FO: My Traveling Woman Shawl

January 17, 2011| Lindy| 0 Comments | 10:19 am

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I started this shawl the end of October and finished it in December. For me, this is a fairly quick knit in a lace pattern. The pattern is free on Ravelry and is quite popular. The shawl is knit in a triangle, starting at the center neck and grows as you knit it. It has a fagotted edging along the neckline. You knit the shawl in stockinette stitch to a selected number of stitches and then begin the feather and fan lace pattern. You are given an option to increase the number of pattern repeats you do so that your shawl will be longer and then you follow the second lace pattern to make the edging.

I knit this using Forsell Superwash Wool, 3 ply yarn and size 4 needles. This yarn is closer to a lace weight yarn than a fingering weight yarn and is actually a machine knitting yarn. If I were to do this shawl again, I would definitely go with a heavier yarn as I think the lace pattern would be better in at least a fingering weight yarn. I also would use a stretchy bind-off, rather than the one given in the pattern as my bound off edge was not as stretchy as I would have liked it to be and did not scallop like I thought it should when I blocked it.

The pattern itself is a very nice one, easy to follow. The finished shawl measured 19.5 inches by 56 inches, so it is more of a scarf than a shawl.

See details on my Ravelry Projects page.

1 thought on “FO: My Traveling Woman Shawl”

Amanda says:

January 17, 2011 at 6:16 pm

I love the color of your Traveling Woman. I felt when I knit mine it was too small! I wish I would have done a few extra repeats to make it bigger. I also thought the use of a stretchier bind off would have been best.

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Helpful Swatch Part 5: Substituting One Yarn for AnotherHelpful Swatch Part 5: Substituting One Yarn for Another

Many times a knitter will select a pattern to knit only to discover that the yarn used in the pattern is either not available or there isn’t a sufficient quantity available for purchase or it costs more than what the budget allows. So, that leads to finding a reasonable substitute to use. I have seen many forum posts in Ravelry where knitters have had difficulty making a proper substitution.

The first step in substituting one yarn for another is to look for a yarn of similar fiber composition that has approximately the same weight and recommended gauge as the yarn listed in the pattern. By this, I mean if the yarn used in the pattern is worsted weight (size 4), it’s best to find another worsted weight yarn to use as the substitute. If you are purchasing from a local yarn shop, the staff may help you find a substitute. If shopping online, Yarnsub.com is a helpful website that can be used to guide your initial search. Another resource is Ravelry – if the pattern is available in the Patterns database, you can look at others’ projects to see what yarns have been used. Regardless, once you pick your substitute yarn – you’ll need to swatch to find your gauge before you cast on and begin knitting the pattern.

Question: “I’m not getting the same gauge with my substituted yarn as the gauge stated in the pattern – what do I do now?

Here are some options to consider:

Change needle size and reknit the swatch to see if you can match the gauge. If you are getting more stitches than the stated gauge – go up one or two needle sizes. If you are getting fewer stitches than the stated gauge – go down one or two needle sizes. If you succeed in matching gauge with the change in needles and you like the fabric you are producing, then simply follow your pattern and knit with the size needle that helps you get gauge.
If you still can’t get gauge after changing needle sizes, but you like the fabric you are getting, calculate the number of stitches you need to cast-on to match your chest measurement and check the pattern to see if there is a size that uses the same number of stitches. You may still need to make adjustments in shaping if your row gauge is different from the pattern.
Use the pattern as a guide only – use the schematic plus any adjustments you need to make and then determine the stitch counts and rows needed to make the garment with your own gauge. (A good reference for this is Knitting Pattern Essentials by Sally Melville)

Here’s the next issue for substituting one yarn for another: Does the substitute have the same weight and yardage as the original yarn? If it does – you are in luck and can simply buy the same amount of yarn as what is given in the pattern for the size of the garment you want to knit. (Remember to buy an extra one for swatching.) However, in most cases there is a difference in yardage and/or weight between the substitute and the original yarn – which leads to the question: “How much of my substitute yarn do I need? This brings us back to the basic math I covered in my previous post: “To determine the number of skeins, balls or hanks of yarn you need: Divide the number of yards by the number of yards in the skein. Or divide the total number of grams by the number of grams of the skein. Remember that you will want one extra skein for swatching. “

Slouchy Hat in Trinity StitchSlouchy Hat in Trinity Stitch

As promised in my last post, my Trinity Stitch Slouchy Hat was knitted in January. This is a semi-slouchy hat knitted in the trinity stitch. The inspiration for this hat came from a thread in the Harry Potter Lovers group on Ravelry. The thread was about the knit hat that Hermione Granger wears in the Deathly Hollows, Part I movie. Here’s a picture from the movie:

There was a great deal of discussion about what stitch was used for the hat, but most of the comments were in favor of either the daisy (star) stitch or the trinity (bramble) stitch. So, I decided to give the trinity stitch a try — and here is the end result:

Pretty close, I think.

