ConnieLene – KnitDesigner

I created a series of Jackets – sleeveless and with sleeves for the “Colour Play” exhibition in late 2007. I have had requests for the pattern without sleeves, and I will write the pattern and make it available for purchase. My personal knitting shorthand is not easily understood by others. I have been asked to provide this pattern in Danish (possible), and in Norwegian (may not be so easy).

These jackets were all created from the one basic pattern – more or less. The body of each jacket is knitted in one piece from the bottom edge, including the shawl collar to the shoulders. The basic pattern will be produced in English, Danish and maybe Norwegian.

More photos in my Jacket album on Facebook You will be able to see the various well shaped even fitting jackets or waistcoasts that I created, including more photos of the Blokes Smoking (not a PC name, I know) jacket, which is not fitting at all, but it did develop from the same basic pattern idea. I will create the Smoking Jacket pattern separately as it is quite different – even though the base was the same. It was called the smoking jacket because it was a bit of decadence, a mohair jacket for a man.

I am not sure yet, but I might redo the pattern in double knit (8 ply) as well as in the original bulky (12ply) creation. The originals were each knitted with 2 yarns together, most in very simple Intarsia.

The cuddly, lushious, almost opulent (maybe the words are too much for a blokes jacket – but it seemed to me to be all of these things) Smoking Jacket, is actually knitted in stripes and rib. The stripes are loose – the jacket is knitted in rib – which swaps direction at a colour change in one of the yarns as well as being striped with another yarn colour change. I might need to be more formal with that option as well.

Anyway you get the idea – the pattern will be knitted from the bottom, it will be in one piece including the shawl collar. I will create a pattern for the bulky (12ply) option first, and then I may well redo it in 8ply or DK – depending on interest. So if you have an opinion — do let me know please. Either in facebook or here, thanks.

But HOW to create a Knitted piece to cover a Haarlem Ball – or other spherical object – that is the question?

You need to know the size of your sphere – ball. My first one was 150cm plus a handspan (my handspan).

I began with 8 stitches, increased to 320 stitches by increasing 8 times on every 4th round (more or less). I knitted this on a circular needle and circularly – entirely appropriate for a circular object.

I used 8 ply or double knit yarn on 4mm needles. The length from the top point to 320 stitches should be around 80cm. I have knitted the last of the top section of about 10 cm in k1p1 rib to help the cover to cling well. It is not a good look to have a baggy saggy ball warmer. There is a bit of give and take – because I didn’t knit this first half with only 8 ply (DK) yarns – I included mohair and faux fur fibres and some cotton yarns. So I needed to measure the piece for length as I knitted and adjust the increases and I will have to do the same when I do the decreases. SO this is not a formal pattern – this is a “suck it and see” piece of knitting.

Decreasing will be the increasing process in reverse – except that I will end up with around 32 stitches because the bottom half doesn’t present the full sphere to you as it is set in concrete. This half will still be created on a circular needle, but is not longer knitted circularly otherwise it will not fit over the ball. So back and forth from the centre down (more or less). I will knit the bottom half in garter stitch to assist it to join more easily – it is awkward to join the ball warmer together as I found with the first Haarlem Ball Warmer. I think I will use velcroe on this one – so that it can be joined more easily and removed more easily. It could then live another day as something else maybe.

There are lots of balls to alter however temporarily here in Haarlem, and also in Maastricht, so maybe they are everywhere in the Netherlands and I have received reports of very large balls in California.

It has taken me a long time to write “My dad had Alzheimers”.

My dad was amazing, father of 7 children, sailed the world in the boat he outfitted himself, leaving New Zealand for Denmark at age 65, returning at age 67. He was fit, active, strong and he had Alzheimer’s.

He could never understand why I knitted, when I could just buy, and why I made my sauces and gravies from scratch instead of from a packet. Now I would answer – because it keeps my brain cells healthy and functional – I hope. And also as he always knew – because I could never not knit.

Since he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s we have all learned a lot about this disease from various sources other than watching his struggles.

One thing I have learned is that knitting may help protect one from Alzheimer’s – so I will keep on knitting because if it will help protect me from what he had to go through, then I shall knit forever. There is no way I want to realise how my life has changed and how little control I have over it – in those early stage Alzheimer’s more lucid moments.

So I keep on knitting – and I have been knitting Alzheimer brain cells – I have created 2 so far, using knitted I-cords. I am not sure I will ever photograph these, but I do look at them and I am reminded that knitting might help protect from Alzheimer’s.

I shall keep on knitting.