Happy November and welcome to Week 6 of the Bella Cash Socktober Mystery Knitalong! Hopefully by now you’ve been able to finish your socks. We’re so excited to be able to reveal them to you this week!
Use this graphic on Ravelry and on social media to share about the knitalong.
Each week in October I revealed a new portion of the pattern. Now that each piece of the puzzle has been fully revealed, I hope you’ll enjoy seeing the projects of others. If you didn’t have a chance to join last month, no worries! It’s never too late to knit socks, right? You can find the pattern for the Sweet Dumplin’ Socks here (link). Grab your colors of beautiful merino/cashmere/nylon Bella Cash here (link).
We hope you’ve added your project to Ravelry, too! You can find the Ravelry listing here (link).
The finished Sweet Dumplin’ Socks in their full glory!
I’m so excited to fully reveal the completed socks. I had so much fun designing and knitting them, and I hope the process has been great fun for you, too. The mornings and evenings around here have grown quite chilly, so I’m excited to be able to start wearing mine! This week I want to share a few photos of your projects in addition to our versions here at the office. You might recall that Aubrey, Yonca, and Heather all joined in on the fun. We’ve already revealed their color choices, but it’s great to see them knit up!
From left to right: Aubrey’s sock, Yonca’s sock, Heather’s sock.
First let’s take a look at Aubrey’s progress. She hasn’t quite reached the toe and heel portion yet, but she’s well on the way. I so love how she opted to arrange her colors. The pink as the main color is so fun, and I love the slate grey as the background color.
Aubrey’s color choices.
Aubrey used 117 Tulip as the main color (MC), 109 Snow as contrast color one (CC1), and 110 Graphite as contrast color two (CC2). Here is how it looks knit up:
Aubrey’s Sweet Dumplin’ Socks progress.
Next we have Yonca. Like Aubrey, she hasn’t yet reached the toe and heel portion. However, she’s been knitting her socks simultaneously, so she’s actually pretty darn close to finishing the pair. Here were her color choices:
Yonca’s color choices.
Yonca used 122 Amethyst as the MC, 118 Orchid as CC1, and 109 Snow as CC2. The subtlety of Snow and Orchid together is just beautiful, and the Amethyst really provides a pop.
Yonca’s Sweet Dumplin’ Socks progress.
Finally, let’s take a look at Heather’s hot chocolate-inspired palette, for her aptly named “Hot Chocko Sockos”. She’s nearly finished with the toe. I have a feeling these will be off her needles in just a couple of days.
Heather’s color choices.
Heather chose to use 107 Coffee as the MC, 121 Cabernet as CC1, and 106 Oat as CC2. The results are so autumnal and I would love a pair of socks in the same color combination!
Heather’s Sweet Dumplin’ Socks.
Now let’s take a look at some of your socks! I’d like to give a special thanks to those who participated in the Ravelry chats – it was so fun to watch your progress and interact with you as the weeks ran along. Some knitters chose the sample colors, and others went in totally different directions. Let’s have a look!
Sati of Rows and Roses yarn shop modified her socks to be a bit shorter. She also chose a warm, autumnal palette for her socks.
Sati’s socks using Bella Cash 103 Violet, 106 Oat, & 107 Coffee.
Thatgirlknit and 4Laurel both chose to use the sample colors for their Sweet Dumplin’ Socks. They look great!
Left: 4Laurels’ Sweet Dumplin’ Socks; Right: Thatgirlknit’s Sweet Dumplin Socks
FrauReisende created this stunning version – and FAST. It seemed like she shared a progress photo of the next portion the same day as it was revealed from week to week. It was so fun to watch her fly through her knitting, and the colors are simply perfect. For a similar version to hers, I’d suggest using Bella Cash in the following colors: 103 Violet (MC), 109 Snow (CC1), and 124 Mustard (CC2).
FrauReisende’s Sweet Dumplin’ Socks.
