Free Pattern: Luxus Cowl

I have been in love with the yarn Misti Alpaca Chunky from the moment I first laid fingers on it. Its extreme softness and its big bulky nature were such strong attractors that my only method of self defense was remembering my grad-student budget. After ogling the yarn for the hundredth time on a recent trip to the local yarn shop, I finally afforded myself the luxury of a single skein with the intention that it would be made into something special. The result is this cowl.

The cowl was designed with two things in mind: to showcase the beauty of the yarn and to produce a big squishy cowl that uses as much of the skein as possible. With less than 2 yards of leftover yarn, I'm pretty sure I succeeded in at least one of these goals. This project is a simple, quick, and luxurious knit, and I'm looking forward to wearing this soft fabric against my skin once it gets cold. With autumn just around the corner, perhaps you should knit one too!

To make this cowl, you'll need:
- 1 skein of Misti Alpaca Chunky (108 yards, bulky weight); colorway 1110 shown here.
- A set of US 10 / 6 mm circulars or double points

The finished cowl measures 21 inches around with a gauge of 13 st/25 rows = 4 inches in seed stitch.

PATTERN:
Cast on 72 stitches. Join to work in the round, being careful not to twist.

Border:
Round 1: [K1, P1] to end.
Repeat this round 4 more times.

Next round: [K1, P1] to 2 st from end, K2tog. (71 st)

Main Section:
Round 1: [P1, K1] to 1 st from end, P1.
Round 2: [K1, P1] to 1 st from end, K1.
Repeat rounds one and two 16 more times.

Round 35: [P1, K1] to 1 st from end, P1, M1.  (72 st)

Border:
Round 1: [K1, P1] to end.
Repeat this round 4 more times.
Cast off. Weave in ends.

Questions or errata? Contact me at brineydeepdesigns_at_gmail_dot_com!

Sorbetto

The fun part about picking up a hobby is that every new project can teach you a different skill in that hobby; this has been especially true with my sewing. I learned a lot from making my first bag and making a semi-complex dress, but there are still whole areas of sewing that I have yet to touch. So I am out to improve my sewing skills slowly and steadily by picking up a new technique with each subsequent project.

My most recent project, a Sorbetto top, demonstrates that even a simple project can teach you a lot. One of the things I learned was how to work with a sheer and drapey fabric. For example, I needed to be much more careful when cutting and sewing, as the fabric didn't always lay nicely and required adjustments with the sewing machine's tension. I did pretty well for my first time out, but I realize that I still have work to do in this area.

The other thing I learned from this project was how to make a french seam (shown above). French seams are enclosed seams than help prevent fraying and make your seams look very tidy. I did french seams for this project because I did not want raw edges showing through the sheer fabric. Plus, there weren't that many seams to sew, which made the process of sewing french seams (which are effectively two seams in one) a manageable prospect. I think that the extra effort I put into the seams really paid off for making the top look finished.

This is my second Colette sewing pattern (my first was Peony) and I must say that I'm impressed with the simplicity and elegance of her designs, made better through clear and detailed sewing instructions. I should note that this pattern, Sorbetto, is a freebie, so it's an easy place to start if you're interested in learning more about this designer. Honestly, I enjoyed sewing both Colette projects so much that I can't wait to start my next one: a Sencha blouse.

All Wrapped Up

Let's not talk about the huge amount of television I've watched in the past two weeks. It's a lot. I'm not a TV watcher normally, but I make an exception for the Olympics. I can't get enough of the inspiring stories and obscure sports. Plus, it makes for great crafting time.

Wire wrapping turned out to be one of the better TV-watching crafts, and I made several pairs of earrings (my favorite are the simple turquoise drops below) and a large necklace (above) while watching the Games. As you can see from this tutorial, the basic loop--which was the foundation of all of my wrapping projects--is actually quite simple. Once you get the hang of this loop, it's no problem to whip up lots of complex-looking jewelry while watching sports.

My crafty output will certainly go down now that the Olympics are over and I'm gearing up for my last big semester of school. Still, wire wrapping is easy enough that I look forward to picking it up again in a free moment this fall. I'll keep you posted on any future wire wrapping exploits.

Two Ways to Fix a Pattern

Last time we spoke about my sunhat, things were not going all that well. The hat was too small for my (albeit somewhat large) head and the brim was too deep to be usable. Things obviously needed fixing and I'm happy to report that I figured out two ways to do so.

The first solution involved styling the finished hat. My friend P was over for Olympics watching/craft time and had the genius idea to fold the brim twice instead of once. The result not only worked but was super cute. Since the folds would only stay in place if pinned, I whipped up a tsumami kanzashi pin to complete the transformation.

