New men's scarf pattern – the Petersfield Scarf

It is so good to be finally able to think about winter travels.... After so many months at home, the idea of donning a thick winter sweater and heading for the hills is blissful. 

As a knitter, I have found this quite inspiring as there's not a lot of need for winter woollies in Florida! However, the mere thought of biting northerly winds has made me dig out my needles and yarn.
However, before I started with any of my own knitting I remembered that my husband, Tim, has been asking for a new scarf for ages. I had a look in the yarn stores and found a wonderful soft mid-grey to contrast with a deep wine-red – his favourite colours! 
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This is Cascade 220 Sport, which is a lovely soft 100% wool yarn. The red is called Burgundy and the grey is Charcoal Grey. The combination gave the perfect degree of contrast for the striped design I had in mind.

I also wanted the scarf to be squishy and warm, so I opted for using two ends of a thinner yarn together rather than one thicker one. I am finding that is almost my go-to method these days. I love the way this builds extra warmth into a scarf or hat plus also opening up the possibilities of using a single strand for a matching pair of gloves. 

If you would like to read more about the delights of working with two ends of yarn held together, then please have a look at my "Seeing Double" blogpost series from earlier this year here.

For the scarf I wanted a reversible stitch with a lot of texture and character, so selected Granite Stitch from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. This is an easy stitch to work but has such an interesting texture and depth. 

You will probably have seen me mention before in my blogposts that reversible stitches tend to lay flat, but this one is exceptional in that even the edges are firm and do not roll. This means that I could run the pattern right to the edges for a very modern look. 

That also makes it easier to work, of course, because there is no border to be worked at either edge. In fact the only stitch that has to be worked differently is the very end selvedge stitch! This makes the pattern good for working on while you are travelling or when you are with other people in a group on holiday get-togethers.

I designed the scarf with a graduated stripe pattern, so that the scarf ends are worked with a lighter stripe effect and then the strong wine-red colour bands increase in density towards the centre. This central thick-and-thin banded repeat brings a strong colour focus to the neckline fold or wrap, framing the face and adding extra interest to the central neck area.

The finished scarf as shown here is 23cm/9 ins wide and 183cm/72 ins long, so is a good length for wrapping around the neck. However, I have also included instructions for two other sizes in the pattern:

• a shorter slimmer scarf: 20cm/8 ins wide x 156cm/62 ins long, 
• and a larger one: 25cm/10 ins wide x 183cm/72 ins long.

To read more information about the new Petersfield Scarf knitting pattern please click here. It is available for instant download from the site so you'll be able to start your knitting straight away.

I hope you are able to travel or get together with your families this winter – complete with needles and yarn to knit your next winter scarf!

Until next time – Happy knitting!

Moira

​Last Blogpost: New Pattern – the Darlington Lace Scarf & Wrap Next Up: Knitting for the change in seasons Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Patterns/Mens Patterns,
scarf, scarves, reversible scarf, knitted scarf, reversible knitting, reversible stitches,

New Pattern – the Darlington Lace Scarf & Wrap

It's almost the end of summer! It's amazing how fast this year is going, isn't it. We are currently in Sweden and enjoying the last of the long summer days and clear blue skies.

"Sweden?" I hear you ask. Yes, indeed! The borders were opened at the end of July so we rapidly organised flights to catch up with our daughter and son-in-law and meet our gorgeous new grandson, now 10 months old. And yes, he truly is gorgeous and I am, of course, only marginally biased about that! If you would like to see a photo of him from back in January, please click here.

I have also been enjoying knitting along with Anna and seeing her future projects taking shape. There's nothing quite like knitting with your daughter to bring a sense of normality back into the world. I hope everyone else reading this can enjoy similar moments with their families very soon.

In the meantime, I have uploaded my latest pattern, the Darlington Lace Scarf & Wrap to my pattern store. The pattern includes instructions for three different sizes, including a slim slim scarf in two different lengths for the perfect finishing touch to a casual jeans outfit.

The pattern also includes a lovely draping wrap to complete an evening ensemble. I have to say I really love using the wrap. It is a perfect weight – warm enough to take the edge off a cool evening outside, yet with a soft silky drape that adds a special touch to any outfit.

