LaChaise in Clotheshorse Fall/Winter 2013

lachaise1My design has been published in the recently published Fall/Winter issue of Clotheshorse digital magazine. I am delighted with Heather Dixon’s photography and styling as well as the stunning model, Natalie! In my design submission in response to their experimental mood board, I wrote: “Tyrol Scarf and Loose Sleeves. An experiment with layered tucks and a patterned cable results in an exciting scarf with matching loose sleeves. I adore these Tyrol cables with their flower bud shapes and the contrasting tucks at each end. The layered tucks create a sculptural feel and add drama to the bottom of the loose sleeves. Both are knitted in the round to form a tube of textured volume.” I suggested knitting it in Madeline Tosh DK in Composition Grey but Clotheshorse selected the much softer and more divine Blue Sky Alpacas Metalico in 50% alpaca, 50% mulberry silk in the natural color of Platinum, see blueskyalpacas. Each skein is 50 g with 135 m/147 yds, so you will need 13 for the scarf and 5 for the loose sleeves or 17 for the set and 3.5 mm/US 4 circular needles. Here is a link directly to the pattern page: issuu.com/clotheshorse.

lachaise2The scarf is worked in the round, bottom up in two parts; first: tucks and cables and second: opposite tucks to make the tuck layers identical. The parts are knitted together with a 3 needle bind off. The loose sleeves have elastic in the encasing at the top (or knitted in elastic, if preferred), in addition to a cord which can be tied onto the scarf at cable crossings when worn around the shoulders and fastened with a shawl pin or tucked into the end, see photograph below taken by my husband. One loose sleeve also looks nice worn as a small scarf around the neck.

DSC_2492The most popular of the 25 designs in this issue of Clotheshorse is the cabled cardigan; Hardy by Kristen Tendyke, see ravelry, while I prefer the spiked shoulder jacket; Hepworth by Ruth Roland, see ravelry. Here are all the designs presented on Ravelry; clotheshorse-fall-winter-2013/patterns but do not miss the Runway Reports in the magazine itself, see clotheshorsemag. Thank you, Clotheshorse!

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Finish-Free Knits by Kristen Tendyke

Scan 133160001I know at lot of knitters who prefer to minimize the amount of finishing and especially avoid sewing if they can. Kristen Tendyke encourages every knitter to try an unfamiliar technique in her introduction, and I want to see what I can learn. Beginning a shrug with the cable panel at the centre of the back and then picking up stitches on each side of the panel is a smart solution, I had not considered in any detail. While shaping lace by working with different needle sizes is a technique I know and have used. There are several top-down projects worth studying as well as tips on how to avoid puckering at the underarms. My favorite part of the book is how to shape set-in sleeves while working in the round and it will be my homework for now. At Amazon you can see inside the book: Finish-Free-Knits-No-Sew-Garments-Classic and on her website you can see all the 20 projects presented: kristentendyke. Kristen Tendyke is also an technical editor for the digital magazine Clotheshorse where my second pattern just have been featured. More details will follow.

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