Blue Honey

 New Release, Patterns, Sweaters  Comments Off on Blue Honey
Apr 052012
 
Blue Honey

Worked sideways in one flat piece from right to left sleeve cuff, Blue Honey is a long, open front cardigan with honeycomb stitch at the shoulders and a wide garter band finishing the collar and front edges. With just two sideseams, it’s a sweater that is easy to knit and flattering to wear, featuring long, lean lines and pretty textured stitch details that show off a beautiful variegated yarn. Construction: Blue Honey is cast on at the right sleeve cuff, then the right sleeve, front and back are worked flat to the center front/center back of the garment. Stitches are bound off for the right front opening edge, the back is continued, then stitches are cast on again for the left front, and the left front, back and sleeve are worked to the left sleeve cuff. Two long continuous seams from the undersleeve to the hem finish the sweater. In this sideways knit, row gauge determines body circumference, while stitch gauge determines length. Techniques & Skills Used: cable CO, knit/purl, increasing/decreasing, picking up stitches, seaming. . . .

Honey WIP

 WIPs  Comments Off on Honey WIP
Feb 152012
 
Honey WIP

I’ve been a bit obsessed with the honeycomb brioche stitch pattern lately. It’s great for variegateds, helping to break up weird pooling and striping, and it makes a thick, fluffy fabric. I like it best in an accessory, or as an accent – as on the shoulder detail of my new sideways cardigan Blue Honey. The picture above shows lovely but challenging Malabrigo Rios in Azules, as stockinette, garter, and the honeycomb pattern. When I say challenging, I mean the variegated nature of the color, particularly for garments. When Rios was first released, for some reason I bought a sweater quantity in this color. Why? I have no idea. It’s beautiful, and I love blue, but I dont make multi-colored sweaters, or wear them. Anyway, I finally decide this would be the right yarn for this sideways idea I’ve had for a while, and it’s really working out. The Rios is springy and lovely, and the little bit of patterning is just enough. Incarnation #1 is finished but the thing is still a WIP, because . . .