The wrap can worn draped elegantly over your shoulders for an evening at the theatre or a stroll along the embankment. However, it looks equally good if you wrap it more tightly around your neck for a little extra warmth!

All the items are worked in a beautiful reversible stitch, Darlington Lace, from our Reversible Knitting Stitches book. The stitch is light and airy with gently curving ribs separated by vertical bands of eyelets so it resembles a cool waterfall.

The top and lower borders feature a beautiful co-ordinating ribbed pattern which looks like a row of lily flowers. This gives extra interest to the ends and also adds a little extra weight, making them hang perfectly.

I worked the wrap shown here in a lovely dusky blue bamboo/merino yarn, but it would also look gorgeous in other colours. I could imagine this in a stunning white for a summer bridal party, or in a pale apricot to accent a holiday outfit.
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Looking ahead to the winter too, I could see the scarves in a deep red colour or stunning Midnight Blue to drape under the lapels of a jacket for a holiday gathering.

If you would like more information about the Darlington Lace Scarf and Wrap, please click here. I hope you are enjoying the end of summer where you are and that you are all keeping well.

Until next time – Happy knitting!

Moira

Last Blogpost: Summer is here! Next Up: New men's scarf pattern – the Petersfield Scarf Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Patterns/Women’s Scarves & Wraps,
scarf, scarves, wrap, stole, lace, lace stole, lace wrap, blue, reversible scarf, reversible wrap, reversible stitch, reversible knitting

Summer is here!

Wow – I didn't mean to be away from blogposting for quite so long! I thought I would just get my sewing machine out and have some fun sewing for a while and now I see it's quite a number of weeks since I last posted....

However, it has all been highly productive as I now have quite a number of new items in my wardrobe and a much smaller amount of fabric in my stash, which is always a good outcome.

Mind you, I had forgotten just how much space sewing takes up. I seem to have commandeered almost every flat surface in our house. The dining table is now a cutting table and our breakfast area by the window has a sewing machine and an overlocker to either side of my workstation. All I can say is that it's a good job I have a wonderfully understanding husband who is happy to go with the flow.
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However, I haven't abandoned knitting and have been finishing off a lot of items just waiting for some final touch or other. It's amazing how long projects can wait just for a seam to be finished or some ends sewn in, isn't it!

In addition to those distractions, I have been going through my old knitting patterns and updating a number of them. I was so impressed with the new charting software that we used for our last revision of our Reversible Knitting Stitches book, so I wanted to use that for the rest of my patterns. That has also given me the opportunity to add some extra notes where appropriate and check all the links are up-to-date too.

The photo above shows one of the patterns I have just updated, the Kimpton Scarf and Wrap – and just in time for some summer knitting! With the kiddies breaking up from school, summer holidays beckoning and the arrival of the hot summer days, this is a great project to work on right now – lovely cool yarn to knit with plus a scarf or wrap you can use straight away for cool summer nights or eating in an air-conditioned restaurant. Perfect.

Having seen to the Kimpton knitting pattern, I then went on to update two of my other wrap patterns as I so love wearing these. The first of these is the FFCT Wrap, beautifully modelled by our daughter Anna in the photo above. This has a touch of merino in with the cotton and gives a wonderful touch of warmth just when you need it.

Then I also updated the Scottswood Stole pattern which can be worked in either a sportweight baby alpaca or a DK merino to keep you cozy when the temperatures start to dip again, although it's hard to imagine that right now I know!

Do contact me if you have purchased any of these patterns and would like the latest versions for your library. I'll be happy to send them out to you.

I have also just added my newest pattern, the Kassiopi Scarf, to both Ravelry and LoveCrafts. The pattern includes three widths in some lovely zingy summer colours to pep up your summer wardrobe. You can also find this on my website here and in my Etsy store.

Then lastly, I have been working on a new pattern, the Darlington Lace Scarf & Wrap pictured at the top of this post. I have been wearing the wrap from this pattern lots already and have found it perfect for an extra touch of warmth at the end of a day. The pattern is now available here, and I will post more about this wrap next time.

