Texture

Texture in your knitting is more than pretty in each of your projects.  Texture is a design element that is often used to create longer wear, and greater warmth.  It changes the thickness of the fabric, and depending on how the texture is formed, it can trap substantially more air.  As we all know, more trapped air means greater warmth.

Silk Knitting Yarn .Com Worsted Silk

So why are some patterns that aren't textured so warm?  It comes down to the yarn.  The more "halo" or fuzziness a yarn has, the more air it will trap.  The smoothest yarns will trap the least.  And of course, loosely twisted yarns will trap a bit more air than those that have a tighter twist.

The yarns above in the washcloths photo are organic, vegetable-dyed cottons.  They don't hold much air, so adding texture to the fabric is one quick way to add warmth to a garment made with them.  The texture in each cloth is different, with the ribbed texture being the warmest, and the diagonal cable ridges being the coolest.

When you're modifying a pattern, adding texture can make a significant difference in the warmth of the finished garment.  It will also change the amount of yarn the pattern requires.  A general rule of thumb is the more texture you add, the more yarn you'll need.  Adding a few bobbles will require less additional yarn than changing the entire pattern to intricate cables.  Added texture can require up to 40% more yarn!  Plan accordingly.

If you know a pattern will receive hard wear, you may choose to add texture to increase the strength of the fabric.  Palms of mittens can be made stronger by making them seed stitch or linen stitch instead of stockinette.  Heels and toes of socks can be made in eye of partridge or 1x1 rib to extend their wear.

Lastly, remember that most textured stitches knit up at a slightly different gauge, so in order to make sure your garment will be the right size in the end, swatch the textured stitch.  If there are more stitches per inch, you'll need to go up a size or two.  If there are fewer, go down a size.  Enjoy the warmth and beauty of added texture in your work!

Knitting and Ladders

I hear it all the time: "I'm not very good," or "I'm just learning."  So many of the best knitters I know are very talented, and yet shy of teaching what they know. Ask them a question, and they'll pass you on to a knitting teacher, and sigh with relief when you walk away.  What doesn't happen often enough is that they don't help you up the ladder of learning.  They stay on their rung, and let you stay on yours.

Why do so many of us doubt our own knitting skills?  Why are we so attached to one "right" way of knitting?  Let me burst your bubble:  there is no one right way to knit, and you're better than you think. 

Remember when you were a child and thought that your parents were magical beings because they could open tough jars, at least hit the backboard with the basketball, and fix your broken bicycle?  Well, knowing things about knitting makes you a wizard to anyone who doesn't know that same skill.  Maybe you aren't great at cables, yet you know three different, terrific cast-ons.  Teach 'em to anyone who asks. 

Are there "wrong" ways to knit?  Not really.  There are ways that are slower, ways that create stitches that twist a little, and other variations.  As long as the stitches stay knitted and don't unravel, you're off to a good start.  We tend to be so self-conscious about the skills we don't have that we overlook the skills we do well.  Not sure?

Try this.  Find one of your knitting friends, and plan some time together each teaching the other one skill.  Maybe you know a nice bind-off, and she knows a decorative lace stitch.  Trade knowledge!  Ask each other, "Do you know this stitch/skill?"  "I'll be happy to teach you a cable technique, or I-cords!"  A few cups of coffee and some hearty laughs later, you'll have bolstered your knitting skills and your friendship. 

Straight Needle Gloves - Sneak Peek!

This is the swatch for the first pattern of the Gift Knits Kit Club!  The pattern is finished, and I'm knitting the sample today. (Yep, those are some little bitty cables on there!)  It's for GLOVES, and it is written and charted for BOTH straight needles AND for those who knit in the round.

There will be a contrasting, dark brick colored cuff.  The yarn for the body of the glove is called "Embers", 100% Superwash Merino DK Super Sheep, and it's from Holiday Yarns.  I love it!  It's knits up soft and warm and dreamy. The yarn alone retails for $22.00!  The whole kit, mailed to your door, is just $27. 

I'm making each of these items as a Holiday knit ahead for the 2012 holidays, so next year I'll be less frantic about finishing my gift knits list. 

I've just opened a few more spots in the club, so join us!

Gift Knit Kit Club Features: 
New kit each month including original Liz Marino pattern and premium yarns to make the Gift Knit of the Month, shipped on or about the 15th of the month

Exclusive Liz Marino Club patterns will not be made available to non-club members until 3 months after Club release date

Kits will not be made available retroactively or to non-members

Jan = Straight needle gloves for her (s,m,l)
Feb = Snuggly Socks - adult (men, women)
Mar = Woven-look Purse
Apr = Eco-Friendly Washcloth Gift Pack
May = Holiday Knit-Ahead Hat
June = Yoga Stirrup Socks - one size

No substitutions are available.  Color and size is determined by Liz Marino.  Each month's kit is the only kit available for that month.  Kits are not available retroactively. 

