Crocus spotting...

A couple of weeks ago my pattern "Crocus Cardigan" was featured on ravelry.com's "Queue It!" (2nd picture down on the left side). Every month or so this spread is put together and each time it has a particular theme. The theme for this issue was "stripes" and I was so flattered to be a part of it! Here's a screenshot..

If you are a ravelry.com member you can also check it out here: http://www.ravelry.com/twir/77/queue-it-3

What Inspires You?...

What inspires you? What makes your creative juices flow and inspires you to want to create something yourself?

I think inspiration for “creating” can be found anywhere. But wherever it comes from, I just love that feeling you get when you feel your energy rising and you get so excited about all the possibilities. Sometimes it’s the littliest thing that can get my creative juices going…

I recently bought some new buttons that I am in love with. Just looking at them inspires me to sketch out design ideas:

Certain websites are always sure to inspire me. Anthropologie has some great garments and I always find them so inspiring. I can’t afford them most of the time, but I love admiring them. I recently saw this dress on the website that inspired me—I immediately started sketching out some ideas for a cute cardigan that would look perfect with it:

Same with this interesting top—I love the simplicity of its overall shape but then it has these great angular lines that give it such visual interest.

Even this simple zipper I find inspiring. I love the mustard color and that’s what originally drew me to it. A simple brown cardigan with this mustard zipper would look so great:














I LOVE fabric. I could stare at fabric all day if I could. I took a great beginner sewing class at Z Fabric in Portland last summer and it definitely inspired me in all things fabric. I invested in a new sewing machine last year which has gotten a little use but not as much as I’d like. Hopefully I can make some more time for it this year:

So those are just a couple of the things that inspire me right now. I think inspiration is so important because it’s the fuel for creativity. What's your inspiration?


I just wanted to end this blog post with an update about some designs I’ve been working on. I have a few I’ve been working on for the fall that you will see in the coming months. Fall is such a great knitting time so my hope is that I will have a bunch of new patterns ready just in time for the season.

The Great Underarm Divide Part II!

So after my recent photo tutorial on how to do the underarm divide for top-down raglans, there were some additional questions about how to then pick up stitches for the sleeves and what to do about the pesky little hole that appears at the underarm where you join the yarn. So here is “The Great Underarm Divide Part II”!

I’m also using my latest pattern, Crocus, as an example. I’ve been knitting up a cotton-version in size M.

This tutorial will go step-by-step through the “Sleeves” section of the pattern:


Direction: Transfer sleeve sts from scrap yarn onto US 8 16” circular needles…

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Once all the stitches have been transferred, this is what it will look like:
 
 

Look at the above picture—the stitches that are in between the two needle ends are the underarm stitches you cast on during the underarm divide. We’ll call them the underarm bind-off sts. They will now become the underside of the sleeve and we do this by picking up each stitch that was cast on. We will also pick up 1 stitch on either side of these stitches.

Direction: Join MC yarn at right side of underarm and pick up and k 1 st to the right of the bound off underarm sts….

So you will join the yarn (make sure to leave a decent length tail!) and pick up and knit 1 st that is to the right of the underarm bind-off sts. I tend to choose a stitch that looks “stable”, i.e, doesn’t look too stretched or loose.

The above picture shows that 1st stitch actually picked up and knitted

Direction: …then pick up and k the 6 (8, 14, 18, 24) bound off underarm sts, placing a marker after ½ of them have been picked up (the marker represents the beginning of the round)…

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The above picture shows me picking up the first couple of underarm bind-off sts

 

The above picture shows what it looks like after a few stitches have been picked up

Since I am knitting the M size, after I pick up 7 underarm bind-off sts, I place a marker

The above picture shows what it looks like after I pick up the remaining underarm bind off sts

Direction: …then pick up and k 1 st to the left of the bound-off underarm sts

Same as you did with the first st, you’ll find a “stable” stitch that’s to the left of the underarm bind- off sts and you’ll pick up and k it:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Direction: Joining for working in the round…

To join so you’ll be working in the round (not back and forth), you simply insert the right needle into the first stitch on the left:

Okay, now I will depart from the pattern and provide some tips. One issue with sleeves on top-down raglans is that a little hole is formed in the area when you originally joined the yarn and started picking up stitches for the sleeve. Here is how you can help this problem:

You’ll notice on the first official round of knitting the sleeve, when you get to the area where you first joined the yarn, it’s going to seem really loose. Here’s what I’m talking about:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The first thing you can do is that when you go to knit that stitch, give the tail of that stitch a good tug (it might help to even hold the tail while you knit the stitch). But even with tugging the tail and keeping it tight, you will still end up with this:
 

The above picture shows what it looks like after a couple of rows have been worked. Pesky damn hole.

