Category Archives: Finds

Favorite New Favorites of 2015

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Favorite New Favorites of 2015 — best knitting patterns

Just about every week of every year, I post about the knitting patterns that are occupying my thoughts — whether they’re new or just newly appealing to me — under the heading of New Favorites. Some are content to be admired for just that moment, while others bully their way right into my queue. Interestingly, this year not a single New Favorites pick actually made it onto my needles (Not yet, anyway. I still have projects in my queue from last year’s and the year before’s.) Oh no, wait: I did cast on Linda — I just didn’t get very far because I need to switch yarns. Given that it’s the one I cast on and sketched into my Fashionary queue, and that I’ve mentioned it on the blog at least 92 times this year, that must have been the absolute most magnetic pattern for me this year! I’m still dying to try my hand at mosaic knitting, and this is still my favorite colorwork pattern of the year. But what follows are the patterns I’d most like to not lose track of as more and more new ones distract us from that which we already loved:

PATTERN OF THE YEAR

Although I give myself a 1% chance of ever actually knitting them, I think Dianna Walla’s Aspen socks/legwarmers, pictured up top, is the best pattern of the year, so I wanted to mention that. It’s inspired by historical garments and yet perfectly new and original, and just completely enticing and memorable. (It’s from the Farm to Needle book that, disclosure, I also have a pattern in.) If you haven’t seen Dianna’s blog post about the inspiration behind the pattern, take a minute to give it a read.
(as seen in From Farm to Needle)

SWEATER OF THE YEAR

Favorite New Favorites of 2015 — best knitting patterns

For me, Norah Gaughan’s Marshal is the sweater of the year, despite the fact that the neck treatment doesn’t quite work somehow. If (when) I were to knit it, I think I might make it into more of a bomber jacket — with a crewneck and curved neckband. That, or keep the V-neck and just leave off the neck flap, which looks fantastic from the back but which I love less from the front. Regardless, I’m completely crazy about the pocket design, texture and placement, and the gauge shift from the body to the pockets — really fantastic use of simple detail to elevate a design.
(as seen in The chevrons of BT Winter ’15)

YOKE SWEATERS

Favorite New Favorites of 2015 — best knitting patterns

Next year will absolutely be the year I knit myself a colorwork yoke sweater. Perhaps one of these three—
top: Stopover by Mary Jane Mucklestone, as knitted by Kathy Cadigan (as seen in Dark yoke sweaters)
bottom left: Lighthouse Pullover by Carrie Bostick Hoge (as seen in Dark yoke sweaters)
bottom right: Skaftafell by Beatrice Perron Dahlen (as seen in Winter blues)

PULLOVERS

Favorite New Favorites of 2015 — best knitting patterns

The rest of the sweaters I’m keeping on the don’t-forget list are good, hardworking wardrobe basics that also look reasonably interesting to knit—
top left: Grille by Bonnie Sennott (as seen in Grille)
top right: Trace by Shellie Anderson (as seen in Trace)
bottom left: Sanford by Julie Hoover (as seen in The chevrons of BT Winter ’15)
bottom right: Butte by Pam Allen (as seen in Big ol’ cozy pullovers)

ACCESSORIES

Favorite New Favorites of 2015 — best knitting patterns

left: Lambing Mitts by Veronika Jobe (as seen in Foldover mitts) (free pattern)
middle: Bonnie Banks Shawl by Beatrice Perron Dahlen (as seen in Fair-weather friends)
right: Abyss by Wool and the Gang (as seen in the WATG x Raeburn beanies)
right: Crag by Jared Flood (as seen in The hats of BT Men Vol 2)

What were your favorite patterns this year? Cast-on or otherwise!

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PREVIOUSLY in New Favorites: Winter blues

Top posts of 2015

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Top posts of 2015 — Fringe Association blog

It’s always big fun to dig into the stats at the end of the year and see if what I think was a hit really was a hit. And since a lot of people have a lot of leisure time during this last week of the year, it’s also a chance to highlight some things you might have missed! So with that—

Top 10 posts from previous years that continued to dominate the charts this year:

1. Q for You: What’s your peak knitting experience?
2. Pullovers for first-timers: Or, an introduction to sweater construction
3. How to improvise a top-down sweater, Part 1: Casting on and marking raglans
4. Joining sweater parts at the underarm: Here comes the fun!
5. Super Simple Mitts
6. Holiday knitting cheat sheet: A hat for every head
7. How to weave on a hand loom
8. Best summer sweater knitting patterns
9. Double Basketweave Cowl
10. Knit the Look: Mariska van der Zee’s EZ pullover

Full disclosure: That number one post is full of great responses — a really wonderful discussion — but it’s garnered so much traffic in part because the photo is an enormous hit with the Pinterest community. On top of which, someone somewhere along the line pinned it and put the words “free pattern” in their caption, which has been re-pinned like that a hundred thousand times. Gentian is an amazing pattern but not a free one.

