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bloem

Bloem is a cute hat with stranded color work depicting little flowers. With only two colors, this hat knits up super quick and is a great first stranded project for anyone who has never attempted this technique before.

The Bloem hat pattern contains instructions for a whopping 9 sizes, ranging from Preemie to Adult Large. The Bloem hat is completely seamless and knitted from the bottom up. The color work pattern for the body of the hat is provided charted only. All other instructions are in written form.

Pay what you want: (minimum €4.90)

€

Difficulty level

Bloem is seamless and knit in the round from the bottom up. This pattern involves following a color chart and working in stranded knitting. An alternative technique for creating the design is to duplicate stitch this design onto the hat after knitting.

Stitches used include knit, purl, k2tog and the M1 increase. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Size and finished measurements

Preemie (Newborn, 6M Baby, 12M Baby, Toddler) {Child, S, M, L} with resulting circumference of approx. 30 (37, 40.5, 44.5, 48.5) {51.5, 54, 55, 59} cm (11 ¾ (14 ½, 16, 17 ½, 19) {20 ¼, 21 ¼, 21 ¾, 23 ¼} inches) in the body of the hat.

When choosing your hat size, take 2.5-5 cm (1-2 inches) of negative ease into account.

Pattern details

Gauge: 22 sts / 24 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over stranded stockinette on larger needles.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size).

Materials

Yarn: GGH Maxima [100% merino wool; 111 m (121 yds) / 50 g] in 2 colors:
MC: 29 (49, 59, 68, 76) {93, 111, 121, 140) m (32 (54, 64, 75, 82) {102, 121, 131, 152} yds)
CC: 40 (47, 47, 49, 49) {51, 60, 60, 62} m (44 (51, 51, 53, 53) {56, 65, 65, 68} yds)
Substitute any DK weight yarn for a similar result.
Knitting needles in your preferred style for small circumference knitting in the round in the following sizes (or to match gauge): Size 3.5 mm (US 4) and size 4 mm (US 6)
Yarn needle
7 stitch markers
1 differently colored end-of-round stitch marker

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robijn in ‘handwerken zonder grenzen’

The Robijn lacy wrap is designed to give an extra bit of glamour to your outfit. Great for that special night out! Robijn can be made as a scarf or stole. The width and length are easily adjusted for further customization. This design is suitable for any drapey lace-weight or fingering-weight yarn.

I’m proud to tell you, that this design has been published in issue 198 of the Dutch magazine Handwerken Zonder Grenzen! You can order this issue in Dutch here.

This pattern is also available in both English and Dutch through La Visch Designs!

robijn in ‘handwerken zonder grenzen’ Read More »

Indie Design Gift-A-Long 2016

It is finally Gift-A-Long time again! I’m very excited to announce that the Gift-A-Long 2016 (or GAL for short) has started. This year I’m of course also participating again as both a designer and knitter/crocheter. However, I’m still trying to decide what patterns to buy and make myself.

What is the Gift-A-Long 2016?

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is a 6-week long international event hosted in the Indie Design Gift-A-Long Group on Ravelry. Thousands of knitters and crocheters come together in Knit-A-Longs (KAl’s) and Crochet-A-Longs (CAL’s). The goal is to get our holiday knitting/crocheting done using patterns designed by participating independent designers. In the statistics overview below you can see (besides are fun facts) that a whopping 335 designers participate!

From November 22, 2016, at 8:00 pm US EST to December 31, 2016, at midnight US EST there are fun games, contests, and 8 KAL/CAL’s. The KAL/CAL’s are a wonderful way to make your gifts, either for yourself or for others. Lot’s of chatting and cheering are also a big part of the GAL because enthusiastic company makes those needles and hooks really fly.

There are multiple categories for projects, and chat threads for each of these. Any design by a participating designer is eligible for joining in. Any paid (not free) pattern from these designers is eligible for winning prizes. Prizes are won through fun games, random draws, and trivia questions. And splendid prizes they are! In this thread, there is an overview of physical prizes donated.

The GAL sale

In addition to the KAL/CAL’s, there is of course also the GAL sale. The Gift-A-Long 2016 kicks off with the Giant Gift-A-Long Sale: From November 22nd, 8 pm EST to November 30th, 11:59 EST, participating Indie Designers are offering between 5 and 20 of their independently published patterns at 25% off. To take advantage of the sale, use the coupon code: giftalong2016.

