lace • The Knitting Vortex

Allotrope Cubes

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Oct 282023

Diamond is the compact and dense allotrope, or distinct structural element, that forms from carbon at very high pressure. This shawl is a lattice of interlocking cubic shapes in garter stitch and yarnovers, worked from the bottom up in an expanding structure. Wide garter borders on all sides create a simple frame for the strong and striking geometry of the diamond arrangement. Construction: Allotrope Cubes begins at the bottom center point, and is worked to the long top edge, with geometrically expanding interlocking lace diamonds and a wide garter border. Techniques & Skills Used: longtail CO, knit/purl, increasing/decreasing, easy lace; this pattern is both fully written and charted. Size: S (L); 83 (87)” length and 29 (32)” depth. Yarn: Dream In Color Smooshy (85% superwash merino wool, 15% nylon; 420 yards/284m/114g); 2 (3) skeins, or approximately 750 (900) yards of wool blend fingering weight yarn. The size L sample was made with discontinued Dream In Color Stardust Experimentals (98% superwash merino wool, 2% nylon; 450 yards/411m/114g), shown in Persimmon; 2 skeins. Other Materials: US 5 (3.75mm) 32” circular needle, . . .

Kimberlite Pipes

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May 182023

Kimberlite Pipes is a shawl that represents the transformation of carbon into diamonds, working their way up through the earth’s mantle. Cast on at the bottom point, this shawl expands upwards in tiers of interlocking diamonds, beginning fully as lace, transitioning through half garter/ half lace, and finally reaching fully garter shapes. Diagonal rows of yarnovers separate the diamonds throughout, and outline the wide garter borders on all sides. Techniques & Skills Used: knit/purl, increasing/decreasing, easy lace; this pattern is both fully written and charted. Size: 74” length and 40” depth, customizable. Yarn: Birch Hollow Fibers Morrison MCN Sock (80% superwash merino wool, 10% cashmere, 10% nylon; 435 yards/ 398m/100g), shown in Winter Wheat; 2 skeins or 870 yards of wool blend fingering weight yarn. The sample used almost all of the yarn; see Designer’s Notes for suggestions on adjusting for different yardage. Other Materials: US 5 (3.75mm) 24” circular needle, or size to match gauge; Markers (3, or more if marking reps); Yarn needle. Gauge: 16 st and 32 rows/4” in garter stitch, 16 st and 24 rows/4” in . . .

Throwing Shade

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Oct 052017

Throw this generous sportweight wrap around your shoulders for a lovely extra layer. Knit in luxe yarn from 2 stitches cast on at the tip, Throwing Shade features allover diagonal lace sweeping across a right triangle shape. Techniques & Skills Used: longtail CO, lace, increasing. Instructions are both charted and fully written. Size: 104” length and 44” depth, customizable. Yarn: madelinetosh Pashmina (75% merino wool, 15% silk, 10% cashmere; 360 yards/329m/113g), shown in Composition Book Grey; 3 skeins, or 1080 yards of sportweight yarn. The sample used almost all of 3 skeins; see Designer’s Notes for suggestions on adjusting for different yardage. Other Materials: US 6 (4mm) 32” circular needle, or size to match gauge; Stitch marker (1); Yarn needle. Gauge: 18 st and 24 rows/4” in lace pattern, 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 on Payhip, to read more or purchase the pattern. Save

Avix

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Feb 152017

Avix was designed in collaboration with Miss Babs Hand-Dyed Yarn for Stitches West 2017; print patterns in their house format will be available from the Miss Babs booth at the many yarn shows they attend; stop by if you can, and see the samples in person! Digital pdfs are available from my Ravelry store, and are formatted with my usual layout style and photography. Mesh and eyelet lace columns highlight expanding lace panels inspired by the wings of soaring birds, making a flowing cardigan with a swing shape. Avix is worked seamlessly from the top down in stockinette with lace panels, and short row set-in sleeves. Minimal shaping and simple lace textures make an easy to knit sweater that flatters a wide range of sizes. Techniques & Skills Used: cable CO, backwards loop CO, knit/purl, easy lace, increasing/decreasing, German short rows. Stitch patterns are both written and charted. Size: 36 (40, 44, 48, 52, 56)” bust based on twice the back width; shown in second size worn with 5” positive ease. Yarn: Miss Babs Yowza . . .

