I just finished up another project for the Indie Design Gift-A-Long! This one is Devonshire Cream by Laura Aylor.
The cowl is knit as a tube that eventually is grafted together, with the finished project like an inner tube. The result is a cowl that has no “wrong side” and is extra warm and squishy. I used baby llama yarn that is so super soft, it will be a pleasure to wear around the neck. Unfortunately, this cowl is destined for someone else so I will not be experiencing the luxury.
Laura’s other patterns are also beautiful. Like my last featured designer, Laura’s designs are very elegant and have a very clean look. I’ve seen a number of her patterns come up in the Scarves and Cowls thread I’m moderating in the GAL, including the beautiful Oak Park and the extremely popular Tuck.
All of Laura’s paid-for patterns from her Ravelry Store are eligible for the Gift-A-Long. Although the discount period has already ended there’s still lots of time to participate in the GAL and win some great prizes. Patterns that have previously been purchased are eligible as are those that are purchased full-priced!
I know, I can’t believe it either, two patterns released in one week! I never thought I’d see that happen.
So let’s get to it. I’m pleased to introduce you to the latest Cowtownknits creation: They’re Paisley!
Paisley is so hot right now. Really. I kept seeing all these beautiful paisley prints in shop windows and on fashionable bodies and I thought – “Why couldn’t I knit me some paisley somethings?” And then I thought – “Mittens, those somethings should be mittens!” And that’s that. I designed some paisley mittens.
The pattern has four charts: one paisley chart for each hand (the chart is reversed on the other hand), one for the palm, and one for the thumb gusset.
Size:Medium – 8″ / 20.5 cm palm circumference
You can purchase the pattern by clicking the “buy now” button above. Until November 15 you can receive a 25% discount when you checkout using the coupon code giftalong. Then you should come and join the Gift-A-Long fun on Ravelry and have a chance at some of the hundreds of prizes. That’s right, I said hundreds.
This time both technical editing and test knitting were brought to you by the lovely Alana Marchetto.
I’m so excited to announce the official kickoff for the Indie Design Gift-A-Long!
From Nov. 1 until Nov. 15 you can take advantage of a 25% discount when using the giftalong coupon code offered on over 2000 patterns from indie designers on Ravelry. For a brief catalog and list of designers involved check out this Ravelry thread.
If you are not a Raverly member you can also check out the Pinterest boards. A team of very dedicated designers (including yours-truly) pinned all of the 2000+ designs over a period of just a few days! You will be able to click through from the Pinterest boards to the pattern listing on Ravelry for purchase even if you’re not a Ravelry member. There are boards covering all the categories in the GAL and I’m planning to feature a new one here each day over the next week or so. For now you can check out the “Today’s Featured Indie Patterns” board which will slowly fill with all the patterns over the period of the discount.
Beyond the discount and knitting eye-candy, there is also the very exciting Gift-A-Long (GAL) running from November 1 to December 31. Crafters are encouraged to knit or crochet their eligible patterns along with each other in a number of threads in the GAL group. Those joining along in the fun have hundreds (that’s right, hundreds) of chances to win prizes. You can check out the prize details here.
All of my paid patterns will be included in the promotion and will be available for 25% off with the coupon code giftalong until the end of day November 15th. I’m also anticipating releasing two new patterns during the time of the GAL so you’ll be able to get them discounted right away!
I hope you all get a chance to check out some (or all) of the indie designers involved in this promotion, they are an amazing bunch of people who produce beautiful work! I’m hoping to feature a different designer each day here so stay tuned.
At long last my latest (and most favorite) pattern has finally been released!
It feels like this one was a long time coming. I believe the idea came to me way back in early spring but the process of bringing the idea to fruition, which you can read about in the Design Series, takes a long time. And now it’s finally here, just in time for fall!
Which is great since the skirt was designed with fall and winter in mind.
The inspiration for this piece is my friend Helen. She is a very stylish woman who always wears skirts and heels, even if it’s to take her two dogs and 3 year-old son to the park. Helen the lady is classy, sexy and curvy. Helen the skirt is, too. It’s the kind of skirt that would look great worn in the office with a fitted blouse, or to the farmers’ market with a simple t-shirt. It’s for the woman who does it all and wants to look good doing it.
You can find the skirt on Ravelry, or on the Knit Picks website where you can make a kit and buy the yarn and pattern at the same time. Couldn’t be easier!
I must again thank Eleanor Dixon for technical editing. And an enormous thank you to Helen Walls for being my muse and model. I asked her if she could bring some coordinating clothes and accessories to the shoot with her and she showed up with the most perfect outfit without having ever seen the skirt in person. And of course she looked amazing! Thanks lady!
That swatch that was knit way back in the second installment of the series is coming back to the fore again. Not only does it show you how your fabric will look and how the different elements will work together, it also contains two very valuable numbers. Those would be your stitch gauge and your row gauge, or how many stitches and rows, respectively, make up an inch of your blocked swatch. Most patterns will give the gauge per 4 inches (10 cm), and that is the best way to measure it for accuracy. But when determining the numbers for a pattern I always use a the per inch (2.5 cm) gauge.
Measure 4″ [10 cm] lengthwise and count the number of rows in those 4″ to get the row gauge. Measure 4″ widthwise and count the number of stitches in the width to the the stitch gauge. Divide each of these values by 4 to get the number of rows/stitches per inch.The next set of information needed are the measurements of the type of person or thing you are designing the piece for. If you’re just designing for one person or thing in particular, using their measurements is ideal. But, when writing a pattern for public consumption you are going to greatly increase your market if you include instructions for many different sizes. There are a number of different resources out there with this information but I tend to go with the Craft Yarn Council’s Standard Body Measurements/Sizing table. There is a wealth of information there for men’s, women’s and children’s standards.
Now that you’ve got your gauge and your standard sizes, it’s time to put that information together. Marnie Maclean has an incredible tutorial on how to use Excel to do all the calculations for your pattern. Excel is particularly helpful for the grading aspect of the calculations, or figuring out the numbers for all the sizes you are interested in.
I’d say that for me this is the most time-intensive part of the process, mostly because I don’t have a very streamlined spreadsheet yet. I maintain a template each for women’s, men’s and children’s sizes, and, in theory, I should just be able to plug in my gauge information and have it spit out the majority of my information. Unfortunately my templates aren’t really at that point yet, but I’m building on them all the time. Below is an example of my current template for women. I’d love some feedback on what I might be missing. Perhaps I’ll come back to this post down the road and show a much different (better) template, but for now this is what I’ve got.
Template for calculating values for women’s garments. Adding the swatch values for row gauge and stitch gauge as well as the amount of desired ease will give values for the “Stitches and Rows” section. There are also extra worksheets for Charts, Spacing Formula, Yardage and Testing.
Thanks for reading Installment Four, stay tuned for Installment Five – Pattern Writing.
The cowl is knit as a tube that eventually is grafted together, with the finished project like an inner tube. The result is a cowl that has no “wrong side” and is extra warm and squishy. I used baby llama yarn that is so super soft, it will be a pleasure to wear around the neck. Unfortunately, this cowl is destined for someone else so I will not be experiencing the luxury.
![Measure 4" [10 cm] lengthwise and count the number of rows in those 4" to get the row gauge. Measure 4" widthwise and count the number of stitches in the width to the the stitch gauge. Divide each of these values by 4 to get the number of rows/stitches per inch.](http://cowtownknits.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/swatch-measuring.jpg)
Cowtown Knits 