissa Goodale [ -
Easily adjustable lace panel socks
by pragueloop [ -
En Pointe
by Barclay A. Dunn [ -
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Hootenanny
by Amy Herzog [ -
Juliettes
by Linda Worland [ -
Latte Socks
by Mary Boetcher [ -
Lavender Essence
by Teri Smith [ -
Lindale Lace Socks
by Shelby Dyas [ -
Lisa Stichweh
by Lisa Stichweh [ -
Mayflowers
by Allison Haas [ -
Meggan Frost
by Meggan [ -
Memories to Walk In
by D Wien [ -
Nancy’s Fancy Socks
by Nancy Streicher [ -
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Octopus’ Garden
by Jenna S [ -
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Shipwreck
by Jen Escher [ -
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Static Socks
by Zina Davis [ -
Think On Your Feet
by Whitney Gegg-Harrison [ -
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Triple Braids
by Ann Lim [ -
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Two Ways About It Beaded Socks
by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer [ -
Undersea
by Ann Thompson [ -
Waffles for Wellies
by Jenna Wolf [ -
Wavy Weave Socks
by Wanda Lyon [ -
Winding Way
by Page Selinsky [ -
WonderWings
by Jeannie [
Stay tuned for the winners!
Contest deadline moved to May!
For those interested in participating in the Socks Revived Design Contest, I have officially moved the deadline from 4/19 to 5/21 at 8 p.m. EST. I apologize if this inconveniences anyone – especially those rushing to finish now – and I hope most people will feel relieved for more time.
Unfortunately, Aaron and I don’t think we can get this off the ground right in the middle of a cross-country move that was supposed to happen in July, but might be happening in the next several weeks. It is best to extend the deadline, rather than close the contest and not announce winners for a month because we can’t get organized.
I HOPE you will not be angry, I HOPE you will still enter, I am thrilled with the entries that have come through so far, and I look forward to seeing more!
Best of luck and please let me know if you have any questions! I will try to respond as quickly as I can.
Anatomy of Sock Design Part I: Getting to the Cast-On
I am so glad to hear that many of you intend to enter some socks in my wee little contest this spring! I cannot wait to see your designs! I encourage everyone to give it a go. Lately, I have received many emails from knitters interested in entering, but intimidated by the design process, the prospect of judging, and the field of competitors. I will do my best to allay these concerns. Although it is a competition, I hope it is clear that the spirit of the contest is most certainly positive and supportive. My only interest is to encourage exciting new work. Who cares if you are not an established designer? You have ideas about socks, don’t you? Sock design should not be intimidating to anyone who has ever knitted a sock: after all, socks are basically two tubes joined by a heel and capped with a toe. The heel and toe are the only challenges of basic sock construction! If you choose to, you can design a completely new way of knitting socks; my point is simply that you needn’t do this to enter and be competitive.
There, are you convinced you can do this? I hope so. Since I am working on my own pattern for the contest – a thanks-for-entering pattern for all participants – I thought it might be worthwhile to document how I go about designing a sock. I am by no means an expert at this, but I’ll certainly share how I work best. I will divide this up into three separate posts: getting to the cast-on, heels & toes, and writing the pattern. Let’s start with the first segment: planning out a design well enough to cast on.
Anatomy of Sock Design
Part I: Getting to the Cast-On
Who?
First, I start with my audience. Who will knit this sock? People who designed socks for my contest – in other words, this will not likely be anyone’s first knitted sock. Therefore, the pattern should be challenging enough for somewhat experienced sock knitters, but not so complicated and difficult as to be intimidating. The design must be fun to knit, otherwise I will lose interest in finishing the sample and you will not get a sock pattern. So far, my criteria are 1) not easy; 2) not super hard; 3) fun to knit; and I’m going to add 4) pretty.
What?
Next, I think about what I want for the main body of the sock. Texture? Lace? Cables? Twisted stitches? Slipped stitches? Color work? If I am to enjoy the knitting, lace, twisted stitches, and slipped stitches are out. Although I like how those styles look, I find them rather fiddly to work. Since tedious knitting will not bring back my sock mojo, they’re out. Cables are out too, as I just finished a large cabled pullover and my wrists need a break. More about the sweater later – we’re talking socks here, remember? Focus! Between texture and color work, I’ll choose color any day.
