Kurkuma is a shallow, triangle scarf, knit sideways. This design features lace patterning in the tradition of the Shetland isles. The triangle edging is worked at the same time as the body of the shawlette.
Worked at a loose gauge, Kurkuma is a lovely and airy layering piece.
The pattern contains both fully written out as well as charted instructions for the lace. The lace in the
border of the shawl is true lace knitting, worked on both wrong and
right side rows.
Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)
€
Difficulty level
The lace in this pattern is worked on both RS and WS rows. Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, kfb, skp, k2tog, and the k3tog tbl decrease.
This
pattern is suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: Span width of 170 cm (67 inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 52 cm (20 ½ inches), measured after blocking.
The size of this shawl is, however, easily adjusted.
Pattern details
Gauge: Approx. 15.4 sts / 26 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch, after blocking. Gauge is not critical in this design.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages for the English version and 5 for the Dutch version (letter size)
Materials
Yarn: 500 m (546 yds) / 100 g Ístex Einband (100% wool; 250 m (273 yds) / 50 g). Substitute any lace weight or light fingering weight wool yarn for a similar result. The yarn used in the sample has been dyed yellow using onion skins (click for the tutorial!). Ístex Einband yarn is however available in a wide range of colors.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
Yarn needle.
1 stitch marker to differentiate the body from the edging of the shawl.
Perhaps you’ve heard about Judy’s Magic Cast On: a truly magic and invisible cast on for toe-up socks. This cast on was first devised by Judy Becker and shared in her article on Knitty. It’s a very clever cast on, as it creates a truly seamless start of your work. As Judy shares in her article, this cast on can be used for a wide range of projects and not just for socks. It can be used for anything that requires knitting in the round and a neat, seamless start.
Since I’m such a fan of this technique, I’m giving you my take on this cast on in this tutorial.
Materials used
Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, in the color 128 Lime Green.
Needles: * Addi Lace Circular Needles, in this tutorial I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 100 cm (40 inches). I would like to advise using at least a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches) to facilitate magic loop knitting.
Working Judy’s Magic Cast On step by step
1. This cast on is worked with both the yarn tail and the working yarn. This means, that to start, we need to estimate a sufficient length of yarn tail. One method to do this is to wrap the yarn around your needle once for every stitch to cast on, and then give yourself approx. 15 cm / 6 inches extra so you’ll have enough to weave in later.
2. Make a slipknot leaving a yarn tail as determined in the previous step and place it around the top needle. Pull to tighten this first loop/cast on stitch. Arrange the yarn in such a way, that the yarn tail is above the top needle and the working yarn is below the bottom needle as pictured.
3. Now move the yarn tail downwards, under and then over the bottom needle and next underneath the top needle to bring it back to its starting position. You now have cast on a loop on the bottom needle.
4. Next, take the working yarn and move it under and then over the top needle and next underneath the bottom needle to bring it back to its starting position. You now have cast on a loop on the top needle.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you’ve cast on the required number of stitches. Take care not to tighten these stitches too much, since this will encourage a little bump to form on each side of the cast on stitches. In this picture, a total of 18 stitches, 9 stitches per needle, have been cast on. (And yes, I really should have used a slightly longer yarn tail….)
Working the first round after the cast on
There are some peculiarities with the first round after the stitches are cast on using Judy’s Magic Cast On. Read on to find out more!
1. Turn the needles so that the bottom needle is now on top and ready to serve as your main (left-hand) needle.
2. Pull out the other needle to place its stitches on the cable and to use the tip as your working (right-hand) needle to knit into all the stitches on the main needle, magic loop style. Make sure that the yarn tail lies between the working yarn and the main needle. This way you can lock the yarn tail in place once you start knitting.
3. Knit the stitches on the main (left-hand) needle. If the first stitch loosens up a bit, just tighten it back up by softly pulling the yarn tail.
4. Next, turn your work so that the working yarn is on the right again.
5. Pull gently on the left-hand cable loop to pull the needle into the stitches and the former bottom needle is now on top and ready to serve as your main (left-hand) needle.
6. Likewise, pull out the other needle to place the stitches just worked on the cable, and to use the tip as your working (right-hand) needle to knit into all the stitches on the main needle, magic loop style.
7. Work the second set of the cast on stitches. Only this time, knit them through the back loop to correct their stitch mount.
The result
Once all the above steps are followed, this is the result. You’re now ready to continue with your knitting in the round (using magic loop) as described in your pattern.
And this is how to work Judy’s Magic Cast On and the first round after casting on!
Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.
Are you a cat lover? I know I am! I love to surround myself with those furry critters and enjoy their soothing purr. Kitties All Around is a cute hat with cables and texture to create a kitty cat motif. Twisted stitches are worked to make the motif “pop” from the reverse stockinette background.
