hey everybody,
My September knitting and crocheting has been geared more towards swatching than working on actual projects, but I did make a little progress on the Vacation Favorite I started in August. I’m calling this one the Italian variation because the yarn is a hand dyed yarn from Dark Omen, an independent yarn company in Italy. These gorgeous colors have less contrast than the yarns in my previous Vacation Favorite shawls, and it’s interesting to see how that affects the overall look of the piece.
You probably saw a couple of close ups of this shawl in the last newsletter, but here’s a wider shot to show how it’s coming along. When it’s finished, I’ll post a list of all the stitches and stitch patterns. But today I cannot resist pointing out the interesting stitch pattern close to the live stitches in the photo above. It’s the Two Color Daisy Stitch from a book called Japanese Wonder Knitting. A little fussy, but the tutorial in the book is very easy to follow, and what a gorgeous result! My love for this stitch is strong.
swatches and experiments
I don’t make or wear many sweaters these days (I’m already too warm!), but I’m swatching from Linda Skuja’s beautiful new book, Crochet Sweaters with a Textured Twist to find ideas and inspiration for other projects. Since I wasn’t swatching for the actual projects, my yarn choices aren’t particularly inspired, just whatever was handy in my stash.
The first swatch, from the Malduguns Sweater design, uses stitches worked around the post and puff stitches. The swatch is from the yoke section, which is meant to be crocheted in the round. I re-engineered the chart to make a small swatch crocheted in regular rows instead of rounds. To me, the photos in the book make the design look better in the round than it does in my back-and-forth swatch. It was a fun exercise, though, and I like the design itself.
The next swatch is from the Ainava Sweater design. It’s the cover sweater, and it is truly gorgeous design. There was no easy way to size this pattern down to swatch size since instructions are written out rather than charted. So, I made a huge swatch (the width of the front of the sweater) following the pattern as written to get a feel for this design and how it’s made.
Both swatches above have given me a new appreciation of stitches worked around the post. I particularly enjoy the way that the graduated stitch sizes in the large Ainava swatch are used to create the appearance of movement in the fabric.
I’ve had Dora Ohrenstein’s Top-Down Crochet Sweaters for 5 or 6 years, but now I’ve finally taken a little time to swatch a few interesting stitch patterns. The Luna sweater design features linked double treble stitches (dtr), which is essentially Tunisian crochet. My swatch for this stitch isn’t very exciting, the flat color is kind of boring. The low contrast multicolor yarn shown in the book looks good in this pattern, though, and that will be a good thing to remember when I want to use this stitch. Crocheting this one was especially fun, I can imagine using variations of this stitch pattern frequently in freeform work.
Finally, Nanette is the design on the cover of this book, and its crossed stitches make a really pretty sweater. I experimented with the crossed 2x2 treble crochet stitches using a variegated yarn, then added another section with 1x1 crossed double crochet stitches in solid blue silk. The variegated blue and yellow yarn do not show this pattern off to its best advantage; I think I’d prefer something with less contrast. The swatch will be a useful thing to have, though, since it will remind me that I like the stitch pattern itself.
One of my favorite crochet resources, The Harmony Guide to Crochet Stitches by James Walters, has a stitch pattern that I’ve seen pop up in a few projects on Ravelry recently. The Ripple Stitch I is slightly bulky, but the texture looks great, so it could work well in freeform in small quantities.
The 5-Star Marguerite, also from the Harmony Guide, is a nice one. It’s worked in rows in this swatch, exactly as present in the book, but it will be a nice little pop of texture if added 2 or 3 marguerites at a time in a freeform project. This one may end up in my Italian Vacation Favorite. Similar to that knitted Two Color Daisy Stitch, but worked very differently in crochet.
Last swatch from the Harmony Guide, the Mixed Cluster Stitch worked out especially well with the bright blue silk. The thick and thin wool at the bottom of the swatch would probably have looked better with a slightly larger hook to let the pattern open up a little bit.