Plus, I just found the most amazing stitch dictionary in the history of time: Latviesu Cimdu Raksti: Ornaments in Latvian Gloves and Mittens by Irma Lesina. I found a reference to it Lizbeth Upitis’ Latvian Mitten book and decided to look it up. If you can find a copy, it’s worth the hunt. It took my university’s library 8 weeks to get a copy by interlibrary loan – there weren’t many books printed and few remain in circulation today. Written in Latvian, the book contains only mitten and glove plates with traditional designs from Latvia’s four districts of Kurzeme, Latgale, Zumgale, and Vidzeme. I intended to photocopy some stitch patterns I liked, but the book was far too fragile to do this. Instead, I set up my tripod and photographed them. I may have photographed the entire book.***
This particular stitch pattern stood out in my mind: the splotches look like microbes! I’m really tempted to call these socks Culture Socks (bonus play on “culture shock”), but the ladies at my knitting group seem to think that would be rather a turn off.I know they’re right, but wouldn’t it be more fun to think of them as microbes instead of jigsaw puzzle pieces or a houndstooth pattern?? I like microbes. I think I’m going to run with this idea.
Now that I have a stitch pattern, I need to decide how to use it on the sock. That’s easy for me because I want to use it all over. Using two colors for the entire sock requires about as much additional skill as I’d like. After all, if you don’t do it regularly, knitting with two colors can be rather cumbersome. On the other hand, this small stitch pattern is quite easily memorized and will not tie the knitter to a chart. I hope to strike a good balance between complicated and fun to knit.
For several years now, I have made a rather conscious effort to never knit anything twice (excepting a design of my own that needs further testing). I do this for two reasons: 1) I like to learn something from every project to improve my skills; and 2) there are so many patterns I want to knit that I haven’t time to dawdle on any particular one. Because this is how I like to knit, I try to include in my patterns a technique or an idea that may be new to some knitters. For this sock pattern, I will use a corrugated rib cuff, an unusual heel, and some nontraditional striping down to the toe.
How?
Now that I have a plan for the cuff (i.e corrugated ribbing) and a plan for the sock body (i.e. microbe stitch pattern), I’m ready to consider gauge and size. This is where I fly by the seat of my pants a little. Although I am a religious swatcher and swatch washer, I will not swatch for a measly sock. I refuse. Luckily, as long as I don’t care about my sock height (and I don’t), it isn’t entirely necessary. Let me explain. I generally know that I can make a gauge of 7-8 spi with most sock yarns on US 1.5 needles, my preferred sock needles. At its widest point, my calf circumference measures 13.5″ and my ankle circumference measures 8″. If I cast on for an 80-stitch sock and work from the cuff down, the cuff will likely fit somewhere between those two points. If my stranded gauge turns out to be 10 spi, it will be a shorter sock. If my stranded gauge is 8 spi, it will be taller.
Now I have a plan for my 80-stitch sock, beginning with corrugated ribbing and continuing on with the stranded pattern. But wait! Where are my US 1.5 needles? Stewing in an unfinished sock, of course. Unfinished since August 2008, in fact.
These long unfinished Fascine Braid Socks were the unwitting casualties of my lost interest in sock knitting. The pattern is wonderful, well written, and really pretty. Sadly, I chose the wrong yarn to go with the pattern so Tiennie’s lovely textured pattern can hardly be seen. Since this contest is all about getting me back into knitting socks, I decided to finish this pair, rather than buy a new needle. You may laugh, but I’m not the only one finishing up these nagging projects - Maritza, Nova, Carolyn, and Val have all recently finished long languising single socks. It’s a good thing.
Alright, now I can begin.
I admit that I tried two other color combinations before settling on this one. So far, I like this one a lot. I’m using Louet Gems Fingering Wt in Fern and Teal. Now that I know my gauge from the leg of my sock, I can figure out the decreases I need to do to get down to the ankle.
I have absolutely no plan yet for the heel, foot, or toe. The good news is that I don’t need one for another couple of days. Knitted progress on my sock has been slow this week because we sold our house and will be moving 600 miles away in less than six weeks (right around the time this contest closes, actually). It should be fun!
Stay tuned for Part II: Heels & Toes.
***I assume this is completely illegal, but what am I supposed to do when I can’t buy a copy of a rare, out-of-print text? I would pay $$$ for this book if it were available!