Until then – have fun with your summer knitting!

Moira

Last Blogpost: New update for our Reversible Knitting Stitches book Next Up: New pattern – the Darlington Lace Scarf & Wrap ​​​​​Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Patterns/Women's Scarves & Wraps,
wraps, shawls, shawl, scarf, scarves, summerknitting,

New update for our Reversible Knitting Stitches book

Thank you everyone for the lovely messages you sent me about the "Seeing Double" blogpost series. I am so pleased that was helpful and that you all enjoyed it. I certainly like working with two strands of yarn and it was fun for me to put the series together.

Also, many thanks for the response to our expanded Reversible Knitting Stitches E-book that we completed last Autumn. It was good to have such an enjoyable project to work on during the lockdown and to have a positive outcome after such a difficult time for everyone. Both Anna & I loved the challenge of finding more than 50 new stitches to add to the collection!

Anna has been using these to make all kinds of items for her new little baby. The sample above is of Lace Squares which is one of the new stitches that we added to the 2nd Edition. And if you'd like to see what this sample finally became, then please click here to see her lovely soft Buttercup Baby Blanket!

​In the process of knitting the blanket and other items from the book, we spotted that two errors had crept into the last edition. These were:

• Lace Squares: There was an error in the chart. The symbol for ssp should be \ not /
• Parisian Rib: The 6-6 LC/R symbol was missing from the key. ​

So, I have corrected those in a new update which I have uploaded today. I do apologise for those and hope they didn't inconvenience anyone. If you already have the current E-book and would like a copy of the new update, then please contact me and I will send you a new download link. 

If you would like to see more photographs and a gallery of sample pages from the newly expanded book, then please click here. The book is available for immediate download from my website, so if you haven't purchased the book yet click here to order your copy. 

​Until next time – Happy Reversible Knitting!

Moira

Last Blogpost: Seeing Double #7 – Tips and Techniques using Doubled Yarns Next Up: Summer is here! ​​​​​Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Reversible Knitting Stitches,
baby blanket, knitting stitches, Lace Squares, reversible knitting, reversible stitches, reversible blanket, knitted blanket,

Seeing Double: #7 – Tips and Techniques using Doubled Yarns

Over the last few blogposts in this Seeing Double series, I have been extolling the virtues of using two ends of yarn held together to add extra qualities to your knitting and to maximise the potential for finding interesting yarn combinations. So in this last blogpost in the series, I want to touch on some tips and techniques for working with doubled yarns.

​So let’s turn our attention to how we can work with two ends of yarn held together – and the answer is that there are a number of different ways. 

1 - Using two balls of yarn:

The first and most obvious is to take one end of yarn from two or more balls of yarn and hold them together as you form your stitches. 

This is a simple solution and works quite well except that the balls of yarn can get tangled together as you work. Each stitch either imparts a little extra twist into the yarn or takes a small amount out, depending on your style of knitting. This change in twist makes its way down each length of yarn leading to the ball and after a while you might see the two ends tightly coiled around each other.

You then need to stop, pin the yarn end onto the ball of yarn, then hang the two balls of yarn from the work and allow them to untwizzle. I actually quite like doing that so don't see it as a major inconvenience. It's quite satisfying seeing them untwisting!
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You can reduce tangling to some extent by having each ball in a separate container, or working with both strands coming from the inside of each ball. That will at least prevent the balls from rolling all over the floor.

1a - Using a Lazy Susan:

Alternatively, you can mount each ball on a yarn dispenser so that they rotate as you work. These devices are sometimes called "Lazy Susans" or "yarn spinners." Some of these have a central vertical pin to hold the cone or ball of yarn, while others mount the balls of yarn side-by-side as in the example above from the Letto Workshop on Etsy. Rotating the yarn ball allows the yarn to unroll from the outside to keep the threads separated.

2 - Using a single centre-pull ball:

A second way to work with two ends of yarn is to wind a centre-pull ball. This photo shows a ball I wound using a Nostepinde, but there are a number of ways to make a centre-pull ball of yarn and you can read more about that here.

