Holy moly, you guys, the #fringeandfriendssteekalong feed is a sight to behold! It is, as Mary Berry would say, “cram jam full” of stunning Sólbein cardigans in progress along with a handful of other steekables, and surprisingly few people taking many liberties with patterns. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! I think on this one so many of us are just concentrating on getting the color choices right, gathering steam for our first steek — and there are actually quite a lot of people knitting their first sweater ever! All of which I applaud applaud applaud! I couldn’t be more thrilled. And cannot believe how fast some of you can knit! There are already sweaters at or nearing completion, while I haven’t even cast on yet. If you’re still on the fence, please understand you can jump in anytime!
Meanwhile, here’s the first of the standout projects that I want to feature here on the blog, so this is our first addition to the on-the-fly panel for the KAL, and it happens to be the endlessly inspiring Kristine Vejar from Verb. She’s taking quite a few liberties, and wow I cannot wait to watch this unfold!
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KRISTINE VEJAR owner of A Verb for Keeping Warm (Instagram: @avfkw)
Yarn: A Verb for Keeping Warm Dawn. I chose this yarn because I love the fabric it makes, and also because I live in a more mild climate, which means I will get to use this sweater more than if it were knit out of Lopi.
Palette: Indigo Blue! I am inspired by this coat by Kapital. In the AVFKW dye studio, we indigo-dyed a range of shades. I will try to incorporate as many of them as possible into the sweater. I have drawn a few ideas for how to incorporate the different skeins of indigo-dyed yarn into Solbein. All of this said, I am prepared to knit and rip, knit and rip, until I get the color combination just right.
Master plan: Taking some large leaps here as I dive into the Fringe and Friends Solbein Steekalong! When interviewing yarns for this project, at the top of my list were Lettlopi and Stone Wool Corriedale. However, when I came across Dawn, I thought Ooooo, this could be really interesting. I have a zip-up hoodie I purchased in Iceland a couple years back, and I wear it on our coldest Bay Area days from about November to January. But, due to Dawn’s cotton content, I could wear Dawn year-round. That being said, there are a couple concerns at hand using Dawn. It is lighter-weight, which means a smaller gauge. And, how would it steek?
So I wrote to expert Mary Jane Mucklestone! She just used Dawn in her Diamondback Hat pattern. She said she believes it will work and to steek using a sewing machine. Great!
Now to tackle gauge. I went to my swatch library and pulled the swatch for Dawn. (I use YO to record my needle size into the swatch). The fabric I like best is 17 stitches and 23 rows over 4”. It has substance not too tight and not too loose. And I believe I can make the pattern work at this gauge.
The pattern calls for 14 sts over 4″. The size I would knit if I were getting gauge would be 39 1/2” (though that is a touch too big). So to compensate for my tighter gauge, I am knitting size 46 1/2″.
By my calculations, the resulting finished size will be approx:
38″ chest circumference
12″ sleeve circumference
I am planning to leave off the buttons / buttonholes, cuff and hem treatment. I would like to knit my “buttonband” running parallel to the sweater, rather than horizontal (which I need to research because I am not sure how to do this).
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I feel like I might need to hire one of you to distract her when she’s finished, if you know what I mean! But I also feel that way about sooooo many of the other sweaters on the feed. I’m not sure I’ll be able to resist casting one on in my own size …
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PREVIOUSLY in Fringe and Friends Steekalong: The Steekalong starts now!
I have yet to cast on also. I originally planned Dossent by Andrea Rangel. I likely have both yarns for this project and this project has been atop my queue since I first saw a sneak peak photo on Instagram. Steeking has been atop my list of knitting skills to acquire in 2019. And then solstice came. And then came the full moon and then the new year. And then came the idea of a “practice” steek in the ideal yarn for steeking before I try it in other wools. Now I confess that I harbored an uninformed opinion about the scratchiness of Lopi fabric. All of this to say that I’m probably headed to the yarn store this week to choose a dark low contrast gradient of midnight blues for my solstice Sølbein! Swatching to ensue this week. Thanks for being a daily dose of inspiration percolating through the days. Your ideas and writings plant seeds that may not immediately come to fruition and often someday become a new tiny sprout poking through the ground reaching for the light. Thanks for this.
Oooooh, that KAPITAL coat/cardigan is a hand knit. Who gets to knit them? And how many do they knit??
Will live this project vicariously but I love it! FYI, for my Emu Cardigan @farafield on Rav, the button placket is knit separately and then sewn on.
The link to the coat by KAPITAL doesn’t work for me. Could more information be posted please? I had no more luck on Ravelry for this; I’d really appreciate help from you or Kristine.
This is not to take away from me anticipating my Lite Lopi arriving USPS on Thursday—it may take longer to start as I bought several indigo shades to find something that is really what I want…so no time for liberties with the pattern. I love that this steekalong encourages risk takes and adventurers of all levels. Thank you, Karen, MJ and all involved!
So, I’m STILL WAITING FOR MY YARN FROM TOLT!!! ;((((. According to the tracking number and my local post office, it arrived in Atlanta on Christmas Eve and the packaging and my address were not in good shape, so my yarn has been traveling around Atlanta ever since. Nobody, including Tolt, wants to take responsibility for this, so I’m waiting – not very patiently – for this matter to be resolved. I have never steeked and had thought this would be an excellent opportunity to give it a try. I’m really bummed out about this.
As a shipper, I know how frustrating it is when packages go on side trips and there’s nothing we can do about it but wait it out. In my experience, they do always show up! I’m sorry you’re stuck waiting in the meantime.
I am having no luck with the link for the KAPITAL jacket–nor searching on Ravelry. Could you or Kristine please post more information about it?
This is not to take away from my parcel of Lite Lopi in many indigo shades arriving Thursday. My Solbein will not be adventurous in pattern changes; I feel perfectly vindicated by you, Karen, M J, and all involved in the steekalong to make color changes and the skill of steeking my challenge on it. Thank you for this platform for growth with such encouragement!
I don’t think there is a pattern for that gorgeous jacket (I wish!) — it’s an item for sale. This site has some good photos that give an idea of how it is constructed: https://global.rakuten.com/en/store/takanna/item/ek-688/
I got my yarn yesterday, following your palette suggestion number 6. Can’t wait to cast on, and I’m quite glad to know you haven’t started either. I still have a couple of other projects to finish, well mostly my current sweater, before I get full speed into Solbein. I can start with the swatch though.
can you share any info regarding the little design visible in the collars of the 2 yokes pictured? Is it initials knitted into the Solbein ?
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I am knitting along in quiet (no IG account) but am struggling a bit with the three-colour stranded knitting in the yoke and how to handle to long floats in the last part of the yoke. I was wondering if you have some good tips or links – perhaps a topic for the next steekalong post?