ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

I love knitting skirts and this one was delivered to Angelica in Switzerland last week and has already travelled to Prague to be photographed.

The yarn is Bombay from Katia and is lovely to work with and the colours are gorgeous. This pattern will become available – probably after we return to New Zealand as there is too much to manage right now. It will available in 3 lengths.

Bombay is 100% Mercerized Cotton.
100 grs. – 3 oz 1/2 | 230 mts. – 251 yds.
Size of needles: 3 – 3 1/2 USA 4 – 5
Number of shades: 12

If you are considering “knitting in the round” these are the advantages as I see them.

Knitted in the round from bottom up.

Advantages:

1. No purling – you are always knitting on the right side, so unless you are ribbing or creating a pattern which requires purl stitches on the right side then you do not need to purl.

2. Little or no seaming / finishing

3. May use less yarn if the pattern is altered from a flat or pieced pattern. When altering a flat or pieced pattern one can reduce a stitch at each side of the body front and back – reducing the yarn required but not the finished size.

4. Speed – knit stitch is faster and your knitting rhythm works to your advantage.

5. Great knitting for watching a favourite TV program.

6. Less seaming is better for a knitted piece – it will rest better on the body without stresses and strains of a seam.

7. You can design as you knit. You can adjust length and shape as as you go.

8. You do not need to check that front and back pieces match exactly. Place a marker at the begining of the first row and you will always know exactly where you are and where to measure.

9. Using circular needles means that a large garment rests in your lap and not on the needles and your arms.

10. A garment can be altered – lengthened or shortened for another wearer later by unravelling and knitting down as required.

Disadvantage:

1. Boring knitting – Sweater done in knit stitch in the round can be boring.

2. Pieced or flat knitting is easier to create if starting with a sewing pattern.

Folk knitting was originally created circularly and seaming was very minimal so Knitting in the Round has been the “norm” in many cultures.

think tubes

Socks, arm warmers, body warmers, leg warmers, corsets, skirts, ponchos, cowls, hoods, boob tubes, etc and the leap to knitting a whole garment in the round occurs when one joins the knitted or crocheted tubes to create the desired garment.

Gallery of Examples of My “Knitting in the Round”

In New Zealand in my early knitting and designing days I was totally unaware of the movement toward knitting in the round as reintroduced to the US by Elizabeth Zimmerman. I was a busy young mother and wanted to finish my garment when I had completed the knitting whereever possible and so I worked on achieving that.

Fashion shaping may have been the impetus for creating flat pieces and joining them. I have worked on shaping my pieces when knitting in the round. The other area I have worked on is knitting a waistcoat, cardigan or jacket or sweater in one piece to the underarm or from cuff to cuff – again to reduce seaming requirements but that will have to be another post.

And then of course there is also top down knitting and steeks and ……

Being a Wednesday, and a rest and recreation day for me – I thought I should look for a “W” project; little, sweet, easy, no brain required – and decided on a Wimple.

Wikipedia: The wimple is a garment of medieval Europe worn by women around the head.

It is a cloth which usually covers the head and is worn around the neck and chin. At many stages of medieval culture it was unseemly for a married woman to show her hair. A wimple might be elaborately starched, and creased and folded in prescribed ways, even supported on wire or wicker framing (cornette). Italian women abandoned their headcloths in the 15th century, or replaced them with transparent gauze, and showed their elaborate braids. Both elaborate laundry and elaborate braiding demonstrated status, in that such grooming was being performed by others.

So what can a wimple be on this wet, windy, wonderful & woolly Wednesday in Haarlem? A search on “Wimple knit” bought up quite a few hints, ideas, patterns and examples such as the following links.

Simple Wimple
Wrap turned Wimple
Gorgeous lace Wimple

AND then I remembered a “Wimple” or two that I had created back in early 2000s, not knowing at the time they were wimples. They were head and neck coverings, headgear I called them. There were a couple of others for which I do not have photos, so if you read this and you have one of my wimples – please send a photograph.

So today I am going to recreate my Wimple – I said simple, didn’t I – Mistake I think.

Aug 17, 10:51pm

Will I dream the skirt stitch counts? k1 – 25, slip 1, k1, PSSO, k1-25, slip 1, k1, PSSO, k1, will it work like counting sheep? snore bizzzz

Aug 18, 10:42am

Skirt is still in progress – think about the lace, not sure yet if I will add it. Maybe the lack of time will influence the decision.

12:31pm

Brain dead in the knit dept today. Skirt is at crisis point – what to do?????? stop or go on ???

12:35pm

should I be tweeting, kweeting, kneeting, knieting, knitting? I think I should, I think I could, I think I will, I think I am KNITTING now!!

2:30pm

Skirt at 200 stitches, casting off, then I will check my brain & decide what next. Brain is a little strung out just now, need colour & drama!

7:40pm

Skirt is sitting on chair saying go on, do something, do something else, go on. So I did do something. I bought yarn at De Afstap in Amsterdam

10:19pm

Thinking of top part of this outfit. Is it really called that today? I don’t know. I am to create full deal – top to toe for the parade.

10.25pm

Top design loses, bed wins. Brain is shutting down. I was skyping NZ at 1.30am my time (NL) to talk with sister at 11.30am her time (NZ)

Aug 19, 9:19am

Pile of mags, internet, knit books, ideas file, friend Meredith in Adelaide, We have to design the perfect top to go with the perfect skirt.

From Connielene – NOT A TWEET: There will be no more pictures – as I do have to keep the lid on what I am creating. I will still tweet a little of course so there may be a further chapter in the story of Lake Hawea.

Tweets for the uninitiated – can be no more than 140 characters. If you take the trouble to count the tweet characters you will see that mine here are 140 or 141 or 142. What that means is that I have added a full stop, or a space when I added them to my blog – which I ignored when I tweeted to keep the piece within the 140 characters.

The skirt on my needles is being knit in the round from the waistband. The increases and now the decreases are being managed using the hyperbolic plane method. I have used this for increases many times now, but this is the first time I have used the concept for my decreases. It will be very interesting to see it a little further on as I am unsure just how it will hang. I hope it doesn’t add a twist to the skirt. BUT I will have to continue and wait with you to see the result.

I am knitting with Touch Magic Merino for Socks which is from Alexandra and WoolOn is included in the Alexandra Blossom Festival. It is such a pity that I will not see this skirt on the stage there.

It is jumping the gun a little – I have to finish it first, and then the top, and then the capelet and the beret, maybe. It depends on time really.

I will endeavour to keep you posted.