The Weekly Swatch: Trellis Lace Knit Stitch

Trellis Lace Knit Stitch

For this week's swatch I have chosen the Trellis Lace Knit Stitch, a simple stitch motif that results in an open mesh fabric, ideal for summer garments, scarfs and throws. There is nothing complicated about this stitch. The pattern is knitted over four rows, all even rows are purled throughout and the lace pattern can be memorised easily. 

The stitch motif is suitable for yarns of all weights and I chose to showcase my swatch sample utilising Stylecraft Kontiki (grey) and Patons UK Vintage (pink). 

Trellis Lace Knit Stitch (Yarns: Stylecraft Kontiki - grey and Patons UK Vintage - pink)

Vintage 80s Knitting Patterns - Part 5

Putting my 1980s vintage patterns up on the blog has been great fun and, going by audience feedback so far, they have certainly put a smile on readers' faces. 

This instalment of 1980s knitting patterns features Patons Book of Knitting Patterns No 259, which contained '11 young fashion designs' utilising the 'Patons special Odpins technique' (basically knitting with two needles of different sizes).

All other 80s knitting patterns and more vintage knitting are available here.

Dolman sweaters and ridiculous poses coming up. Enjoy.

Vintage 1980s Knitting Patterns - Patons Book 259 (Odpins)

Vintage 1980s Knitting Patterns - Patons Book 259 (Odpins) Ladies' V-Neck Sweater

Vintage 80s Knitting Patterns

As I was going through my vintage knitting pattern collection, I came across these gems from the 80s. They simply had to go on the blog. 

It's time for knitted jackets (preferably with foam shoulder pads), over-sized jumpers and colour blocks. Let's go back to the 1980s.

Enjoy!

Vintage 80s Argyll Knitting Pattern - Ladies' Cotton Drop Stitch Sweater 

Vintage 80s Alafoss Ladies' Jumper Knitting Patterns 

There and Back Again....

Gallery of a Public Transport Knitter

Some Vital Statistics

Excluding the London Underground network, 2.5 million people commute to work by rail in the United Kingdom every day. More than a third of those commute to work to and from London. With a population of 13,614,409, the London commuter belt, which is also defined as the Southeast Metropolitan Area, is the largest in the European Union. The geographical boundaries of the Southeast Metropolitan Area are in constant flux. As the urban sprawl continues ever on and transport links are improved or created, it is expected to further expand.

My stretch of the line is operated by Southeastern. 70% of Southeastern's services transport passengers from Kent and parts of East Sussex to the major London termini. On their website Southeastern claim to be transporting 570,000 commuters to the capital every weekday morning. I happen to be one of them.

The Last of the Vintage...or an ideal yarn for beginner lace knitters

...and with a little melancholy, I note that I have used up the last balls of Patons UK Vintage. Well, never mind I'm quite happy with the finished object.

Introducing: The Oaklet, aka the Last of the Vintage

The designer is Megan Goodacre. The yarn (Paton's UK Vintage) was purchased a long time ago at Kemp's and has long since been discontinued. I have used Vintage in several projects and, even though it's not an overtly pretty yarn (in all honesty, the colourways are somewhat questionable), I feel a little sad to see it go. 

Megan Goodacre's Oaklet Shawl Pattern

Noro Bias Lace Scarf in a Less Than Posh Yarn

Bias Lace 

Another project, completed entirely during the daily commute. It turned out to be an excellent commuter knit for several reasons:

The Weekly Swatch, Part 3 - The Left Slanting Turkish Rib Stitch

Left - Slanting Turkish Rib Knit Stitch

Turkish Rib stitch (left - slanting) is one of those uncomplicated, easily memorisable (is that a word?) stitches that can lend great texture to a knitted piece, especially in combination with other ribbed stitch motifs, emphasising either texture, direction or both. At the same time, it is certainly more interesting than mere two - by - two ribbing, which can get a bit tedious - both to look at and to knit.

Left - slanting Turkish Rib Stitch in Patons UK Vintage (4mm needles)

As I was knitting up my swatch, it looked like dropped stitches had been incorporated diagonally, giving the knitted fabric a great deal of sideways stretchiness and elasticity . All these properties make this the ideal stitch motif for socks, knee - highs, cowls, mittens and pretty much every other tubularly - shaped or partially tubular piece, allowing for convenient, adaptable fit without requiring a lot of shaping on the knitter's (or designer's) part.

Left - Slanting Turkish Rib Stitch

Knit in a multiple of two stitches.

Special Abbreviation: PR - (Basically the opposite of a psso on the left hand needle.) 

Purl stitch, return stitch from right hand needle to left hand needle, insert right hand needle into the stitch next to the returned stitch on the left hand needle, lift this stitch over the purled stitch and drop it off the needle. Return stitch on left hand needle to right hand needle. Done!

