Evergreen cowl pattern, coming soon, it’s knitted in the round, with entwined diamond cables and textured centres.
I am a sucker for cables, they’re interesting to knit, give texture, depth and most of all warmth to any knits. So, I cast on for a short loop cowl, worked bottom-up and in the round using circular needles. I’m using a DK yarn from Stylecraft for version 1 as it will then go with my Campside Cardi knitted with the same colour. The colourway is called Gorse and it’s a yellowy green with heathering in teal, yellow, dark green and the occasional bit of black.
Evergreen Cowl Cast on with Stylecraft Highland Heathers in the Gorse colourway, the cowl has intricate diamond pattern cables with textured centres.
Once this one is finished, I’ll be casting on another using some Debbie Bliss Blue Faced Leicester Aran, though I haven’t chosen a colour yet, but stone or burnt orange would be lovely.
The Evergreen cowl will be a shorter loop approximately 23 inches circumference, but with instructions on how to make the cowl loop longer to wrap twice or three times around the neck, or make it taller for cooler climates.
You can sign up to test knit in our Ravelry group and testing will start next Monday and last for about three to four weeks. There will be a dedicated thread in the group for the test, so look for that.
Do you like the diamond cable pattern? Let me know.
Baby Knits and a design journey – what I started with and how my design ended up
It depends on the design, sometimes I doodle with the yarn, swatch and play around and the yarn tells me what it wants to be. That’s easy, it’s intuitive and pretty much always works out.
Other times, I have a vision in mind, in this case a dress with a bib/bodice top and a lace skirt. I started knitting the skirt bottom up and in the round. I wanted to keep the piece as a seamless dress, minimum finishing.
Mary Eleanor Dress Pattern
Baby Knits and a design journey – Version 1
Version 1 was knitted half a dozen times as I perfected the shaping of the bib/bodice to make it easier to knit and reduce the finishing as much as possible. There is a neckband at the front to pick up, but that’s the only time you pick up and knit any stitches.
Baby Knits and a design journey – Yarn Choices
My go to for baby projects would normally be Stylecraft Special DK where I know that the Mum is busy, hasn’t time to hand wash and won’t need to worry about the item being washable. In this case I had a bag of several colours of Patons 100% Cotton DK, no two the same and wanted to design something using a cotton yarn.
The thought being that it could be a 3 season layering piece in cotton, cotton/bamboo or acrylic/cotton blends. In a superwash wool yarn, it would be suitable for Winter worn over a long sleeved top or sweater.
I’m not a yarn snob and I truly believe that the right yarn for the project has to be suited to the recipient, how they need to care for it and fit their lifestyle. I use a lot of blended yarns, acrylics and cottons for baby knits and prefer superwash wool to non washable wool. That’s my choice. For tea cozies, I’d like a roving wool which is easy to felt and will keep my tea warm.
Baby Knits and a design journey – Version 2
Version 2 was after discussion with the Testers they preferred the idea of buttons on the fronts and straps on the back with buttonholes. A quick bit of editing and a change to narrow the neck (more stitches for the straps) and it was perfect.
Test knitting is for me, a vital part of perfecting the design but also in getting the explanations right so that knitters can follow the instructions easily. I break down the sections of the pattern so it’s clear which part you are working on, try and make any shaping as easy as possible, chart them where needed and ensure it’s really obvious what you need to do.
I narrowed the neckline to make a better fit, but kept the wider shoulders which should be an inch or so wider than the child’s shoulders. Partly for layering but also to allow for the differences in kids. I was a skinny child but my brother was a chunky kid. We’re all different and the best advice I can give is to knit the bodice/bib to fit the child and make the skirt longer or shorter to suit their shape. All the measurements are included in the pattern so to some extent you can pick and mix, but allow extra yarn if you are adding length at all.
The pattern is available to buy in our online shop on the website, in our Ravelry Shop or our Payhip Shop. 25% off until 31st August with code babybeautiful
There’s no coded needed in our online shop on this site, the pattern is already discounted to make it easier for you.
If you’d like me to chat more about our design process, yarn choices etc, do let me know and what patterns you’d like me to feature.
