lace – WakefulKnits

Plodding slowly

July 18, 2013November 6, 2017 by WakefulKnits, posted in Uncategorized

We’re having a very out-of-routine few weeks at the moment, so very little is getting done on the knitting front. As I’d already picked up the stitches for an armhole for the Virgo Vest one evening, I managed to knit the armhole band in the car yesterday. So, as you can see, I have the neck band and one armhole band completed. Don’t hold your breath, but I’ll get there in the end.

I’m already thinking about what I’m going to design when this vest is completed. The plan is for a small lace bag (what is it with me and lace?) worked in a cotton/linen blend. When on a trip into town on Monday, I visited Clegs on the off chance that I’d find the sort of thing I was after. Having failed in my search on their website, due no doubt to my lack of skills, while wandering the shelves I managed to find some Katia Linen. “Ooooh!”, I exclaimed, and purchased it at once. Stay tuned for further updates.

Alpaca Lace Vest nearly there

July 10, 2013 by WakefulKnits, posted in Uncategorized

My alpaca lace vest is nearing completion. The front an back are both finished and are currently blocking. Here is a picture of the back before blocking. It looks rather crumpled here, but the blocking is doing it wonders.

Tonight, I’ll be able to sew it together and measure up to calculate the required stitches for the neck band and armhole bands. Now to see if I have the right sized circular needle for the bands! The yarn is a little fuzzy, so I wasn’t sure how well the pattern would be visible, but it looks fine in this photo.

It’s great that it’ll be ready for Southern Hemisphere Spring wear, and Northern Hemisphere Autumn/Fall wear. A win for everybody!!

How many pattern multiples to fit ……

May 8, 2013 by WakefulKnits, posted in tension square, Uncategorized

I’ve had ideas to design an alpaca lace vest. I’ve knitted up my swatch in Heirloom Alpaca using a Falling Leaf lace pattern. My thought was to have a button up vest, but the size of the multiples doesn’t make that easy. It’s working out to 5.3cm per pattern multiple. For the five sizes I’m planning, that would give 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 multiples at the waist, and this stitch pattern doesn’t halve very well. For the odd numbers (7 and 9), I could drop one repeat and have 3 or 4 repeats for the left and right front, then make up the dropped repeat with a 5.3cm button band. That’s a pretty wide button band in anyone’s language. For the odd numbers it just wouldn’t work, and I don’t want to limit it to two sizes. That’s just not enough. But I love this stitch pattern in this yarn. What to do? Well, instead of making it a button up vest, I’ve decided it will be a pullover vest, with a scoop neck. I can design another button up vest later on.

However, the vest will have to wait for the moment. In the meantime, I’ve had a request for a Beatles pullover from my youngest. I’ve found a pattern for a Beatles Needle Case on Ravelry. In my collection of magazines I have the pattern for the Quilting a la Knitting pullover, by Norah Gaughan. This pullover is in the shape and yarn weight requested, so I’m just making it in one colour, plonking in the Beatles design at the front and changing the neckline as requested. I find this much stocking stitch pretty boring, but I’ve found a lot of pluses. It’s a lot faster than using a stitch pattern and I can knit for cms without having to refer to the pattern. I’m making great headway. At this rate I should be finished a lot sooner than I estimated, so it will hopefully get plenty of winter wear. (Southern hemisphere). 🙂 The yarn I’m using is Cleckheaton Country Aran, which is the same yarn that I used for the Kinematics Scarf, but this time in the cream colourway.

Janine Scarf pattern now available

April 13, 2013 by WakefulKnits, posted in knitting pattern, Uncategorized

The pattern for my new Janine Scarf is now available.The Janine Scarf is a mid-season cotton scarf in the Vandyke lace stitch. There is a cute, double line of bobbles at each end.

So that the “v”s are pointing down at both ends, the scarf is worked in two pieces which are joined using a three-needle bind/cast off.

The yarn used is Sirdar Calico, and the colour I’ve used is 727 (green). It’s a cotton acrylic blend in DK 8ply. The perfect yarn for a mid-season scarf.

Janine Scarf

Knitting Pattern

Yarn Suggested: Sirdar Calico or any other 8 ply / DK yarn. 50gm balls, 157 meters (172 yards)
Gauge:20 stitches and 31 rows = 4 inches in Vandyke Stitch
Needle Size: 4.5mm
Meterage: 340 m (372 yards)
Sizes Available: 140cm x 16cm (55 in x 6 in)
This pattern is available to buy from Ravelry for $US 5.40

Idiosyncrasy Pullover pattern available

December 6, 2012February 5, 2013 by WakefulKnits, posted in Uncategorized

My pattern for the Idiosycrasy Pullover has been available on Ravelry for a couple of months now, and I’m finally getting around to showing it here!

This is a beautifully warm and light lace pullover.

It’s a fitted, lace pullover with a Turtleneck Collar, in wool and cashmere. The yarn used here is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran.

Idiosyncrasy Pullover

Knitting Pattern

Yarn Suggested: Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran or any other 10ply/Aran yarn. 50gm balls, 91m (100 yds)

Gauge:20 stitches and 26 rows = 4 inches in Small Fern Pattern

Needle Size: 5.00mm, 5.50mm and 6.00mm

Meterage: 910 – 1274 yards (832 – 1165 m)

Sizes Available: 74 (84, 94, 104, 114)cm 29¼ (33, 37, 41, 45) in

This pattern is available to buy from Ravelry for $US 7.00

In the home stretch

August 7, 2012 by WakefulKnits, posted in Uncategorized

I’ve knitted all the main pieces of my lace cashmere pullover. It’s blocking at the moment. Then I’ll be able to sew it up and knit the collar. Exciting!

As you can see, I finally got hold of some interlocking foam mats for my blocking. I thought two would be enough, but I’ll need another. Hopefully by this time next week it’ll be looking a lot more like a pullover!

A new pullover design underway

July 15, 2012July 15, 2012 by WakefulKnits, posted in Uncategorized

After a few false starts, I’m knitting up my latest pullover design. My idea is for a lace cashmere turtleneck pullover. All good in theory, but I’ve stumbled over a few hurdles on the way. The first lace pattern I tried was strangely arranged so that the sides of the work bulged and increases would be difficult to work out. On the second, I discovered a discrepancy between the written/charted pattern and the photo provided. I could’ve solved this, but I couldn’t decide which alternative I preferred. I finally settled on a third pattern, had done all my design calculations and pattern writing and was halfway through knitting the back, when I realised the increases were too confusing for the average knitter (including myself) to work out. Rip, rip, rip. Iteration number four and I found a pattern which I like and which is simple to work increases in. Hooray! The yarn I’m using is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, which I purchased from Sunspun in Canterbury.

The picture on the right is my tension square, which was worked in camel colour, discovered to be discontinued after purchase! The back of my pullover so far is in Basil, although it’s difficult to see the difference in these photos. Since taking these photos, I’m well on my way on the armholes. All is going well. It may not be apparent from the photo, but I’m shaping from the waist up to the bust, in the attempt to create a more fitted garment. As I prefer my pullover’s short, to hide as little of my scant lower half as possible, unshaped garments may seem a bit baggy at the waist. This will hopefully solve that problem. Every design is an attempt to improve the flaws of the last. Enjoy your knitting!