I knit the hat using Paton’s Classic Wool yarn on size US 8 (4.5 mm) needles. Colorway is “Bright Red”. I also wrote the pattern for this hat as I knitted it up, so that I could share it with others. Here’s a link if you’d like to download it: Trinity Stitch Slouchy Hat.

I had to convert the Trinity Stitch Pattern so that it could be used in the round. Directions for the trinity stitch knit in the round are included in the pattern. If you download this pattern and enjoy knitting your own hat, please leave me a comment. 🙂

To see my notes on Ravelry — use this link.

Next post — Beret in Bee Stitch.

Part 2: Freeing Yourself from a Pattern – Step 2: Analyze the Pattern and Modify It to Fit.Part 2: Freeing Yourself from a Pattern – Step 2: Analyze the Pattern and Modify It to Fit.

In my last post, I went through all the necessary measurements you need to take in order to ensure that you can modify or create any sweater pattern you wish.
If you haven’t done so, you may want to go back and read this information and take your measurements.

Today I will discuss how to analyze a written pattern so that you can use it as a guideline to knit your own well-fitting garment. First, get your favorite sweater – you will be using it to help you analyze the pattern you have selected.

Now, let’s take a look at this sweater – you need to understand what it is about this sweater that makes it your favorite. Is it a pullover or a cardigan? Is it close-fitting or loose? How long is it? What type of sleeve does it have (Set-in, drop, raglan or other)? What type of neckline ( Round, V-neck, Boat Neck, Square, or other)? Now compare this information to the sweater pattern you want to knit. Just a word of caution, here, if the pattern you have chosen differs dramatically from your favorite sweater – you may not be happy with the end result. Then, again, if it is a conscious choice, you may.

Now let’s look at the sizing given in the pattern. Sizes are often stated as “Small, Medium, Large, Extra-Large”, etc. Some patterns will give sizing using finished chest/bust circumference, while others will state the sizing in terms of actual body measurements. If the pattern sizing is in terms of finished measurements, it will have the ease incorporated into it. If in actual body measurements, you may have to determine how much ease is factored into the garment. The amount of ease is both a matter of personal preference and a property of the design of the sweater. To determine how much ease you prefer – pull out your favorite sweater, measure the chest and compare the measurement to your actual body measurement. The math is simple: Subtract your body measurement from the garment measurement – this will give you the amount of inches of ease.

Now – take a look at that pattern you are considering– is there a size that matches your actual chest measurement PLUS that amount of ease? If the answer is “Yes” – then, if your gauge with your yarn matches the pattern, you are good to go.

If you find that your size is not represented within the pattern, you will need to adjust the body width.

For a body width less than the smallest size given in the pattern, recalculate the number of stitches to cast on and then follow the directions for the smallest size.

For a body width greater than the largest size given in the pattern, recalculate the number of stitches to cast on and follow the directions for the largest size.

For a body width that is in between sizes, recalculate the number of stitches to cast on and then follow the directions for the closest size.

In all cases, the formula is: SPI (your gauge) X body width

There are some additional elements to consider and modify if you are adjusting body width:

If the sleeve is a drop sleeve design, be careful not to add too much body width or the shoulders will be too wide. If you need more width in the hip area than the shoulders – use an A-Line shape for the body – which means that you will need to factor in some decreases from the hip to the underarm.

If the sleeve is a set-in sleeve design, remember that as you change body width, you must also adjust the shoulder width because the top of the sleeve should hit the end of the shoulder.

The sleeve length must be adjusted when adding or subtracting body width. This is because if you add width or subtract width to the body, you have also done so to the shoulder width – and shoulder width contributes to the total sleeve length. Verify the length you need for your sweater and make adjustments accordingly.

Additional considerations in modifying a written pattern:

Does this pattern incorporate a textured or colored stitch pattern? If so, what is the base stitch pattern? To determine this, look at the instructions and the graph for the stitch patterning. Most stitch patterns are a multiple of a base number of stitches – i.e. 8 stitches over 24 rows. So, if you are reducing or increasing the number of stitches to cast on – you will need to adjust this number so that it divisible by your base stitch pattern. For example: You have determined that you need to cast on 214 stitches and your base stitch pattern is an 8 stitch repeat. If you divide 214 by 8, you get 26.75 – which is not a even number. You will need to increase the number of stitches you cast on to 216 – which is evenly divisible by 8.

Today, I have discussed how to use a written pattern as a guideline and modify it so that it will fit properly. This works best if your gauge matches the pattern, but your measurements do not.

Next post, I will discuss the notion of designing your own sweater from your choice of yarn, a basic design and the stitch pattern of your choice.