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Emma showed me her Vera sweater months ago and I may have been pestering her to get on with finishing the pattern and starting the test knits. She launched the test knitting last night and I signed up to make the 42″ chest which will give me no ease at the bust. I may also, with permission as it’s a test knit, be adding a bit of hip shaping to accommodate my curves so the lower body will be a larger size. I’d tell you which size, but being a lady, it would be impolite to mention it 🙂
Vera Sweater – a basic, everyday V neck which will probably be my go-to for this Winter.
Emma made her sweater using West Yorkshire Spinners sock yarn in a pale grey and with a patterned colourway for the sleeves, I think it works really well to add interest and you could use up a bag of sock yarn leftovers for the sleeves.
Yarn choices for the Vera Sweater
I do have a vast stash of yarn, but we won’t talk about that right now … So, after a bit of stash diving, okay a lot of stash diving, I decided to use Lanas Stop Bambini in Antique Rose as my main colour.
Lanas Stop Bambini Antique Pink 320
I still need to choose a contrast colour for the sleeves and that may be either Araucania Ranco sock yarn or some Drops Fabel or Delight yarn. The Araucania may be put to one side as it’s handwish and the Lanas Stop is machine washable. I am not great at hand washing items, they lay in the basket forever waiting. Do you hand wash your knits?
Would you like to test knit the Vera Sweater?
I’m including a link to the Ravelry thread where Emma is running the test knit, you can sign up there if you’re interested.
4ply wool fingering weight, sock yarns
4ply wool fingering weight and sock yarns
In the UK we call fingering weight yarn 4ply, as typically it was a finer yarn spun from 4 plies of yarn, but many 4ply yarns are now spun from only one or two plies.
4ply yarn is great for socks, shawls, gloves and other accessories such as shawls, wraps and scarves. It is lightweight but depending on the wool content can also be lovely and warm.
It is wonderful for Fair Isle and colour work projects using 100% wool to give a lighter garment despite the almost double thickness of the resulting patterned fabric.
It produces beautiful lacy knits and often blocks well to show the resulting lacework pattern.
It can be stranded double to knit a heavier garment or to achieve ombre type effects in the garment or fabric.
Superwash sock and fingering weight yarns are fantastic for baby clothing as busy Mum’s will appreciate a machine washable garment which is both easy care and hard wearing. Sock yarns often contain up to 25% nylon to add strength, think heels and toes that get a lot of wear going in and out of your shoes, to the yarn.
Find My Way Cowl, Adjustable cowl, change length and width
For the chunky version of the Find My Way Cowl, I used Stylecraft Bellissima Chunky in Precious Posy, for the two colour version shown below I used Rowan Cashsoft Aran in Foxglove and Japonica, for the four colour DK version I used Stylecraft Special DK in Mocha, Mushroom, Pale Rose and Grap. You can knit the cowl to any length and there are stitch counts suggested to adapt the width to suit what you want. You can buy the pattern here
Aran prototype test knit for my new design Behind The Green Door Cowl, out this month, another adjustable pattern to make to any length or width and in any weight of yarn.
Our Cowlabunga KAL starts mid March with the hashtags #knittingacrossthepennines and #cowlabunga There will be prizes for the best FO’s made during the KAL and spot prizes of pattern codes for FO and WIP photos shared on social media with the two hashtags.
Emma Sadler of Emma Sadler Designs and Loraine Birchall of Woolly Madly Deeply. We design knitwear and some crochet items. Emma is based in Yorkshire, East of the Pennines and Loraine is based in Cumbria, West of the Pennines.
Lionbrand Vanna’s Choice® Vanna White, America’s favorite crocheter and Lion Brand’s spokesperson for over 14 years, introduces Vanna’s Choice®, an easy-care, silky-soft premium basic available in a range of beautiful, expertly-coordinated shades.
I used Stylecraft Special Aran with wool to knit a short loop say 24-26 inches long and about 11 inches wide, super soft, warm and snuggle. I love the rich, cranberry colour of the yarn. You can buy the pattern here
Photo copyright Loraine Birchall
Aran prototype test knit for my new design Behind The Green Door Cowl, out this month, another adjustable pattern to make to any length or width and in any weight of yarn.
