On Valentines - A Marriage of Brioche and Mosaics

My latest design, Topograph, combines two techniques that I have really come to love - brioche and mosaics.

Just take a gander through my designs and you'll see a overwhelming bias towards these types of patterns. 

This cowl design started out as a typical mosaic pattern, but I had been working on a lot of brioche projects, so when slipping stitches, instead of keeping the working yarn stranded across the back, I did the yarn forward, slip1, yarn over motion common in brioche knit rows.  Didn't even realize it til I got to the next round.  I just kept at it and on the next round, I slipped the original stitch, the previous yarn over, and made a new yarn over.  On the next round, I barked together the slipped stitch and the two yarn overs - and realized that just about any mosaic pattern could be worked this way!

This technique has lots of advantages over regular mosaics:

1. the resulting fabric looks like stockinette on one side, but does not roll -  it stays flat!
2. what would typically be the right side in a regular mosaic pattern has a bit of a skew to it that creates really interesting diagonal dimensions - the plain knit stitches are narrower than the brioche type stitches - this leads to some very interesting visual effects for various patterns
3. it's reversible - the reverse side is as interesting as the typical right side.  The brioche stitches form diamonds.  The photos don't do this side justice.

Like regular mosaics, you only have to work with one color at a time.  And because the cowl is worked in the round, no purling!
I hope you give this technique a try - the pattern is available for $3

Or you can favorite or add it to your queue or wish list over here on ravelry.

Hearts A Bustin for Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

I knit with a great group of women once a month.  They like learning new stitches, so last month we worked on a fairly straight forward brioche stitch found in Barbara G Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns - Fluffy Brioche.  I picked it mainly because of the name, but also because it's only worked over 2 rows in one color.   Before long the group was churning out swatches of Fluffy Brioche.   The stitch has a great texture, and quite a bit of horizontal stretch. Fun sure, but the question around the table was "what's it good for?" 

Well, hats for one thing.  I worked up this hat in 2 colors of a super bulky yarn (Sensation's Sumptuous), modifying the original Fluffy Brioche to be worked in 2 colors and in the round.  The result of working the red as the Main Color was surprising - little puffy hearts spiraling around the hat.  I've posted a complimentary pattern for this hat over on the right hand side of the blog -  Hearts A Bustin Hat.

It is a quick knit in super bulky and would work really well in Malabrigo Rasta.  You only need about 40-45 yds of each color.  I made 2 hats out of 2, 86-yd skeins (red and cream). The hat has just enough slouch to be comfy but not too heavy.  Sized to fit 20-22" heads.  But it's an easy pattern to change sizes, just cast on more or less stitches in multiples of 4. 

I hope you give this hat a try - it's a quick knit and makes for a fun hat.  If you make it up, please post photos on Ravelry.  Can't wait to see how it works up in other colors.










Incidentally, Nancy Marchant has designed a very cute top using a derivation of this stitch pattern  zomertijd.  In her version, she uses 2 differnt needle sizes to create even more texture.

Having a Super Day

Today is the day!  Today, Super Bowl XLVI will be played here in Indianapolis, capping off a 10-day celebration that has highlighted all the great things about our city.

No doubt if you watch the game, or follow any of the news stories about the event, you'll see that one of the hits of the event is the Super Scarf.  A call was sent out 2 years ago that 8,000 hand crafted scarves would be needed to outfit the volunteers of this event.  As of last count, 13,000 had been turned in.  

I've had a blast walking around town looking at all the different scarves - so many wonderful designs.  This gallery features some of my complimentary patterns, created specifically for the Super Scarves effort.  These patterns are available on the right hand side of the blog.   Enjoy the game and come see us in Indy if you have the chance (great yarn stores and another "little" sporting event known as the Greatest Spectacle in Racing in May).

Knitting For Royalty - The Butler Way

So, the other Sarah Burton got to design a few dresses and such for the Duchess of Cambridge last year (just google if you are among the 1% that didn't watch the wedding last April).   As the Creative Director over at Alexander McQueen, that SB is just a tad more well known.  Again, just google and you'll see the fist 1,049,253 links point to her instead of anything related to Verdigris Knits.

But this week, this SB got to knit for one of the most famous mascots in America - Butler Blue II - the mascot for the Butler Bulldogs.  Here is Blue II rocking his 2012 Super Scarf.  He's been quite in demand for appearances this week in the Super Bowl Village.  And he is one deserving volunteer -  he has been a tireless volunteer not only for Butler, but for the entire city of Indianapolis, spreading joy and spirit to all of us. 