BlaueOdonata blew me away when I saw that she added beads to her colorwork motif. Beads! Absolutely genius. This autumnal pair of socks was suddenly transformed into something well-suited for Christmas. For a holiday version of your own, I’d suggest using Bella Cash in 126 Forest (MC), 121 Cabernet (CC1), and 111 Cream (CC2).
BlaueOdonata’s Sweet Dumplin’ Socks.
Fireboysgirl used colors extremely similar to Yonca’s, but needed to improvise since she was working from her stash. Her modification to the toes is so fun.
Fireboysgirl’s Sweet Dumplin’ Socks.
UDalily created a really fun, vibrant version. My favorite detail is how she mirrored the colorwork motif for the left and right sock. Now why didn’t I think of that?! For a similar version, I recommend using Bella Cash 123 Maldives (MC), 121 Cabernet (CC2), and 126 Forest (CC2).
UDalily’s Sweet Dumplin’ Socks.
Looking at everyone’s different socks reminds me of what I love so much about knitting. The possibilities are really endless. You can choose any colors you love to make a project uniquely yours. Is there a detail on the pattern you’d like to adjust? Go for it! As a designer, I get a ton of inspiration out of seeing how others creatively modify my designs. I always want to encourage people to step outside of the box and view patterns are guidelines rather than rulebooks. It truly fills me with so much joy to see people creating beautiful things from our yarns.
Thank you so much for joining me over the last month for the Bella Cash Socktober Mystery Knitalong. Check back in with us on Friday, when we’ll reveal more photos of the finished socks for our Free Pattern Friday. Happy knitting!
So colorful! Block Ten “Carousel” builds on the same center-out technique we learned in Block Nine “Best Buds.” I love how Amy picked three colors for her block with high contrast – it’s so vivid!
Amy shares another video with us, this one on knitting in the round using one long circular and the “magic loop” method as opposed to DPNs (double-pointed needles).
This is the method I personally use for most of my socks and projects in the round. For a small square like this, there’s not necessarily an advantage to circular vs. double-pointed needles, it’s all a matter of personal preference. Give them both a try and see which one works best for you!
We have a bonus video as well, on weaving in ends to eliminate those pesky pointy corners, using last week’s block as an example.
Enjoy this second chance to knit from the center out. We’ll be back again in a couple of weeks with our next technique!
It’s the end of the month. How’d we do on the 30-Day Sweater Challenge?
A few of us finished. A few of us got close. A few of us are plowing ahead, slow and steady.
At right, my Mystery Sweater in Deluxe Worsted wool (100g/220yds). I chose the harder path, but after a misreading of the pattern (completely my fault!) that left me ripping back three inches, I decided to skip the pockets in the interest of finishing in a timely fashion. I’m planning on finishing hem by tomorrow. Even though I didn’t make the 30 day deadline, this was definitely a worthwhile knit. There were a lot of opportunities to learn and to challenge myself, which is what the project was all about.
At right, a designer’s sweater in Llamalini (50g/109yds), so very close to being finished! She chose to move her pockets further forward and to finish her hem with the twists at the collar rather than the garter rows called for. So far she wins the unofficial award for “most customized sweater.”
How about you? This is certainly a project that is as much about the journey as the destination. Are you pleased with the work you did? Any project we learn from is worthwhile. We hope you’ve enjoyed what you’ve done so far.
Don’t forget our giveaway – if you complete your sweater in a Universal yarn by November 14th and send us a photo, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a set of Deborah Norville interchangeable needles.We’ve seen some great sweaters already!
We’ll share the office’s finished sweaters in a couple of weeks. See you then!
It’s here! Clue 8 of the Mystery Sweater KAL is live!
I made it to Clue 5, then took a little knitting break. Back on the horse for me tonight – I hope to plow on to the hem!
Take a look at this sweater knitted by Jen in Accounting. The variegated Poems Silk looks great with this design – it’s not overwhelming or busy. Jen also opted to do her side panel in stockinette instead of reverse stockinette. It’s fascinating to see the ways people are customizing this design.
Jen wants to put her pockets in before tackling the sleeves, so she was excited to get today’s clue. Clue 8 contains a photo tutorial on different methods of finishing your pockets. The mattress stitch is a great choice – invisible and not at all bulky.
