garter • The Knitting Vortex

Velvetine Lines

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Aug 312021

Velvetine Lines uses garter striped fabric to interpret the wales of corduroy, and is perfect for two saturated jewel colors in lighter and darker tones that mimic the shading created by the nap of velveteen. Pick shades of your favorite color, or take your shawl in another direction and pair two contrasting colors for a different, bold effect. Cast on at one end and worked sideways in two beautiful jewel tones, this deep-pointed triangle features skinny garter stripes that expand into striated lines, for a strong but simple visual impact. Easy no-wrap short rows in sets of three alternate between colors throughout the edging, while two-row stripes anchor the body and connect to the edge of this attainable and fun knit. Techniques & Skills Used: knit/purl, increasing/decreasing, no-wrap short rows; instructions for this pattern are fully written. Size: 65” length and 36” depth, customizable. Yarn: Miss Babs Hand Dyed Yarn Yummy 2-Ply (100% superwash merino wool; 400 yards/365 m/110g), sample shown in Tulipa (color A dark) and Fig (color B light); 1 skein each color, . . .

Kline Shawl

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Apr 212017

Originally published in knit.wear Spring/Summer 2016, the Kline pattern is now available as an individual download in my usual pattern format. Bold strokes of alternating smooth and rough texture stretch fluidly across this asymmetric shawl. The strict monochromatic palette is broken with colorful accents that transition to dominance at the far edge; try pairing a speckled yarn with a bold contrast for a striking visual result. Techniques & Skills Used: cable CO, knit/purl, increasing/decreasing. Size: 80” length and 21” depth, customizable. Yarn: Madelinetosh tosh merino light (100% merino wool; 420 yards/384m/100g), shown in Optic (MC) and Edison Bulb (CC); 1 skein each MC and CC. The sample used approximately 420 yards MC and 340 yards CC, but any amount of yarn in any combination may be used; see Designer’s Notes. Other Materials: US 6 (4mm) 32” circular needle, or size to match gauge; Yarn needle. Gauge: 20 st and 32 rows/4” in stockinette stitch, after blocking. Gauge is not critical for this project, however a different gauge may result in a smaller or larger finished . . .

Snowsweep

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Dec 012015

Sweeping rows of eyelets, placed gradually further apart, curve along this reversible shawl. Worked from a few stitches at one tip, the garter stitch grows asymmetrically with picots at one edge, to a matching picot finish. A simple knit with dramatic results, Snowsweep may be customized to use any amount of yardage, and to adjust the frequency of eyelet accent rows. Techniques & Skills Used: cable CO, knit, increasing/decreasing, picots. Size: 74” length and 24” depth, customizable. Yarn: Woolfolk Sno (100% Ovis 21 ultimate merino wool; 223 yards/204m/50g), shown in Color No. 1+2 (pale grey and off white); 4 skeins. The sample as written used approximately 780 yards, but any amount of fingering weight yarn may be used; see Designer’s Notes. Other Materials: US 6 (4mm) 32” circular needle, or size to match gauge; Yarn needle. Gauge: 18 st and 36 rows/4” in garter stitch, after blocking. Gauge is not critical for this project, however a different gauge may result in a smaller or larger finished shawl, and different yardage requirements. See it on Ravelry or . . .

The Vizier’s Daughter

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Jan 012015

Scheherazade, the Vizier’s Daughter, is the legendary storyteller of One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. She agrees to spend one night with the king, a tyrant who has married and the next day beheaded a virgin one thousand times already, in anger and vengeance over finding that his first wife had been unfaithful to him. At nightfall, Scheherazade begins a story, which she stops mid-tale at dawn. Enthralled by the narrative, the king spares her life until the next night, when she finishes the story and begins another, again pausing at dawn. And so it goes for 1001 nights, until she tells him she has no more stories, during which time the king has fallen in love with her and begat their three sons. Kinder and wiser, he spares her life and makes her his queen.This one skein shawl is knit sideways with a garter stitch body and narrow bottom edge, and features sinuous lace along the lower curve. The decorative motif recalls the arabesques of Islamic surface decoration, based on linear patterns of scrolling . . .

Sneak Peek: Vary

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Oct 312014

My giant, asymmetrical, two-color shawl Sundry is one of my most popular designs. It’s so over the top, I had no idea what sort of reception it would get once released. But people seem to like it, which is always great. I think it’s the opportunity to mix and match colors, and to customize their placement. A look at some projects on Ravelry shows all sorts of beautiful choices: One of the reasons I love the sample so much is the yarn I used; Selku by String Theory Hand Dyed Yarn. It’s a wool and silk sportweight blend with excellent drape, and the gorgeous colors for which Karen and Tanis are known. I was fortunate to see their lovely yarns in person at out tiny, local sheep and fiber festival at the beginning of September, and inspired to create another design using Selku. I was looking for something to pair with the purpley-blue Viola colorway I had been hoarding, and found a deep raspberry that was perfect. For fans of Sundry, my new shawl Vary . . .