Photo curtesy of Kimberly Harms

Here's the scarf.  Knit in the round in stockinette with short row shaping around the neck to help the fit.  Stranded bones and paw prints on one end with a bit of fringe.  The other end is a self formed loop with the patch sewn on the top. 

Inadvertent Designing - Thankful in Malabrigo

I'm working up another Thankful sweater in some divine Malabrigo Chunky in colorway Stone Blue.  This yarn is so lovely to work with, and I love the slight tonal variations.  I ended up having to move down to a US 10, (6.5mm) needle to get the right stockinette gauge.  

I and just finishing up the Right Sleeve/Top piece and couldn't help but notice that the little bit of border pattern added to the back neck piece is pulling in just a bit.  I was at first a little horrified by this, and was on the verge of ripping it out when I decided to go look at the original piece for the design.  Low and behold, the border had pulled in a bit on that sweater as well.  Looking further, I decided that this "feature" was not a mistake that needed to be fixed, but in fact, an inadvertent design enhancement.  The little bit of shortness in the neck border creates a little bit of give in the back of the sweater.  This is in fact way this sweater fits as well as it does around your neck and shoulders.  Ha, I love it when a plan comes together - cough, cough....

This sweater is working up so quickly, I should have it done by the end of the week in time to wear it at the Fans of Mass Avenue Knits gathering this weekend. 

Lake Effect Augmented - Adding Beads

I have a love-hate relationship with beads when it comes to my knitting.  I love the look of beaded knits, but the idea of stranding all those beads on the yarn first, and then dealing with all those beads as the project is worked, just puts my teeth on edge.   Especially when working with a lace weight mohair blend.  And the whole bead placement issue always leads to some less than desirable results in my swatches. 

But there is one way of inserting beads that doesn't make me want to pull my hair out.  And the bead placement is predictable and stable (no beads working their way to the back of the piece).  You'll need a very small crochet hook (size 12/1.0mm or size 10/1.3mm) and beads with a hole large enough for the hook to slip through.  These small hooks are readily available at most big box craft stores or one line. Size 6 or 8 beads usually work for this technique.  Don't try with 11s.

The technique is really easy, and just takes a little patience.  I wouldn't use this technique if I was inserting a great deal of beads, but if you are just going to use the beads as an occasional accent - this is the technique to use. 

Here's how it goes:

Knit up to the stitch where the bead will be placed (pb - "place bead" is often used to indicate this location).  

Slip a bead onto the neck of the crochet hook.

Hook the next stitch and pull the stitch off the needle.

Slip the bead off the hook and down onto the neck of the stitch.

Place the stitch back on the left needle (assuming standard left to right knitting) and work the stitch as directed by pattern.

That's it.

For Lake Effect, I placed the beads on Row 1, on the slipped stitches.  I found it easier to place the bead, put the stitch back on the left needle, then do the slip, yarn over, yarn over maneuver.  You may be able to place the bead and then slip the stitch onto the right needle, thus eliminating a step. 

Here's a short video to demonstrate the technique.

So go ahead, glam up your knits with a few well placed beads.

Braided Rein Mittens - Ready for Primetime

Finally - that's all I can say - the pattern for these mittens has finally been published. 

I created this design way back in September of 2010 as a part of the Project Yarnway design challenge over on Ravelry.  I made the original pair using worsted weight Berroco Ultra Alpaca.  I wore them all last winter and loved them.  I made a second pair under contract for another Raveler using the same yarn.  But after a season of wearing the mittens, I decided that they might fit a little bit better with more negative ease.  The problem with trying to make the design smaller is that the number of stitches in the pattern doesn't really lend itself to modification.  I swatched with less stitches and the cable motif just didn't have the right look.  If the pattern itself couldn't be altered, then my only option was to go with a different gauge.  I needed more stitches per inch. 

I swatched with Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light, a dk weight yarn,  went down a needle size and came up with a mitten with a finished size of 7" around the palm.  But due to the stretch inherent in Brioche stitch, these mittens easily stretch to fit my 8" hand.  The negative ease makes for a great fitting mitten that hugs my hand. 

A second benefit of Brioche stitch in a mitten is that the fabric is essentially a double layer, with lots of space to trap air and create warmth.  These babies are warm. 

If you'd like to make these mittens, you'll need  1 skein each (1 oz/50 g) DK weight yarn in 2 contrasting colors – Yarns tested include Alpaca with a Twist Baby Twist, Berroco Ultra Light, and Knit Picks Capra.  Minimum of 110 yds/100.5 m yardage required in each color. Yarns with greater than 50% cotton, bamboo, or silk are not recommended.  

