Mayfair Top - New Pattern Release

Here's the next pattern in my ongoing collaboration with Signature Yarns. We debuted this one at this past weekend's Toronto Knitters Frolic.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-mayfair-top

There are two versions; one in white cotton and the second in silver metallic rayon. Both are DK yarns which knit to the same gauge and are of course available in other colours.

I always think about garments and accessorizes in the way in which I would wear the item when I'm designing them. The cotton version is in a gorgeous tightly spun cotton with lots of sheen. I could see wearing it often in the summer with my skinny jeans or my cropped turquoise pants. If I knit it in a colour I'd be teaming it with white linen bottoms.

The rayon yarn is very drapey and the sheen of the metallic is subtle enough that you could dress it up or down very easily. It feels great against the body. Dressed down, I'd wear it with white jeans and simple accessories. Dressed up. I'd add metallic shoes and a bag. This yarn is available in an amazing rage of colours, many of them hand dyed in variegated ranges from subtle to bold.

The Glenhost Wrap

I released a new pattern yesterday and there will be another one up by Monday. The first is the Glenhost Wrap. 

It's another collaboration with Patrick Madden of Signature Yarns. 

The yarn is Americo's Original Winter Flamme, in Bordeaux and  Petrol Blue which is  69% Superfine Alpaca and 31% wool.  Both colours are dense and saturated. The yarn is textured and slightly hairy.

The wrap is worked starting from one narrow point. The stitches increase on one side and decrease on the opposite edge. This method creates a triangle with long points to wrap around your neck, tie or pin into place. The stripes are worked in a textural stitch to create a reversible fabric. The combination of a blended alpaca and wool yarn knitted at a loose gauge creates a very soft fabric with drape.

Patrick has provided me with lots of great photos for this project.

 

 

The Belvedere Wrap

 

I've released a new pattern in collaboration with Signature Yarns. Kits will be available here on the Signature Yarns site. If you are a local reader they will also be available at the upcoming Knitters Fair.

I did two earlier samples of this pattern and showed them to Patrick as a potential design for our collaboration. We then picked yarns from his line and I did two more versions which take advantage of wider yarn and gauge choices. I'll post my original samples as project pages in Ravelry so you can see the potential for other yarns. If you are local please consider buying yarn from Signature to support our local yarn companies. 

Contrasting garter stitch and simple eyelet lace sections create a mix of colours and textures in this project. It’s an entertaining knit that keeps you interested with easy stitch patterns and shaping worked at the same time. The shawl is worked sideways creating an asymmetrical triangle shape. It’s easy to wear and perfect for wrapping around your neck. Starting from one narrow point, the stitches increase on one edge and decrease on the opposite edge. I especially like the long points on this shape, I really like the way it gives extra weight around the neck holding the wrap secure. I was worried that the larger version was too big for someone of my small size, however the shape of this wrap works equally well in both sizes on me. The blue version is knit completely with fingering weight yarn. The red one, combines Prism Stuff with double stranded fingering yarn. The colours of these yarns are truly fabulous.

The pattern is here on Ravelry and will be on Patternfish and Loveknitting soon. 

Here's more photos:

 

The Deirdre Henderson Cardigan

I've published a new pattern. This is it!

There's lots of fun texture to work in this one. The small cables are created with twisted stitches so you don't need a cable needle for those. The big cable has extra texture created with a seed stitch section. I've been wearing this one a lot in the very cold weather we are getting right now in Toronto.

 

New Pattern Releases - The Molly Davis Scarf

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/the-molly-davis-scarf

I've been working hard this summer and I will be releasing some new patterns over the next few weeks. First up is Molly Davis. I wrote about this one a few weeks ago. I was originally unhappy with the cast off edge which sent me back to the technique books to do some research. You can read about the cast off I used here. 

It's a triangle scarf, worked with a top down construction technique. It uses an extra set of increases at the edge to create its unusual shape. Some knitters call this shape a heart or a boomerang. The extended points can be used to wrap or tie around the wearer’s neck. The stitch patterns are reversible. The main body stitch pattern is created with two rows of knit and two rows of rib. It appears in text and as a chart so the knitter can work from whichever format they prefer. The edging is simple 2 x 2 rib. 

The name Molly Davis comes from Agatha Christie's story, Three Blind Mice. Many are more familiar with this story in it's stage version as The Mousetrap. Molly and her husband run a boarding house that provides the backdrop to two murders.

You can find the pattern here on Ravelry and it will be up on Patternfish soon.