A full list of participating designers can be found here. In the picture below you can see some of the participating designers by location. The complete map with all Gift-A-Long 2016 designers is here. A wonderful handy searchable bundle of all sale patterns is also available.

In conclusion: the Gift-A-Long is a wonderful event that you really can’t miss. Most of all because it is just soooo much fun.

See you in the GAL!

Indie Design Gift-A-Long 2016 Read More »

robijn

This lacy wrap is designed to give an extra bit of glamour to your outfit on that special night out. Robijn can be made as a scarf or stole, the width and length are easily adjusted for further customization This design is suitable for any drapey lace-weight or fingering-weight yarn. Robijn has also been published in issue 198 of the Dutch magazine Handwerken Zonder Grenzen! You can order this issue in Dutch here.

The body of this shawl has an easy-to-remember two-row repeat which makes it a great traveling project. The instructions are both fully charted and written out.
This pattern uses standard American English crochet terminology.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Difficulty level

Stitches used within this pattern are of sc, dc, slst and ch st.
This pattern is suitable for the intermediate crocheter.

Size and finished measurements

Size S (L) – measurements after blocking: 26 (52) cm [10 ¼ (20 ½) inches] wide and 153 cm (60 ¼ inches) long.

Pattern details

Gauge is not critical with this design, for the sample stole: 18.5 sts and 7.5 rows = 10 cm / 4 inches over lace pattern after blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size).

Materials

250 (505) m or 275 (552) yds lace-weight yarn. The sample is in Diversan Tencel [100% Tencel; 777 m (850 yds) / 100 g] in Rio Red. Substitute a smooth silk, cotton or viscose for a similar result.
For the sample Robijn Stole a 5 mm (US size G/8) hook was used.
Yarn needle.

robijn Read More »

tutorial: knitting a bobble bind-off

In a previous blog I’ve already shown you how to cast on your knitting project with decorative bobbles. Of course we also want to know how to knit the matching bobble bind-off. You never know when it comes in handy!

There are many different types of bobbles possible for this application. However, you want a reasonably “fat” bobble for the best result, because these makes the bobble “pop” better.

In short an instruction for such a bobble would will be as follows:

Bobble of 5 stitches: Work [k1, yo, k1 , yo, k1] all in the same st. Turn work, p1, p1 tbl, p1, p1 tbl, p1. Turn and k5. Turn work, and p5. Turn work, k5, * pass second st on the right hand needle over the first stitch; rep from * until 1 st remains – 1 bobble made.

Below I’ll show you step by step how this looks when used at the bind-off edge of your knitting.

Knitting a bobble bind-off step by step

1. Your project is ready and you want to bind-off. First of all, make sure you’re using a multiple of 4+1 stitches plus any edge stitches. In this example I’m using a multiple of 4 + 1 + 2×2 edge stitches for both sides of the work. The 4 stitches consist of 1 stitch for every bobble and 3 stitches distance between each bobble.

2. Make sure you are on the right side of the work and knit 2 stitches. Next pass the second stitch on the right-hand needle over the first stitch to cast it off.

3.In the next stitch we will be making a bobble as follows: Work [k1, yo, k1 , yo, k1] all in the next stitch, without sliding it off prematurely. You now have 6 stitches on the right hand needle, we will knit the bobble over 5 of them.

4. Turn work, p1, p1 tbl, p1, p1 tbl, p1. The “p tbl” stitches are worked that way to close up the yo’s of the previous row. This will make the resulting bobble smoother, this may require some practice!

5. Turn work and knit 5 stitches.

6. Turn work and purl 5 stitches.

7. Turn work again and knit 5 stitches.

8. Now pass the second stitch on the right hand needle over the first stitch, repeat this until only 1 of the 5 bobble stitches remains. You have now created one bobble! You can push it out a bit to the right side of the work to show it to its best advantage. There are now only 2 stitches left on your right hand needle.

9. Next pass the second stitch on the right-hand needle over the first stitch to cast it off.

10. Knit one stitch and again pass the second stitch on the right-hand needle over the first stitch to cast it off. Repeat two more times to bind off 3 stitches in total.

11. Repeat steps 3 to 10 until 3 stitches on the left-hand needle remain.

12. Repeat steps 3 to 9 once more to knit the last bobble and end with binding off the 2 edge stitches.

And this is how the bobble bind-off is done!

tutorial: knitting a bobble bind-off Read More »

cherry blossoms stole

The lovely Cherry Blossoms Stole features a dainty floral lace pattern, perfect to dress up any outfit. Wear it as a shoulder wrap to show off the full stunning flower pattern, or as a simple lacy scarf. Take advantage of a beautiful fingering weight yarn with long color runs, as pictured, for a truly spectacular look.

