08 October 2009

Mentmore Socks

Mentmore Socks by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
There is really something special about hand-knit socks. You can make them to fit just how you like, with a short neat top in a crisp twisted rib or a deep fold-over cuff to keep your ankles warmly snug as you walk through the autumn leaves.

So here is a brand-new pattern – the Mentmore Socks. I actually designed this some while ago and have already made quite a few pairs of socks with it. They are so comfy to wear for autumn hikes and country walks. They are worked from the top down and have a neat rounded heel and shaped instep, and the Slip Rib patterning gives them a super comfy cushioned finish.

I now have several in a variety of plain colours and have also been trying the pattern out with some of the self-striping and hand-dyed yarns that have recently appeared in yarn stores.
Yarns for Mentmore Socks by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
In my last blogpost I was talking about some kettle-dyed yarn I had just received from KnitPicks, their Stroll Tonal. It was absolutely beautiful in the skein, but the photo above shows the issue I saw when it arrived. The three balls of yarn are from a single dyelot but all look completely different… So how to make a matched pair of socks from this?

Well, the first idea I had was to use a slip-stitch pattern, such as in the Mentmore Socks as this helps to break up the colours up between the rounds. This is because some of the stitches are knit but others are slipped on every round which effectively draws that colour up into the band above.

However, I didn’t think that would be enough for my lovely kettle-dyed red yarn. So I decided to add another level of complexity and work with the three balls of yarn at the same time to mix things up a bit more. I mentioned this last time but I didn’t go into any detail then. I have had some queries asking me how to do this, so this is what I did:
Mentmore Socks by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
First I divided my yarn into three balls, one with 40gm of yarn and the other two had 30gm each. I worked the cuff using just the larger ball, then I joined in the others to blend the yarns for the rest of the sock. So if you would like to try this:

  • Start with the ball of yarn you are using (Ball #1) and work half the way around the sock.
  • Drop that yarn and join in Ball #2 and work to the end of the round.
  • Then drop that yarn and join in Ball #3.

So there are now three balls of yarn connected to the sock, but it isn’t quite as fearsome as it sounds! I didn’t find they got too tangled as they are evenly spaced around the sock and were fairly easy to navigate as I worked around. I did take to adding a safety pin to hold the ball of yarn in place if I was putting it down for any length of time, but apart from that it didn’t prove too difficult.
Mentmore Socks by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
  • You are now working with Ball #3, so go round again to the half-way point.
  • You will now see you have 2 balls of yarn here, the old Ball #1 you used at the start and this new Ball #3. And the rule here is: drop the new yarn and pick up the old one from the round below.  And you literally just do that. You don’t twist the old and new yarns together, but just pick up the new yarn without pulling it too tightly and continue knitting.
  • Then you do the same at the end of the round – just drop the yarn you have been using and pick up the new yarn as before and continue doing that at every side marker or at the end of each round.

Each ball of yarn is essentially forming its own spiral of knitting with the new spirals stacked on top of the ones below. I posted a diagram showing that last time so please go and have a look at that to show what I am meaning.
Mentmore Socks by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
​The Mentmore Socks pattern already mixes up the colours by means of the Slip Rib stitch the pattern uses, but mixing the colours in this way does give a wonderful blend. The photo above shows another example. This is the same KnitPicks Stroll Tonal yarn, but this time in “Poppy Field”, a rich autumnal gold/yellow blend and I love how this has come.

I hope you will try this technique for yourself. I’m sure you will love the wonderful effects you can achieve. 

For more details about the new Mentmore Socks pattern, please click here. The pattern is available for instant download from my website so you can get knitting today.

Happy Sock Knitting!

Moira
Keywords: Patterns/Accessories,
sock, socks, tonal yarns, space-dyed yarns, kettle-dyed yarns, blending yarns, dyelots, dye lots, hand-dyed yarns, zebra striping, colour pooling,

13 August 2009

Spiralling Away!!

Yarn for Mentmore Socks by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
I have been thinking about spirals recently, and how they are important in knitting. Sometimes they can be interesting, but they can also be a nuisance. For example, when we are trying to put bands of colour into a circular item such as a sweater or a bag, then we might see a “jog” at the colour join.

