Scroll Colorwork Beanies

I have been searching and searching, but for the life of me, I can't remember where I got the pattern for these hats. If anybody out there recognizes it, please let me know, as it is a cool pattern and the designer deserves their credit...

Anyway, what I do remember is I only had it in written form, not digital. And it was my first foray into colorwork. I chose alternating MC/CC for these two hats and I particularly liked the way the changing blues created another layer of color. See more about them here if you're interested in purchasing one.

High Contrast, the tutorials

There are three crucial skills required for the High Contrast blanket. They are above and beyond a beginner's repertoire, so the pattern is classified "intermediate".

But that's a bit misleading, as these new skills are easy to learn and High Contrast is a great pattern to learn them on. Here's what you'll need to complete the blanket:

- tubular cast on
- doubleknit for the main body of the blanket
- grafting cast off using kitchener stitch

The pattern has some resources and explanations of the three skills, but I'll add some information and tutorial links here so you can have a more thorough background. So first of all...

Tubular Cast On

This is a method of casting on that uses the backward loop method to provisionally create the cast on edge. You complete a few rows in stockinette stitch, then fold the fabric up, remove the waste yarn stitch by stitch and incorporate the provisional stitches as the purl stitches for the doubleknit fabric.

Knitty has a better explanation with photos here. The result is a seamless, double-layered edge that doesn't restrict the stretch of the blanket.

Doubleknit

I'm currently geeking out on doubleknit, as it is so easy, but looks much harder than the skill actually is.

In essence, doubleknitting is creating two pieces of stockinette fabric in different yarns simultaneously, both WSs facing each other. Each doubleknit stitch is a pair of one knit, then one purl. The trick is that both strands of yarn travel between each stitch.

On the RS, this means: with both yarns held in back, knit MC into the first stitch, then bring both yarns forward and purl CC into the second stitch.

On the WS, this means: with both yarns held in back, knit CC into the first stitch, then bring both yarns forward and purl MC into the second stitch.

There's also some additional work to do on doubleknit edging to make sure the fabric doesn't pull apart. The High Contrast pattern has full details. For more doubleknit talk, check out a recommended Twist Collective post here.

Grafting Cast Off Using Kitchener Stitch

Kitchener stitch has always frustrated me. It creates a nice finish, but I can never remember the order of the stitches. So I confess to having a cheat sheet that I repeatedly refer to while doing kitchener...

High tech to the max

The goal of a grafting cast off is the same as the tubular cast on: to create a double-layered, seamless edge that gives when stretched.

The High Contrast patten (buy here!) goes into detail about how to set up for the cast off. After that, you use kitchener stitch, which you can read more about here and watch a video here.

That's about it! Happy stitching and remember to add your project to the Ravelry pattern so that I can see your FOs. Taters says thanks!

High Contrast, the inspiration

The inspiration for the High Contrast doubleknit blanket came from two different places.

The first: Vienna.

Vienna!

A city full of museums, museums and more museums, I spent 5 pleasant days last summer staring at stuff. And what stuck with me was the Modern Art Museum and Peter Kogler's designs.

From the gift shop; too self-conscious to take pics of real art.

I like Kogler's striking black and white motifs. Upon returning home, I attempted to simplify and chart some of his designs, but they were too intricate and detailed. With this idea buzzing around in my head, we took off on another trip, to Minnesota and the MN State Fair.

I regret not taking any photos of it, but the fiber arts competition was intense. Rooms and rooms of knit, crochet, weaving, spinning... It seemed like there was a trend, however, of doubleknit items winning ribbons. I learned to doubleknit earlier that year and was surprised by how easy it is and how impressive the reversible FOs were.

So there you have it: black and white coupled with doubleknit. Everything else evolved as I started working on my first design. I tripped up and learned a lot along the way, but hopefully the next one will be easier for it.

If you are ever in Vienna, everything is cool, but my particular recommendation is to check out the Historical Musical Instruments Collection- not AT, but PART OF the Art History Museum (Kunsthistoriches Museum Wien). I'm a nerd for stringed instruments, especially historical ones.

Basically drooled on the glass of this one.

Also: after days on the very crowded, touristy streets of Vienna, the quiet, empty hallways were a very welcome treat.

Ah, peace.

High Contrast, a doubleknit throw blanket

Introducing my first knitting pattern: High Contrast

It's 40" x 52" and the fabric has plenty of give to cuddle up in. The nature of doubleknitting means that this is a thick, warm blanket; it uses two pounds of yarn and is reversible. Pattern is only in English (for now) with US notations.