Row 1: knit all stitches

Row 2: P1, * yo, PR, rep from * to last stitch, p1.

Row 3: K1, *sl1, k1, psso, yo, rep from * to last stitch, k1

Repeat Rows 2 and 3.

- !! Update !! -

The stitch pattern / tutorial for the right-slanting Turkish Rib Stitch is now available here.

For all knit stitch patterns and weekly swatch posts, please follow this link to my knit stitch library.

For further posts on ribbed knit stitch tutorials and my knitting patterns utilising ribbed stitches, please visit this link.

One way of storing your knitting

My swatch is knit in Patons (UK) Vintage (a cotton / acrylic mix) on 4mm needles.

Meandering Vines

It's off the needles, it's finished blocking and here it is....

Meandering Vines in Paton's UK Vintage

For further blog entries about the project, please look here (on blocking 

the garment) and here.

P.S. Now that I am the proud owner of a shawl, I will need to source a shawl pin.

Meandering Vines by Susanna IC - Almost Finished...

According to an earlier blog entry, I began to work on "Meandering Vines" back in March 2011. It seems so long ago and I started several other projects whilst knitting the shawl.  

Meandering Vines

Finally, after three months of knitting on and off, it is finished. Well, ... almost finished. It's currently blocking. The shawl is knitted in a relatively thick cotton / acrylic yarn (Paton's UK Vintage) and blocking was an absolute must on this project.

The pattern is simple and straightforward, and, as promised by the designer, it can be knit in pretty much every type of yarn.  -   An easy knit for the beginner lace knitter.

My blocking method is a little quirky (see below). I neither own a blocking board, which would accommodate the full length of the shawl, nor do I have blocking pins, which would be strong enough to hold the fabric in place.

Meandering Vines in Patons UK Vintage - Blocking in Progress

Meandering Vines in Patons UK Vintage - Blocking in Progress

After some deliberation I decided to suspend the shawl with the help of two pegged coat - hangers from the top shelf of the wardrobe. The triangular corners on either side of the shawl are fastened to both sides of the wardrobe with the help of some scrap yarn (inserted in the eyelet stitches and then tied to the sides of the wardrobe). A further two coat hangers keep the garment in place at the bottom of the wardrobe.

Once this arrangement was in place, I lightly misted the garment with cold water.

Pictures of the blocked garment can be found here.

Substituting Rowan Kidsilk Haze

Kidsilk Haze must be one of Rowan's bestselling yarns. As I am writing this entry, Kidsilk Haze has been stashed 11813 times on Ravelry, knitters have produced 14396 garments with the yarn and it's a consistent favourite amongst designers. I have personally met the yarn in my local yarn store, I have touched it, my eyes have feasted on the fantastic colourways in which it is produced and I regularly drool over photos of Kidsilk Haze and other yarns in the Kidsilk family when browsing through online yarn shops. Yes, there are several members in the Kidsilk family: Kidsilk Spray, Kidsilk Night and Kidsilk Aura, which I believe has now been discontinued. I love them all.

Rowan Kidsilk Haze

And yet, I have resisted buying Kidsilk Haze. I first came across Kidsilk Haze in a pattern book by Laura Harding. I had been knitting for a mere few months then and didn't know anything about yarn and the price tag that comes (quite rightly) with certain materials - Kidsilk Haze is a blend of Super Kid Mohair (70%) and Silk (30%). Blissfully ignorant, I looked it up on the internet and was quite simply taken aback by the price. Just about having completed my first fingerless glove in an awfully cheap acrylic yarn, I was after a yarn that was a bit more luxurious, yet affordable, a yarn with a purchase price, which I, an absolute beginner, could justify in case my project went horribly wrong. Therefore, I was unable to buy Kidsilk Haze. I didn't think my level of skill would do the expense and the beauty of the yarn justice.

Nevertheless, if I didn't allow myself Kidsilk Haze, I at least wanted something like Kidsilk Haze. And so the endless quest for a substitute had begun - alongside the perennial search for Kidsilk Haze at a knockdown price: That illusive skein of Kidsilk somewhere on sale for less than £3.50. (Yeah, I know...it's never going to happen.) Considering that 25g currently retail at just over £8.00, you are lucky if you are able to locate a skein for £5.95, and that would be in a discontinued colour, of which probably only one skein is held in stock. It has crossed my mind that instead of buying gold bullions for investment purposes, it might be just as prudent to have a few skeins of Kidsilk in your vault. I don't think prices for the stuff are about to drop any time soon and it might be a good hedge against inflation.

Patons UK Misty

In the light of all this praise, I need to make absolutely clear that I don't think any substitute not equivalent in materials will ever come close to Kidsilk, but this is not necessarily the task a cheaper alternative is supposed to fulfil. When substituting yarn in this particular case, I am aware that a cheaper alternative will produce an approximation in texture and look. I am perfectly happy with this - for the time being.

