Summertime can be a tough time for a needlecrafter. It’s hot, and a big project can weigh heavy in your lap, but you don’t want to put down the yarn. Fortunately, there’s always cotton!
Sized Small to 3X, this raglan-sleeved pullover features waist shaping, and is knitted from the bottom up in pieces. It’s quite stylish with a contrasting tank underneath. This is a nice three season piece.
The lace pattern is both written and charted, and covers front and back. It calls for Cotton Supreme DK, the lighterweight version of our popular Cotton Supreme DK. It’s very pretty as shown in a natural 702 Ecru, but there are a lot of ways to go with this one. Maybe a pretty pastel?
Or go dark, with something light showing through beneath?
We hope you stay cool, and keep on crafting. Have a great day!
A couple of weeks ago, I very briefly mentioned our new e-book, Small Pleasures. It’s a set of designs using what is fast becoming a favorite, Bella Cash.
This collection is perfect for me, because I am all about the accessories. I like instant gratification, and I’m always paranoid that I’m going to get to the end of a sweater and I will have miscalculated somewhere and it won’t fit. Not that this has ever happened to me. Ahem.
But let us not dwell on the failures of the past, let us move on to newer and more beautiful things – namely, my new shawl obsession, Blue Oak.
I asked designer Rachel Brockman about this, and she kindly shared her original swatch and concept.
“It all started with my playing with slip stitches and stripes, but wanting it to have a little something special. I’m a sucker for triangular shawls, too. They are easy to wear and soothing to knit. It was never my plan to make this in pink and white, as shown in my swatch – but I think it gets my design through quite well and I was thrilled about the final results.”
Rachel’s concept for the edge lace was inspired by the Blue Oak tree. The triangular shape of the shawl itself mirrors that.
Soothing indeed.
It sits nicely on the shoulders worn loose to the front…
…and is long enough to wrap for other styling options as well.
The grain pattern in this top-down piece is just a 4-row 2-stitch repeat. I cast on for this yesterday and knitted a bit, and it only took about five rows after the garter tab before I didn’t have to think about it any more.
Colors: 122 Amethyst and 119 Apricot.
The pattern is broken up by a band of contrasting color in the middle and in the ending lace. Everything in the pattern is written and charted, except the grain pattern, which needs no chart.
Rachel offers some Bella Cash color suggestions:
“My choices for a personal project would have to be 126 Forest combined with 106 Oat or 116 Sage, as used in the sample. Of course, there is always 121 Cabernet and 124 Mustard (shown) if you’re feeling the Gryffindor love!”
Well, now I’m not sure whether to keep going with what I’ve got, or maybe go Ravenclaw blue. Decisions, decisions.
The Blue Oak Shawl is available on Ravelry as a single pattern, or as part of e-book Small Pleasures. This won’t be the last time we talk about this e-book. I’m a sock fiend, and there’s a pair in there I’m dying to cast on for.
This summer, I’ve been looking for just the right piece to wear over a tank or short sleeves, to go with a kicky spring-toned skirt that I bought on impulse. I didn’t have to look far – Rachel Brockman delivered the perfect design in the Flow Cardi.
The design is part of our new Vibrance in Lace e-book of patterns for new yarn Finn. For me, this works perfectly because it’s loose and airy, and if I’m going to wear a skirt (rare for me!) then I definitely want to be comfortable.
The six-row lace repeat isn’t hard to keep track of. Worked flat in pieces from the bottom up, you’ll be making the sleeves at the same time as the body, casting on and binding off to create the dolman sleeve shape.
The model here is wearing a Medium/Large, which gives her a generous 20″ of ease. The pattern is sized from XS to 4X.
Looks great open, or fastened with a pin or closure. I like the use of Finn for this pattern – its alpaca content provides a soft halo, which gives a touch of blur to the edges of the lace and softens the look even further.
When we launch a new yarn, as we did this year with Finn, we also publish free patterns made in that yarn so that crafters can have instant inspiration. Halfway Home was one of several published this Spring that never got their day on the blog. Time to fix that!
It’s lovely worn, but I also had to take a picture of it here in the studio just to show its striking shape.
The corner that the model is holding is the starting point for this slightly oblong shawl. It begins with just 7 stitches. Five Herringbone Lace Columns grow out of the left side of the shawl and are continued up to the top edge.
Increases occur only at the left side of the piece, creating a right triangle shape. The lace pattern is an easy-to-memorize 4-row repeat.
We use Finn, a blend of acrylic, superwash merino, and enough alpaca to give it a bit of a halo. It’s a nice touch of luxury.
It’s easy to customize size in this shawl, as most of the body is maintained in garter stitch. Just be sure to reserve enough yarn for the final 10 rows of garter stitch and you’re good!
These are sweet little knitting confections. Made in organic Cottonwood, they’re small projects that are satisfying on-the-go knitting, or great quick gifts.
There’s just something magical about Spring. It’s hard to resist the call of the outdoors when the first blooms are poking up. It always puts us in mind of growing things, including the little people in our lives.
Enter the Sakura Dress.
This lightweight raglan-style piece is sized from newborn to 4 years. Worked in the round from the bottom up, this sweet little knit uses one of my favorite warm-weather yarns, Bamboo Pop, in two coordinating colors, 215 Soothe and 125 Darling Pink. I’m already thinking of what other colors might work – maybe light green with variegated 209 Jungle Life? Or a lavender with purple? These are the tough decisions, folks!
An easy-to-memorize lace pattern in a single skein of soft, shimmering Alpaculence creates a beautiful, lightweight cowl that can easily be dressed up or down.
Be aware: the cowl shown took 92 grams of a 100 gram ball. Be sure your gauge is correct to prevent the possibility of running out of yarn! Swatching in advance can prevent trouble at the finish.
This is a great transitional piece for the cool weather that’s coming up. (Cool weather is coming up, right? Because here in the South, we’re very ready.)
This vest is worked traditionally, from the hem up in pieces. The Lovely Lace pattern lives up to its name – simple, but pretty. It’s written and charted, and the pattern contains a schematic.
We’re big fans of Bella Cash here, as you may have gathered from recent Free Pattern Fridays like the Dulcet Wrap. The yarn is a lightweight fine merino/nylon/cashmere blend that’s pleasant to work with and looks beautiful knitted or crocheted up.
We hope you enjoy this free pattern. Have a great weekend, and happy knitting!
It’s summertime, but that’s no reason to skip the pretty accessories! This scarf calls for two balls of Nazli Gelin Garden 10 mercerized cotton, using one of the variegated shades in that yarn. The colors in this cotton are rich and saturated.
The body of this shallow shaped scarf is knitted at the same time as its border. As with all stockinette, this scarf will curl some, allowing bits of the lace to peek through depending on how you wear it.
This is a lovely lightweight piece that won’t sit heavy on your lap as you work it.
