. . . mirasol . . .

Mirasol, sunflower…

Mirasol, a cute, little summer cardigan with a doubled collar, three quarter sleeves and small cable details at the fronts, the raglan shaping and the sides.

The colors remind me of sunflowers… hence the name.

The yarn is plantdyed by ‘bynightcreations‘. It is a fingering weight with tiny little sparkles in it: ByNight Dyes Twinkle

Dyed with ‘nerprun’: buckthorn in English, it gives these beautiful golden yellow / greens.

And they look different everytime depending on the kind of light.

Full sun… Look how they match the lichen on the beech tree… No wonder, they are plantdyed…

Mirasol is worked top down starting with the doubled collar. It is completely seamless.

It is a classical cardigan…

But with a twist 😉

detail of the cables at the sides

It can be made in only one color (it will look just as cute) or if you have some lonely matching skeins, like I had, you can make gradients (fades) as in the sample. The easiest way to do so is changing colors every two rows. But the gradient is much smoother if you alternate colors in every row as the sample. Instructions to do so are provided.

A few ‘inside’ photos

and ‘outside’ …

The cardigan has 3/4 sleeves but body and sleeves can easily be lengthened as some of the testknitters did. BTW, the pattern has been tech edited en testknit.

Sizes: XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
finished measurements chest: 35 / 37½ / 40 / 44½ / 48 / 51“ (89 / 96 / 102 / 114 / 122 / 130 cm)
Intended to be worn with some positive ease at the high bust (under the armpits: 4 to 8“ / 10 to 20 cm.
Model is wearing M with 6” / 15 cm of positive ease (at the high bust).

What you’ll need
± 1050/1130/1200/1350/1450/1550 m (1150/1250/1310/1500/1600/1700 yards) fingering weight /4 ply
3 mm (US 2½) circular needle and straight needles,
2.5 mm (US 1½) circular needle and straight needles,
cable needle,
11 buttons diameter 18 mm / ¾”
10 markers

Gauge
29 sts and 42 rows in stockinette stitch = 10 x 10 cm (4”x4”)

Read more and see more versions from the testknitters here

One Sock Two Socks Magic

Fun fun fun. This is a great idea. And perfect for all those lonely sock yarn skeins.

All you need is a 50 grs lonely skein – that is about 200m or 220 yards, some scraps, a pair of scissors, – yikes – and a tapestry needle.

It starts with a toe – worked toe-up, of course. Switch to your lonely skein and knit a tube until your skein is completely finished. Then, you add the cuff …

And then, you need to follow the pattern to add all the different items (I changed the order a little).

The pattern is a free one and can be found here

Here is a photoreport.

 

 

 

 

 

Tadaa …

Thank you, Shauna Wood, it is great. I love my new socks and I will do this again, and again … (I already started a second tube ^^)

. . . A Mazing Tee . . .

Fancy a summer tee in cotton ? Or cotton / linen blends ?

Here is one: A Mazing Tee, a short sleeved summer tee worked in two (or more) colors. First front and back panels are knit top-down featuring a slip stitch mosaic pattern.

Only one color is worked per row. The top of both panels with the neckline and shoulder shaping is written out but the basic mosaic pattern is charted only.
The front and back panel are finished with a ‘no finish look’ bind off method, the same I used before in manneken and kazual. I really, really like that bind off.

This is the first one I made using three different yarns that had been in my stash for ages.

But then, I found that it would be better to change the mosaic pattern a little. And it might be a good idea to add some short rows at the shoulders and sleeve inset for a better and more natural fit.

So I made a second one. Also from stash yarn.

I used two colors for this one.

You can see the short rows shaping the sleeve /  shoulder. But first the small saddle shoulder is worked sidewise joining back and front at the same time.

Stitches are picked up & knit along both panels to work the sides. Here you can easily adapt the size by working more or less rows.

The sleeves are worked in the round and bound off in the same manner.

The pattern has been tech edited by Sue-Cat

Sizes:
XS / S / M / L / XL / XXL
finished measurements chest: 30 / 34 / 38 / 41½ / 45½ / 49½ “ (76 / 86 / 96 / 106 / 116 / 126 cm)
Intended to be worn with some positive ease at the high bust (under the armpits): 5 to 20 cm / 2” to 8”.
It is very easy to alter the measurements by working more or less rows at the sides.

What you’ll need
cotton or cotton blend in heavy DK weight or worsted weight
D (darker color in mosaic): 380/420/460/500/530/600 m (420/460/500/550/580/660 yards)
L (light color): 310/350/390/430/470/510 m (340/380/430/470/520/560 yards)
4 mm (US 6) straight needles
4 mm (US 6) circular needle
3.5 mm (US 4) circular needle
crochet hook
4 markers

Gauge
Stockinette stitch blocked: 20 sts and 30 rows = 10 x 10 cm (4”x 4”)

Read more here

Well, I don’t think these will be the last ones using mosaic patterns. It is so easy and fun…

 UFO’s and WIP’s…. to be continued …

. . . kazual . . .

I am still playing with my new bind off method … Trying out a few new things …

And this is the result: Kazual, a ‘casual’ pullover worked top down and seamlessly in the round.

It starts at the top with a welted cast on. It features striped welts on the shoulders …

and elbows …

and it has two small pockets.

The welts are very easy to make: no difficult intarsia. Only one color is worked per row. You never need to join to the main color in the same row.
There are a few ends to weave in, but that shouldn’t scare you off: they are very easily hidden in the welts.

The body has a slight A-line adding up to the relaxed, ‘casual’ feel and the cuffs and hems have a ‘minimal finished look’ using the special bind off method.

Everything you need to successfully finish your Kazual is included, no need to search on the web:

• photo tutorials to work the striped welts and the special cast on technique
• tutorials for short rows and jogless stripes.

Tech edited by Sue-Cat

Sizes
XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL
finished measurements chest: 33 / 37 / 41 / 44½ / 48 / 52 “ (83 / 98 / 104 / 113 / 122 / 132 cm)
Intended to be worn with positive ease (10 to 25 cm / 4 to 10”). Model is wearing M with 15 cm / 6” of positive ease at the high bust (under the armpits).

What you’ll need
worsted weight or heavy DK
MC (main color) ± 650/750/800/880/950/1050 m (710/820/880/960/1050/1150 yards)
Instead of a worsted weight you can also pair a sportweight with a lace weight (mohair)
CC (contrasting color) between 80 and 100 m / between 88 and 110 yards
5 mm (US 8) circular needles and straight needles (optional)
4 markers

Gauge
stockinette stitch blocked: 17 sts and 25 rows = 10 x 10 cm (4”x4”)

More info here