Kay's Korner - A Knitters Notes

Let's face it, new things create some excitement for most of us, whether it's a new baby, a new job, a slim new cell phone, or a new model car. As knitters, new yarns grab our attention season after season. With summer in the air, I look to cotton as my warm weather fiber staple, with soy, hemp, bamboo, and linen close behind.

There are many varieties of cotton yarns from which to choose. Of course they are available in every weight, from tablecloth cotton to bulky, but they are also grouped by where and how the fiber was grown and how it was processed. For example, On Line's Linie 12, familiarly known as Clip, is 100% Mako Egyptian cotton, an extra long staple cotton favored for high end goods, especially bed linens. The long staple length of the fibers makes a superior yarn, as well.

Although the term Egyptian cotton is commonly used in advertising and marketing, the plant which bears this fiber originated in America. In fact, pima cotton, which includes Egyptian, Extra Long Staple, Creole, Sea Island, and other varieties of cotton, is a species of plant that originated in Peru and has been widely cultivated for many years. Along with its value as a fabric fiber, its antifungal and medicinal features cemented its place in American agriculture.

But as cotton is a pesticide intensive crop, it is susceptible to some very aggressive natural enemies. A large percentage of all pesticides used worldwide go to protecting cotton crops. The overwhelming popularity of cotton fiber for clothing and linens, as well as a multitude of other uses, prompted agriculturalists interested in protecting our environment to come up with ways to grow this sustainable fiber organically. Simple crop rotation, the use of natural enemies of the harmful insects, and organic fertilizers have made organic cotton a popular and lucrative crop. From 2003 to 2008, the production of organic cotton grew 22.7% and is expected to grow 15.5% in 2008 alone. To be deemed organic, no pesticides, nonorganic fertilizers, synthetic hormones, irradiation, antibiotics, or genetic engineering can be used in producing the crop. To insure that consumers are truly receiving an eco-friendly product, large producers must be inspected by a third party, USDA accredited agency to be certified organic.

On Kay's Needles

My sister's only son and his wife are expecting a baby boy this fall. Babies are a great reason to get knitting needles clicking! Most baby blanket patterns knit up a little too small for my liking. Even though I was itching to try the new Bebe Cotsoy or Pima Fresca we got in, I opted for Cascade 220 Superwash in a baby blue. Anything for a baby that is washable is doing the new mom a favor. My first attempt, I began knitting my design double stranded on US #13 needles, but about 1/3 way to being finished, I decided the knit fabric was too bulky. I was also using a lot of yarn, as I had already used two 100 gram balls. I unraveled my work and began again using a #8 US Addi Turbo circular and a single strand of the Cascade Superwash. The blanket has a 3 inch double moss stitch border all around with the main stitch pattern being a broken rib. I am so pleased at the delicacy of the smaller stitches - so much more baby like! The blanket will be warm from both the wool fiber and the all over texture, which will insulate. One more stitch pattern repeat and I will add the final border, using only 3 balls for a 29" x 32" blanket. In a few hours, Blake's Blanket will be ready to wrap for a baby shower.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather

Next time you flip through a pattern book and choose a fabulous project to hand knit, please give the pattern designer a moment of love. When I refer to someone as a designer, I do not mean the courageous knitter who either substitutes a different yarn or adds a few rows to make sleeves a bit longer. I am referring to the person who begins a design with a blank sheet of paper and an idea. Although I have both altered many sweater patterns and designed throws and accessories, sweater designs are a relatively new skill for me. So that you may appreciate the effort behind the stunning abundance of sweater patterns available to today's knitters, I thought I would take you through some of the ups and downs of designing Slip Into Spring, my latest pattern.

The inspiration for this comfy, cotton blend top was the yarn, Amerino by Laines du Nord. The two plies of differing textures blend color as well as interest, with the yarn available in seven lovely, warm weather colorways. As I handled the yarn, an image of a fairly loose fitting, casual top came to mind, something suitable for active spring/summer days. I knew the yarn could produce a fairly firm fabric with enough body for a gentle tenting from a softly empire waist and also for a structured squared neckline. As I began to swatch, I was inspired to add slipped stitches to stockinette to add a subtle striping. This became stitch pattern 2. The slipped stockinette was lovely, but the skirt portion of the top begged for a greater definition of the slipped stitches and also more texture, so another stitch pattern was developed and swatched, which became stitch pattern 1. I must tell you, swatching has to be a designer's best friend.

The nature of the second slipped stitch pattern was a firmer more narrow fabric, which I used to slightly nip in the empire waist, without decreasing the number of stitches. It also would encase the bustline, but I found it did not lay properly when I bound off for the neckline. I could have solved this with a crochet finishing, but wanted the pattern workable for a novice knitter with no crochet skills. So, I tried binding off on both right and wrong sides, both knitwise and purlwise, but was not pleased with the effect. Had I been knitting with a more elastic fiber, such as wool, blocking would have solved much of the problem with the neckline, but Amerino is a cotton/acrylic blend, not as forgiving as properly blocked animal fibers. Finally, I decided to use ribbing for the neckline and shoulder sections, maintaining my line of slipped stitches. It was necessary to go down from the #10 ½ US needles, to a #9 US in order for the modified 1 x 1 ribbing, stitch pattern 3, to maintain my working gauge. All I had left to do was to decide on the length I wanted my loose fitting, short sleeves and write the instructions so that the sleeve cap would correlate with my armhole shaping. Then the design was complete.

Now, my pattern and sample sweater were customized to fit me. My 41" bust puts me in the size large range, but patterns need to fit a variety of sizes. As "Slip into Spring" is not close fitting, I decided that if I made it to fit small, medium, large, and extra large, it would fit women with busts from 33 inches to 46 inches. Using simple math and basic design concepts, I could determine the changes in the number of stitches and rows throughout the pattern to allow the desired range of sizes.

With my pattern completed, the all important sample knit got underway. With any pattern, it is best to have the sample worked up by someone other than the designer, in fact many publishers require it. This insures that the instructions are clear and that consumers will attain satisfactory results when they follow the pattern. "Slip into Spring" will be available as a Rare Purls Original kit later this summer.

On Kay's Needles

The fringe is being added to a new throw I worked up using a 100% wool tweed from Valley Yarns, striped with rows of Plymouth's Oakmont. The throws full length was cast on, so much of the fringe was in place simply by leaving long tails at each tie on and tie off when changing yarns. I love the design element of the raised rows of Oakmont. The neutral palette will make this throw at home in a wide variety of settings.

Copyright 2008 Karen Mather