The instructions for the body pattern are provided both fully charted and written out.
This pattern is written using American English crochet terminology.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Difficulty level

Techniques used consist of foundation single crochet and puff stitches as well as picot. Stitches used in this pattern: ch, sc and dc st.
This pattern is suitable for the intermediate crocheter.

Size and finished measurements

One size – easily adjusted: 177 cm (70 inches) x 39 cm (15 inches), measured after blocking.

Pattern details

Gauge is not critical in this design. For the sample stole: 1 repeat of the lace pattern = 6.3 cm (2.48 inches) wide and 4.4 cm (1.73 inches) high, measured after blocking.
Pattern language included: English.
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size).

Materials

Yarn: 799 m (874 yds) / 200 g Jawoll Magic by Lang Yarns (75% wool, 25% nylon; 400 m (437 yds) / 100 g) in color #1404 Pink. Substitute any fingering weight yarn with long color runs for a similar result.
For the sample Cherry Blossoms Stole a 4 mm (US size G/6) hook was used.
Yarn needle.

cherry blossoms stole Read More »

tutorial: knitting a bobble cast-on

In the series of decorative ways to cast-on a knitting project, I present here the bobble cast-on method. You’re probably already familiar with bobbles as a way to give an interesting 3D texture to your knitting. I used it myself for that purpose in my Moerbei shawl design. It is also possible to make bobbles right on the cast-on edge. Officially, the bobble cast-on is not a “real” cast-on method, because you already cast-on and knit a row before you start the actual bobbles. However, this should not spoil the fun!

To be honest, the only difference between regular bobbles and the bobbles with a bobble cast-on, is that they are knit on the edge of the work. There are many different types of bobbles possible for this application, however, you want a reasonably “fat” bobble for the best result.

In short an instruction for such a bobble would be as follows:

Below I’ll show you step by step how this looks when used at the cast-on edge of your knitting.

Knitting a bobble cast-on step by step

1. Cast-on the required number of stitches, here I used a multiple of 4 + 1 + 2×2 edge stitches for both sides of the work. The 4 stitches consist of 1 stitch for every bobble and 3 stitches distance between each bobble. To cast-on I used the knitted-on method, but any other method would work.

2. Purl 1 row and turn the work.

3. Knit 2 stitches for the edge to the side.

4. Work [k1, yo, k1 , yo, k1] all in the next stitch, without sliding it off prematurely. You now have 7 stitches on the right hand needle, we will knit the bobble over 5 of them.

5. Turn work, p1, p1 tbl, p1, p1 tbl, p1. The “p tbl” stitches are worked to close up the yo’s of the previous row. This will make the outside surface of the resulting bobble smoother, this may require some practice!

6. Again turn your work and knit 5 stitches.

7. Next, turn work and purl 5 stitches.

8. Turn work again and knit 5 stitches.

9. Now pass the second stitch on the right hand needle over the first stitch, repeat this until only 1 of the 5 bobble stitches remains. There are now only 3 stitches left on your right hand needle. You have now created one bobble! You can push it out a bit to the right side of the work to show it to its best advantage.

10. Next knit the 3 stitches which I had chosen as the distance between the bobbles.

11. Repeat steps 4 to 10 until only 3 stitches remain on the left hand needle.

12. Repeat steps 4 to 9 once more for the last bobble and finish with knit 2 for the second set of edge stitches.

With this your bobble cast-on is finished!

This is how it looks after a few more rows in stockinette have been knit.

Pretty, isn’t it?

Stay tuned for the tutorial on the matching bobble bind-off!

tutorial: knitting a bobble cast-on Read More »

bloemenmeiske

Bloemenmeiske is a sweet bonnet to keep your dearest little person warm and happy. This design not only has a lovely petal edging but also a pretty flower detail at the back. The pattern is available in 5 sizes, ranging from newborn to child. Using less than 100 g of DK-weight yarn for all sizes and even less than 50 g for most sizes, this design is not only a great stash buster but also the perfect last minute gift. In what color are you going to make yours?

This pattern is written using American English crochet terminology.