This pattern contains instructions for 4 sizes, ranging from child to adult. The Kitties All Around hat is seamless and knitted from the bottom up. The instructions for the cat motif are provided both charted and written out.
Pay what you want: (minimum €4.90)
€
Difficulty level
Kitties All Around is seamless and knit in the round from the bottom up. This pattern involves cable knitting. Stitches used include knit, purl, twisted versions of these stitches, twisted right-leaning decrease, twisted left-leaning decrease, and a purl wise m1 increase.
This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
To fit size: 42 (49, 56.5, 63.5) cm / 16 ½ (19 ¼, 22 ¼, 25) inches circumference.
Finished size: 37 (44, 51.5, 58.5) cm / 14 ½ (17 ¼, 20 ¼, 23) inches circumference.
When choosing your hat size, take 2.5 – 5 cm (1 – 2 inches) of negative ease into account for a fitted hat. For a more slouchy fit, take 0-5 cm (0-2 inches) of positive ease into account. The pictures show the 51.5 cm (20 ¼ inches) finished size, worn on a 53 cm (20 ¾ inches) size head.
Pattern details
Kitties All Around is written for a gauge of approx. 18 sts / 24 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over reverse stockinette on larger needles after washing and gentle blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvatzoweleen Nederlandse alseen Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)
Materials
Yarn: 51 (70, 98, 127) m (57 (77, 108, 140) yds) / 32 (43, 60, 78 g GGH Maxima [100% merino wool; 111 m (121 yds) / 50 g] in color 32 – Orange. 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).
I find myself working more and more of the lovely intricate stitch patterns in the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida. In these stitch patterns, there are a lot of types of stitches that I personally haven’t encountered before. A good reason to make some new tutorials! In this post, I’ll go into how to work a lifted-over knit stitch.
There are, of course, many variations of this type of stitch. They can be worked over 3 to 5 stitches and in any combination of purl and knit stitches, either regularly or through the back loop. What they all have in common, however, is that one of the stitches is lifted over the others, after which the remaining stitches are worked, in combination with a yarn over to bring the number of stitches back to the original number. Characteristic of the lifted-over knot stitch is the horizontal bar that is created by the lifted-over stitch.
In this tutorial I’ll explain the version of the lifted-over knot stitch that is explained in the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by the following text:
Insert tip of RN into the third st; lift it up and over the first two sts and let it drop; k, yo, k.
This particular version is worked over 3 stitches, the 3 that are near the tip of the left-hand needle in the picture below.
Working a lifted-over knot stitch step by step
1. To start, insert your right-hand needle purl wise into the third stitch from the tip of the left-hand needle.
2. Lift this stitch up and pull it over the two stitches nearer to the tip as well as over the needle tip itself. Be careful, this action may pull the other two stitches along and off the needle.
3. Now knit one stitch.
4. Yarn over…
5. … and work another knit stitch to complete the lifted-over knot stitch.
6. In the below picture another row is worked. This reveals the true appearance of this lifted-over knot stitch!
On a side note, in this piece of knitting is more going on than just the lifted-over knot stitch. Tutorials for these other types of stitches will follow!
The yarn used in this tutorial is Debbie Bliss “Piper” in Magenta. It’s a yarn with a composition of 50% cotton and 50% viscose. As you can see, it has a great stitch definition! Perfect for trying out those intricate Japanese stitch patterns.
Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.
Dear daughter requested a hat with kitty cats, and of course, there should be a matching cowl! The Bast Cowl is a cute cowl with cables and texture to create a kitty cat motif. Worked in a bulky weight yarn this cowl knits up super quick, perfect for a last minute gift!
This pattern contains instructions for 3 sizes. The Bast Cowl is seamless and knitted in the round. The instructions for the cat motif are provided both charted and written out.
Pay what you want: (minimum €5.50)
€
Difficulty level
Bast
is seamless and knit in the round from the bottom up. This pattern
involves cable knitting. Stitches used include knit, purl, k2tog, skp
and a purlwise m1 increase.
This
pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
Finished size S (M, L): 53 (71, 88) cm / 21 (28, 34 ⅔) inches circumference and 26.5 cm / 10 ½ inches high. The
pictures show size
S.
Pattern details
Bast is written for a gauge of approx. 14 sts / 17 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over reverse stockinette on larger needles after washing and gentle blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 3 pages (letter size).
Materials
Yarn: 108 (144, 180) m (119 (158, 198) yds) / 66 (88, 110) g Vams PT3 by Rauma [100% wool; 82 m (90 yds) / 50 g] in color 44 neon Pink. Substitute any bulky yarn of a similar or slightly heavier weight 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 4.5 mm (US 7) and Size 5 mm (US 8).