Top 10 posts from 2015:

1. Fringe Hatalong No. 1: Audrey by Jessie Roselyn (pictured top right)
2. Fringe Hatalong No. 3: Hermaness Worsted by Gudrun Johnston
3. Slow Fashion October — get ready!
4. Fringe Hatalong No. 2: L’Arbre by Cirilia Rose
5. Fringe Hatalong No. 5: Seathwaite by Kate Gagnon Osborn
6. Fringe Hatalong No. 4: Laurus by Dianna Walla
7. Basted knitting: Or, how (and why) to seam a seamless sweater (pictured middle right)
8. Hot Tip: Let the knitting remember for you (pictured bottom left)
9. Fringe and Friends Knitalong 2015: Cowichan style (pictured bottom right)
10. Q for You: What’s the knit you couldn’t live without?

Notice a pattern (no pun intended) in that list? (Hatalong 6 hasn’t been live long enough to compete.) The most popular posts that didn’t include a free knitting pattern, in addition to the few sprinkled in the top ten, were the Hot Tip about minding your edge stitches, sewing pattern ideas for what to wear under cardigans, the Slow Fashion October post about my Gallery Dress (pictured middle left), my vintage waistcoat and modified Wiksten tank FO post; how to knit a hat; and my sleeveless turtleneck FO post (pictured top left) (and I swear, I swear, I swear I will have a pattern for it soon!). So that struck me as an unexpected mix.

Clearly everyone loved the big initiatives this year — the knitalongs and Slow Fashion October.  And I did, too! But I’d love to hear from you all personally: What was your favorite thing on the blog this year? Could be a single memorable post, a series, a pattern, a tip, whatever the case may be.

p.s. There’s a wee year-end clearance sale going on over at Fringe Supply Co. You might want to take a look!

Idea Log: Cowichan blues

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Idea Log: Cowichan blues

Here’s one last Idea Log for 2015, and it will be the first sweater I’m obsessing about in 2016 — Do I just have a heightened awareness of them or are Cowichan-inspired sweaters suddenly everywhere? I can’t open an indie boutique email or flip through a mainstream catalog without seeing them. The one that recently got torn out and taped to my wall is among the least authentic — that blue and white number up top, currently for sale at J.Crew. (It’s called Abstract Fair Isle Sweater, and has about as much in common with true Fair Isle as with Cowichan, but there you go.) I’m still dying to cast on another Cowichan-ish sweater after finishing my knitalong vest, and although it continues to be spooky 75-degree tornado weather here, I know we’re headed for that time of year when I’ll be wearing my Bellows every day and wishing I had another super woolly shawl collar cardigan to alternate with. Before casting on my vest, I contemplated doing it in black and navy or ivory and navy. As much as I love all-neutral colorwork, I also swoon hard for blue and white. (Some notable examples here.) It’s like Delft knitwear or something — so dreamy. So I keep gazing at this J.Crew cardigan and wanting a version, and over the weekend it dawned on me that it could be as simple and knitting Andrea Rangel’s Knitter’s Dude in ivory and navy (two colors instead of three) and perhaps doing the wide stripes as a pair of thinner stripes to play up the linework quality. I might want to bulk up the gauge, though — I’m thinking Lettlopi in colors 0051 and 9420 (as pictured via Tolt). And then of course with a zipper instead of the buttons, because zippers forever and ever amen.

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PREVIOUSLY in Idea Log: Perfect outfit No. 1

One-night knits!

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One-night knits

Whether it actually is the night before Christmas and you’re short one gift, or you’re just desperate for a quick finish between long projects — or whatever the case may be! — here are four excellent free knitting patterns with fast and highly satisfying outcomes. All blissfully simple in garter, stockinette and ribbing, so they’re also great for beginners—

1. CFC Hanspun Toque by Patrick Rush
If you happen to have some Camellia Fiber Co. handspun in your stash, let me be the first to profess my jealousy! But if not, any superbulky will do. This one is designed by a guy and I can vouch for the fact that it’s worn by the whole CFC crew, so it’s unisex as well as being fast and great-looking. (See also: EZ’s Brioche Watch Cap)

2. Whichaway Mitts by Karen Templer
My own pattern for two-tone mitts that can be worn either direction. Again, perfectly unisex depending on your yarn choice. And it was specifically designed to use up leftovers! (See also: Super Simple Mitts)