Sometimes I like to start a swatch and keep it in my purse so I can use it to try things out as I think of them on the fly. These swatches end up looking a little wacky, like the one below. At the bottom of the swatch, I was experimenting with putting granny stitch into garter stitch, then going from granny back to garter. Look closely to see eyelets worked into the first garter stitch section to accommodate the crocheted granny clusters. Continuing up the swatch, there’s a awkward section of crochet stitches worked into a garter stitch fabric. That idea definitely needs a lot more work.
Just beyond that, I tried out a knitted mystery stitch (sure wish I’d written down the name and source for this stitch) that mimics the canvas stitch (used recently in Beatrice Mase’s Noshi Shawl). In this swatch, the mystery pattern is below the garter ridge, and the canvas stitch is above it. The two patterns are worked almost the same way, but in the canvas stitch calls for slipping stitches on right side rows, and the mystery pattern calls for knitting them instead. The mystery stitch is more open and stretchy, and it biases to the left; the canvas stitch has a more dense row gauge because of the slipped stitches, and it keeps its alignment without biasing.
Finally, the top section of the never-ending swatch (shown above) is an experiment in putting crochet texture stitches into a fabric of crocheted linen stitch, inspired by this embroidered stitch journal. I like this better than the knitted garter stitch attempt towards the bottom of the swatch, though the yarn’s variegated colorway obscures the stitchwork. I don’t hate it, and it shows up better in person, but it was worth one more swatch to see what the experiment would look like in a solid color.
The texture stitches certainly do show up better. I might like it even more in a semi-solid color, too, but that’s a swatch for another day.
why all the swatching?
For sweater knitters, swatching to get gauge is an essential part of the process for making garments that fit. For knitters and crocheters following patterns that don’t need to fit, it’s a good way to make sure there will be enough yarn to complete a project as written. Beyond that, swatching is the best way to get familiar with new yarns and stitch patterns, and for freeformers, it’s also an excellent way of collecting ideas to use in future freeform projects. For me, a bag of swatches becomes a catalog of stitches and techniques that have been tested and approved. After I’ve browsed the catalog, the chosen swatches can be set out on my work table, physical reminders of what I want to put into the current project.
Most of my swatches are a hodge podge of yarns and stitches like the ones above. They aren’t necessarily beautiful, but they get the job done. Others have more aesthetic appeal, and some even hang together as a collection, like the spirals from my 100 Day Project earlier this year.
These spirals can be used in projects, but they also serve as better than average looking swatches. Going around and around instead of back and forth seems to generate momentum and creativity, and it’s a skill builder to practice working “straight row” stitch patterns into a curvy motif. Plus, there’s just something about the spiral shape that inspires happiness. You can imagine how much fun it is to browse through them for ideas when I’m starting a new piece.
Many knitters and crocheters don’t enjoy making the gauge swatch for the patterns they follow. But if swatches are considered opportunities for experimentation, they become a lot more fun. Any time you wonder what would happen if you tried a particular stitch, yarn, or technique, giving yourself the chance to make a swatch allows you to find the answer and learn a little bit more about how to make the things that interest you.
a challenge
For those times when your fingers want to be making something but nothing seems like the right project, swatch a new stitch or make a spiral with some leftover yarns. Make your favorite motif with a new yarn. See if you can take a stitch pattern and make it curve around the edge of a spiral. Or try a fiber craft that’s new to you and think of a way to try using it in a swatch, spiral, or scrumble. You’ll have ideas popping into your head in no time.
a few more things you might like
•Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a (rather large) mini skein kit with all the colors of these eggs?
•If you have a large yarn stash (no judgment!), this book could be just what you need to organize it and keep it stocked with yarns that you’ll actually use.
•I love to incorporate bits of other fiber crafts into my freeform work. This article from Velones in Action about artist Calla Michaelides Lokku makes me want to learn something about macrame.
in closing
Today’s cooler weather has me looking forward to the changing of the seasons, which brings new projects, gift planning, a couple of new yarns shops to visit in my area, and a trip to New Mexico to attend a fiber artist retreat. I hope there are good things to look forward to in your schedule, too.
That’s it for this issue, thanks for reading!
Lisa
I must swatch - but I am too impatient!
I love your dedication to swatching and all that you learn from your experiments. They are all so interesting. I'm swooning over the knitted Two Color Daisy Stitch. Simply delightful! 😍