Deborah
is one of the lovely ladies who often test knit my patterns. So when
she expressed a fondness of a specific
shawl construction combined with lots of lace I was happy to oblige
with a design containing all those elements. This one is for you,
Deborah!
This shawl is knitted from the top-down in one piece, starting at the neck edge with a garter tab. The For Deborah shawl is finished with an edging that is knitted on sideways and attached to the live stitches of the body as it is being worked. The instructions for the edging are provided charted and written out.
Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)
€
Difficulty level
This shawl is started with a garter stitch tab. Stitches used include knit, purl, skp, k2tog, a centered double decrease and yo. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: span width of 166 cm (65 ¼ inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 86 cm (33 ¾ inches), measured after blocking.
Pattern details
Gauge: approx. 12.8 sts / 24.6 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over body pattern. Gauge is however not critical in the For Deborah shawl design.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie).
Digital PDF has 7 pages in the English version and 8 in the Dutch version (letter size).
Materials
Garnstudio Drops Alpaca (100% alpaca; 167 m (183 yds) / 50 g) in the following colors and amounts: MC – 475 m (520 yds) / 132 g in Cobalt 5790 and CC – 315 m (344 yds) / 95 g in Pink 2922. Substitute any fingering to sport weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
What is one to do when dear daughter requests a hat with kitty cats? Design one, of course! Bast is a cute hat with cables and texture to create a kitty cat motif. Worked in a bulky weight yarn this hat knits up super quick, perfect for a last minute gift!
This pattern contains instructions for 5 sizes, ranging from child to adult. The Bast hat is seamless and knitted from the bottom up. The instructions for the cat motif are provided both charted and written out.
Pay what you want: (minimum €4.90)
€
Difficulty level
Bast is seamless and knit in the round from the bottom up. This pattern involves cable knitting. Stitches used include knit, purl, k2tog, p2tog, skpand a purl wise m1 increase. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
To fit size: 47 (52, 56.5, 61.5, 66) cm / 18 ½ (20 ½, 22 ¼, 24 ¼, 26) inches circumference. Finished size: 42 (47, 51.5, 56.5, 61) cm / 16 ½ (18 ½, 20 ¼, 22 ¼, 24) inches circumference.
When choosing your hat size, take 2.5 – 5 cm (1 – 2 inches) of negative ease into account for a fitted hat. For a more slouchy fit, take 0-5 cm (0-2 inches) of positive ease into account. The pictures show the 51.5 cm (20 ¼ inches) finished size, worn on a 52 cm (20 ½ inches) size head.
Pattern details
Bast is written for a gauge of approx. 13 sts / 21 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over reverse stockinette on larger needles after washing and gentle blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvatzoweleen Nederlandse alseen Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 3 pages in the English version and 4 in the Dutch version (letter size)
Materials
Yarn: 44 (55, 65, 78, 91) m (48 (60, 72, 85, 100) yds) / 26 (33, 40, 47, 56) g Vams PT3 by Rauma [100% wool; 82 m (90 yds) / 50 g] in color 44 neon Pink. Substitute any bulky yarn of a similar or slightly heavier weight 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 4.5 mm (US 7) and Size 5 mm (US 8).
When I finished my Sirac stole, blocking was, of course, needed to let that cable & lace panel shine. And that was when I saw it… A dropped stitch, smack in the middle of one of the garter stitch panels. I must have knit through part of the strand, breaking it when brought under tension with the blocking. Or I just missed it. Whatever the cause, I needed to fix this!
To start, I just secured the dropped stitch with a locking stitch marker to prevent it from laddering down. I worked this particular project in a sticky kind of wool, but under tension, all yarn will ladder down in knitting. So, better safe than sorry and use that stitch marker!
After the project was completely dry, I could remove it from the blocking mats and fix the stitch. If the project was still on the needles, I would just have worked it back up with a crochet hook. This project was already bound off and blocked. Therefore I went with a duplicate stitch approach instead. For this you need some of the yarn remaining from your project, a darning needle (I like the blunt tipped kind best for this kind of work), and some scissors:
Fixing a dropped stitch in garter stitch step-by-step
Normally I would use a contrasting yarn in a tutorial, so you can see better what I’m doing. In this case, however, I used the project yarn for the repair. To make it a tad better to see, I’ve held it double with some white crochet cotton and I’ve added some coloring during photo editing.
1. Start with threading a length of the yarn through the darning needle. Approx. 60 cm (24 inches) should be enough for single dropped stitches like this one.
2. First, thread your needle through the dropped stitch to secure it. Make sure you pull about half the length of yarn through the stitch.
