Seaham Sheer Poncho
April 29th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
This Seaham Sheer Poncho is a light, extremely airy, all seasons addition to your already stylish wardrobe. Born on the breathtaking coast beloved of the poet Byron:
“There is pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar.”
The Poncho is part cowl, part body hugging sheer warmer, ideal for strolling on the lonely shore under or over an overcoat, or on its own over a light summer dress in the warmer months. The gently shaped upper cowl has the option to convert into a comforting hood. Then there’s a change of knitting direction and the body is worked as a shaped piece constructed using the first part of Susie Myers’ ingenious Contiguous Method.
The construction is custom-fit, and has been tested on sizes from XS to XXL so it will fit you too. You try on and decide on length of cowl or hood, width of shoulders, length from shoulders to hem, according to how you want it to fit. You can extend in five areas specified in the pattern to give you exactly the shape, style and fit you want.
You need:
100g of a fine laceweight or 100- 250g of light fingering yarn with a long colour change. The size M sample uses under 100g of Aade Long 8/1 but you could also use something like a laceweight Zauberball, or any laceweight yarn in space dyed colours. One of those beautiful hanks of artisan hand-dyed would work really well. Or if you prefer solid colour, Colourmart’s Extra Fine Merino in a laceweight would be magnificent.
3mm, 3.75mm and 4mm circular needles. They will need to be long enough to go around your body so that you can try on for size without having to put your work-in-progress onto scrap yarn. 150cm would be ideal. You could also use the kind of long double pointed needles that are used for gansey-making. Five, at least, or however many you need to get all the stitches on the needles.
A large-eyed needle for sewing in ends, an optional piece of ribbon or cord for the cowl tie, and a large safety pin.
Pattern Difficulty
There is a slightly spicy beginning and ending, with a lot of very relaxing simple stocking stitch in the middle. But there are options for avoiding the most spicy, so this pattern will be suitable for an adventurous beginner or intermediate knitter.
£2.50 – available NOW from the Ravelry Pattern Store.
Like this:
Tuppence A Bag
March 17th, 2012 § Leave a Comment
Spring nesting material for little garden birdies. Just imagine a baby sparrow or robin pecking their way out of an egg into a soft cuddle of cashmere.
Garden birds in our bigger cities are getting rarer and rarer. Little sparrows used to flock in huge numbers but are now scarcely seen. Anything we can do to help, we do of course. Bird feeders, seed, fat balls, peanuts all help them survive though the harsher winters.
This simple little bag contains a handful of snippings from your gorgeous hand made finishing pile, and will provide little layers of finest cashmere, alpaca and merino to even the coldest concrete jungle.
You will need:
Several lengths of unwanted yarn for making the little bag
a pebble from the beach
your saved snippings from the finishing of all those garments.
dpns in 4 sizes – 4mm, 5mm, 6mm & 7mm are ideal but use whatever you have.
scissors
crochet hook
blunt ended needle
Here’s How:
c/o 3 sts on your smallest needle, push the stitches to other end of the needle, K 1 around
put one st on each of 3 dpns, join to work in round
kfb in each st = 6 sts
k1 round
kfb in each st = 12 sts
k one round
kfb in each st = 24 sts
k 1 round
kfb in each st = 48 sts
K1 round.
Adjust to put on 4 dpns, 12 sts on each.
Next round:
K1, YO and repeat finishing with a K1.
Repeat 4 times (on each dpn).
K1 round.
Go up a needle size
K1, YO repeat finishing with a K1.
K1 round.
45 sts on each needle
Go up a needle size
K1 YO K3tog repeat ending each section with a K2tog
K1 around
Go up to your biggest needle
K1, YO, K3tog around ending with a K3tog
Go down 2 needles sizes (ish)
K1 around
K1, K2tog around
K around (approx 14sts on each needle)
K2 tog around
K2tog around
K two more rounds
Cast off.
Sew in each end (your cast on, and your cast off) tightly. Snip, and keep the snippings!
Slot a loop of aran or chunky yarn in running stitch just under the cast off, and leaving a length of about 8-12” on either side, knot together, making two loops for hanging.
Make an excuse to go to the beach and find a nice pebble. Or borrow a big marble from your favorite child’s toy box. Drop that into the bottom of the bag to help weight it down.
Stuff your bag loosely with short snippings of yarn, pulling the ends through the holes with a crochet hook, and snipping any loops that appear. You do want the yarn to be easy to get out, but do remember, these are tough little birds, so not too easy or the next gale will sweep it all away.
Hang up securely in your garden right next to the bird feeders.
Give to your mum or grandma as an extra mother’s day pressie.
Improvisations including crochet versions, and ones using all those swatches you have lying around would work too. Here’s a little lace swatch which is going to make the next one:
I’m going to seam the short edges together, run a simple in-out running stitch along each of the long sides, gather one of the sides tight and the other loosely. It’ll hang up in the same way with a handful of snippings inside. A very practical way of using up swatches.
Remember this?
Robert Sherman died at the good old age of 86 on March 5th. Thanks for all the pretty songs, Robert.
The pattern isn’t tuppence, it’s free. Please make a donation to any wild bird charity or nature reserve in your part of the world. This one‘s my nearest.