Once you have your yarn wound into a centre-pull ball, you can then use one end of yarn from the inside of the ball and one from the outside. Some people say their knitting is not quite so even if they do this but I haven't actually seen that myself. Perhaps it depends how you wind your yarn into the ball. Whichever way you do it though, it is simple and there is only one ball to look after, but you might still need to stop and untwist the yarn ends from time to time.

One of the key advantages of this method is that it is really good for small projects where you really only need one ball of yarn, and you are less likely to end up with more remnants to add to your stash.
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However, a slight disadvantage of this method is that you will come to the end of the ball more quickly. You will then have two old ends and two new ends all to be finished at the same point. With two separate balls of yarn the balls tend to end up being slightly different lengths so the joins are usually staggered.

3 – Making a meta-ball:

Then the third way is to take the two or more strands of yarn and wind them together into a meta-ball. This is a good method if the two yarns are the same or very similar in composition, so it works well for two different colours of the same yarn, for example. However, it is not such a good method for yarns with a different fibre composition as one yarn might stretch more than the other as you work.
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It also takes more preparation time and is hard to undo if you decide later that you want to use just one of the yarns on its own. However, it is the simplest to knit with and is probably the best if you are going to start knitting a large rug or an art project with multiple ends of yarn!

Some extra notes:

One thing to note is that when you are working with two ends of yarn held together, every stitch on your needle will show as a pair of loops. So when you come to work the next stitch, your needle will need to go through both loops as though it were a single, thicker yarn. 
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The two strands of yarn will sit next to each other in each knitted stitch. This gives quite an interesting effect as you can see in the Hebden Gilet Jacket at the top of this post.

You do need to be careful that you don't inadvertently split the stitches apart when you are working or you will change the number of stitches on the needle. Of interest, you can actually use this as a technique for increasing the number of stitches if you needed to, but you don't want to end up doing that by mistake.

In addition, you need to make sure that both of the yarn ends wrap the needle every time you are making a new stitch. If you inadvertently only use one thread to form the stitch, then that will create a thinner stitch at that point because you now only have a single strand where you should have two. However, you will usually find that you will detect this fairly quickly as the yarn ends you are working with are now a different length, so that is usually quick to fix.
. . . . .

So that brings us to the end of this blogpost series. Thank you so much to everyone for all the lovely e-mails and messages I have received about this series. I am so pleased to see so many people enjoy my enthusiasm for working with two ends of yarn at the same time! I hope the last few blogposts will give you lots of inspiration for future projects.

If you would like to return to the introduction to the series, then please click here. If you would like any more information about the patterns that I have featured in this series, then please visit my pattern store.

I'll be back soon with updates on the knitting I am currently working on for the spring and summer.

Until then – enjoy the lovely Spring weather!

Moira

Last Blogpost: Seeing Double #6 – Mix 'n Match Sets Seeing Double Series #1: Knitting with two ends of yarn Next Up: New update for our Reversible Knitting Stitches Book ​​​​​Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com Photo credits: Many thanks to Letto Workshop on Etsy for their photo of a wooden yarn holder.

Keywords: Tutorials/Doubled Yarns,
ball winding, centre-pull ball, center-pull ball, knitting with two end of yarn held together, yarns held double

Seeing Double #6 – Mix 'n Match Sets

If you have been following this "Seeing Double" series of blogposts, you will know that I am a fan of using two ends of yarn for all kinds of reasons – it can add warmth to your winter knitting, expand your range of yarn choices, and produce beautiful tonal effects. It also allows you to incorporate additional fibres into your work to add drape, texture and visibility. 

However, there is another really good reason to use doubled yarns, and that is to create sets of items – all perfectly co-ordinated because the same yarns have been used throughout.

This is what I have done in the Trevarren Placemat Set pictured above. The placemats and coasters have been worked using a single strand of yarn while the hot pads and central tablemat use two strands of yarn held together. 

