KNITTING PAPER – PDF

I’m a bit embarrassed to admit that one of my new year’s resolutions for the past TWO years has been to knit a Fair Isle slipover, possibly with matching socks or legwarmers (& a jumper for Teddy?) and I haven’t even come close to designing one. The trouble is that there are so many wonderful possibilities! Where to begin?

More Fair Isle inspiration on Pinterest.

Do I want colours of similar hues, or do I want to mix them up? What about keeping the background colour constant throughout? I do know that I’d like to combine modern patterns with the traditional ones, and I’d quite like each design to have some sort of symbolic meaning, even if I’m the only one who knows about it.

With so much to keep in mind, I thought it would be better to start small, and use this knitting paper I designed to doodle Fair Isle patterns I liked, when I came across them. Mary Mucklestone’s amazing 200 Fair Isle Motifs (more on that later) gave me a head start on patterns, and when I have time I’ll be working through her Fair Isle course on Craftsy. Of course I could do the job in iWork, but it wouldn’t be half as much fun, would it? You all know how much I enjoy colouring in! :)

Once I have the patterns I like, I can cut them out in strips and play with the positioning until I’m happy with the way they look together. I may need to find some more coloured pencils though… ;)

KNITTING PAPER – PDF

The PDF includes both large and small versions of the stitch paper, in both orientations. I hope you find it useful! :)

Have you read?

1. Printable Christmas Gift Tags
2. Printable Knitting Calendar
3. Stitch Marker Knitting Patterns

Pompon! I don’t know which makes me happier, the sound of the word or the tactile pleasure I derive from the object itself. Don’t they resemble coconut balls from a distance?

Inspiration

Image credits: one, two & three.

I’ve been doing a lot of stash-busting lately, partly to make room for my Ice Yarn hauls (of which I have another to document), and when I saw this adorable pompon scarf from Anthropologie, it seemed like the perfect solution to some cream acrylic I had left over from my novice knitting days.

I made a template with outer circle diameter 11cm, and hole diameter 5.5cm, and began winding. I was quite happy with my floppy pompons, until my Mum decided to have a go…

On the left is her perfect pompon, and on the right is one of mine. >_>

She wound hers so tight that it took a lot of effort to cut through, and my poor template looked quite battered afterwards, but she did create a pompon that all other pompons can aspire to, and that only needed some light trimming. Mine all needed shearing! Never mind, the offcuts will be good for stuffing.

I made 10 pompons in total and used about 400g of aran-weight acrylic yarn. In my opinion, this is definitely a project for cheap yarn, even if you wear it around your neck.

Suggestions

I don’t think I need to teach any of you how to make a pompon, but I do have a few suggestions:

• Use a surgeon’s knot when tying your pompon up. It’s just like a regular knot, but you pass the end of the yarn through the loop twice. This keeps the knot from sliding before you make another overhand knot. Useful for bows too!
• Leave the ends of the yarn you use to tie up long, as this makes it easier when it comes to attaching your pompons together.

Assembly

This is really the trickiest part. Here’s the solution I came up with…

Thread both ends of the yarn through a large tapestry needle. Align the next pompon so that its strings point up, and poke the needle into the bottom of it, pulling until the loop left is as long as you want the gap between your pompons to be. My idea in using two strands was that the pompons could be tucked through the loops to secure the scarf around my neck, so if the idea appeals to you, you might want to check that you can fit a pompon through the gap you leave.

Once the two strands are poking up out of the top of the next pompon, I tied all four strands two-by-two to each other. Just keep knotting until the pompon is secure and can’t slide up or down. Then repeat the same for all the other pompons.

ta-da!

You can experiment with smaller or larger pompons, different colour combinations (can we see an ombre pompon scarf, please?), and maybe even make use of some child labour. ;)

When not around your neck, pompon scarves make really lovely garlands you’ll want to fondle constantly.

And did you know you can trim pompons into a heart shape? It’s true! :)

Pom pom pom…

Have you read?

1. Knit Abacus Pouch / Pencil Case
2. How to Make a Fringe
3. Bun & Bow: A Knitted Hairstyle

Yes, hearts again! I made this heart garland nearly 8 years ago and it’s been hanging on my wall ever since (you can actually catch a glimpse of it in this post). I thought some of you might enjoy making it as a pre-Valentine’s Day weekend project. It’s so quick and easy!

For my hearts I used about 32cm of wire (any wire will do, as long as it’s thin enough to thread the beads through, but sturdy enough to hold its shape), 30 pink beads and 30 sequins. For some reason I tied them together with pink string, but I think transparent nylon line would be better, or, to make them even prettier, some organza ribbon.