3. Now, with half the length of the yarn, I’m going to follow the route of the yarn in the stitches on the row the dropped stitch should have been worked in. I’ve made these stitches turquoise in the picture below, to make it a tad easier to see.
4. In this picture, the side left of the dropped stitch is all done, on the far left you see the little bit of yarn tail that remains.
5. Next, repeat threading the yarn through the stitches on the right of the dropped stitch, using the other end of the piece of yarn. Below you see the result, with the yarn needle indicating the place of the dropped stitch.
And this is how it looks on the other side of the work:
After removing the contrasting cotton thread, this is how it looks like from the right side of the work:
And yes, I know that I should have threaded the new yarn over the dropped stitch as well, to imitate the purl bar of garter stitch fabric. Now it looks a bit like a single stockinette stitch in all that garter stitch. Learn from my mistake! I know I will with any future dropped stitches in garter stitch fabric.
Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.
Honey & Stripes is a simple yet stylish triangular shawl knit sideways on the bias. The combination of striped garter stitch, easy to memorize garter stitch lace, and slip stitch patterning makes it a perfect choice for those colors of fingering weight yarn that combine so well. With its generous size, Honey & Stripes is perfect to wear as an elegant scarf.
The pattern contains fully written out instructions as well as charts for the lace and slip stitch sections.
Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)
€
Difficulty level
Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, k2tog and kfb. This pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner or intermediate knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
One size (easily adjustable): Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: 181.5 cm (71 ½ inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 59 cm (23 ¼ inches), measured after blocking.
Pattern details
Gauge: Gauge is not critical in this design. For the sample shawl measured after blocking: 15 sts / 24 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch stripes.
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: Lang Yarns Magic Tweed Superwash (62% virgin wool, 18% nylon, 10% viscose and 10% acrylic; 200 m (219 yds) / 50 g) in the following amounts and colors: C1: 200 m (219 yds) / 50 g in 4082 Gold. C2: 200 m (219 yds) / 50 g in 4091 Petrol. C3: 200 m (219 yds) / 50 g in 4083 Copper. Substitute any tweedy fingering weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles
In my Sirac stole design a center panel in a Cable & Lace pattern is worked first, after which stitches are picked up and knit on the long sides of the panel. After this, the rest of the pattern can be worked perpendicular to the Cable & Lace panel. One of my testers (hi Marilyn!) mentioned that it would be a good idea to dedicate a photo tutorial to the technique used for that. So here we are!
Of course, there are many ways to accomplish this. In this tutorial, I’m focusing on “pick-up and knit” from a garter stitch piece, worked without a chain stitch selvage. Such a selvage is pretty neat for picking-up stitches, but it also makes the selvage tighter than may be preferable. In such cases, it’s good to know how to pick-up & knit stitches from a regular garter stitch edge.
The difference between “pick-up” and “pick-up & knit”
It may be confusing what exactly the difference is between just “pick-up” and “pick-up & knit”. I mean, both have some picking-up action going on. The main difference is, that with just “pick-up” stitches of the piece already worked are placed on the knitting needle without introducing new yarn.
With “pick-up and knit”, new yarn is pulled through the piece already worked and the loops are placed on a knitting needle. These new loops are the new stitches from which the rest of the piece is worked.
Pick-up & knit from garter stitch step-by-step
In this example, I’m using a contrasting yarn for the pickup & knit part, to make it easier for you to see what exactly I’m doing and where.
1. We start with a piece of knitting worked completely in garter stitch, turned sideways with the RS facing. And yes, plain garter stitch does not really have a RS and WS, but it can have when there is patterning on a background of garter stitch.
2. Insert your needle (or crochet hook if you find that easier!), from front to back, between the garter stitch ridges, between the last and second-to-last columns of stitches. In other words: in between the ridges and 1 stitch in from the edge.
3. Wrap your yarn around the needle or crochet hook…
4. …and pull the loop of yarn through the work and place it on the needle.
5. Repeat steps 2-4, picking up 1 stitch per garter stitch ridge until all ridges have been worked. The result looks like this from the RS:
This is how it looks from the WS:
Next, you can start knitting according to your pattern. Take care, though, to see whether the stitches are positioned normal or twisted. The stitch mount has a potential impact on your project!
Stitch mount
Stitches have a left and right leg. The way they are positioned on the needle impacts the look of the stitches when knit. In the picture below on the left, you can see the regular orientation with the right leg in front of the needle. On the left there is a twisted stitch: the left leg of the stitch is in front of the needle. This is no problem though: Just knit (or purl) the twisted stitch through the back loop to untwist the stitch mount.
And here how it looks with some more rows worked from the RS:
And from the WS:
The white part looks a tad wider than the “body” of the piece because I used a slightly heavier weight yarn!
Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.