The yarn is Paintbox Yarns Cotton Aran, which gives a lovely surface for the placemats and coasters even when used with just one strand of yarn. However, putting two strands together creates a sturdy hot pad that will protect your table top from hot, heavy casserole dishes.
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In this set I have used the same colour throughout but of course you could bring in a range of colours for the placemats, then combine different colours for the tablemats to give a different look for the centre-of-table items.

Here's another idea for knitting a set of items: thick hats, scarves or cowls worked with doubled yarns, then matching gloves, mittens and socks using a single strand of the same yarn.

Some years ago I found myself at the end of a long flight with no knitting yarn to hand. I know! Shudder... It came about because a full cup of airline tea had soaked into a large amount of cotton-yak yarn and if you want to read the whole sorry tale, then please click here. 

Needless to say, there are multiple reasons why I give thanks for having such a beautiful daughter (and I am of course only marginally biased) but that day it was because she is a knitter with a large and diverse yarn stash! She soon found me some suitable yarn and I started casting on for the cowl I was planning. The next day we visited a lovely yarn store in Faversham, Kent and found the yarn for the Northstowe Beanie Hat pictured above.

The yarn we found was a gorgeous DK wool mix by Coopworth Yarns called Socks Yeah DK and it worked beautifully with two ends of yarn held together. The Teversham Cowl  that I made first with this yarn was so soft and warm that I went on to make a headwarmer, then a whole range of hats including the Northstowe Beanie Hat for men and the Madingley Beanie Hat for ladies.

I could, of course, have used a thicker yarn if I had found one, but I just loved the colours and feel of this yarn. Working with two ends of the DK-weight proved to be an excellent choice, too. Not only did it make some super-warm items, but I could also mix the light and dark yarns together to produce a beautifully marled colour effect as in the Teversham Cowl I featured here. 

It also had another great advantage – that I could then use just a single strand of the yarn to make thinner items such as gloves and socks to give a wonderfully co-ordinated set of items. So here are some ideas for how you could use these ideas to make sets of items:

Double up the same yarn – Use a single strand of wool for a pair of socks and gloves, then team them with a chunky hat, cowl or scarf in doubled yarns. Or use the same idea for a matching baby layette, with baby socks, mittens and dress worked in a single thin yarn, then add a matching bonnet and blanket worked with two ends of yarn held together.

And of course, you can also apply this idea to home textiles, with thin washcloths teamed with thicker bath mats, or with slimmer placemats matching firmer central table mats and hot pads, as in the photo at the top of this post.

Add a touch of texture – You can also use this idea to co-ordinate a glove and scarf set with different fibres as I was describing last time. So if, for example, you have a wonderfully fluffy mohair-and-wool scarf, you could then work a thin strand of mohair into the cuff of a glove to echo the soft look of the scarf. The glove "hand" would be in plain wool, but the trimmed cuff would tie the two items together. 

Bring in some extra colour – Alternatively, you could work a pair of mittens in a single plain colour with a two-colour cuff to match a thicker two-colour cowl or hat worked with doubled strands. 

Adding strength or extra padding – You can also use this same concept within a single item to reinforce a key area or to add extra padding. For example, you could work the sole of a knitted slipper with an extra strand of yarn to give a lovely cushy surface to walk on. 

Fishermen's sweaters could have an extra-dense area at the elbows to save wear, or an additional strand could be added at the shoulders for warmth. The same is true for ski socks where a thicker boot cuff could be formed using a second strand of yarn to give extra cushioning and insulation.

Next time…

Next time, I'll be back for the final blogpost in this series, where I will look at tips and techniques for working with doubled yarns. In the meantime, if you would like to read the whole series, then please click here to read the first post in the series, then follow the links through until you get back here again.

Until then – keep safe and happy!

Moira

Last Blogpost: Seeing Double #5 – Mixing it up Seeing Double Series #1: Knitting with two ends of yarn ​Next Up: Seeing Double #7 – Tips and Techniques using Doubled Yarns ​​​​​Our book: Reversible Knitting Stitches My Website: www.wyndlestrawdesigns.com

Keywords: Tutorials/Doubled Yarns, Accessories, Patterns/Placemats & Table Settings,
knitting with two ends of yarn, placemats, hats, socks,