Category Archives: garter stitch

PROJECT Easy Garter Wrap

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Easy Garter Wrap

We just finished making our FREE Easy Garter Scarfy Wrap with one of the new multi-coloured Handmaiden Casbah 5ply Gradient Wrap Kits – I knew it would come out beautifully! Handmaiden always comes up with interesting colour combinations that I wouldn’t normally think of, and the pop of colour is just what’s needed on dreary winter days.

All of the Handmaiden Casbah 5ply Gradient Wrap Kits are one-of-a-kind so no two colourways will be the same. The pattern is free, VERY beginner friendly, and mostly mindless. I used THIS TUTORIAL for weaving in the ends on garter stitch – it is super helpful. This project didn’t require many notes, but you can find it on Ravelry anyway.

Materials

PROJECT Big Mike

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Photo: Brandi Simons

Big Mike

I think my client Adrienne just introduced me to my soul mate, Big Mike. Big Mike hails from Huge & Huggable Mochimochi, and we’re going to have to continue to get to know each other better before we commit (I have to acquire the book), but I really feel like he’s the ‘one’. It;s no surprise that I’d fall hard for him, I’ve always felt pretty sentimental about Claes Oldenberg’s ‘Floor Burger’, it’s one of my must-sees on every visit to the Art Gallery of Ontario. I’ll probably use Berroco Vintage Chunky, it’s the right tension and it wears well, and that’s important because this dude is gonna received a LOT of hugs!

Size

  • 14″ (35.5cm) wide and 10″ (25.5cm) tall

Materials

 

PROJECT Norwegian Fir

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Photo: OGE Knitwear Designs

Norwegian Fir

I love the combination of simplicity and detail in this little cardie. It makes a great little baby gift made with Cascade Ultra Pima (ON SALE NOW), a silky, soft and machine washable cotton yarn. (Seriously, Ultra Pima is so soft and comfortable that it’s the recommended yarn for Knitted Knockers.) It also won’t break the bank so your gift will impress without stress. The pattern is a seamless, top-down knit, a simple construction with a little bit of interest in the lace detail to keep things interesting.

Note

Just one small caveat: I’ve listed the yarn amounts below based on the pattern specs, but I have a *feeling* that the baby sizes are a bit too generous. Trolling through the completed projects on Ravelry, it seems like 3 to 6 mos & 6 to 12 mos should require 2 skeins, and 12 to 18mos should be 3 skeins. The pattern is heavy on garter stitch, which sucks up yarn, so if you are a tight knitter (which also consumes extra yarn) I would lean towards the conservative side and go with the buffer yarn. If you’re on the average or looser side of the spectrum you might not need all the yarn the pattern is suggesting. I think the yardage amounts for the larger sizes might be ok. If you don’t enjoy playing yarn chicken, go with the recommended amount below -the worst thing that can happen is you might have extra yarn for a matching hat (and moms always tell me that they LOVE receiving baby hats and use them constantly).

Size

  • 0 to 3 (3 to 6, 6 to 12, 12 to 18) months, 2 to 3 (4 to 5, 6 to 7,  8 to 9) years

Materials

Shop Online Button Turquoise 250w

 

 

 

 

PROJECT Ondawa (in denim)

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Ondawa (in denim)

My friend Reney is into Rowan Original Denim yarn (ON SALE NOW), and the other day she asked me a common question; What would look good in it? This is a question I both dread and adore. The dread comes on first because I usually need time to think about things and give a thoughtful answer. Then, once I’ve had some time to process, comes the love; I get to trot out all the different ideas and examples, it’s a big creative game of research and “compare and contrast”.

One thing that’s at the top of my mind for Rowan Original Denim is Guernsey or Gansey (a style of fisherman’s sweater) – the denim yarn looks STUNNING knit up in a guernsey. The picture above is a project I found on Ravelry of Michelle Wang’s Ondawa made with Rowan Original Denim – I think it’s a thing of beauty!

Notes

Find our Denim Hacks & reference links (basically, wash it in vinegar to stabilize the colour and knit it a smidge longer).

Size

  • finished bust: 43¼ (47½, 51¾, 56¼, 60½, 65)”
  • Sized to fit approximately 30-32 (34-36, 38-40, 42-44, 46-48, 50-52)” bust

Materials

Shop Online Button Turquoise 250w

 

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Photos: janetwynne, Brooklyn Tweed, Amirisu.

Other patterns that I think would look amazing made with denim are Guernsey Wrap by Jared Flood and Void by Melanie Berg (the denim Guernsey Wrap on the left is made by janetwynne).

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Guernesy looks especially good on men (maybe because they were created for them): above are Bowline by Tin Can Knits (you should knit with 4mm/US6 needles and make one size larger) and Beagle by Norah Gaughan.

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Photos: Tin Can Knits, jennyinmaine.

Flax is a simple top-down, seam-free FREEBIE from Tin Can Knits that would look awesome made with Rowan Original Denim for anybody at any age to be worn in any season!