They look lovely on the wall, but for best effect, hang them in the window and watch the facets of the beads catch the light!

Things to Try

• Tie the hearts together side-by-side.
• String the hearts on a length of ribbon.
• Make a garland with hearts that decrease in size.

Love,
❤ Derya.

Have you read?

1. Heart Bookmark
2. Printable Quotes
3. Warm Wool Heart – Postcards for Knitters

MRS. DAVENPORT’S MESH – STITCH PATTERN
♥ OR QUEUE ON RAVELRY

My Mum unvented this mesh stitch the other day, and I was amazed by how easy and effective it is. Even a beginner could work it! I’m sure it exists somewhere in some form, but as I’ve never come across it before, I’m taking the liberty of naming it (taking my cue from a long tradition of stitch pattern collators), “Mrs. Davenport’s Mesh”. Here’s what it looks like:

Hmm, well admittedly not quite so attractive in its infant state, but when blocked… ta-da!

It works with any number of stitches. All you do is knit a stitch, place it back on the left-hand needle and knit it again. Then on the next row, you purl a stitch, place it back on the left-hand needle, and purl it again. When viewed from the RS, the knit rows lean left, and the purl rows lean right, forming an open zig-zag.

Like most mesh stitches, it grows a LOT when blocked, and therefore requires a very stretchy cast-on (even more so than the bind-off, I find). You can use your favourite cast-on technique, or work as follows…

Instructions

Cast on
Make loop or slipknot, *cast-on 1 st (using knitted cast-on method), k1, return st to left-hand needle, rep. from * as many times as necessary.

How to work the stitch pattern
CO any number of sts.

ROW 1 (RS): *K1, place resulting st back on left needle without twisting, k1, rep. from * to end.
ROW 2 (WS): *P1, place resulting st back on left needle without twisting, p1, rep. from * to end.

Rep. ROWS 1 & 2.

Bind off
K1, *place resulting st back on left needle without twisting, k2, pass right-most st on right-hand needle over left-most st, rep. from * until all sts have been bound off. Cut yarn and pull through final loop.

Increasing & Decreasing

I played around a little with increasing and decreasing using the basic principle of the mesh, but there are so many possibilities that I think it would make more sense to experiment with a particular project in mind.

Methods to Increase
Yo: Worked as usual.
Kfb: K1, place resulting st back on left needle, kfb.

Methods to Decrease
Ssk: Ssk, place resulting st back on left needle, k1.
K2tog: K2tog, place resulting st back on left needle, k1.

Garter Variation

If you knit in the western style, you will probably find that your purl rows go easier when working this stitch, because the movement you use to replace the stitch you’ve just purled back on the left-hand needle puts you in the right position to purl again. You’ll find the same thing happens when working knit rows in combined knitting. This made me wonder what a garter variation of the mesh stitch would look like, so I worked only ROW 2. I think you’ll agree that it forms a very nice textured fabric, without blocking.

In-the-round Variation

I’ve saved the best till last! Mrs. Davenport’s Mesh also looks beautiful when worked in the round. It’s as easy as repeating ROW 1 (and ignoring ROW 2) every round. When you eliminate the return rows that form the zig-zag, the stitch pattern continues in one direction, resulting in a lovely, lacy spiral, without the bother of actually having to count and shift stitches (or work a single yarn-over). I see some mindless arm-/legwarmers in my future! ;)

What I Love About Mum’s Mesh

• Works with any number of stitches.
• Super easy to work. Even a beginner knitter can manage it.
• Easily modified.
• No bias.
• No curl.
• Works the same whether you’re a western or combined knitter (or anything else).
• Worked in exactly the same way in the round.

My Mum & I would love to see your projects using this stitch. Please leave a comment to urge her to keep unventing! :)

Have you read?

1. Easy Shawl Borders

HEART BOOKMARK PDF

I know these sweet origami heart bookmarks are all over Pinterest right now, but here’s another variation. The pink one says “You & I” on one side, and “We’re on the same page,” on the other. The blue one is for beach reads, or at least that’s my dream!

This heart bookmark (or heartmark?) is far easier to put together than its origami relatives. You simply fold along the dotted lines (I recommend scoring the paper first), then cut along the solid line. Glue it together before you cut out the heart shape. You have to twist it as if it’s a cone to be able to put it together as indicated in the picture. Then cut the heart shape and you’re done!

I think this would make a rather sweet addition to a gifted book, or maybe to a book club swap? Let me know what you think. :) ❤ ❤

Have you read?

1. Beaded Heart Garland
2. Warm Wool Heart – Postcards for Knitters
3. Knitting on Paper