Kaleido by Silkie B.

Knitting Designs By Silka Burgoyne

Pattern Clarification – Retro Cropped Cardi July 20, 2010

Filed under: Pattern Q&A — silkaburgoyne @ 4:56 pm
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As I was reading the pattern from the Creative Knitting March 2010 Issue. I realized that the decrease from from body ribbing to main body need a little bit more explanation. It is mainly my fault for not putting a clear instruction on the pattern. In the magazine, it mentioned to decreaes 4 sts evenly for the body back and 2 sts for the body front while working on the row 1 of cable pattern. If you are more experience knitter, this is easily accomplished to work the dec when working on the pattern; however, it might get a little tricky. Hence I have put 2 other way of doing the decrease in this post.

There is 2 ways to work the decrease from body ribbing to main body:
1) When working on the last row of the ribbing (WS) descrease 4 sts evenly for the body back ribbing and 2 each for both front ribbing.
2) On the next RS row after ribbing, instead of working in cabled fabric pattern, work in stocknette st instead for first 2 rows and work decrease on first RS row. Start working on Row 1 of Cable Fabric pattern on 3rd row.

I have also gotten question about how to go about working the sleeves from top down. The pattern in the magazine was edited such a way that it actually left out some quiet important information for anyone who might be a relatively new to the knitting world and might not be familiar with certain steps. I would like to add more details on how to tackle the sleeves. The sleeves are worked using magic loop method. First, with RS facing up, you will pick up the the number of sts that is specified in the pattern. If you are working on size S, you will pick up 86 sts. To pick up, you will start with the one side of the underarm (back or front) bind off sts first then work your way up. What I normally do is to mark the shoulder position, then divide the total number of sts to 2, so you will know you need to pick up 43 sts on each side of the sleeves. It is important to pick up all BO underarms sts; that is, if you BO 5 sts when shaping the arm while working on the main body pieces, then you would pick up all 5 underarm sts when working on sleeves, then pick up a couple sts, then skip 1 st etc until you reach the center marker; work the same for the other side of the marker.

When shaping the cap, you are working the sleeves as if you are working on a flat piece. To start shaping the cap, the 1st row is actually a WS row because you pick up the sts on the RS. To shape the sleeve, we are using the short row technique. 1) so for the 1 WS row, you will work 58 sts, wrap & turn, 2) then work 30 sts on RS, wrap and turn. 3) On the next WS row, work to the previous wrap st, pick up the wrap and purl the wrap with the st, then wrap the next sts and turn. Repeat step 3 until there is only BO sts left.

To work Wrap&Turn,
1) work to the st you need to wrap, on the RS, bring the yarn to the front, slip the next st as to purl, then bring the yarn to the back, then bring the warp sts back to the left needle and turn and work the WS
2) work to the st you need to wrap, on the WS, bring the yarn to the back, slip the next st as to knit, then bring the yarn to the back, then bring the wrap sts back to the left needle and turn to work the RS

To work the wrapped st
1) WS, slip the wrapped st as to knit, use the left needle tip and pick up the wrap and bring the slip st back to the left needle, purl to the back loop of the slip st and the wrap together
2) RS, slip the wrapped st as to purl, use the left needle tip and pick up the wrap and bring the slip st back to the left needle, knit the slip and wrap together

shape the sleeve cap until only BO sts left on each side, then you will need to work in the round, make sure when working in the round, you are working on the RS. As the pattern for the sleeves, it will match the body, so you will work the pattern into the sleeve cap shaping. The pattern is the mulitiple of 6 sts, and if you are working on size S for example is 86 total sts and it’s not multiple of 6, what i would do is to work the number of sts that can be divide by 6 in pattern, and the rest, i would simple just knit it. Since it’s an overall cable pattern, so there is really no center point of pattern to line up, so the position of the cable is really not that important…

If anyone has any question regarding this pattern, please feel free to contact me!

 

Information about Positano Tote

Filed under: Pattern Q&A — silkaburgoyne @ 4:47 pm
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I have gotten quite a bit of questions about the Positano Tote that was published in Interweave Winter 08 issue and I would like to create this FAQ post for anyone who is interested in the pattern or have already purchased the pattern or already started the project and would like to get some tips and information about the pattern and the project.

1. Where can I found the handle?
The pattern has included the url where the handles were purchased. However, the website is not that user friend to navigate and if you call the company, they would tell you that the handles is no longer available. However, if you go to the following link that I listed below, you can get the exact same handles that I used on the sample that I submitted to the magazine.
http://www.umx.info/ProShop/ProductDetail1.asp?ProductRecordset1_Position=FIL%3AItemNo+LIKE+%27HR%2A%27ORD%3AABS%3A4KEY%3AHR%2DDM12%2FeachPiecePAR%3A

2. Can I substitute the handle? If yes, what is the best substitution?
The answer is Yes. Since the tote is lined with plastic canvas; hence, it’s quite sturdy througout. You can get a U-shape handle does not have the body rod. If you use a U-shape handle, when working on the purse tab, just work the center piece, and ignore the side 2 tabs.

3. Where can I find the buckle? Can I use a different size buckle?
The buckle I used is a buckle from an old belt that does not fit me anymore since I have gained a few pounds. If you can’t find any buckle with the same size, there is a few option you might want to consider;
1. See whether you can find an cheap belt with the same size buckle, 2. Find a buckle that you like and try to modify the purse flap to work with the buckle; e.g. if the buckle is smaller than the pattern is called for, you might want to do more decrease to the flap;
3. Not to use any buckle so do have to work the tote flap.

4. Do I have to use knit-in (attached) i-cord for the side seaming?
No. I like knit-in i-cord because it give a round edge and it gives the tote a more finish look. You can either use tapestry needle and yarn to sew the seam together or use crochet hock to work a couple rows of single crochet to combine the tote together.

5. Do I have to put plastic canvas to the tote? Do I have other option?
The answer is no BUT I would highly recommend to use plastic canvas because it will really increase the durability of the tote. Also, the way the tote is designed, it meant to be and look sturdy. Another option I would suggest is to use home decorative fabric along with heavy interfacing when lining the purse, that would provide a little more sturdy look and feel to the tote.

6. Do I have to apply plastic canvas to the tote before assembly the pieces together? Can I do it other way around?
Yes, you would but it might get a little bit tricky to do it the other way. if you assembly the pieces together before applying the plastic canvas, you will have to first turn the tote inside out, then apply the plastic canvas to the body and the bottom, the tricky part is to turn the tote outside in again since the plastic canvas made the tote very stiff; hence, it’s difficult to turn. So I would suggest to assembly the tote first. I have attached a picture below about applying the plastic canvas. make sure to leave about 1/4-1/2 inch so that you can work the knit-in i-cord.

7. My tote come out way smaller than the finished measurement stated in the pattern even though I have the right gauge, what’s wrong?
I did hear quite a few people told me that the actual size come out way smaller. The key is that you will really need to stretch the body pieces out when blocking because of the nature of the motif, it tend to pull the pieces in. In addition, when working on sl 1 wyf, not to pull the yarn too tight. If you are pulling it too tight while working on the stitch, it will make the over tote smaller. If you realized that the size for the tote is smaller than what it was stated on the pattern, then you will need to modified the bottom piece. You might want to consider to drop a needle size when working on the bottom (not the side) or may be even cast on a few less stitches. I would recommend to do a gauge on the garter stitch to see how many CO you need to match the widest part of the body.

I hope this post povide enough information about working on the Positano Tote. If you still have anymore question, please contact me.
Thanks you everyone that is interested in this design and I wish you Happy Knitting!