Patons UK Misty

After months of searching for this alternative, I found a possible candidate: Patons UK Misty, a blend of Mohair (70%) and Polyamide (30%) with a recommended needle size of 3.25 - 5.00mm (US: 3 - 8). Due to the Polyamide replacing the Silk content, Misty is a lot shinier than Kidsilk Haze. I haven't started to knit with Misty in earnest, but as far as first impressions go, I think Misty could be a frugal alternative. The yarn looks and feels luxurious. Whether it can live up to my expectations will soon be put to the test.

I have ten skeins of Misty in my stash and a few suitable patterns in mind. I will probably start swatching next weekend.  Ice Queen by Rosemary (Romi) Hill, which is available free on Knitty's website, or Branching Out by Susan Lawrence, a pattern which was the subject of a previous article and which is also available on Knitty's website, are two possible candidates.

Update: I decided to use Patons (UK) Misty for Citron by Hilary Smith Callis. For more on this, please have a look at my Citron blogpost.

Another update: I have used Misty for another project. This time, it was a stole designed by Cheryl Niamath. Project notes are now available on the blog. For a preview picture, please see below.

Wisp by Cheryl Niamath

Lost in Lace - A Lace Knitting Newbie's Quest for a Suitable Project

...the Highs and Lows of my Weekend Lace Knitting Quest

Sitting on the bus late Friday evening after work, I thought about my weekend knitting. I have a habit of starting new projects during the weekend, as I am able to source patterns and I have enough time to engage in all the preparatory work (choosing yarn, knitting swatches etc.). During the week, I like to return to the project, pick up the needles and simply enjoy the process.

As of late and in my quest to find new challenges, I got increasingly attracted to lace knitting. Once I arrived home and after saying "hello" to the cats, I started to sift through my pattern library and dug out Susan Pierce Lawrence's scarf pattern for "Branching Out", which was featured in Knitty's spring 2005 edition.

Susan's  design, though relatively straightforward, incorporates the most common increases and decreases the lace knitter is likely to encounter. Once you have gotten to grips with these, you will have gained confidence and are likely to master more complex lace patterns.

To have a look at the scarf, please click on the the link to Knitty below:

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring05/PATTbranchingout.html

That it  looked like the ideal project for the beginner lace knitter, is exactly what I thought. I started a trial with some cheap acrylic yarn. Owing to the yarn, my swatch didn't look great, but I wasn't prepared to waste posh(er) yarn during the first stages of my lace experiment.

After an hour or so, it clicked and I really got going. Mastering the stitch sequence wasn't all too hard and I went to bed with a great sense of achievement. sl2-k1-p2sso isn't scaring me anymore! Result.

I continued my lace experiment on Saturday, sorting through my stash and trying to locate a yarn that was going to be suitable, but I was in the end unable to find anything...I am sure a lot of knitters must be familiar with this scenario. You want to knit a pattern, you have a huge stash and not a single resident yarn is up to the job or would do the pattern justice. Oh, it is so frustrating!!! Friday's euphoria was followed by complete and utter frustration on Saturday.

Adamant that at least one yarn in my stash might be suitable for lace knitting, I decided to go on  another pattern search and finally I succeeded. By now it was Sunday morning and I was close to giving up, when I remembered a pattern by designer Susanna IC  -  http://artqualia.com/. The pattern is called "Meandering Vines" (http://artqualia.com/patterns%205.html) and Susanna states in her introduction to the pattern that it's possible to knit the stole with just about any yarn, provided suitable needles are chosen.

It has to be said that Susanna's "Meandering Vines" is far less intricate than "Branching Out", but by now I just wanted to knit and get a project onto my needles.

I decided to trust Susanna and started a trial swatch with some of my Paton's Vintage (30% cotton and 70% Acrylic). I originally bought it in bulk from Kemp's as it was an absolute steal at £0.59, but never quite succeeded in finding a suitable pattern for it.

I am pleased to report that after Saturday's ordeal, Sunday turned out to be a success. Meandering Vines (in Patons Vintage - Burnished)  is now  firmly installed on my needles and I can return to my  new  project over the next few evenings. It is easy to memorise the pattern and I am anticipating a relaxed and enjoyable knit. Once I have used my stash of Paton's Vintage, I will go on a hunt for yarns to be used when knitting Susan Pierce Lawrence's "Branching Out".

For all those who wish to have a little venture into lace knitting, I strongly recommend you  have a look at Susanna IC's website:  http://artqualia.com/. There you will find Meandering Vines, a pattern every beginner can knit with virtually any yarn, alongside various other (sometimes free) lace patterns. It will be worth a visit...or maybe two!