Normally I will wait until the sweater is all done to address this hole, but for this tutorial purpose I have addressed it right away so you can see how I fix it.


First, flip the work over so you’ll be working on the wrong side:

Second, find a crochet hook—the smaller the better. You will use this crochet hook to weave the tail through a stitch above the hole and then through a stitch below the hole (kind of like you’re grafting).

Now in my opinion, there’s no definitive way to do this—you kind of have to give it a try and see how it looks. Weave it through a couple of different directions—whatever works so that the hole is diminished.

Here is what is looks like when the tail has been weaved through a bunch of stitches:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Flip the work back over and check it out—if it doesn’t meet your standards then try it again. Because I’ve done quite a number of top-down raglans, I have the “hiding the hole” technique down pretty well, so here is how my underarm looked after:
 

So there may be many other ways to prevent or fix the hole, but this is how I do it and I hope it helps some of you in your top-down sweater projects!

The Great Underarm Divide...

Because so many of my patterns are top-down raglans, I thought it would be beneficial to do a step-by-step tutorial for how to do the “underarm divide.” The underarm divide is when you are done doing the raglan increases and it’s time to separate the sleeves and join the back and front pieces of the garment together. It can seem confusing the first time you do it, so hopefully these photo instructions will help. Using my latest pattern “Crocus” as an example, let’s go step by step through the “Underarm Divide Row” section:

1) Direction: (RS)*k to marker, remove marker, k2, remove marker, using tapestry needle threaded with piece of scrap yarn, transfer sleeve sts onto scrap yarn…

So the first step is to knit as described to marker, you simply remove the marker and knit the 2 “seam” stitches. I then put the work down, find some misc. scrap yarn and cut a piece, around 20” in length. I thread it through a tapestry needle. Picking the work back up, I transfer each sleeve stitch (the series of stitches that are before the next marker) onto the scrap yarn. See pictures:

This holds the “live” sleeve stitches until the body is done. Once the body is done, these “live” stitches are transferred to a size 16” circular needle and knit in the round to the cuff. Since we keep these sleeve stitches “live” it prevents any kind of seaming.

This next picture shows what it looks like when step 1 is complete and all sleeve stitches have been transferred to the piece of scrap yarn:

2) Direction: …flip work over & using the knitted cast-on method, CO 6 (8, 14, 18, 24) sts…

Step 2 is where it gets a little tricky. Once the sleeve stitches are separated from the body (by putting the stitches on scrap yarn), a lot of top-down raglan patterns (including this one) instruct you to cast-on some underarm stitches. There are a couple of reasons for this:


-once the raglan armhole depth has been reached, you may not have reached your desired bust measurement. So in order to make sure you get that desired bust measurement, you cast on additional stitches at the underarm


-having stitches at the underarm gives additional room so that your arms can really move around.

When the directions say to “flip work over”, you do just that—the right side of the work was facing you, but now the wrong side will be facing you and the needle with the working yarn that was in your right hand will now be in your left hand.


Once you’ve done “the flip” you can now cast-on stitches using the knitted cast-on method. This method of casting on allows you to cast-on stitches in the middle of your work which makes it a perfect technique for casting on underarm stitches.

As you can see from the picture above, the WS of the row is now facing you. You insert your right needle into the first stitch on the left needle as if to knit. You go ahead and knit it, creating 1 new stitch on the right needle, but don’t pull the original stitch off of the left needle. Instead take the new stitch that is on the right needle and slip it onto the left needle. 1 stitch has been cast-on. Since it’s hard to photograph the above steps, check out the video for “Knitting On” cast on technique here: http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/cast-on

Once all the stitches are cast on, here is what it will look like:

3) Direction: …flip work back over & remove next marker, k2 (giving the first st a tug before knitting it, to tighten it up), remove next marker…

In the above picture, I had just removed the first “next marker” and am about to “k2”, making sure I’m giving the first stitch a tug. This is the point where are you joining the back and front piece of the sweater together. Don’t worry if there seems to be a little hole or looseness at this point. When you are finished and weaving in ends you can easily tighten up any holes that may appear at the underarm

Once this step is done, you’re done! Well, at least with the first underarm. You’ll have to repeat one more time on the other side. The below picture shows what it looks like when one underarm divide has been completed for one sleeve:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Once the underarm divide row is complete you can actually try the sweater on. I’d recommend knitting 1 or 2 more rows after the underarm divide before you do this, just to give those cast on underarm stitches some stability. The best way to do this is to transfer all of the stitches onto a really long piece of scrap yarn. Yes, it’s kind of tedious, but it will give you a really good idea about how the yoke of the sweater will fit you. If you are not happy with how it’s fitting in the armholes you can make some adjustments:



-if the armhole is too short (i.e, too tight), you can rip out the underarm divide row and work a couple more rows of raglan increases


-if the armhole is too long, you can rip out the underarm divide row and a few rows above that too, then work the underarm divide row (so essentially working the underarm divide row a few rows earlier than instructed)


-if the depth of the armhole is fine but you feel the bust is too wide, you can rip out the underarm divide row and re-do casting on less stitches at the underarm


In the first two scenarios, changing the number of raglan increase rows will affect your finished bust measurement. If you wind up working more raglan increases (to create a longer armhole depth) then cast on less stitches at the underarms (this way your bust measurement won’t get too big). If you do less raglan increases (because the armhole depth was too long), then you may need to cast on more stitches at the underarm so the sweater still fits your bust.