Behind The Green Door Cowl – Chunky version
Gallery of Test Knitters samples
As always, I couldn’t do this without the help, support and suggestions of my amazing Test Knitters, there’s a sneak peak of some of their projects below. I hope you love them as much as I do.
Our Cowlabunga KAL starts mid March with the hashtags #knittingacrossthepennines and #cowlabunga There will be prizes for the best FO’s made during the KAL and spot prizes of pattern codes for FO and WIP photos shared on social media with the two hashtags.
Emma Sadler of Emma Sadler Designs and Loraine Birchall of Woolly Madly Deeply. We design knitwear and some crochet items. Emma is based in Yorkshire, East of the Pennines and Loraine is based in Cumbria, West of the Pennines.
Lionbrand Vanna’s Choice® Vanna White, America’s favorite crocheter and Lion Brand’s spokesperson for over 14 years, introduces Vanna’s Choice®, an easy-care, silky-soft premium basic available in a range of beautiful, expertly-coordinated shades.
Introducing Santa Tea Cozy, Elf Tea Cozy or Gnome Tea Cozy, Snowman Tea Cozy and Gingerbread Man Tea Cozy, all made with chunky/bulky weight yarn using 6mm and 6.5mm needles (US 10 and 10.5).
Each cozy only took a few hours to knit and would easily be completed over a couple of evenings with the embellishments.
L to R Santa Tea Cozy, Gingerbread Man Tea Cozy and Snowman Tea Cozy
This cute Snowman Tea cozy has adorable stick arms, a knitted beanie hat and a warm scarf with optional fringe edging. He can carry a tree, gifts or a gift sack and will look lovely on your Christmas table.
Snowman Tea Cozy from Christmas Tea Cozies by Loraine Birchall
Gingie is a adorable, but he didn’t start out looking quite so cute. Let’s say my embroidery skills needed some work and my first four attempts made him look more like a serial killer than a cute addition to Christmas. With a bit of unpicking and then using some pins to mark out where I wanted to sew, he was suddenly adorable!
About the Christmas Tea Cozies ebook
The Christmas Tea Cozies collection will add some festive fun to your table or dresser this Christmas. There are patterns for Santa, Gingerbread Man, Snowman and an Elf.
Each Christmas Tea Cozy pattern has options for three sizes which can be adapted to fit most teapots. Each cozy is worked flat and seamed, however the arms/mittens for the cozies (except the Snowman who has optional ‘stick’ arms) are worked in the round using Judy’s Magic Cast On to start.
Each cozy has a pointy hat with either a pompom or tassel, I opted for the tassel and went big on those, you can make smaller or slimmer tassels if you prefer. It’s really up to you.
I’ve included different embellishments and options for each pattern, so you can make every cozy with extras to suit the recipient.
Sizes of Teapots Used:
Measurement A – horizontally across the front of the pot, from inside the handle to the start of the spout around the belly of the pot only (excludes handle and spout).
Measurement B – Vertically from the centre front base of the pot to the rim at the top of the pot and not including the height of the lid as this will vary from one style to another.
Small 2 cup teapot – A = 5in/22.5cm, B = 3.75in/9.5cm
Standard 4 cup teapot – A = 9in/23cm, B = 5.5in/13.5 cm
Large 2 ½ pint teapot – A = 11.5in/29cm, B = 5.5in/13.5 cm
Note on sizes for the Large Cozy, you could sew the side seams closed and use this on a standard 4 cup pot to lift on and off without spout/handle holes.
I used a Denby Wheatsheaf 2 cup pot for the small, a Brown Betty 4-6 cup pot for the medium and a Portmeirion 2 pint pot for the large.
I used a mix of chunky/bulky yarns. Lion Brand Alpine Wool for the cozies in the Chili colourway, Stylecraft Special Chunky or any chunky yarn would be fine. I used Schoeller Filzi in Cream instead of white, Rav says it’s super bulky – it knits as bulky/chunky weight year on 6mm or 6.5mm needles. Again you could sub for Special Chunky or use two strands of Special DK as long as you get the same tension/gauge.
I easily made each of the Christmas Tea Cozy over a couple of evenings so they are a quick knit for Christmas gifting. The small cozies took me around 4-6 hours to knit, so they’re a quick gift knit.