Jen, like many of us at the office, is using the same Deborah Norville Interchangeable Needles that we’re offering as the prize in our 30-Day-Sweater KAL drawing. As a reminder, if you complete your sweater in a Universal yarn by November 14th and send us a photo, you’ll be entered into a drawing for a chance to win a set of Deborah Norville interchangeable needles. We have found these to be very pleasant needles to use, smooth and quick in their action. It doesn’t hurt that they’re so pretty to look at.
Clue 8 brings us to the end of the pattern. How are you doing on the 30-day aspect of this sweater? Think you can make it? We’ll be back with photos of how we’re doing here at the office. We can’t wait to see how you’re doing too!
How are we doing? I’m still slow-poking along with the body of the sweater, but I’m very encouraged by how it looks! The nice thing about the top-down seamless construction is that I can try it on and see how it fits. I considered doing a modified waist shaping, since my figure is less hourglass than some, but decided to put in a lifeline and try the waist shaping as written. I figured if things didn’t look right when I tried it on, I could always rip back and make some modifications. Fortunately, it looks good!
Speaking of modifications, let’s look at the sweater to the right inLlamalini (50g/109yds). First of all, I love the lines of the Llamalini linen/royal llama/silk bourette blend. This is going to be a decadent sweater. There were some things about the construction of this sweater that made me curious, so I spoke with the designer who’s knitting it, who told me her secret.
This knitter has a sweater in her wardrobe that she loves. It fits beautifully and makes her look like a million bucks. When she makes a new sweater, she compares it to the sweater she already has and modifies the pattern so that it fits the measurements of the Perfect Sweater in her closet. It’s a great idea and I’m definitely going to incorporate it into the next garment I make. Imagine every sweater fitting you like the one you love the best!
She also has plans for the hem – instead of garter stitch, she’s planning on repeating the twists from the collar. As for me, I’m sticking with straight garter stitch as it is in the pattern. A few folks here in the office have already bound off their hem and it looks great.
Clue 7 sees us adding sleeves. Looks like we’re in the home stretch of our 30 Day Challenge!
I don’t know about you, but I made great progress since the last clue! Clue 2 took a while, but Clue 3 flew by and Clue 4 is moving along nicely. I’m looking forward to doing the Clue 5 pockets!
We had several people who were concerned about showing pictures of their sweaters because they had so many bits of yarn hanging off of them. Let’s face it, all of our sweaters look unfinished when we’re still making them. That’s because they areunfinished. They are diamonds in the rough. We’ll worry about polishing them up when the knitting is done! However, Elly was happy to share her Classic Shades Solids (197yds/100g)sweater again, and no wonder. Finished or unfinished, it looks beautiful. Her pockets look quite neat.
Another knitter was glad to share his Nettle Lana Expressions (98yds/50g) sweater. I’m still a little envious of the reverse stockinette body! We share the detail shot at right to show just how invisible those pocket openings are. I’m very happy to have learned this method of putting pockets into a garment. This is going to be a great little trick in my knitter’s toolbox.
Clue 6 brings us to the end of the body. We’re looking at button placement and finishing off the hem. The end is in sight, folks. You’re doing great!
I did finish Clue 2 over the weekend, and yes I feel very self-satisfied! I had a minor bobble with one of my cables, but it was my own error and was easily corrected. Whenever I fix a mistake (after grumbling about making the mistake in the first place) I always feel pleased. We all get in little scrapes now and then – the important thing is learning how to get back out of them.
One of the things that keeps me looking forward is seeing the great progress that our office knitters have made! Above is Katie’s Mystery Sweater. She’s using Deluxe Worsted Superwash (100g/220yds), our machine washable 100% wool yarn. She’s only got a couple of repeats to go on Clue 4 and she’ll be ready to spring ahead!
Elly’s using Classic Shades Solids (100g/197yds), a machine washable 70% acrylic/30% wool blend. Check out the side view – the reverse stockinette panel on her Harder Path/Stockinette looks great.