Slip Sliding Away

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Mar 242014

This graphic, topdown shawl begins with a garter tab, then is worked in narrow, two-color stripes with slipped stitches in reversed colors on each side of the central spine. The lower edging is a complementary slipped stitch rib which curves around the point and extends to each tip, emphasizing the strong linear elements of the shawl. Visually complicated but easy to work, only one color is used at a time, and the slipped stitches result in the pattern looking different on each half of the shawl. Increases on every row create a long v-shaped wingspan which accentuates the strong lines and showcases the changing optical interplay of colors. Techniques & Skills Used: garter tab CO, knit/purl, slipped stitch colorwork; this pattern is both written and charted. Size: 64” wingspan and 27” depth, after blocking. Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock (100% superwash merino wool; 395 yards/361m/100g), 1 skein each, MC and CC. Sample shown in MC Wood Violet and CC Victorian Gothic. This pattern may be adapted to any amount of yarn in two colors; see Designer’s . . .

Swirligig

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Dec 202013

An elongated, asymmetrical, swirling shawl that uses two colors, and simple knit, increase and decrease stitches to achieve a striking shape. Cast on with 3 stitches at one corner, Swirligig grows asymmetrically on the bias; adding stitches to each triangular section, while at the same time shifting the triangles by increasing and decreasing on a bias tilt. The garter stitch wedges are set off by swirling lines of yarnovers, and a matching line of yarnovers finishes the long edge. Techniques & Skills Used: knit, increasing/decreasing; this pattern includes written instructions, as well as a helpful stitch count table. Size: 112” length and 18” depth, after blocking. Swirligig forms a spiral shape expanding from one narrow point to the other wide end; see schematic for approximate shape. Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Sock (100% superwash merino, 395 yards/ 361m/100g); 1 skein MC and 1 skein CC, or approximately 380 and 295 yards respectively. Sample shown in Logwood (MC) and Ginger (CC). Other Materials: US 6 (4mm) 40” circular needle; Stitch markers (8); Yarn needle. Gauge: 20 st and . . .

Phi

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Aug 022013

The Golden Ratio, or Phi, represents harmony in nature, art and mathematics, and embodies the human perception of beauty. This asymmetric shawl harmoniously blends two colors to the Golden Mean, and then back again, using the Fibonacci sequence to determine the width of the stripes and their relation one to the next . . . All knitting, always pleasing, with a graphic , and harmonious result. Techniques & Skills Used: increasing/decreasing, knit; Phi includes instructions in written and quick table format, and a link to my video tutorial for carrying the unused color along the garter edge. Size: 90” length and 16” depth. Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn Finito (100% merino; 200 yards/183m/50g; 2 skeins MC and 2 skeins CC, or about 370 and 300 yards respectively of fingering weight yarn. Sample shown in Plomo (MC) and Mostaza (CC). The yardage requirements ratio of MC to CC is approximately 1.25 : 1 – make sure you have about 80% as much CC as MC to complete the sequence. Other Materials: US 5 (3.75mm) 32” circular needle, or . . .

Pomona Mitts

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Jul 182013

Among my favorite design themes, Harry Potter is undeniably one which keeps appearing as if by magic in my knitwear. The Magickal Quidditch Socks, Amortentia and Cauldron Full of Hot, Strong Love have been expressions in knit of my love for the wizarding world. Now I can show another small item, the Pomona Mitts, which I designed for The Unofficial Harry Potter Knits Special Issue from Interweave. Professor Pomona Sprout’s fingerless mitts reflect her personality; earthy, robust, and ready for hard work. Cast on provisionally at the outer edge of the hand, the fingerless Pomona Mitts are worked flat using short rows, then grafted for a seamless finish. The cuff is shaped into a point with increases and decreases, and made to flare with a short row wedge. The finger opening is embellished with a spikey picot edge worked by repeatedly casting on and binding off stitches, and an optional narrow decorative satin ribbon is laced through the eyelets on the back of the hand as embellishment. A rich and tweedy yarn brings depth and . . .

Picabeau

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Feb 182013

Picabeau is a crescent shaped small shawl, with asymmetrical construction that first increases and then decreases in a gentle curve. The reversible bias shape is highlighted by regular rows of YOs that swoop across the shawl, creating visual movement. One luscious skein is all that is required for this versatile and wearable accessory; instructions are given to make the shawl using any amount of yardage. Techniques & Skills Used: cable CO, knit, increasing/decreasing, picots. Size: 60” along bottom curve and 8” center depth, customizable. Yarn: String Theory Hand Dyed Yarn Caper Sock (80% superwash merino wool, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon; 400 yards/365m/113g); 1 skein shown in Light Teal. Sample used 348 yards; instructions are given to make the shawl using any amount of yardage. Other Materials: US 6 24” circular needle; Yarn needle. Gauge: 20 st and 40 rows/4” in garter stitch, after blocking. See it on Ravelry or on Payhip, to read more or purchase the pattern.

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