Prism Cardigan - pattern release

Warm Monday Wishes from ViTalina Craft! I've got a great news - Knitting pattern for Prism Cardigan has been published to Raverly and Lovecraft.

Prism Cardigan is the most comfortable garment I've ever designed. The cardigan has all my favourite features - tiny pockets at front parts, pretty cable at the back, V-neck. The cardigan has a straight silhouette and set in sleeves. There is also a pretty tiny cables along the front bands which are knitted in process together with front parts.

The cardigan is knitted with DK weight yarn. For this project I have chosen Concept Cotton Yak  yarn by Katia. It is my very first experience with such an interesting yarn blend as well as with Katia yarn.  The cardigan is turned out great. Thanks to the wool, it is warm enough for the winter time and, thanks to the cotton, it is not itchy at all. The yarn doesn't change after washing and blocking. 

The cardigan was successfully test knitted on Ravelry. Please see some project pages from my lovely test knitting team for some inspiration and yarn ideas

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/prism-cardigan-2/people

Knitting pattern for Prism Cardigan is written for sizes from XS to XL. It contains both charts and row-by-row instructions.

There is also 10% off on Ravelry with code PRISM10 until 31st of October.

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Transformer Poncho and Hat set - test knit

 I've opened a test knit for my new design Transformer Poncho and Hat set.

Pattern is written for the following sizes: 2-3 years; 4-5 years; 6-7 years; 8-10 years; 11-13 year; 14-16 years; adult S/M; adult L/XL; adult XXL

Design overview: This comfortable set consists of an oversized poncho and matching hat. The poncho is knitted back and forth in stockinette and decorated with fancy cable at front. The hat is knitted in the round.

The poncho is designed with positive ease about 25 cm/ 10 inches, dropped shoulder and high neck. It also has removable sleeves which allows it to transform into a long-sleeved sweater. Back and front of the poncho are knitted separately. After the shoulder seams are completed the stitches are picked up for the collar and edge band. The edge band is formed with I-cord bind off.

TYPE OF YARN: Aran/ 10-ply

YARN LENGTH: 150 yds (137 m) in 100g skein

USED YARN: Cascade 220 Aran

Deadline is 20th of November, 2020.

For more information and sign up please go to Knitting with ViTalinaCraft group on Ravelry. 

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E-motion Cardigan - pattern release

Happy knitting everyone! I'm happy to share one of my latest designs - E-motion cardigan. It is a classic girly cardigan with plenty of positive ease and beautiful stitches combination.

The cardigan is knitted with Aran weight yarn on 4.5 mm knitting needles. So it is quite fast knitting project and can be completed just in a few weeks. 

E-motion cardigan is a stylish piece of wardrobe for any season of the year. It can be easily combined with any outfit. Knitted with Aran weight yarn it will keep your little fashionista away from cold and wind. The cardigan is knitted back and forth in combination of Stockinette and Grid stitches. It is designed with positive ease about 5-7 cm/ 2-3 inches, set in sleeve and comfortable stand up collar.

Knitting pattern for E-motion cardigan is written for wide range of sizes from baby 9-12 months to teen 15-16 years. It is available from Lovecrafts, Ravelry and Etsy

My sample is knitted with gorgeous yarn Falkland Aran from Debbie Bliss in shade Mustard. Also, I can recommend the following substitutes for this design: 

Stylecraft Special Aran with Wool

Malabrigo Yarn Rios

Cascade Yarns ® 220 Superwash® Aran

MillaMia Naturally Soft Aran

Mary Maxim Woodlands

Debbie Bliss Falkland Aran

Paintbox Yarns Simply Aran

This pattern is available with 15% off until 12th of October on Ravelry. Use code EMOTION15 to get your discount.

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Bloksy Sweater - pattern release

Bloksy sweater is a classic unisex garment which I designed for my children this summer. Knitted in neutral shades, the sweater makes a perfect to the wardrobe. It can be easily combined with any trousers, leggings, skirts and is also perfect for layering. 

The sweater is knitted with simple geometrical stitches - bloksy stitch around the waist and matching vertical stripes around the chest. The construction of sweater is simple and does not involve a lot of sewing. The front and back of sweater are knitted bottom up on straight needles. After the shoulder seams are closed the stitches are picked up along the armholes for sleeves and neck finishing. The sleeves are knitted top down which allows to adjust their length easily. Ignore the sleeves and you can get a perfect vest.

For this project I use DK weight yarn and US 6 (4.0 mm) knitting needles for sweater body and US 4 (3.5 mm) needles for the neck band and cuffs.

I recommend to knit this sweater in solid or semisolid shades of yarn to show the beauty of geometrical stitches. You can see below some yarn ideas:

- Baby Merino Silk DK by Rowan;

- Poetry by Willow and Lark;

- Cascade 220 Superwash by Cascade Yarns

- Sirdar Snuggly Baby Cashmere Merino DK

- Patons Diploma Gold DK

- Sublime Extra Fine Merino DK

Remember to check you gauge before starting your next project. You can find some useful information about correct swatching process here.