Membership will not be automatically renewed for July-Dec.  Membership will be opened to current members in April and non-members in May based on availability.

Membership is open to North American mailing addresses only.  The price is $27 per month, for a total of $162 USD.  Payment must be received in full; no month to month memberships are available.

Thanks for joining this adventure!  I can hardly wait!

After joining, email me at esliney@yahoo.com with your:

Name
Shipping address

Do this even if they are the same as the ones on your PayPal ID, please, just to confirm!  I want to make sure I know how to reach you via email and USPS.  If this info is not emailed, your membership will be rejected and your payment will be returned.  Thanks!

New Mittens!

These mittens were sample knit for me by the intrepid and wonderful Colleen Croce.  The pattern was inspired by a trip back to my native Berkshire Hills (Massachusetts) last spring.  As anyone without a GPS will tell you, it's very hard to find your way around all of those loopy, winding roads.  There's hardly one straight one in the bunch.  Honestly, though, I love it!  And so, the Winding Roads Mittens were born.

They have a short cuff, like a driving glove would, but in the pattern there is a modification for a longer one.  Made from a blend of alpaca and merino, they are very warm, and oh-so-soft.  The yarn is Cascade Yarns Lana D'Oro, and it is delicious.  It comes in generously sized hanks (210 yds), and one hank easily makes both mittens.

Available on Ravelry as Winding Roads Mittens for $4 USD, or .  Enjoy them!

Freebie Friday - too cool for school

Elisabeth here.  I'm still in Cleveland with my son at the hospital, but I have a rare internet connection, so I thought I'd share a freebie.

Yesterday in the hospital cafeteria I saw a woman wearing the vest below.  It was gorgeous!  She had made it in a mohair blend, in a marled grey/brown.   I asked her about working on it, and she mentioned that it was only her second sweater!  (She looked to be about 20 years old.)  She'd been knitting for 3 years, and found it "challenging but not hard."  Give it a try!

Cabled Teal Vest 

Knitting Math 7 - cables, ribs, dropped stitches, lace and bobbles

When you're doing your knitting math, there's always the possibility that you're working with a pattern with measurements that don't work out to the gauge math.  The listed stitch gauge multiplied by the listed inches does not even out at all.  What if you want to modify the original design?  Change its size or overall looseness?  Grrrr!

Ribs and Cables - very contracted!

Brioche Rib, a big contractor

Don't panic.  Does your pattern contain cables, ribs, dropped stitches, lace or bobbles?  If none of these are represented in the suggested gauge swatch, you've probably found your problem.  (If this isn't it, it may be "ease", covered in the next article.) 

Shrinkers - ribs and cables both contract your knitting horizontally when they're verticle, and cables will also contract it a little vertically.  Twisted stitches are also in this category.  When you're ribbing horizontally (like garter stitch, or any combo of right-side knit rows alternated with right-side purl rows) it will contract your knitting vertically. 

Growers - dropped stitches, lace and bobbles all cause the knitting to grow.  Dropped stitches create wide, elegant ladders of open work, and are the stitch that expands your knitting the most horizontally.  Lace will expand it horizontally, and usually expand it even more vertically.  Bobbles, because they disrupt the tension of the rest of the row, will usually expand the row horizontally just a little.

How do you know how much these decorative elements have affected the stitch count?  Ah, I think we all know the answer, we just want to avoid it.  Yep.  You have to swatch it.

After you achieve correct gauge on your basic swatch you need to make a separate swatch with the design element.  Use the needles that gave you gauge.  For your first row:

Make an 8 stitch moss stitch border, then an inch of stockinette, then a full repeat of the design element.  Then repeat the inch of stockinette and 8 stitch moss stitch border.  One row completed.

Keep following the pattern for the design element until you've finished one repeat of it vertically, or for four verticall inches of knitting, whichever is longer.  Now, measure your swatch at its narrowest and widest points, excluding the first and last two rows. Just like you would any other swatch, launder it the way you will launder the garment, and block it.  Measure again.**  Now you have a pretty good idea of what affect the design element will have on the measurements.

Our demo numbers:  Gauge is 6 stitches per inch, design element is 10 stitches per inch. The design element is one inch wide. Our total stitches inches in the row are 106, and total inches are 17.

If your design element occurs once, the math is this:  Total inches - design element (in inches) = inches in regular gauge.  If you need to make adjustment, make it in the regular gauge stitches, and make it match left to right unless you want something off
center.

17 - 1 = 16  I have 16 inches where I can make an adjustment without messing with my design element. 

