Oolong knits

Remember the Almost Garter scarf that featured on Candy a few weeks ago? You may have found it too plain to feature as candy, but I saw some potential in the stitch if one used one's imagination. Lately I've been finding quite a few projects that do indeed incorporate that stitch with very nice results. Diving In is one of this. It is a triangle shawl and, best of all, it is free and not really a pattern, but more like a recipe, inviting the knitter to use his/her imagination to produce a unique piece.

I've written a short post on the Brioche stitch before. But now that I'm working on a hat, there was a new technique that I needed to learn and that you can't find on the link I recommended in that post. When working Brioche, decreases are a bit more challenging, because, in order to keep in pattern, you needed to work them in pairs. There are special techniques to do this and the basic 2-stitch decreases are explained here (the same webpage I'd recommended before). However, to obtain the beautiful effect you can see on the image on the right (this is Opari by Ysolda Teague), you need a four stitch decrease. And I've found a very good video that explains how to do it

Sarah Hatton is best known for her work with Rowan truly elegant and sophisticated magazines. Stockport , which is available for free, is a good example of the type of designs that Rowan is famous for: very easy on the eye, not so much on the needle. This is a design for the experienced knitter. In addition, a lot of knitters complain about the collar not laying flat on the chest unless you make some modifications to the pattern. Don't let this dissuade you of giving it a try, most knitters who did were very happy with the results.

This is a post on increases and decreases, and in particular on the correspondence between those worked on the purl and knit sides. In this post I talked a little about it, and I was sure I'd written another post on this subject before, but I cannot find it. So I must write it, even if I risk repeating myself. This subject is particularly important for Portuguese knitters, because when we read a pattern that is knit in the round, for example, we must translate it before knitting, since normal patterns are written for working on the knit side, but when knitting Portuguese one works on the purl side. Even patterns that are knit flat are often easier to execute when translated, simply because all varieties of purl stitches (ex: p2tog instead of k2tog, pfb instead of kfb) are easier to execute. To be begin with, here is a simple translation table of the main stitches: knit purl k2tog p2tog ssk ssp kfb pfb This may seem very simple, but there is a further complication. When ...

Kate Davies is the most romantic of designers. Owls is her most popular design and for a good reason, as you can check for yourself in the photograph. No words needed, right? I love all of her designs, so be sure more will feature here in the future.

When we think of sheep, we think of creamy white fluffy animals, but sheep actually come in several more colours. The main reason that sheep tend to be white is that they have been selected this way for centuries for the purpose of dying its wool. There is no need to explain why white wool is ideal for dying, and other shades are not. Thus the proverbial black sheep getting its bad reputation solely from the fact that its wool is less profitable for the shepherd. Still, even if most sheep are white, there are still plenty of breeds for which the original diversity of colours has been preserved. In Great Britain, for example, a lot of the traditional breeds have a fleece that is unsuitable for making fine garments. Their wool was traditional used for other purposes, such as stuffing pillows and mattresses. Obviously, there was no need to dye wool for this purpose and hence nobody ever bothered to select a particular colour. When you think of fair-isle, you usually think of intricate...

The Almost Garter Scarf by Norah Gaughan is just one of those really brilliant ideas. Simple, understated but beautiful. Using a circular needle (or double pointed needles) and two strands of yarn, you knit every row and get a squishy fabric that is almost garter, but not really. It is actually equivalent to 2 knit rows, 2 purl rows repeat. If you love stripes, like I do, the colour-play possibilities are endless. The photo I chose is from Woolymountain's version . Her colour choice is amazing. You must absolutely use your imagination (combine it with other stitches?) and colour preferences when knitting this (extremely) easy scarf. Great for left over yarn too.

Before I forget, this post is about horizontal buttonholes only. Eyelet buttonholes are easy to do, but because they're so small, they are mostly used in baby clothes. Vertical buttonholes are more work than justified (tip: most vertical-looking buttonholes you'll find are actually horizontal ones knit on a vertical band). If you're going to knit a piece with buttonholes, always test your buttonhole. For simplicity, knit it in your gauge swatch. There are two reasons to do this, (1) test if the method you've chosen looks good for that particular yarn and that particular pattern (specially if you're not knitting a plain stockinette pattern), (2) test if the button fits well. In terms of fit, check, not only, if the button can go through, but also, if it's small enough that you cannot see the buttonhole if you place the button to the side of the hole and even if you stretch it a bit. Ideally the hole should be as small as it allows the button to go through, bec...

In the last two weeks, I've featured designs by Jared Flood, the founder and creative director of Brooklyn Tweed . Brooklyn Tweed is not only a design team, but also a yarn brand that produces amazing heathered yarn in the most beautiful shades. Today I've chosen a design by Michele Wang, one of Brooklyn Tweed's in-house designers. Rowe is a "luscious oversized sweater coat" (not my words). Look at those cables. Fabulous!