If you ever need help on figuring out how to adjust a raglan to fit you best, feel free to shoot me an email. We can work out the math together to ensure your finished sweater fits you perfectly.


I hope this tutorial helped!

Never too warm to knit...

I’ve been working away on a bunch of new knitting patterns, which has been tricky the last few weeks because it’s been HOT. Now I know what you’re thinking—since I live in Maine “hot” means anything over 65 degrees. And that usually is the case, but lately it’s been unusually warm for this neck of the woods. A couple of weeks ago we were in the 90’s for a few days. It got so bad that Jeff had to drag up our air conditioner (that’s from 1988 and weighs like 100 pounds). I know some of you who live out west or in the south can’t imagine living without an air conditioner, but in Maine we rarely have to use them, at least in our homes that is (the office I work in is freezing in the summer—it’s forever November in there). In the 5 years since we moved into our house we’ve used the a/c maybe 5 or 6 days total. Hence why we still use the air conditioner from 1988 that I had as a kid! Anyway, I digress…so it’s been warm and you usually don’t like to hold wool in your hands when it’s like this, but I’ve been plugging away nonetheless!



I thought it might be good to do a blog post about a technique I use in many of my patterns. Since so many of my patterns are top-down raglans, I thought it would be good to provide some detailed instructions with photos to show exactly how the underarm divide is done. I’ll be posting that really soon. I’ll also be doing a post about gauge swatches and how to make sure you’re picking the right size before knitting up a garment. Both of these things are so important and will really help you knit up a good-fitting garment. Because there’s nothing worse than spending days, weeks, even months knitting something that doesn’t fit! A little prep work beforehand will save you a lot of frustration in the end.


More to come soon!

A Cardigan for Spring...

Looking for a simple, modern cardigan to knit up quickly this Spring? My latest pattern Crocus is now available for purchase!

 I love simple, modern sweaters and this design will look good on lots of different body types. Plus, you can easily alter it to make it your own--make it longer, or with short-sleeves, or buttons all the way down. I wanted to make a classic, simple and seamless pattern that a knitter can use for years to come.

The directions are very clear and thorough, so if you have never knit a sweater before this would be the perfect project to start with. And did I mention it's seamless?! I probably already did, but I know how many of you hate seaming so I thought you'd enjoy that detail!

Below are some more details about Crocus. If you have additional questions you’d like answered before purchasing the pattern please feel free to send me a message. Also, all measurements in this pattern are provided in both inches and cm. To purchase click the "buy now" button.

 Pattern Details:

• Price: $5
• Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL)
• Finished Chest Size: 33 (36.5, 41, 44.5, 49)”/84 (93, 104, 113, 124.5) cm
• Gauge: 4.5 sts and 6 rows = 1 in/2.5 cm in stockinette

Supplies:

• Suggested Yarn: Cascade 220 or any worsted weight yarn with correct gauge
• 3 (4, 4, 5, 5) skeins/660 (730, 820, 890, 980) yds of main color and 1 skein for contrasting color (for stripes), or you can use leftover yarn for stripes since you don’t need too much
• size US 8 24”/5 mm 61 cm & size US 8 16”/5 mm 40 cm circular needles (or size needle you need to get gauge)
• size US 7 24”/4.5 mm 61 cm circular needles & DPNs (or 1 size smaller than size needed to get gauge)
• 8 stitch markers
• 2 pieces of scrap yarn, around 20” in length
• Tapestry needle
• 4 buttons, ½”-¾” in diameter

Skills you will need for this pattern:

• Knitting & purling
• Casting on/binding off
• Casting on in the middle of your work (using knitted cast on method, described in the pattern)
• Increasing & decreasing (described in the pattern)
• Picking up stitches
• Making buttonholes using YO technique
• Using DPN’s (for cuff ribbing)

New "Wonder Years" Photos...

Some new photos of my Wonder Years toddler/child cardigan! The model is Troy--the son of my friends Alexandra & Dan.  He is so adorable and was such a good sport as I followed him around with my camera all morning. I couldn't have asked for a better model!

For information about this pattern click here.

To purchase the pattern click the buy now button below: