Crystal Twist Conundrum

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

I showed you the Crystal Twist shawl I started to knit with a skein of hand-dyed yarn, without beads, a few weeks ago. The pattern is quite pretty but I started to be concerned about yarn quantity. Here’s how far I got with my one skein.

Crystal Twist shawl knit by Deborah Cooke

I’m supposed to knit to 51″ length, but that measured side is 31″. The pattern specifies one 400m skein of fingering weight yarn, which is what this is. I’m using the specified needles and my width gauge is spot-on. Hmm. I couldn’t figure this out. I thought there was a mistake in the pattern, but the designer contacted me on Ravelry – I should have measured the angled side, which is, in fact, 51″ long. Ha! I have enough yarn to knit the finishing rows and bind it off but I’d like the shawl to be bigger.

This skein is a one-off, so there is no more. (I dyed it.) The base yarn is discontinued. Hmm. This makes for a conundrum! I left a bit of yarn so I can do some stripes to transition to another yarn for the rest of the shawl – if I can find a good candidate.

The hunt is on!

Meanwhile, I’m working on a second sock…

Crystal Twist Shawl

Posted on September 22, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Crystal Twist is a triangular shawl with a cabled border. (That’s a Ravelry link.) It’s knit in fingering weight yarn with beads. I saw a kit for this pretty little shawl, but decided to buy the pattern on its own and shop my stash instead of buying the kit.

I had a skein of Knit Picks Bare Merino Silk fingering, which was one of several yarns including in a dye-your-own kit I bought from them ages ago. I made mine purple and there it is on the left. (The yarn on the right is KP Stroll which is a sport weight that I haven’t knit up yet)

Knit Picks yarns acid-dyed by Deborah Cooke

The incredible thing is that I didn’t have any beads to match a purple yarn. I guess I’ve used them all up. This is a bit of a wasteland for buying beads so I decided to knit the shawl without any.

I was a bit confused by the first chart, because row 1 is a wrong-side row, making row 2 and all even-numbered rows right-side rows. This was the opposite of my expectation, but once I had that sorted out, I was off. It’s a nice easy pattern to knit – you start at a point and increase until you have six cable bands, then the other stitches are in stockinette as the shawl grows wider.

I had another small issue when I started the second chart – which starts on row 1, a right-side row! – in that I was short a stitch. I did it over and over but couldn’t find the stitch. I had 52 stitches as specified but when I count the chart, I get 53, which could be the issue. In the end, I just crossed out the column for stitch 16 and carried on.

Here’s how it looks so far:

Crystal Twist shawl designed by Emily Wood and knit by Deborah Cooke

I like the colours and the pattern, but am not that fussed about the yarn. I thought it would be soft, but it feels a lot like cotton when it’s knitted up. Maybe I’ll knit a second shawl in another yarn and with beads. For the moment, I’m knitting on!

Another Pair of Alaska Mittens

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Last week, I shared a pair of mittens knit from a free pattern, Alaska Mittens. It’s not a free pattern anymore, btw. I had started a second pair and since they’re done, I’ll show them off today.

Alaska Mittens knitted in Sirdar Tweedie Chunky by Deborah Cooke

This time, I used two yarns together – a strand of that same Sirdar Tweedie Chunky and a strand of Rowan Kidsilk Haze. The KSH makes the knitted fabric softer and gives it a bit of fuzz. It might prove to be warmer, as well. I incorporated my changes from last time, and started the thumb gusset four rows later – that took out two increases, which made the thumb smaller. They fit perfectly!

My only quibble is that since I started the thumb gusset later, I should have kept working the stitches on the palm side in ribbing, instead of changing to stockinette. See?

This pair took 77 grams of the Tweedie Chunky and 17 grams of the Kidsilk Haze. I made the M size, with the modifications discussed last week.

You can guess what this means. I’ve cast on a third pair, in the green Sirdar Tweedie Chunky again with a strand of a yarn similar to KSH. This pair will be perfect. 🙂

I have some other projects moving closer to completion and hope to be able to show you something more than mittens soon! Happy knitting!

Alaska Mittens

Posted on September 1, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

I knit some mittens this past week—even though it was a zillion degrees outside. This pattern was free and it looked intriguing. I had some yarn in my stash so away I went.

The pattern is called Alaska Mittens by Anna Zhuravleva—here’s a Ravelry link—and it’s still free as I write this. It calls for aran weight yarn, and I had some Sirdar Tweedie Chunky in my stash—that’s a Ravelry link, too—it’s discontinued so I’d found it on sale once upon a time and just liked it. I have three colourways but used the dark green, which is #285.

Here are the mittens, knit in the M size:

I found this pattern a bit confusing and ended up writing all over my chart while knitting the first one. The second one went more smoothly as a result. You work Row 2 fifteen times, and since the next row is labelled R3, I missed that the first time – I changed it to be R17 and renumbered the rest of the chart. I also added a G on the rows that I was to add a gusset stitch and drew a line across the chart where the palm changes from ribbing to stockinette. I think there is one mistake in R13 of the original labelling of the chart – the two knit stitches should be purls.

The chart for the fingertips really confused me, so I drew it out again. I wanted the decreases to be one stitch in from the edges, so there are two stitches that run up to the top of the mitten. The chart shows it that way, but if there are two knit stitches, you can’t K1, SSK without taking up the third stitch. I also had to work two additional rows in the middle before doing the middle twist, as it occurs every 4 rows, not every 2.

I also found the thumb a bit too wide for me at 16 stitches and took it down to 12. I had added four extra rows of ribbing to make a longer cuff on this pair. These mittens weigh 73g and I have 76g left of the green. I’m hoping I can knit another pair with just the specified cuff length.

I cast on another pair in another colourway of the Tweedie Chunky and am working it along with a strand of Kidsilk Haze. The result is very squishy and soft:

This one has the cuff in the specified length. I also started the gusset increases four rows later, so I’ll have two less stitches for the thumb—instead of having to decrease twice, I’ll just have to decrease once to get the thumb the right width.

You have to pay a bit of attention with this pattern, but the mittens are really nice. I particularly like that the cables mirror each other on the left and right mittens. They fit well, too.

New Socks for Me

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

This isn’t a hugely exciting project, but it’s one I’m glad to have off the needles. Once upon a time, I decided to make myself a pair of knee socks in this great Fleece Artist Trail Socks colourway called Hercules. The first one looked like this:

knee sock knit in Fleece Artist Trail Sock by Deborah Cooke

I had bought two skeins and FA yarns don’t have dye lots. They looked the same, but the second one striped like this…

knee socks knit in Fleece Artist Trail Socks

Hmm. This did not give me joy. I thought maybe I’d started at a different point in the repeat, but one skein seemed to be more saturated than the other. I frogged the cuff of the second sock and made a pair of socks for the mister:

socks knit in Fleece Artist Trail Socks by Deborah Cooke

I finished those socks for him three years ago. Meanwhile, the lonely knee sock sat in my basket. I seem to need to do that with things that have to be frogged. Maybe it’s a mourning period for the lost work. (?) This summer, I pulled out that sock, frogged it, and knit a pair of regular socks for myself. Here they are:

Socks for me in Fleece Artist Trail Socks

So, that’s a project FINALLY out of the basket AND off the needles! I’m glad to have it done.

Now I need to find more FA Trail Socks since I’ve used up all of mine. I really like this yarn for socks – it has a firm twist and wears really well, plus the colours are awesome.

Two Doll Dresses

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

It’s been quiet here for a couple of weeks, partly because I’ve been pushing to finish a book and partly because I have a lot of projects on the go. I’ve had new project disease this summer, both in my writing and my crafting, but finally some things are getting finished up.

Today, I have two doll dresses to share with you. I like to sew and knit for dolls and Astro-Jen is a fellow enthusiast. She has different dolls than I do, though, so I picked up these two at the thrift store to check the fit of things. One is an EverAfterHigh doll – Briar Rose – and one is a Monster High doll – Clawdeen. They were both naked with tangled hair when they came home with me, but otherwise in good shape. I cleaned them up and untangled their hair, then bought them some shoes online. They’ve been sitting naked (except for their shoes) on my bookshelf for a while, and when I found this pattern, I knew it was time to do something about that.

Yet Another Monster High Dress knit by Deborah Cooke

I don’t know much about the body molds for these dolls, but many patterns suggest that they are the same. MIne aren’t. My MH doll is longer and thinner. The issue may be year of manufacturer: like all Mattel dolls, these have a copyright date on their back waists for the body mold. The EAH doll is 2012 and the MH doll is 2009.

And here’s a better look at those new dresses:

The pattern I used is Yet Another Monster High Dress by Samira Jessica. It’s a free download at Ravelry (that’s a Ravelry link) and an irresistibly cute pattern as well as an easy knit. The first one (turquoise) is knit of Koigu KPPPM without a contrast colour. I used Sugar Bush Drizzle for the underskirt, and just picked up the stitches at the waist to knit it in. Drizzle is a lot like KSH – it has the same content but I think the colours are cleaner. I like the muted and sometimes smoky colours of KSH for myself but for dolls, the bolder hues work well. I added a line of eyelets before the hem for a ribbon, then KFB again to create a ruffle at the hem. Because of the fullness of the underskirt, I had to undo the garter stitch hem of the main dress and add a similar ruffle to that hem.

My Ravelry project page with more details is here.

The purple one is knit of Shibui Knits Sock with contrast in Lichen and Lace 80/20 sock. For this one, I worked back and forth at the neck until the arms were cast off, leaving a back slit, then joined in the round and continued. I knit the body a little longer than the first one, added two rows of contrast garter stitch at the hem and ruffled the hem, too. Because this dress is a bit longer, I didn’t knit an underskirt. I added a button at the back neck, which is a bit big but exactly the right colour, and made a loop to close it.

Now they can sit on my shelf in their dresses and boots.

Two Japanese Sewing Books for Barbie

Posted on July 16, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

I love Japanese sewing books so was pretty excited to find these two for vintage Barbie dolls.

