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A few people knitting Atlee had mentioned that they'd never done a three needle bind-off before, so I thought I'd post a real quick tutorial. Once you see how easy it is, you'll be kicking yourself for not learning it ages ago (I did!). Prefer to see it in motion? There's a quick video on my Instagram.
Earlier this year I had the chance to spend a lot of quality time with Willet, Quince & Co's sport-weight 100% cotton yarn. After swatching my way through a skein of yarn, I had some ideas of what did and didn't work in the yarn, and came up with three very different designs: Atlee, Ocaso, and Caiterly. While cotton yarn isn't as commonly seen in hand-knitted garments as wool or even linen, it doesn't need to be relegated to the land of dishcloths, as cotton can be very versatile and wearable.
It does, however, have some distinct differences from it's woolly counterparts that should be kept in mind, which I'll be covering today. For all the photos in this post, Willet is shown in the Dinghy colorway, a teal, and I'll be comparing it with Quince's Chickadee - a 100% sport-weight wool in Carrie's Yellow. Both swatches were knit with the same stitch and row count on size US 5 (3.75 mm) needles.
Per the tag guidelines, both Willet's and Chickadee's base gauge is 6 sts/inch on size 5 (3.75 mm) needles. When I made the swatches, I hit 6sts/inch exactly on my stitch gauge for both yarns, but Willet had 8.25 rows/inch, while Chickadee came in at 9 rows/inch. Over 12 inches, this is 9 rows of difference, so it can really add up over a long length (like a sleeve or body)
Tip #1 - when alternating between wool and cotton, pay attention to row gauge.
Even though the gauge is quite similar, the fabric itself behaves rather differently. The wool is much squishier and plusher, and tends to hold it's shape better, while the cotton is more floppy, but not exactly drapey (not like silk or linen). The wool, in general, has better recovery (springs back to shape), while cotton has a more relaxed vibe.
Tip #2 - for highly structured knits, cotton isn't your best bet, but it works great for softer, more relaxed lines.
Though these swatches are basically the same size (the Willet is 5"x4.5"; Chickadee is 5"x 4.25"). the cotton weighs a gram more. This is why 50g of Chickadee (100% wool) gets you 181 yds, while 50g of Willet (100% cotton) gets you 160 yds. This weight can make a difference in two things: number of skeins required and the row gauge of finished product.
A few grams isn't a big deal in a swatch, but again, it can really add up over a large garment. If you were working, say, a sweater coat in both yarns, the additional weight of the cotton can drag the garment down, lengthening the row gauge and pulling more on the shoulder seams, and again, leading to a more relaxed silhouette.
The weight can be compensated for in a number of ways - making a close-fitting garment, so the weight is distributed across the body; having strong shoulder seams; and making sure to block the garment flat.
Tip #3 - a little extra weight can add up, so choose your pattern wisely
The biggest complaint I've heard about cotton yarn is that it "has no give" and/or "it hurts my hands." The "no give" is pretty much true.
Remember how I mentioned the fabric of the wool swatch is springier and has more recovery? The same is true of the yarn itself.
From a 6 inch piece, I was able to easily stretch the wool yarn an additional 2 inches, and it sprung right back into place. With the same length of cotton yarn, I could barely stretch it all, even pulling quite hard. If you're used to tensioning wool yarn, this can be quite a shift. So once again, the key to cotton is relax. Let the yarn glide through your hands, rather than trying to pull it.
Tip #4 - When knitting with cotton, relax and don't try to fight the yarn.
But don't think of this rigidity as a knock against the yarn. It has some great benefits, namely that the stitch definition is fantastic. The reason the single stitch cables on Caiterly or the subtle patterning on Atlee's yoke work is because of the way the Willet stitches sit on top of the fabric, instead of blending in the way it would more with wool. One caveat: this means ends don't blend in as well too, so hides your ends in an inconspicuous place, like the side seams.
Tip #5 - Pay attention to ends, but enjoy the stitch definition!
One of the big draws of cotton is it's washability. It can go in the washer and the dryer and be none the worse for wear. Both the swatches were washed loose and dried along with a load of laundry in a top loading machine on warm and a standard electric dryer on regular. While the wool swatch clearly felted, losing about a half an inch in both length and width, the cotton swatch was virtually unchanged. That said, some cotton yarns may experience more shrinkage than others, and it may be more noticeable over a larger area than this rather small swatch.
Tip #5 - treat your swatch like you intend to treat the finished garment, then measure gauge
Cotton is great for a lot of things, but not everything. So as with any project, match your yarn appropriately to the project and you'll have success! So let's get the cotton yarn out of the kitchen and on to our bodies.
It's been usually hot and dry in these parts of late, so I haven't spent as much time out in the garden as I'd like (I'm seriously overdue with some weeding), but with a little help from the hose, things are growing.
I started a lot of my plants from seeds this year to mixed success. My broccoli didn't make it, the leaf lettuce is sad at best, and the sugar snap peas, I think in part to some bad trellising on my part, haven't performed all that well. But where these have faltered, others have blossomed. The tomatoes and bell peppers are looking fantastic, the butternut squash and green beans grow in leaps by the day. The small batch of garlic, which i planted in the fall on a whim has been harvested and hung up to dry, waiting to make its appearance in fresh tomato sauce later this summer. I'm picking blueberries by the quart.
But the best part? How LMC asks if we can go cut more flowers for the table, or when she says "Mama, we need more peas." Now look, normally we're much more of a goldfish cracker than a kale chip kind of family, and my kid can certainly be picky, but when it's this fresh and you pick it yourself? Even a toddler can't say no.
While I wouldn't normally volunteer to spends months knitting only in white yarn, especially with a dog and a toddler in the house, the nice thing about spending a bunch of time with the sample yarn in a neutral color is that you really get to play with it and see all the things it can do. That's what I got to do with Quince's Cleaner Cotton™ Willet,.