Sweater has been successfully test knitted on Ravelry. You can see the projects from my test knitting team following this link. 

Knitting pattern for Bloksy sweater can be obtained from Ravelry and Lovecrafts. 

The pattern is available with 10% off from Ravelry until 7th of October 2020. Use code BLOKSY10 to get the discount.

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Lacystorm Sweater Test Knit

Happy knitting fellow crafters! I am so happy to let you know that I have just opened a new test knit for comfortable lacy sweater - Lacystorm Sweater. Sweater is knitted in combination of two lacy stitches with fingering/4-ply yarn.

The design of sweater is simple and comfortable. It has a boxy silhouette with dropped shoulders and round neck.

Pattern is written for wide range of sizes from XS to 2XL-3XL.

If you are interested to participate in this test please follow the link for sign up and more info:

Test knit link 

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Big Temptations Sweater - pattern release

Following the child Temptation Sweater pattern I’m happy to share the adult version of it. Pattern name is Big Temptation Sweater

Pattern for Big Temptation Sweater is size inclusive and written for wide range of sizes from XS to 4XL.

This comfortable sweater will keep you warm and cozy through the winter’s cold and freeze. It is designed with plenty of positive fit, dropped shoulders and high collar. Wide beautiful cable with bobbles makes Big Temptation sweater a true stand out piece. The special shaping of side seams creates unusual look so sweater’s bottom band does not look too wide and too lose. 

This design is a real pleasure for those who love cables. Despite so many cables, the sweater doesn’t look overloaded with details and it wouldn’t add you some visual weight like most cable sweaters do

I used Hudson Worsted yarn from the Yarn Collective for this sweater. The yarn is so soft and gentle to skin, has pretty colour palette and keep the shape after blocking.  

Also, the sweater can be knitted with Aran or light chunky yarns. The following yarn substitutes can be used for this sweater:

- Garnstudio DROPS Nepal

- West Yorkshire Spinners Fleece Bluefaced Leicester Aran

- Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted

- Mary Maxim Woodlands

Knitting pattern for Big Temptation Sweater is available from Etsy, Ravelry and Lovecrafts

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Temptation Sweater - pattern release

Temptation Sweater is comfortable over-sized garment which will keep your little fashionista warm and cozy even the coldest winter days. The sweater has classic boxy silhouette and pretty cables combination.

It is knitted back and forth with minimal shaping. The sweater is designed with positive ease about 25 – 30 cm/ 10 - 12 inches, dropped shoulder and long neck. All parts of the sweater: back, front and sleeves are knitted separately. After the shoulder seams are completed, the stitches are picked up for collar which is knitted in the round.
Pattern is written for sizes from 2-4 years up to 13-14 years. Bigger sizes are in the adult pattern - Big Temptation Sweater.

The sweater can be knitted with Aran or worsted weight yarn. So it is quite fast and enjoyable knit. I used Fleece Bluefaced Leicester by Wets Yorkshire Spinners in Ecru. The following yarn substitutes can be used:

- Mary Maxim Woodlands

- Hudson Worsted by the Yarn Collective

- Drops Nepal by Garnstudio

- Rowan Pure Wool Superwash Worsted

- Patons North America Decor

Knitting pattern for Temptation sweater is available from LoveCrafts and Ravelry

This sweater was designed based on my Temptation Poncho and Hat set which I knitted for my daughter a few years ago. I still love the poncho a lot, but I wanted to make more universal garment which can be worn under the coat as well as without. Knitting pattern for Temptation Poncho is available from Etsy, Ravelry and LoveCrafts as well as in Mary Maxim knitting kits

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Violet Coast Bolero - project and yarn ideas

If you are looking for perfect summer knit, the Violet Coast Bolero is a dream. You can complete it in no time to get ready for summer vacation or any event. It is perfect for layering and can be easily combined with favourite skirt, pair of jeans or a party dress.

Knitted seamlessly in cotton yarn, Violet Coast Bolero also makes a perfect project for those who avoid all types of seaming. It is knitted bottom up with easy to memorise lacy stitch at front.

The bolero is knitted back and forth but I recommend to use circular needles in order to accommodate the big quantity of stitches.

Violet Coast Bolero is knitted with sport weight yarn. The following yarns can be used for this project:
- Phil 3 cotton yarn from Phildar
- Cotone from Lana Grossa
-  Schachenmayr Catania
- MillaMia Naturally Soft cotton
- Cascade Ultra Pima Fine
- Rico Essencial Cotton Lurex

All those yarn are available in very rich and beautiful colour pallets.

Knitting pattern for Violet Coast Bolero is available from LoveCrafts, Etsy and Ravelry

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Pattern release - Glamrock Sweater

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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