By Carolyn Hanson
Well, here we sit. Going almost nowhere, yet we are keeping our hands busy and creative juices flowing. Thank goodness! So what is everyone working on? The hot items indicate a few surprises … Ponchos, Capes & Wraps, Cables, and Double Knitting. The surprise for me was Capes and Double Knitting. My last cape was an ankle-length plum wool coat made in 1976! Double knitting is a reversible design in 2 colors where each side is the opposite color dominance of the other, i.e., navy with white vs. white with navy.
CAPES! I did not see this coming. Capes are semi-circular, have a closure around the neck, do not have sleeves but, can have openings for arms, and, have an overall length beyond the elbow. The designs are mini-skirt length, double-breasted with armhole slits and, inset pockets. This is more of a Fall season look. This pattern would work nicely in a longer version. www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/33-cabled-cape
Double Knitting creates 2 layers of fabric at the same time using one pair of needles. There is a pair of stitches for every stitch in the pattern – one in each color. When double knitting, every other stitch is knit in either Color A or Color B. You knit every other stitch with either Color A or Color B depending on which yarn you are using. The stitches of the other color are slipped and not knitted. When you turn your work, you use the other color. Here is a video to further explain the technique. www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLFr1odhwW4. The effect is a double-thick fabric that is stockinette on both outer sides with the purl sides facing each other. To get the full reversible effect, it’s critical to keep the slip stitches on the purl side which is in between the 2 outer stockinette sides. It takes a bit of concentration to keep the slip stitches invisible and not poking through to either stockinette side. The effect is wonderful. More of a cool weather garment due to thickness even with fingering or lace weight yarn. The other interesting use of double knitting is for making pockets. The trick is to bind off every other stitch on the first row and then the remaining stitches on the second row creating a pocket. So cool! Ponchos are great for seasonal changes in wool, cotton, linen, etc. as an alternative to sweaters or jackets. Read more ‘Creative Corner’ articles here: https://theconnectionsnj.com/category/creative-corner/
There are so many different shapes. My latest favorite is a long rectangle with an asymmetric style. It’s really a combination of a poncho and a wrap since it has an opening for your head, yet it is asymmetric and has one long end. If made extra long it can also wrap around the torso. This piece doubles as a poncho and a wrap. For any summer weight knitted or crocheted wrap, crochet a 6’ chain and lace it like a shoelace through the long sides leaving an opening of 14” for your head. So versatile!
Cables are timeless in sweaters, hats ponchos, scarves, etc., and used in every season with any smooth fiber. Cables in
light colors show the contrast between the stitches and designs better than dark colors; however, cables are lovely in any color. Taylor Swift’s Folklore Cardigan in her music video “Cardigan” is an ivory-colored varsity sweater design with cables and navy striping and buttons and silver star clusters on the sleeves. www.ravelry.com/patterns/library must-have-cardigan – Harry Styles’ cardigan was another sensation. Designed with the bright colors of children’s toys this rustic patchwork bulky sweater uses yellow, green, red, blue, pumpkin and black yarn knit with 3-4 strands of a single color held together. The pattern is available on Ravelry. See Color Block Patchwork Cardigan by JW Anderson, the designer. There is also a YouTube video for guidance. Happy Knitting!
P.S. The reveal for my Temperature Scarf from the November 2020 article (www.theconnectionsnj.com/creative-corner-tracking-a-year-in-color-how-to-make-a-temperature-scarf-by-carolyn-hanson/) marked my last year of corporate life. I now have the luxury of immersing myself in fiber arts.
Carolyn Hanson is a local knitting and crochet designer, teacher, and fiber artist. She can be contacted at cchanson3@gmail.com.