If your design element occurs more than once:  Total inches - (design element number of repeats x design element in inches) = inches in regular gauge.

If my design element occurs 6 times, 17 - 6 = 11.  I have 11 inches where I can make my adjustment. 

**Why do you need to measure twice?  Because how your garment will lay and measure after laundering and blocking is often very different from how it knits up.  If you don't measure it twice, you won't know how much it will grow or shrink, and you may end up making the wrong size by mistake.

Coming Trends

Don't you love off-season yarn shopping?  Fill your stash with the stuff you love at prices that remove all power-shopping guilt pangs.  And what about all the summer yarn and fiber fairs, festivals and conferences?  You want to buy the yarn you'll use in your favorite fall styles, but you haven't seen them yet!  What are the coming trends in fashionable knitwear?  There are several, and they're all fun.  (Trends in woven fabrics will differ slightly.  These are knitwear trends.  For trends in off the rack fashion, search "2012 fashion".)

Color:  The summer 2011 palate for knitwear is an "opposites attract" theme.  Vivid colors in soft, thin yarns, and soft colors in thicker, more structured yarns make garments that look fresh for the season.  These color trends soften for fall/winter, with dusty colors in pastel through deep tones.  Crayon brights are not featured, but if you really love them, rock your own personal style!

Coming next spring and fall  (2012) are the joyful colors of Indian saris.  Beautiful jewel tones are blended with one contrasting pastel or light metallic.  These pieces will be on trend in the textures listed below.  In spring/summer, these shades are sometimes separated into layers, and in fall/winter, vivid tones are highlighted by a pastel in the same garment. 

Texture - Summer 2011 is a vista of smooth textures punctuated with a textured statement.  Tight clothes are taking a back seat to tailored fits that are close without being clingy.  A cabled belt over a smooth blouse, or a smooth tank with a textured crocheted wrap or lacy cardigan would be classic look.  Smooth on smooth is always flattering to most figures, but this summer it will look conservative.

Fall/Winter 2011/2012 is moving in the texture direction, becoming more all-over textured, punctuated by smooth, or mixed separates of smooth and textured.  Think boucle with satin, or ruching with smooth slacks.

Spring/Summer 2012 stays with the texture/smooth theme, with layers of contrasting light textures and flowing pants and skirts.  Lots of open weaves and open lacework make for fabrics you want to touch and caress.   Softness rules, with linens and hemps being scrunched, not ironed.
The chunky theme is repeated fall (2011 and 2012) and the trend is evolving.  Things have been trending quietly in this direction for quite a while.  The new stuff is even chunkier, and relies on a mix of longstanding traditions (cables and lace) and dramatic silhouettes.  Think big, dramatic simple geometrics: triangles, rectangles, trapezoids and ovals as silhouettes.  The cables should look deeply carved, and the lace focuses on texture over refinement.  These looks are made with fat yarns on big needles.  (US 11 - 17 and up.) For more fun, hold a strand of two different yarns together.

The fall/winter 2012 theme emphasizes very textured knits all over the place.  Keep your smooth knits in the drawer, and celebrate totally textured garments.  Ribbing, moss stitch, cables, stripes, lace - anything goes as long as it covers an entire garment.  Take the easy way out with this trend, and knit favorite patterns in a more textured yarn - tape, ribbon, faux-fur, beaded, eyelash, boucle, or any specialty finish. 

Designers are showing all-over texture in close fitting styles, which separates them from the chunky trend with the big, showy silhouettes. 

Shape: Shapes are continuing to emphasize curves, and through 2011 will focus on one statement piece and one lean piece.  The statement could be a flowing skirt, with a lean turtleneck, a tailored jacket with a slouchy camisole, or a drapey wrap with an otherwise slim silhouette.

The chunky trend has its own shape, and it's geometric.  Very little softly curving work is being shown outside of scarves and wraps.  It's all kindergarten shapes of square and boxy, straight lines, triangles both normal and inverted.  These garments tend to require only very easy shaping, focusing most of the interest on the wonderful chunky textures.  Doubled, and even tripled yarns make these quick knits.

Going into 2012 and right through winter, shapes become more and more contrast-driven:  big tops with little skirts, little tops with big skirts, big hats with lean knits, chunky sweaters with tiny handbags... Not quite more is more, the mood is pretty attention grabbing. 

Go off season shopping with an eye for what you'll be wearing in the next year or so.  Build up your stash on the colors and textures that will work for you.  Remember that these textured styles take more yarn, so grab about 25% more yarn per garment than usual.  And have a ball!

A Swatch Journey

Swatches have such a strange reputation!  Some people look at them as a necessary evil, others a waste of time, and still others love them and see them as a resource.



Cascade 220 sampler afghan.  Pattern available.