 

 

 

 

GAMBIT & Knit Hack

Gambit Rasta 1

Gambit

Gambit is a great little capelet designed to be worn OVER outerwear – clever and stylin’! It’s knit in super bulky yarn, so it’s a satisfying, quick little knit. We used Malabrigo Rasta, we couldn’t *not* indulge in it’s ridiculous softness and depth of colour. If Rasta is a bit too precious for your needs you can also use Cascade Lana Grande or Brown Sheep Burly Spun (see below).

Gambit Rasta COMBO

Notes on the Pattern

This pattern involves a few techniques that newbies might be unfamiliar with (short rows, provisional cast on, grafting/kitchener stitch) and is not for the absolute beginner – an advanced beginner should be fine with it.

The shaping is created with short rows, so you’ll have to be diligent and keep track of your rows. I found that I didn’t like the type of short row technique used in the pattern, it left gaps (I don’t know if this is because I used a different yarn than the original design). I changed to regular, old fashioned Wrap & Turn (W&T) short rows. Luckily, in garter stitch you don’t need to unwrap short rows, which makes things much easier. I worked to one stitch less than the number specified for the short row in the pattern, wrapped the next stitch, and turned.

KNIT HACK: To help keep track and stay oriented I put a locking stitch marker in the stitch every time I did a short row.

The garment is knit flat and joined together using kitchener stitch – anther happy discovery was that grafting in garter stitch is a bit simpler than in stocking stitch. You are going to start the project with a provisional cast on (a cast on using scrap yarn), I like using the crochet or ‘chained’ cast on method, the scrap yarn comes out extremely easily.  I wove in the ends using duplicate stitch and you can’t see them at all!

One more thing,  full disclosure – I accidentally used the wrong size needles (9mm/US13). Yup, even knitting store owners grab the wrong size on occasion. The capelet came out fine after blocking (our mannequin is on the small size and doesn’t move around much), but you should use 10mm/US15 needles to get the appropriate tension.

Yarn Options

Malabrigo Rasta: 3(4) skeins

Cascade Lana Grande: 4 skeins

Brown Sheep Burly Spun: 3 skeins

Other Materials

Shop Online Button Turquoise 250w

Gambit Rasta COMBO TRIO

Mrs Garter

Mrs Garter

I really like Mrs Garter sweater for fall. It’s a very versatile little jacket knit from the top-down in the round, which means minimal finishing – yay! The design is interesting enough to turn heads, but simple enough that you’ll actually be able to get through it and actually wear it *this* fall. The pattern also comes with both a short and long version, and instructions for both asymmetrical and symmetrical fronts.

I also love the arms – they’re designed using the contiguous method, so you can have set-in style sleeves without all the drama of setting them in and seaming them. (Don’t worry, contiguous isn’t hard, it’s similar to top-down raglan). Why is a set-in sleeve desirable? Because EVERYONE looks good in a set-in sleeve. Raglans look amazing on people with big shoulders and small busts, but they don’t do much for people like me with small shoulders and a bust. So when I see a pattern with a contiguous sleeve, I get excited.

The pattern calls for an Aran weight yarn, like Cascade Eco, which will knit to a dense-ish tension on the prescribed 4.5mm/US7 needles (great for a jacket, gives it some structure). If you want something more pliable and sweater-like consider a worsted weight yarn like Cascade 220 or Cascade 220 Superwash.

Size

  • XS(S, M, L, XL, XXL)
  • Finished chest/bust: 33(35, 38, 41, 44, 48)”/ 82 (88, 96, 105, 112, 122) cm

Yarn

Cascade Eco

(see pattern for detailed yardage amounts)

  • One Colour, short version: 3(3, 4, 4, 5, 5) skeins
  • One Colour,  long version: 3(4, 4, 5, 5, 6) skeins
  • Two Colour,  short version: colour A/body  2(2, 2, 2, 3, 3) skeins, colour B/garter sections 2(2, 2, 3, 3, 3) skeins
  • Two Colour, long version: A/body  2(2, 2, 2, 3) skeins, colour B/garter sections 2(2, 3, 3, 3, 3) skeins

Cascade 220 or Cascade 220 Superwash

  • One Colour, short version: 6(7, 8, 9, 10, 11) skeins
  • One Colour,  long version: 7(8, 9, 10, 11, 12) skeins
  • Two Colour,  short version: colour A/body  3(3, 4, 4, 5, 6) skeins, colour B/garter sections 3(4, 5, 5, 6, 6) skeins
  • Two Colour, long version: A/body  3(4, 4, 5, 5, 6) skeins, colour B/garter sections 4(5, 5, 6, 6, 7) skeins

Other Materials

See pattern for full details

  • 3.5mm/US4 needles (see pattern for full details & type)
  • 4.5mm/US7 needles (see pattern for full details & type)
  • Pattern via Ravelry

Mrs garter COMBO

Photos: Ankstrick, cochenille