The first one is called Stylebook of Doll’s Dress by Kate Mitsubachi. The second is Barbie Mode: Dresses for Classic Barbie Dolls, also by Kate Mitsubachi.

Stylebook of Doll's Dress for Barbie by Katie Mitsubachi

Barbie Mode: Dresses for Classic Barbie Dolls by Kate Mitsubachi

These books are both out of print and unavailable new. There are some vendors selling PDF scans of them on Etsy, but this made me uneasy – as a writer myself, I know that “unavailable new” isn’t the same as “in the public domain”. They’re probably still copyrighted material, and since I intend to use the patterns, I hunted down used copies of both books. They weren’t cheap, but they are beautiful. Most of the text is in Japanese, except for titles.

First there are photographs of the garments, as you’d expect. The next section is one I particularly like – it identifies the model of doll wearing each garment, and one book includes a picture of that doll as originally sold.

double page spread from Kate Mitsubachi book

Then there are the patterns and instructions, again, all in Japanese. It’s a bit of a drag to be unable to read the specified notions or recommended fabric, but the illustrations are pretty easy to follow if you know how to sew. (It’s interesting that one book has the seam allowances included on the pattern pieces and one doesn’t.)

My plan here is to do a Julie & Julia thing and make all of the garments in both books. Here’s my first candidate:

Soirée and Cape from Stylebook of Doll's Dress for Barbie by Katie Mitsubachi

I’ll keep you posted on my progress!

Papillon Done

Posted on July 12, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

Papillon is a garter stitch short-row shawl worked in two colours, which I started in May. That link will take you to my first post. I used Noro Silk Garden Sock and a local black alpaca yarn from my stash. There’s a lot of counting with this one, and a lot of turning, but it’s a pretty easy knit otherwise. Here’s my finished shawl:

Papillon shawl knit in Noro Silk Garden Sock by Deborah Cooke

This is a big shawl! Mine probably feels more substantial because both yarns are a little heavier than a fingering weight, maybe closer to sport. It took all of the black that I had, and just over 2 balls of the Noro Silk Garden Sock.

This was an addictive knit, but then, it often works out that way for me with self-striping yarns.

I knit the shawl just as the directions instructed, but added some beads at the hem.

You can just see them in the black border. (I like how they nestle in there and are a bit subtle.) You knit four rows of garter stitch before casting off, and I added the beads in the third row. They’re 2/0 beads and I used the crochet hook method, putting a bead on every fifth stitch. It took about 100 beads, which was just about all I had left of those. (I used them before, on another Noro shawl and these were left over. Hmm. Can I find it? This one! Noro spider web fichu. Ha!)

What do you think?

The Final Navelli

Posted on July 9, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

I finally finished my teal Navelli, and it’s actually the season I could wear it!

You might remember that this top (which has been a cursed project) was a bit too short for my liking. Here it is alongside the red version of Navelli that I knit (and love):

I had knit the teal one first, in a larger size. I thought it was done and blogged about it here. For the red one, I went down a size, then discovered that I’d measured incorrectly while knitting the teal one. Here’s the post on the red one. I wasn’t really looking forward to ripping out the sleeves, neck and top of the sweater to fix it. It sat for a while, then I had an idea.

I picked out a row below the split for the sleeves at the underarm, putting the live stitches from the lower part of the sweater on one needle and the bottom loops from the live stitches on the top of the sweater on another. I knit two more inches onto the bottom of the sweater, then grafted the two pieces back together. The grafting took ages because of the number of stitches, but I kept reminding myself that I hadn’t had to reknit the top of the sweater.

Here’s the result:

In this picture, you can see the newly knitted band. I wasn’t sure whether there was a difference in colour between skeins (it’s all the same dye lot, but Koigu sometimes varies anyway) or whether it would vanish when the sweater is washed. Those stitches look crisper and more tightly twisted than the rest. It turned out to be a bit of both – the stitches relaxed so they look like the ones that had already been washed, but there is a teensy bit of colour difference due to variation within the dye lot. There are a couple of lighter zones on the back and the front, but overall, I’m happy.

This one is FINALLY done!

A Knit Messenger Bag for Barbie

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Deborah Cooke

This pattern is from the website of free knitting patterns for Barbie called Sticka till Barbie that I mentioned before. Here’s the designer page on Ravelry.

This purse is A-1 (the first pattern under Accessories/Accessoarer) which is orange on the pattern. It’s a clever little pattern, mostly knit in stockinette with the bag seams in reverse stockinette and the flap in garter stitch. Instead of crocheting the shoulder strap as specified, I knit mine. I used sock yarn—the purple one is that Mad Tosh Twist Light that I used for the Timely Twin Set (still more left! LOL) and the red is some Diamond Yarn sock yarn. Here they are:

messsenger bags knit for Barbie by Deborah Cooke

Size-wise, it’s more of a messenger bag than a purse, but I like the results a lot. The purple one is for my EverAfter Briar Rose doll, so it got a rose button for a clasp.

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Knitting and other tangled webs we weave