Flylette

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Feb 152017

Flylette was designed in collaboration with Miss Babs Hand-Dyed Yarn for Stitches West 2017; print patterns in their house format will be available from the Miss Babs booth at the many yarn shows they attend; stop by if you can, and see the samples in person! Digital pdfs are available from my Ravelry store, and are formatted with my usual layout style and photography. Flower eyelets decorate the front and back of this feminine cropped cardigan. Worked seamlessly from the top down, compound raglan sleeve shaping ensures a great fit in the shoulders and sleeves for all sizes, and deep single rib hem and cuffs maintains the body-celebrating style. A simultaneously worked garter button band and minimal finishing keep it simple. Construction: Flylette is a fitted cardi designed to be a light layer, with a scooped neckline and three-quarter length sleeves. Worked seamlessly from the top down with raglan shaping and a garter button band, the knitting is complete once the body and sleeves are finished, except for adding the ribbed neckband and sewing on . . .

Mazerunner

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Oct 042016

Sinuous crossed paths run a maze around mesh diamonds on this triangle shawl worked from the bottom up. The crimpy fiber of the cormo creates a very lofty and bouncy fabric, giving the lace a refreshingly rustic and woolly dimension. Techniques & Skills Used: longtail CO, knit/purl, cables, easy lace; this pattern is both fully written and charted. Size: 60” length and 26” depth; customizable. Yarn: Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering (100% Cormo wool; 500 yards/ 457m/113g); 1 skein, or 500 yards of wool/wool blend fingering weight yarn. The sample as written used the entire skein; you may want to have additional yardage on hand, as the shawl may easily be enlarged. Other Materials: US 6 (4mm) 32” circular needle, or size to match gauge; Cable needle; Yarn needle. Gauge: 20 st and 32 rows/4” in stockinette stitch, 20 st and 30 rows/4” in lace pattern 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 . . .

Diamond Lanes

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Apr 192016

Geometric lace forms textured diagonal diamond lanes leading upward and outward on this simple but stunning triangular shawl. Techniques & Skills Used: knit/purl, increasing/decreasing, easy lace; this pattern is both fully written and charted. Size: 52” length and 21” depth, customizable. Yarn: Seven Sisters Arts Apex (60% superwash merino wool, 20% yak, 20% silk; 400 yards/366m/100g), shown in bleu grey; 1 skein, or 400 yards of wool blend fingering weight yarn with good drape. The sample as written used the entire skein; you may want to have additional yardage on hand as insurance, as the shawl may easily be enlarged using any amount of yarn. Other Materials: US 5 (3.75mm) 32” circular needle or size to match gauge; Markers (3); Yarn needle. Gauge: 20 st and 40 rows/4” in garter stitch, 18 st and 34 rows/4” in diamond lace pattern, 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 on Payhip, to read more or purchase the pattern.

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 . . .

Tarry

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Aug 082014

Stop and smell the roses; linger with the sunset, and tarry awhile. This relaxed tee is meant for lazy mornings, long lunches, and walks in the gentle moonlight. Worked seamlessly from the top down in a cotton and linen blend, it features lacy saddle shoulders for a touch of pretty whimsy, and a smooth stockinette body with matching lace panels at each side, all knit seamlessly to the rounded hems. Wear it on gentle, warm days wherever you wander. Construction: Tarry is a feminine tee, designed to be easy and casual with a semi-fitted boxy silhouette. The lace shoulder saddles are worked first, then stitches are picked up for the front and and back, which are shaped with a few short rows and worked back and forth to the bottom of the armholes. The body is then joined to work in the round, including the lace insets at each sideseam, with gentle shaping through the waist and hip. The curved shirttail hem is worked back and forth using short rows, and finished all in one piece . . .

Katie Scarlett

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Jun 022014

I unveiled Miss Scarlett in March; originally a Wooly Wonka Fibers 2014 Heroines Shawl Club exclusive, Katie Scarlett is now available as a pdf download. The belle of the ball will always be Katie Scarlett O’Hara, the indomitable heroine of Gone With The Wind. Even dressed in a green velvet curtain, she is unapologetically flirtatious, enticing and captivating. This semi-circular shawl is worked from the top down in the shape of a hoopskirt like those worn by Miss Scarlett, using a beautiful wool and silk blend laceweight yarn. Four different lace patterns represent our heroine’s journey. Like her gentle upbringing, simple increases grow into a regular, small scale eyelet mesh, which becomes a swirling diagonal reflecting the tumultuous Civil War years, and finally straightens into strong vertical lines of hard edged diamonds just like her headstrong and determined character. The knit-on ruffled edging is worked sideways in small short row sections and attached to the live stitches of the shawl, avoiding long rows and proving that perseverance will pay off. After all, tomorrow is another . . .

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