After a number of adult designs I'm happy to share a children one - Talea Tunic.
I wanted to create a light weight summer dress with simple shape and beautiful texture. So for this tunic I have chosen lovely summer yarn Mary Maxim Simply Natural. In spite of DK weight, this yarn feels really light weight thanks to bamboo. It is very soft and drapes beautifully.
Talea Tunic is knitted back and forth on straight needles. It has A-shape silhouette with dropped shoulders and round neck. The neck and sleeve bands are knitted in the round.
For this tunic I used a combination of easy to memorise stitches - Tiny knots stitch and Caterpillar stitch divided by a number rows in garter stitch.
The knitting pattern for Talea Tunic is easy to follows and suitable for advanced beginners. It is written for wide range of sizes from 9-12 months through child 13-14 years.
It is available from Ravelry with 10% off until 3rd of June. Use code TALEA10 at checkout to get your discount.
List of recommended DK weight substitutes for Talea Tunic:
- King Cole Bamboo Cotton DK
- Stylecraft Naturals Bamboo & Cotton DK
- Lion Brand Coboo
- Sublime Isla
- Premier Yarns Bamboo Fair
- Hobbii Tivoli
- Hobbii Rainbow Cotton 8/8 Solids
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Last summer I have treated myself with a few types of unusual yarn from ITO. Most of their yarns are lace weight which is good for shawls but to get a light weight garment it should be knitted in two strands of yarn hold together. This gives you a chance to experiment and mix different fibres and create a new beautiful fabrics. So, today I’d like to share my first out of two new designs knitted with ITO yarn – Glamrock Sweater.
This sweater is knitted with two yarns – ITO Kinu and ITO Washi.
ITO Kinu is a 100% silk noil yarn, also called organic silk, as it is produced from the leftovers of spun filament silk. Differently colored fibers are blended for this silk yarn, to produce a melange effect. I used ITO Kinu in shade Chili Pepper.
ITO Washi is made of paper and viscose. It follows the tradition of noble Japanese paper yarns with an extremely silky softness. The paper is twisted with a rayon thread which gives the stability to the garments. Despite this yarn is made with paper it is washable. I used ITO Washi in neutral shade Angora.
To emphasize the beauty of the fabric created by these two yarns, I decided to knit a simple summer sweater with boxy shape and a lot of positive ease. Also, I decided to stick with very simple stitch so my choice was a stockinette stitch with horizontal purl rows every six rows.
The result is great, especially the feel of those yarns. The photos were taken in a very hot summer day (I completed the sweater last summer but wasn’t able to write a pattern) but despite on long sleeves I did not feel hot at all. The gentle light weight fabric was as my second skin. Sweater is turned out really light weight and breathable.
The Glamrock Sweater can be knitted with two strands of any lace weight yarn or, alternatively, with single strand of Sport weight yarn. It looks beautiful in all shades - solid, semi-solid or yarn with melange effect.
As I’ve already mentioned the sweater has a very simple construction – front and back are knitted separately bottom up. After shoulder seams are closed, the stitches are picked up for neck and sleeves. The neck is knitted in the round, while the sleeves are knitted back and forth top down, which allows to adjust the length on the go.
Another good thing about this pattern is that it is size inclusive. The pattern is written for wide range of sizes from XS through 5XL. It can be purchased on Ravelry.
To celebrate the pattern release I would like to offer you 10% off on Ravelry until 25th of May. Use code GLAMROCK10 to get your discount.
List of recommended sport weight substitutes:
- Malabrigo Arroyo
- The Yarn collective Rivoli Sport
- Phildar Merino 3.5
- The Fibre Co. Road to China Light
- Schachenmayr Catania Denim
- Cascade 220 Superwash Sport
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Happy knitting everyone! I haven’t had a chance to introduce you my latest published design – Tonic Cardigan
Knitted in bright orange colour, Tonic cardigan is a perfect staple for any wardrobe. The design of this cardigan has all features you are looking for in a modern garment – dropped shoulder, positive ease fit, slightly fitted around waist area and combination of beautiful stitches.
It is easy and enjoyable knit with very limited shaping. The cardigan is knitted with DK weight yarn on straight needles. However, circular needles are used for front band in order to accumulate big quantity of stitches.
The knitting pattern for the Tonic cardigan is available from Ravelry and Lovecrafts.
To celebrate the pattern release I’d like to offer and exclusive discount for both knitting patterns - Tonic Cardigan and Tonic Vest on Ravelry. Use code TONIC15 to get 15% off until 24th of May.
There is also the knitting pattern for a matching top – Tonic Vest, which is knitted with 4-ply yarn and can be worn together with Tonic Cardigan to complete a perfect set.
List of recommended yarn for Tonic Cardigan:
- Madelinetosh Tosh DK
- Hayton DK from Eden Cottage Yarn
- Cascade 220 superwash DK
- Rico Essentials Merino DK
- Willow and Lark Ramble
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