3. Lara’s Hat by Susan Ashcroft
This is the most specifically feminine item in the group, but such a stupendous hat! Again with superbulky yarn on US15s, so you’ll be done in a flash. (See also: Purl Soho’s Chunky Cable Hat)

4. Simple House Slippers by Simone A.
These would be welcomed by any member of the family. They might take slightly longer than the previous three patterns, especially since you need to make two — but you could totally wrap up one finished slipper and an IOU for the second one. (See also: Tootsie Toasters)

Another great last-minute gift idea (no knitting required!) is a Fringe Supply Co. gift certificate, which I will happily send to your recipient as a personal email! ;)

For more gift knitting suggestions, see Warm hands, warm hearts; Cowls all around; and A hat for every head

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Next of the Best of Pre-Fall 2016: Elizabeth and James

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Next of the Best Knits of Pre-Fall 2016

I have to tell you, what really stands out about the Pre-Fall 2016 collections is the outerwear. I mean, incredible incredible coats and jackets everywhere you look. I’m particularly taken with this and this and this and the countless gorgeous iterations of the bomber jacket showing up in nearly every collection. But let’s talk about these Elizabeth and James knits! I have a hunch those two photos up top are the same sweater, worn forwards and backwards. I’m guessing the idea is you could actually tie that waist strap as a belt over the flap, but I can understand why whoever styled the shoot left them dangling. Either way, pretty great. Obviously I’m gonna love the slouchy sweater over slinky skirt look below, especially with those super ’80s shoes. And I also like this little boxy sweater with the wedge slipped into the side seams. Check out the full collection for more.

Next of the Best Knits of Pre-Fall 2016

PREVIOUSLY in Pre-Fall 2016: Fresh turtlenecks

Elsewhere

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Textile-y links for your clicking pleasure

I’m sure everyone has tons of spare time on their hands right now (I know I do!), but I didn’t want to miss highlighting these assorted interesting developments. Peruse them over the weekend or come back and catch up anytime!

— My hilarious friends at Mason-Dixon Knitting have published “A Coloring book for Knitters,” which makes me laugh because when I first heard about the coloring book trend, my response was “Those people need to learn to knit!” Apparently a lot of people would like to do both! So hooray for all things that make people happy, especially if it involves Kay and Ann.

— Holy cow, YES!, to the Tweed Project. I’ll have this whole outfit for starters, please.

— Nice piece on the return of the small-batch business

— Great tutorial on how to make a lined Stowe Bag — I’ma try this one of these days

— I’m eager to listen to Gretchen Jones on Seamwork Radio

— Have you heard about the Karl Lagerfeld fair-isle ripoff scandal? So shameful. (Thx, Danielle)

— And what are your thoughts on the Pantone Color(s) of the Year?

I also know the big question on everyone’s mind right now is Is there still time to shop for Christmas at Fringe Supply Co.?? There is! The Field Bag colors have been restocked this morning (including the elusive army green), as have the loom kits, bonsai scissors and rosewood crochet hooks. There are tons of great options for stocking stuffers and hostess gifts. And yes, there’s time. For US orders, we ship every weekday via USPS Priority Mail, which is a 2-Day delivery to most addresses. So as long as USPS hits their marks, you could in theory order up through early Monday morning and have your package by Christmas Eve. But obviously, allowing more time is better! So get those orders in ASAP!

Have a wonderful weekend—

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PREVIOUSLY: Elsewhere

Knit the Look: Anya Ziourova’s cropped raglan

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Knit the Look: Anya Ziourova's cropped raglan

While I’m not the biggest fan of the overall butterscotchness of this outfit photographed on Russian fashion editor Anya Ziourova, I like the proportions: cropped, fitted sweater with slim, high-waisted skirt. And I like that the subtle marl of the yarn gives just a tiny bit of interest to a fairly simple pullover. For knitting a version of this one, I would definitely say just improvise it top-down. Pick two low-contrast shades of your favorite fingering-weight yarn and hold them together (pictured is Loft in Fossil and Tallow); knit a swatch to get your stitch gauge; and go for it. To capture the interesting bits of Anya’s sweater, work the sleeves and six or eight raglan stitches in 1×1 rib. Work the body in stockinette until just below the bust, then switch to 1×1 and knit until just above your belly button, or just enough to overlap the waistband of your favorite high-waisted skirt or pants.

See Vanessa’s post for full-length shots of this ensemble.

UNRELATED BUT SUPER IMPORTANT: If you are Lorna in Canada or Carey in the UK and you’ve recently ordered from Fringe Supply Co, please email me at contact@fringesupplyco.com — emails to your address are bouncing!

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PREVIOUSLY in Knit the Look: Big scarf season

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Street style photo © Vanessa Jackman; used with permission