August 26, 2008

Kelso Lace Cardigan Pattern

This pattern has been discontinued.

The Kelso Cardigan features an allover horseshoe lace pattern with eyelet trim at the front and raglans. It is knit seamlessly from the bottom up, with body and sleeves worked in one piece from the yoke. The drape and stretch of lace gives the Kelso a close, flattering fit.

The pattern includes detailed instructions for shaping in lace. If you're new to lace knitting, it will sound more confusing than it is! It all makes sense once you start knitting and becoming familiar with the lace repeats.

I wrote the pattern at the request of several knitters who saw the original sweater on ravelry. Here's the post, with a couple more pictures, written before I knew I'd attempt a pattern. Thanks, ravelers, for motivating me to publish the pattern.

Details
Finished chest measurements: 30 (33, 35, 37.5, 40, 42, 44.5) in / 76 (84, 89, 95, 102, 107, 113) cm
Sweater is designed to fit with 0-3 inches negative ease. Cardigan pictured is worn with 3 inches negative ease. Finished measurements are after blocking, with sweater slightly stretched.

Materials
Worsted weight yarn, approximately 590 (650, 690, 740, 788, 827, 876) yards or 540 (595, 631, 677, 721, 757, 802) meters. Use yarn with moderate elasticity, such as cotton and acrylic blends, cotton and wool blends, or wool. Sample shown is in Lion Brand Cotton-Ease, Lake (#110).

US 7 / 4.5 mm 24 in. or longer circular needles
US 8 / 5 mm 24 in. or longer circular needles and dpns
US 6 / 4 mm 24 in. or longer circular needles for optional waist shaping.
If necessary, change needle sizes to get gauge.
5 mm (H) crochet hook
Stitch markers
Tapestry needle

Gauge
17 sts and 24 rws over 4 inches, in lace pattern after blocked.

Click image for larger schematic.


August 25, 2008

Woodland creatures

At last, at long, long last, I've finished the pattern for the Kelso Cardigan. I loaded the file into my ravelry store and....nothing showed up. So, I'll give it a day to see if the problem is resolved. If not, I'll have to go the email-pdf-after-payment route.

To celebrate, I went for a run. The trail was wet, and it was lovely to run on. As I rounded a corner, a doe was stepping lightly along the edge of the woods. She was used to people and didn't start at the sight of me, just walked off to meet her friend among the trees.  His rust-colored velvety horns were just emerging. Autumn is almost here.

August 5, 2008

Status Report

I'm on the 7th revision of the Kelso pattern. It's nearly done. My test knitter has really helped me clear up confusing sections. The final version will be much easier to follow than the original version.

In other news, I discovered today that kneecaps can sweat heavily. I never noticed this before. Today, after a short run in hot and humid conditions, I was standing in the yard checking out some bumblebees on the lavender. I felt something on my leg, which I assumed was a bee. When I looked down, there were my knees with beads of sweat rolling down my shins. What's up with that!

August 2, 2008

Rough Stuff

I have a rough draft of the Kelso pattern! The pattern needs some heavy editing. Then it will go to my two test knitters, then more editing, before I can finally say "TADAH!" and publish it.

Now that I've turned the corner, I think I'll go for a refreshing run. I need to clear my mind since there's more math ahead.

Thanks for all the encouraging comments. You've kept me motivated.