Beyond styling, the other solution was simply to fix the pattern itself. I took 1.5 inches off the bottom of the brim, which was a compromise between still having a broad brim and being able to see below the brim. I also took 0.5 inches off the top of the brim, which added an inch to the hat size and, more importantly, fixed an error in the pattern by making the inner brim size match the cap circumference. The resulting pattern was much easier to sew and the finished hat fits me very well.

Sewing a mock-up, making pattern alterations, then sewing the final project is a standard habit in sewing; it is referred to as 'making a muslin', after the inexpensive material used for this pattern testing. In my case, I made a 'working muslin' because the first hat was intended to be wearable. Making muslins takes time but is something I definitely need to start doing as I work with more expensive fabrics. I'm just glad that in this case my working muslin turned out to be usable after all!

Yarn Swap, Round Two

My friend O and I enjoyed our yarn swap so much that we're doing it again! This round, I sent her some of my handspun and she sent me a custom blend yarn from Yarnia in Portland.

The yarn is made up of a number of cotton strands that have been wound together on the cone. It's not like a normal yarn, as there isn't any twist holding these strands together, but it should knit up pretty well. I especially like the colors my friend chose for this yarn; it has some color depth that's hard to capture in this photo. Now that I have the yarn in hand, it's on to planning what to make for my friend!

2012-07-03 Edited to Add:
And here is my friend O's post about the yarn swap, complete with better photos of both yarns.

Joins

It's been a fun week for getting together with knitters, starting in Chicago where I was at a conference for 4 days. My roommate for the trip and fellow conference attendee, Abby, was someone I'd met through Ravelry and messaged several times but never actually met in person. I know this sounds like a recipe for disaster, but it ended up being wonderful and by the end of the trip we were finishing each other's sentences.

The Chicago crew. Image courtesy of Abby, the knitter on the far left. Thanks Abby!

While in Chicago, Abby and I also got together with some members of the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup group from Ravelry. We started a Loopy Yarns (where I convinced Abby to knit her first Ysolda pattern, an Ishbel) and ended up eating Thai food and knitting together. It was wonderful to see everyone and catch up.

The Madison gathering. Image courtesy of Judith.

Once back in Madison, I met up with more knitters from the House Cup. (What can I say? We like get-togethers.) It's amazing how easy it to transition from hanging out with all of these people virtually to spending time together in person. I always enjoy it.

Russian Join in Progress

While at the Madison gathering, someone taught me how to Russian Join (a technique that joins two yarn ends together). How did I not know how to do this before?! You simply weave the yarn ends back into the working yarn, which creates a pair of loops that can be used to connect the two strands. In my opinion, Russian Joining is right up there with spit-splicing in miraculous-knitting-techniques-everyone-should-know and techniques-that-save-you-from-weaving-in-ends. I anticipate using Russian Joins extensively in my future knitting.

Millinery

I would love to take a millinery course, partly because making hats seems interesting and partly because I love hats and wish they would come back into fashion. The appeal of a formal course is due to the fact that I find millinery a little intimidating; it uses such different tools and techniques from anything I've worked with before. While I'm still waiting to take my formal course, I do have a less intimidating method for making hats in the meantime: sewing.

I recently picked up the book Hat Shop, which contains 25 patterns for making hats. Most all of the hats can be constructed with a sewing machine, though one hat requires blocking and traditional hat making materials. The patterns themselves range from classic sunhats and baseball caps to cute kid's hats (there's a chicken hat!) and fascinators; there are also several great hat patterns for men. I definitely see myself making lots of different hats from this book.

While I love the range of hats in this book, I do have a couple issues with the book's format. The book is obviously a compilation of patterns from many different designers and I wish there had been a little more editing done to the individual patterns. There's very little consistency between patterns on things like seam allowances and the some of the photographs that accompany the instructions are downright terrible. So while the final stylized photos of each hat are adorable, I'm going to proceed with a little caution when it comes to the instructions in this book.

I have already made one pattern from the book, The Classic Sun Hat; this is the project I was working on in my last blog post. The hat came together fairly easily and quickly, but I’m not super happy with the results. The brim is much too deep, which obstructs my vision, and the circumference of the inner brim is too small both to fit the cap portion of the hat and my head. I’ll definitely be tweaking this pattern before I make this hat again with my second set of fabric.

See what I mean about the brim? I don’t want to say that I’m disappointed by this hat, but rather that it will fit me better (both in dimensions and in style) after a little pattern editing. I'm hoping that the other patterns in the book turn out better than this one because I am very excited to start making hats!