My experiences with swatches have included all of the above.  And then I took a journey.  I had come back knitting after a hiatus of several years, and had knit quite a few projects.  I was worried, though, because I would read a pattern and not be able to remember how to do certain techniques I used to zip through with ease 20 years ago.  I very quickly felt boxed in with what I was able to do, and phobic that I might get into a project only to discover I didn't know how to finish it.  So I decided to swatch every skill I had any interest in or possible future need for.

It was just a notion until I saw a sampler afghan that a friend had crocheted.  Aha!  A possible use for all these swatches beyond a simple learning project!  Shortly after that I was off to the races.  I started simple with relearning stripes.  One swatch down.  Then intarsia blocks.  I probably worked and ripped two swatches for every one I finished in the beginning.  (My daughter ripped out a finished one early on because she had seen Mommy do it.  I cried.)  I was sure I was doomed.

I was also crazy busy during the day with work and four kids and a very sick mother in law, and a bunch of other madness.  When I wanted to knit, I only had a couple of minutes to maybe an hour.  I couldn't start a new project or take a class, so I kept cranking out swatches.  Cables...  Basketweaves...  Bobbles were nearly the end of me and my knitting career. 

Life settled down, and I had 19 swatches.  I realized I really had a shot at finishing this sampler afghan after all.  And as decided to repeat some of the blocks I was amazed at how much easier they were the second and then the third time.  The blanket ended up being 36 blocks large, and although I can tell which blocks were early swatches and which I did at the end, it looks pretty good, even now, 5 years later.  I'm grateful to my swatch journey for reinforcing (and sometimes inventing) my knitting skills.  And I'm very grateful when I see my kids cozied up under the finished afghan.  I made that!  I learned so much. Swatches and I are friends now.

Chill Chaser Cable Cap

Ok, the truth is I just loved the idea of all those C's together in the title.  The designer of this pattern calls it Gehry, after Frank Gehry the architect (think Guggenheim museum).  She lives in Chicago, where winters are even more unpleasant than here.  These people understand the need for a good hat.

She indicates in her blog that it would be a great cap to use to learn cable techniques.  I'm going to trust her on that because I haven't made it yet.  Even so, I wanted to share it with you.  I've added it to my list of "things I need to make".  With a small amount of yarn and pretty big needles (9's and 10's!) I might be able to fit one in before the holidays!

Cool Cabled Mitts Class

I'm up changing all my clocks, and thinking about my class at 12:30.  People have been really interested in these mitts, and they are SO much easier than they look.  I will be teaching at Karma at the new 12:30.  I wonder how many students will show up at the old one?

Remember, classes are free with yarn purchase on class day, so if you want these mitts, come get the yarn.  We'll give you the class and the pattern free of charge!

Ripping Out the Mistakes

Last night I finished the socks for the Mr.. I put off the Kitchner stitch for as long as I could stand, but eventually got the peace and quiet to focus and do it. An hour later, they were on his feet. If he ever takes them off I'll try to get a photo. (Since he's a pro photographer I always feel silly taking my own pics. His are so much better!) Somehow shooting knitting stuff isn't on the top of his list, so I'll get to it myself.

I then knit my daughter's cabled mitts for a while. I reversed a cable by accident and had to rip out and re-knit the rows affected. It got me to thinking that this is one of the many cool things about knitting - you can fix your mistakes and make them invisible really easily (assuming the yarn quality is good enough that reworking it won't show.) It's another Karmic step, I suppose, to recognize your errors and strive to correct them, but in most of life they're still detectable in some way. I like the fact that a finished piece of knitting always represents lessons learned, and it isn't obvious how recently they were learned. If I'm feeling too cocky there's always the next pattern waiting to see if I'm paying attention, and I'll trip myself up if I'm not. I just keep trying to pay attention...

Holiday Knitting

If you haven't discovered it yet, you really should look at Knitty, an online knitting magazine with free patterns and articles for knitters of most levels. This season, as with most, they have fabulous patterns and articles. The Queen City Mitts are a good example. They are an excellent first or second cable pattern for the new cable knitter. There are only a few cable crosses (5 I think), and the finished garment is beautiful and unusual. For more experienced knitters, it's a great pattern to add to your holiday gift pattern list.

Speaking of holiday knitting, I'm behind. Yes, I have been studying too much and knitting too little (depending on your priorities) and the socks for the Mr. are still not done. I'm also working on a Christmas stocking pattern to teach for a class at Karma. It's a modification of one I've made before, and I want it to be fast and painless for the students, while still creating an attractive product.

What are you working on for your holiday projects? Is this your first year making knitted gifts, or are you an old hand? Do you have any favorite holiday patterns? Share them! Thanks.