At first this is surprising because we tend to think we are working horizontal bands of colours, forming stripes. However, what we are actually knitting is a series of spirals.
Diagram of spirals for blogpost by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
I was musing about this for a bit and then realised that we could actually use this to our advantage. After a bit of experimenting I saw that if you use three different colours of yarn spaced evenly around as you work, then different colours will appear as single-width stripes. Similarly if you used two balls of one colour and one ball of a contrast shade, you should see alternating thick and thin stripes.

I had recently received some wonderful kettle-dyed yarns from Knit Picks, their Stroll Tonal yarn. The photo at the top shows three balls of this yarn and what is perhaps surprising is that they are all from the same dye-lot.

They are all beautiful colours in themselves and with a wonderful depth and interest resulting from kettle-dyeing the yarn. However if I made a pair of socks, one with one ball, the second with another and the third ball being used as a back-up if I ran out of yarn along the way, then each sock would be very different.

​One would be a glorious dark burgundy colour, with hardly a lighter patch in it. The other would have bright sparks of colour almost verging on light pink. Basically the socks would not look like a matched pair.
Using multiple yarns for Mentmore Socks by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
So I started making my new pair of socks using all three balls of yarn in the same round. It was surprisingly easy to do and the colours just melded together, giving a far more harmonious final result. Of course there were still lighter-coloured stripes and highlighted stitches, but these are the feature of kettle-dyed yarns that draw us to them in the first place.

This technique also has another advantage and that is to break up the pooling or "Zebra-striping" that often occurs when using hand-dyed yarns. This is where splodges of colour end up in the same location round after round. Using several balls of yarn in the same round interrupts this unwanted patterning and lets the beauty of the yarn shine through. And of course, this could be useful not just for socks but in any garment where you are seeing this effect.

I will post more details about this new pattern, the Mentmore Socksnext time but if you'd like to read more now then please click here.

Until next time – Happy Sock Knitting!

Moira
Keywords: Patterns/Accessories,
sock, socks, tonal yarns, space-dyed yarns, kettle-dyed yarns, blending yarns, dyelots, dye lots, hand-dyed yarns, zebra striping, colour pooling,

12 August 2009

Bags of Bags!

BYOB Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
A few months ago, we celebrated World Earth Day – an annual event designed to focus our collective thoughts on the needs of the planet and what we can do to raise environmental awareness. Although this day has been on the calendar for nearly 20 years it still feels as though there is much left to do, not least of which is tackling the issue of plastic.

Single-use plastic bags so easily find themselves blown away on the breeze, tangled in tree branches or washed out to sea. However, we knitters have solutions! We can make reusable bags for ourselves so we can say with pride: “No plastic bags for me!”

Last year I wrote my very first blogpost about the BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag knitting pattern and then followed that up with suggestions for lots of bags in different colours and finishes.

So I thought it might be a good idea to put some of these ideas together on a page for inspiration. Please click any of the photos below to read more:

BYOB Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
BYOB - Bring Your Own Bag in lime green and purple
BYOB Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
Two-tone pink and white BYOB bags
BYOB Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
BYOB bags worked with solid Basketweave sides

Picture
BYOB in Autumnal Colourway
BYOB Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
Stripey BYOB Bag worked in Seed Stitch
BYOB Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
Set of BYOB bags in Autumnal Colourway

Picture
BYOB 2.0 pattern - now with 4 sizes
BYOB Market Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
BYOB Market Bag with long handles
BYOB Bag by Moira Ravenscroft, Wyndlestraw Designs
Fibonacci striped BYOB bag

I like to put “sets” of bags together ahead of time, with 1 or 2 linen bags plus 2 or 3 BYOB Bags. If I put one of these sets in a handy place, they are ready to grab as I leave the house. Then I have everything I need when I arrive at the shops!

To see all the patterns I now have available for knitted bags, please click here. In addition to the bags pictured above, you will also be able to see details above five fabric-lined bags which are included in the Southampton Collection and also a backpack, the Westernesse Bag.

Until next time – Happy Knitting!
 

Moira
Keywords: Patterns/Bags, Pattern Notes/Bags,
bag, bags, stripes, Seed Stitch, Mesh, Basketweave, knitted bag, shopping bag, market bag, BYOB,

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