The black/white pattern was inspired by a visit to Vienna last summer where I saw some of Peter Kogler's art. (Way groovier than my simple design, check out stuff by him here.)

In taking photos of the finished blanket, I was fascinated by the many secondary designs you could make with the fabric by just folding it differently.

Here's the caveat: it's my very first knitting pattern. And while I have taken Edie Eckman's Craftsy class "How to Say It: Pattern Writing for Knitters" (more info here), I have not hired a tech editor or test knitter to look at the pattern.

That means: there are probably typos. There's no intricate math, but perhaps my wording is less than crystal clear or there might be some inconsistencies (despite having had friends and family proofread). If you should find a typo/inconsistency or have a general recommendation/criticism, you are strongly encouraged to email me at kateandtatum at gmail. Much thanks ahead of time!

Here's where to buy it:
Ravelry
Etsy

Much thanks!

Oblique Eggplant, off the needles

Finally!

I started wearing this sweater out and about before I blocked or put buttons on or even wove in ends. It is that delectable and cozy.

The master color is "eggplant"- a rich, dark purple. (I'm a total purple addict.) The contrast color is "piedras"- variegated oranges, reds, yellows, pinks, purples. The first skein was darker than the rest, so you can see in the photos that the diamond colorwork is more obvious on the bottom half than the top (pattern is worked top down).

True story: I was picking out the yarn at the Webs booth at Stitches West (chaos) and was searching for 5 skeins in each color. I found 5 eggplant and 4 piedras. I was stressing about it with a stranger who was loitering around me and we were spitballing alternatives. After a few minutes, I was undeterred, so she gave up loitering and put down a skein of yarn and walked away. It was my missing 5th piedras. So, yeah, shout out to that mean old lady.

The details of this pattern are what really sold me on it. The neck, hem and cuffs are all double knit, giving them more volume and a little bell-shape. (I did the neck in the recommended size of needle, but went down three sizes for the hem and cuffs.) And the diamond pattern was easy to remember and spot mistakes.

There were a few errors in the pattern, which I've gone into more detail about on my Ravelry projects page (here). I also had 3 full skeins (1 eggplant, 2 piedras) remaining at the end, so the estimated yarn requirements are exaggerated.

My final remark is that the lack of shaping in the body proved problematic. I foresaw that it would be a problem (I have hips, the pattern's model does not), so I started increasing once the body started, but it was too little, too conservative. I only added buttons at the top and can't wrap the whole sweater around my hips. Still cozy, though.

Tatum Lately

We've been out and about more and more- getting closer to peak marathon mileage- so Tatum has plenty of new trail photos. He's always happiest outdoors.

Oblique Eggplant, on the needles

At last year's Stitches West, I bought $200 of Malabrigo Mechita yarn in the hopes of making my most ambitious sweater yet: Oblique Motion ($7 here).

Swatched, pattern printed, yarn balled... even bought some nifty hexagonal needles. Game on.

That was in February of 2015. It was some slow going:

I blocked the sweater last week and am working on the finishing touches, better photos. So stay tuned, it's a beauty... Only took 11 months to finish.

Sneak Peek

Almost a year's worth of work, so nearly nearly done.

Coming soon.

Mitts Galore

I went through a phase recently of making a ton of fingerless gloves- mitts? I don't know what the cutesy name for them is...

 I came up with a simple pattern that I quickly memorized and could knit while walking, riding in the car, waiting in line, etc. Some have thumbs, some don't. Mostly determined by whether or not I had enough yarn for thumbs... no other rhyme or reason.

Here's the thing: I don't wear fingerless gloves. It was never a style I could pull off or wear well. But one pair has made it's way into my camping wardrobe at least. The rest occasionally get posted on my Etsy shop, although I try not to flood it with all of them...

And no post is complete without a shot of Tatum. So here he is wearing his gloves (booties).

Kraken Cowl

This was a gift for a friend- the second thing I've knit her that didn't come out quite right- and she's been a good sport about accepting flawed gifts with enthusiasm.

The major problem with this project was that despite swatching and blocking the swatch and feeling like I had the gauge down, the final result was way off. Gigantic, huge, unwearable.

I used the right weight of yarn, the right needles, so I guess it must be my tension?

Well, I don't think I'll be making this pattern again, so I'll stop asking questions and move on.

There are plenty of other projects on Ravelry where the knitter got it right (go here) and you can also buy the pattern and give it a shot yourself.

In the end, I sent it to my friend anyway, recommending that she seam up the sides and it'd make a decent body pillowcase. Ha!