Last week my friend Shelley of The Yarn Underground (my LYS), posted the pattern for a sweater of mine on Ravelry. Shelley is also an indie dyer and I knit the sweater with her yummy Palouse Yarn Company yarn.
I have some other patterns available on Ravelry, patterns for garments I love but most of which were originally published long ago in various Interweave magazines which makes their online life less dramatic. This weekend, however, I was able to see, almost in real time, all sorts of people download the pattern for the Magic Medium.
Who knew what fun that would be?
I have some other patterns available on Ravelry, patterns for garments I love but most of which were originally published long ago in various Interweave magazines which makes their online life less dramatic. This weekend, however, I was able to see, almost in real time, all sorts of people download the pattern for the Magic Medium.
Who knew what fun that would be?
Screen Shot of the Ravelry Page (unclickable)
The story of how the sweater came to be is on the pattern page and it includes the information that it began with a few scribbled numbers from another top down sweater I’d knit.
I know that a few of you have already downloaded the pattern and are planning on knitting it from your handspun yarn, so today I thought I'd share some info about that original sweater (and another later one from the same pattern and still different yarn), in case it might be helpful.
I know I should post these pics on Ravelry too, but I'm embarrassed to say I haven't actually figured out how,
so for the moment they are only for you, dear blog readers.
I know that a few of you have already downloaded the pattern and are planning on knitting it from your handspun yarn, so today I thought I'd share some info about that original sweater (and another later one from the same pattern and still different yarn), in case it might be helpful.
I know I should post these pics on Ravelry too, but I'm embarrassed to say I haven't actually figured out how,
so for the moment they are only for you, dear blog readers.
The three ply yarn for this version (I call it the black T shirt), was spun from a brown Cormo hoggett fleece (the sheep was named Panda), that I over dyed in Indigo to produce this heathery brown/blue/black yarn -- butter soft but unobtrusive.
This yarn is heavier than the Palouse Yarn Company yarn and the gauge slightly larger (I see from my scribbled notes that it was 4.5 sts/inch on size 7 needles), so the sweater is slightly larger in it's relaxed state than the one on Ravelry, though the large needle size makes it nearly as stretchy. It has the same smooth fit through the shoulders and around the arms which is probably why I used it as the starting point for the Magic Medium.
Also, as you can see, I used cables to provide some below bust/ waist shaping instead of changing needle size. I wear it often though it is not quite through its pilling phase.
Another year or so should do it.
This yarn is heavier than the Palouse Yarn Company yarn and the gauge slightly larger (I see from my scribbled notes that it was 4.5 sts/inch on size 7 needles), so the sweater is slightly larger in it's relaxed state than the one on Ravelry, though the large needle size makes it nearly as stretchy. It has the same smooth fit through the shoulders and around the arms which is probably why I used it as the starting point for the Magic Medium.
Also, as you can see, I used cables to provide some below bust/ waist shaping instead of changing needle size. I wear it often though it is not quite through its pilling phase.
Another year or so should do it.
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After knitting the Magic Medium in Palouse Yarn Company Yarn, but before Shelley had the wherewithal to format the pattern properly for Ravelry, I knit another sweater with the same numbers. This time I used a combination of hand spun and sport weight merino yarn I'd plucked from the sale bin at Mountain Meadows Wool Mill when I "happened" to be passing through Buffalo, WY.
With two in yellow and one in sorrel , I decided that the body would be knit of the former, the sleeves of the latter that I'd pad out with strips of purple (indigo and cochineal), hand spun Rambouillet. Naturally I ran out of both of those, but I still wanted some forearm warmth so knit the last few inches with some other Cormo -- indigo over grey-- I had lying around.
So much fun when a hodgepodge of leftover bits works together (at least in my eyes) to give a layered look without the bulk and the bliss of super soft yarn next to my skin.
Though it uses the exact same numbers for the yoke, this one is smaller and more snug than the black one and not remotely as stretchy as the Palouse Yarn Company version -- indeed, it is pretty much exactly my size with a smooth fit around the shoulders, bust and arms without being tight. In other words, super comfy but not magical enough to fit a huge range of sizes.
As with the black version, cables provide some bust/waist shaping.
So much fun when a hodgepodge of leftover bits works together (at least in my eyes) to give a layered look without the bulk and the bliss of super soft yarn next to my skin.
Though it uses the exact same numbers for the yoke, this one is smaller and more snug than the black one and not remotely as stretchy as the Palouse Yarn Company version -- indeed, it is pretty much exactly my size with a smooth fit around the shoulders, bust and arms without being tight. In other words, super comfy but not magical enough to fit a huge range of sizes.
As with the black version, cables provide some bust/waist shaping.
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My life has been seriously weaving-centric for a long time,
in part because, duh, I love it, but also because weaving is my job.
Knitting on the other hand, like breathing, is something I do because I must --
more avocation than vocation,
if also a major source of clothing.
But perhaps it's time for that to change.
in part because, duh, I love it, but also because weaving is my job.
Knitting on the other hand, like breathing, is something I do because I must --
more avocation than vocation,
if also a major source of clothing.
But perhaps it's time for that to change.
Circular Knitting; 5 1/2" x 4"; Hand Woven Tapestry, Hand Embroidery, Hand Spun Yarn ©Sarah C Swett 2016