Pay what you want: (minimum €4.90)

€

Difficulty level

Techniques used consist of foundation single crochet, hdc tbl, hdc increases and hdc decreases. Stitches used in this pattern: sc, hdc, dc, slst and ch st. This pattern is therefor suitable for the intermediate crocheter.

Size and finished measurements

The Bloemenmeiske bonnet is available in the following 5 sizes: newborn (6M, 12M, toddler, child) to fit a head circumference of approx. 35.5 (40.5, 45.5, 48, 50.5) cm or 14 (16, 18, 19, 20) inches.

Pattern details

Gauge: 17 sts and 14 rows = 10 cm / 4 inches in hdc tbl after gentle blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size).

Materials

Yarn in DK weight in the following quantities: 93 (107, 128, 173, 182) m (101 (117, 140, 190, 199) yds) / 33 (38, 46, 62, 65) g. The sample bonnet was made in Ice Yarns Virgin Wool Deluxe (100% wool; 280 m (306 yds) / 100 g). Substitute for another wool yarn of comparable thickness for a similar result.
A size 3.5 mm (US E) crochet hook was used for the sample bonnet. However, use the size necessary to match gauge.
Yarn needle
2 removable stitch markers

bloemenmeiske Read More »

tutorial: knitting the i-cord bind-off

In a previous post I’ve already shown you how to cast-on your knitting project with an i-cord cast-on. And of course it would be nice to be able to bind-off with a matching i-cord bind-off finishing. Fortunately, we can!

The i-cord bind-off is usually knit over 3 to 5 stitches. In this example I’m going to show the version made over 3 stitches. In short, instructions would look something like this:

I-cord bind off: Cast-on 3 sts, *k2, k2tog tbl, sl 3 sts just worked back to LH needle, pull yarn tight across back of sts; rep from * until 3 sts remain.
Next: K2tog tbl, k1, sl 2 sts to LH needle, k2tog tbl and fasten off.

The i-cord bind-off step by step

You can start casting off as soon as the last row of your work has been knit, and after your work has been turned when working flat back and forth.

1. With the right side facing, cast-on 3 stitches. I used the knitted-on method.

2. Knit 2 stitches.

3. Knit 2 stitches together through the back loop.

4. Move the 3 stitches on the right needle back to the left hand needle one by one.

5. Pull the yarn tight and make sure that it is behind your work.

6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 until 3 stitches to bind-off remain.

7. Knit 2 stitches together through the back loop.

8. Knit 1 stitch.

9. Move the 2 stitches on the right needle back to the left hand needle one by one.

10 Knit 2 remaining stitches together through the back loop and fasten off.

The “ear” where the yarn was fastened off, can be reduced by using a tapestry needle to pull it into the i-cord tube. Front and back of the work then look as follows:

Tip 1

It can be very nice to knit the i-cord bind-off in a contrasting color to the rest of your project. It may however happen, that the main color shines through in the i-cord BO. To avoid that, I would recommend to first knit a row in the contrast color, before starting the i-cord bind-off.

Tip 2

An i-cord bind-off edge on a piece worked in stockinette stitch is very pretty. As you know however, stockinette tends to curl…. A lot. An i-cord bind-off is usually not sufficient to prevent curling. For this you will have to look at other methods, such as garter stitch or rib. So if you purely want the effect of a stockinette stitch edge to your work, you better have a look at a folded hem.

tutorial: knitting the i-cord bind-off Read More »

framboos

Framboos is a crescent-shaped shawl worked from the top-down. Its stockinette body will let that special skein of fingering weight yarn shine. The lace edging with its lovely picot finishing makes this shawl a true stunner.

The shawl is started with a garter stitch tab, the lace in the border is knit on both right side and wrong side rows. The instructions for the border of the shawl are provided both fully charted and written out. Instructions for changing the size of the shawl are also included.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Difficulty level

The shawl is started with a garter stitch tab in combination with a provisional cast on. Stitches used include knit, purl, k2tog, skp, yo and double yo. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.

Size and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: Wingspan of 160 cm (63 inches) and a depth of 47 cm (18 ½ inches), measured after blocking.

Pattern details

Written for a gauge of 16 sts / 23 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette after blocking. Gauge is not critical for this design, but a loose gauge is strongly advised.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size).

Materials

415 m (454 yds) / 100 g Araucania Huasco / Botany Lace [100% merino wool]. Substitute any wool fingering weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
Waste yarn for provisional cast on.
Yarn needle.
41 stitch markers (optional).

framboos Read More »