A down loadable electronic version of the pattern is available here for $4.00  buy now. You can pay with pay pal or a credit card.   A link is also available in the Verdigris Knits Designs page above.

This written pattern uses Brioche terms and abbreviations as established by Nancy Marchant in her excellent book Knitting Brioche (North Light Books, 2009) and at her website www.thebriochestitch.com).

I've been thinking of creating a group over on Ravelry to try some knit-alongs with some of  these patterns.  Let me know if you would be interested in that.

2011 - Slipping away

One this last day of 2011, I thought I'd address a question that has come up frequently with many of my patterns involving slip stitches - which way to slip, knit wise or purl wise?   And there have even been a few, what do you mean "slip the stitch"?  

My first mosaic project

The first time I tackled a pattern that incorporated slip stitches I felt like I was breaking some kind of rule - what do you mean slip the stitch?  How can I not work the next stitch?  Won't the whole piece just fall apart???   A deep set feeling of angst set in.  And then I just succumbed to the directions and moved that stitch from the left needle to the right without working it - holy cow - nothing happened.  I kept on with the pattern and realized that I could actually break some rules and the results would be wonderful and surprising stitch patterns.  Holy cow, indeed. 

Sometime later I started to become aware of how I was slipping the stitches.  I'm certain at first I always slipped knit wise.  This was the slip direction that I used in the left leaning decrease, slip, slip, knit (SSK) so  I think I just didn't even reason out that the stitches could also be slipped purl wise.  At some point, I must have read something in Barbara G Walkers stitch treasuries that introduced the concept of slipping purl wise to avoid twisting the stitch - and then I had another Ah Ha moment.   I discovered the concept of stitch mount. 

If you look closely at a row of stitches on a left needle, you will see that the yarn sits over the top of the needle at an angle, not directly perpendicular to the needle.  One leg is closer to the tip of the needle than the other.  If the front leg, the leg closest to you, is closer to the tip of the left needle, then this stitch is mounted in the traditional western stitch orientation.  To keep a stitch in this same orientation while slipping it, it must be slipped purl wise.  Or to state it another way, insert the right needle tip into the front leg of the next stitch as if you were going to purl it, but instead of wrapping the yarn, just move the stitch to the right needle with out working it.  

I've seen some rules bandied about explaining when to slip knit wise or purl wise.  The most common one is to slip the stitch knit wise if it is going to be worked again on the same row (as in a decrease like the ssk) and to slip purl wise if the stitch is not going to be worked again until the next row.  I think there are probably a few exceptions to this rule.  And rules can sometimes keep you from discovery.  So the next time you encounter a slip stitch where the designer doesn't specify how to slip that stitch - just give it a try either way, and decide for yourself which you prefer. 

Happy New Year - may 2012 bring you many knitting adventures.

New Brioche Videos

Just uploaded a couple of new videos to the Brioche Tutorials Page (see page links near the top of the blog just under the title banner).

Both videos are meant to help with the end of  round transition when knitting brioche in the round.  I know from comments here and on Ravelry, that this point creates some angst among knitters.  One reason is that on one of the rounds, you must end a row with a slip1 yarn over combination.  The next round is started with a slip 1 yarn over combo which seems like a very dysfunctional thing to do when knitting.  But it does work out. 

One video shows how to manage this transition when knitting with 2-colors and the other shows how to do it when using only one color.  I find the single color brioche rib in the round to be a bit more confusing than the 2-color, but that could just be me.

Happy to edit these if they aren't clear.  Also, if you have suggestions for more videos, I'd love to hear them.

Happy knitting

Lake Effect Lace Scarf Pattern Ready for Download

The Lake Effect Scarf worked up beautifully in Rowan Kidsilk Haze.  One 25 gram skein produced a 54" (137cm) long scarf that is about 4.5" (11cm) wide.   I did not block this scarf as I really loved the gently ruffled edges that resulted from the stitch pattern.  But I think you could carefully block and still keep the edge effect. 

This is a super easy technique - even if the directions read a bit wonky (cause it's brioche after all).   But seriously, once you get the technique of creating the wraps down, it is a very straightforward stitch pattern.  See the video of the cascade stitch if you need a visual.  In the Lake Effect stitch pattern, the "cascades" line up over each other; in the cascade stitch pattern the "cascades" are staggered, and occur over 4 rows instead of 6.

I'm anxious to try this in other yarns as well. 


You'll find the link to the pattern over on the right hand side of the blog - under the Complimentary Pattern heading.

If you have any questions or comments, don't hesitate to leave a comment or send me an email.

Update  - this post shows how to add beads to this design.