Tag: fairisle

In pictures, in progress… (updated with pattern links)

Posted on by Alice Neal

Last year, I designed a sweater I called the Vintage Chic sweater, in Paintbox yarns super chunky.

This year, I’ve reworked it for their 100% wool worsted range.

And I’m loving how it’s coming out.

Pattern to follow ❤️

Update:

I finished the adult version and then made a couple of little ones. The pattern is available in many sizes, from baby to adult. Here are some more pictures and links to the corresponding patterns.

You can find the adult version of the pattern, pictured below, here,

the child’s version, pictured below, here,

and the ‘Mummy and Me’ version, which includes both patterns as pictured below, here.

Happy knitting! x

Free Pattern and Chunky Revival

Posted on by Alice Neal

I kind of cut my teeth on chunky. As much as I love DK / 4 ply / even sock yarn, I do sometimes lack the patience, and something I’ve started gets put aside in favour of a weekend speed-knit; a garment I can make and wear in a matter of days, sometimes hours.

After a couple of months of super-fine sock work, I found myself drawn once again to the speedy joy of a chunky jumper.

I posted my Super-Boxy Sweater a week or two ago and am happy to say it’s available for free for a short while, over here.

And it’s sparked a bit of a super chunky revival for me.

No sooner than this one was finished, and realising that the chilly spring will (hopefully) turn into a hot summer before we know it, I’ve been keen to keep going while I can, and am happy to introduce my Vintage Chic Sweater. To my mind, the colours are timeless, the stuff of your grandma’s china, or the sitting room curtains, or that frill my grandmother had around the bottom of the bed – no one does that any more, do they?! It was so beautifully frou-frou.

But I’m fast disappearing down a time-travel rabbit-hole of Vosene shampoo, pink bathrooms, Imperial Leather soap and thick white toast dripping with butter and honey. So back I come to introduce you to my beautiful jumper. Yup, all modesty aside, I think it’s a stunner.

It’s a gentle enough fair-isle for a first colourwork project, and it’s a jumper you could probably knit most of during (are you subjected to these on a regular basis, too?) a Lord of the Rings marathon.

The concept behind it, for me, too, is that I can chuck it on over a tee and jeans or skirt rather than reaching for a jacket on a chilly spring morning, but I’m truly looking forward to wearing it ALL next winter.

If you fancy a go at it yourself, you can find it over here.

In other news, I knitted up a speedy bolero which you may have seen on my instagram or elsewhere. I love it, but the pattern needs tweaking, so have some pics of the original draft for now 🙂

And next? I have two projects on the go – the first is my Vintage Chic Sweater in cotton aran, for a little girl, and a full-sized Vintage Pink Cardigan.

The Super Chunky Passion is not dying out any time soon 🙂

Happy knitting, lovelies! <3

The Husband Jumper

Posted on by Alice Neal

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… it needs a better name. The Polar Bear Jumper…? Nah. Although (don’t tell him), he is a bit of a bear, and the older he gets, the more polar he looks 😉

The name question stays on the drawing board for now.

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What I realised was that this was (shamefully) a WIP for oh-so-very-much-too-long. Inexplicably, I had actually got it to the point where there was only half a sleeve left to knit, put it down, and not picked it back up for about TWO YEARS?!? I mean, I know I’m a bit of a project magpie (ooh, the shiny new yarn! ooh, let’s have a crack at THIS! ooh, I neeeeeed to make THIS, right NOW!) you get the point, but this was pushing prevarication to its very limits.

And then I never actually shared with you the fact that I had finally finished. One picture on Instagram passed by with barely a nod.

But I DID finish. And it fits him beautifully, and he has actually WORN it this winter. Quite a lot. Which, as far as I’m concerned, is the mark of something he actually likes. 😉

So without further ado, or too much of a flourish, here he is, posing beautifully outside my perfectly blue house.

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I did write it all down as I designed and knitted it (I’m a make-it-up-as-I-go-along sort of designer. Intuitive rather than mathematical, if that makes sense) but I haven’t written it all up formally yet. It’s rather a job, and I’ve got all my charts to map up etc. I will though, as I’ve had quite a few enquiries about it. Just let me catch my breath 😉

Anyway. Another WIP turned to FO and a sigh of relief, a big smile and a large gin.

Hope you like!

<3

 

Getting all your cats in a row

Posted on by Alice Neal

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I’ve used Millamia naturally soft merino quite a bit of late, so it seemed the natural choice when I wanted to design a jumper for my youngest, little Teddy. He’s quite a sweaty little beast so I didn’t want anything too chunky, after all.

I have begun to love developing charts for intarsia and fairisle. I consider myself a relative novice, but a very enthusiastic one, and I was especially pleased with the rows of stripy cats.

With raglan sleeves and a rolling edge neck, the ‘Kitty Cat’ pattern is now available over on loveknitting.com AND if you’re quick, the Kitten Mitten pattern is free for the rest of this month.

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