Ocaso shows off the yarn in a beautifully smooth stockinette stich, Atlee displays the marvelous stitch definition in the textured yoke. Caitlery shows what it can do in fine-gauge cables. I like all three designs for different reasons, but Caiterly is probably the one that is most distinctly me.
With three-quarter sleeves, a fitted bust, and delicate cabling, Caitlery is elegantly feminine and the details are subtle enough that it can be worn with almost anything.
The sweater is worked seamlessly from the bottom up- raglan style.and features a ribbon-lined button band. (See my tutorials page for details on how to add this detail).
Caiterly is available for $6.50 from the following online shops:
Quince & Co. | Ms. Cleaver Creations | Ravelry
If you knit it and participate in social media, use #quincecaiterly to share and/or tag me @mscleaver !
To celebrate the release of my three Willet patterns, I'm hosting a Willet-centric knit along with Quince on their Ravelry group. The KAL runs for six weeks and includes special handmade prize for a FO knit from one of my patterns and several Quince gift cards for FOs worked in Quince yarns. For more details, visit my Knit Along page or the Quince group. I'll be knitting an Atlee myself, and I hope you'll join in!
The range of what you can do with knitting is so broad and varied - colorwork, cables, lace, brioche, intarsia, etcetera. I love a good complex knit, but sometimes you want a palate-cleanser - something simple, just knits and purls - and why not make it in white?
In comes Atlee, my newest design for Quince & Co. - a simple, soothing tee. In Quince's Cleaner Cotton™ Willet, with an a-line shape, scooped neckline and textural details in the yoke, Atlee is a picture-perfect essential for easy days in the sun.
The tee is worked in the round from the bottom up and split for arms, with the ribbing picked up and worked after a three-needle bind-off at the shoulders. Simple tee, simple construction. Easy enough that you could make one in multiple colors! Which is good, because I want to knit one for myself, but how do I choose between Dinghy, Windlass, or Oar?
Atlee is available for $6.00 USD from the following online shops:
Quince & Co. | Ms. Cleaver Creations | Ravelry
If you knit it and participate in social media, use #quinceatlee to share and/or tag me @mscleaver !
I'd love to see your version!!!
It takes a while for summer to arrive in Maine, but is it ever worth the wait.
Strawberries and splash pads and sunshine. Home runs and wading pools and little owl nests. Yes, please, and thank you.
I'm pleased to introduce the Paper Bird Shawl - part of Quince and Co's annual Shawl Week and the second in my Songbird series of shawls inspired by music.
Paper Bird is simple to knit, but results in a graceful and dramatic shawl, with biased fabric framed by clean ribs and a distinctive edge of sharp points. Knit in Quince & Co's silk/wool blend Tern, the shawl has gorgeous drape. The shawl can be worn spread out as shown, or the shawl's texture makes it easy to fold up and wear as a cozy scarf.
After the ribs are firmly established, the knitting flows easily off the needles. In some ways, the story for the inspiration behind this pattern is longer than the actual pattern itself.
Do you, do you remember? That time you told me you would unfold me like a paper bird? -Heather Maloney, Word for Word
While listening to the song "Word for Word" by Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter Heather Maloney, I was struck by the phrase "Do you remember that time you told me you would unfold me like a paper bird?"
If you've known me for any length of time, chances are you've seen me make a paper crane ranging in size from over a foot tall (from flip-chart paper) to smaller than your pinkie nail (from a post-it).
When I was ten or so, I read Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes in school, which tells the story of a young girl who gets cancer as a result of the Hiroshima bombings and begins folding paper cranes in line with a Japanese legend that a wish will be granted to anyone that folds 1,000 cranes. We learned to fold cranes in class and while I haven’t been striving for any specific wish, I have probably made nearly a 1,000 cranes since that day. But I don’t know that I ever unfolded one, it seems sacrilegious somehow.
The Paper Bird shawl is my attempt to capture the elegance of a live bird’s wing, along with sharpness and folds of its origami counterpart. Through the combination of ribs and bias stitching, the shawl takes on the quality of unfolded origami.
The pattern is available for $6.00 USD from the following online shops:
If you knit it and participate in social media, use #quincepaperbird to share and/or tag me @mscleaver !
I'd love to see your version!!!
Summer, at least unofficially, has finally come to Maine. Which in these parts means parade season! The Memorial day parade got cancelled on account of rain, but fortunately in our little town the next weekend is Together Days and another parade.
When the parade features marching bands, Shriners in tiny cars, your next door neighbor, and copious amounts of candy, it's a good parade. :)
At lot of people in the area tend to look down on this little former mill town: it's not as hip as Portland, or as posh as Cape, and our realtor famously said "at least it doesn't smell anymore" when we put the city on our short list. People ask me all the time if we're planning to move.
The town's not perfect (putting a highway through the middle of downtown is pretty poor civic planning), but it's a good town filled with good people. It's not fancy, but it suits me and family just fine.
Stockinette St is one of the most basic of knitting techniques. It creates a smooth fabric of knit stitches, but if it has one shortcoming, it's that it's curls.
Usually this is counteracted by adding an inch or more of ribbing to hems, which works great in most cases, but does look, well, ribby. But what if you really want to embrace the smoothness of Stockinette, without having a curling hem, what do you do?
Enter the folded hem.
Though it requires a little extra yardage and a bit of hand sewing, the folded hem easily gives a smooth, clean finish on both sides of the fabric and can add a bit of heft/stability to a collar or button band, as the fabric is doubled. A folded hem can be put in place of a rib hem by following a few simple steps.
For simplicity's sake, these instructions will refer to a hem, but the same technique can be used for collars and front facings.
These patterns include folded hems.