Today’s clue brings another option – pockets! There is a little seaming involved with these, but all the designers in our office who are knitting along agree that this is an excellent method of working pockets. I’m very excited – my sweater is going to be beautiful AND functional!
We’ll see you on Thursday with Clue #6. Happy knitting!
Your humble blogger? I’m about to finish up Clue 2. I have to say, though, the encouragement of folks here in the office and on Facebook and Ravelry guarantees that this will not be another unfinished project on the pile. This is still very exciting!
Last time we showed a Llamalini (109yds/50g) sweater with its Y-shaped cables. Here it is again at right, with the body and sleeves separated. It’s slightly damp, since the knitter gave it a little bath just to see if the yarn would do anything odd. Good news – the Llamalini linen/llama/silk blend came through like a champ. Looks like smooth sailing!
A knitter in accounting is steaming ahead in Poems Silk (109yds/50g), following the Harder Path with a stockinette background. She’s very happy to have Clue 4 in her hands and plans to dive in at lunchtime.
And speaking of Clue 4, there’s yet another branch in the path! Amy provides options for waist shaping. If you’re a curvy type, there’s an option for accentuating your curves. If you prefer a more straightforward line, there are options for that as well. I’m loving just how customized I can make this sweater.
Today I launch into clue 3. I plan to be caught up by the time Clue 5 rolls around –I hear it’s going to bring even more options. See you on Monday!
We’ve had a couple of people who have lost their way along the Mystery KAL Harder Path, and we’d like to make it a little easier for you to find your way back. So let’s talk about lifelines!
Lifelines are one of those McGyver tricks that every knitter should have in their toolbox. They can save you from getting frustrated at a mistake and ripping your whole project out. And they could not be easier to do.
All you’re going to need is your project, a length of smooth contrasting colored yarn a little longer than the width of your project, and a tapestry needle. This swatch and lifeline are both in our Uptown Worsted 100% anti-pilling acrylic (180yds/100g).
Thread your lifeline onto the needle. Run it through your work, alongside the knitting needle. The lifeline is going to be right where your active loops currently are.
On your next row, knit as you normally would, disregarding the lifeline. It’s just going to hang out in your work, staying in the same row of loops you threaded it through.
Here’s where it comes in handy. In the next picture, we’ve dropped some stitches! But wait – the lifeline is in place! Instead of unraveling all the way back down to the cast-on edge, the dropped stitch hit the lifeline and stopped. We still have to pick up the stitch, but it’s not the disaster that it could have been.
Let’s say I realized I made a mistake about 20 rows ago (gasp!) and need to rip back to the point of the error. Thankfully, I put in a lifeline right before I was starting on the tricky bit, so I can just rip back and the lifeline will keep my stitches aligned and ready to go back on the needle. I just slide my needle through the channel created by the lifeline. I’m good to go!
I’m putting in a lifeline as I begin Clue 2 of my Mystery Sweater. If something goes wrong, I can just rip back to that point, reset my needle, and start Clue 2 again. No muss no fuss.
We hope this helps!
ETA: Run your lifeline AROUND your stitch markers, not through. Otherwise you can’t move the stitch markers to the next row. You can guess how I learned this!
So, how’re we doing? Personally, I love it so far. The reversible right twists look great and are easy to keep track of. I’m feeling good about the path that I’ve chosen… and now it’s time to choose again!
Amy Gunderson gives Harder Path followers another fork in the road – choose stockinette or reverse stockinette. “One reason the reverse stockinette path might be a good choice for you is if you’re working with a variegated yarn. I happen to prefer the look of variegated yarn over a reverse stockinette fabric rather than stockinette, but it’s your choice!”
We have people in the office using both solid and variegated yarns. Above is Jennifer’s collar in Poems Silk. I may just wander over to her office and try to nudge her in the direction of reverse stockinette – I really want to see what the yarn is going to do!
This weekend will be a good opportunity to stay (or get) caught up on what we’ve done so far. We’ll be back on Monday with Clue #3!
