With the craziness of another holiday behind us, I can spend some time showing you (finally!) what I was working on so feverishly for a couple of months this summer.
I designed three items for The Three Irish Girls Yarns for their new fall Lookbook. If you want some yarn love, click on the Lookbook link for incredible colors and projects. Sharon has 33 new colorways and 41 patterns. Truly inspiring and drool-able. Pictures copyright of Three Irish Girls.
My first project is the most basic mitten pattern, CLAP! in the Ainsley colorway:
How wonderful is that? Adorn Sock is a velvety soft yarn 80% merino, 20% nylon, 3.5 ounces, 430 yards. Plenty, plenty, plenty.
This pattern is for all those sock yarns in your life that are just too pretty to hide in your shoes. They are worked in the round from cuff to tip with no seaming -- none! Just draw your yarn through the remaining stitches and voila! There are 6 sizes from toddler to adult large. The sample below is the women's medium.
I fell in love with the reverse stockinette side as well so I knit another pair with the remaining yarn:
The PDF pattern is $3.95 and is available to purchase here. I love PDFs because when I lose it or beat it up entirely, I can just print another and away I go!
My next pattern actually turned into two, Kiss and Tell Vest & Cowl in the Saoirse colorway:
Galenas Merino is a butter soft merino, single ply, that is heavenly to work with. This is in the new colorway, Saoirse:
It is a semi-solid in a varying shades of teal and just perfect for something with detail that won't get obscured by too much color. Each hank is 3.5 ounces and has 220 yards. Gauge for the vest and cowl is 20 stitches and 28 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch.
The bottom half of the vest is worked first, beginning with a provisional cast on. Instead of working bottom to top as usual, the bottom half is worked left to right to create the slimming vertical line from the puckered areas. Stitches are slipped at both ends for a nice rounded edge requiring no other finishing. There are 7 sizes from 29.5" to 53.5" final bust measurement.
At the desired length, graft the live stitches to the provisional cast on stitches. Stitches are then picked up for the top half of the vest and worked as usual. A 3 needle bind off makes the sleeves an easy finish.
Optional cowls I think are just the ticket. If you need the extra warmth, you have it, but it doesn't have to stifle the life out of you indoors. This one is worked the same as the bottom half of the vest: begin with a provisional cast on and then work until desired length and then graft the live stitches to the provisional cast on stitches. The cowl requires two hanks.
Both the cowl and vest patterns are included in the PDF for $4.95. Click here for purchase.
I have been wanting to design this jacket for quite some time and here it is, Sustenance in the Eavan colorway. It is that marriage between sweater and jacket, perfect for three seasons.
It is worked in Lindon Merino in the Eavan colorway, a lightweight multi-ply 100% wool yarn, perfect for this project. Gauge: 17 stitches and 26 rows = 4" in stockinette stitch.
Another semi-solid, this one has black which makes it more perfect in my book.
Worked in three pieces, there is very little seaming: just the simple straight side seams and a bit of seaming to attach the collar to the back of the neck. The wide collar is worked with the fronts:
Wide ribbing is worked at the bottoms of the front and back, but it is straight, so no funny pulling in. Here is the back:
The ribbing gives depth to the sweater, I think. I used a three needle bind off for the shoulders and when joining the right and left collar panels to each other:
I cannot say enough for the three needle bind off. It creates a professional seam with zero work besides knitting, which is what we like to do, no? The little seam needed to attach the collar to the back of the neck.
Moss stitch at the collar creates a lovely reversible fabric:
We have not discussed the sleeves! Sleeves are a tricky human, so I picked up stitches around the armhole and worked in the round down from the shoulder seam so they can be easily customized for the perfect length. Plus, since they are worked in the round there is no seaming. Ribbing finishes the sleeves as well.
This sweater is perfect to leave open for a slim vertical line or use a belt or shawl pin to close. There are 7 sizes in this pattern as well ranging from 34.5" to 59" final bust measurement. Purchase the PDF pattern here for $4.95.
I am also going to be knitting one of these without sleeves to show how charming a vest with just a bit of ribbing would be at the armholes. In Billings, vests are a constant.
So now you see what I have been working on!! So exciting and I couldn't even share FOREVER. So glad forever is over.
Knit on.