Knititude

A Dragon Skin of her own

Until now,  the Wyvern pattern has been lacking photos of its own sample garment, instead substituting a photo of the Dragon Skin child's sweater-- a less-than-satisfactory alternative, I admit.  No longer!  My first attempt at hiring a test knitter has proven a success:  not only do I now have a Wyvern in Size Small, but I have several insightful suggestions for improving the clarity and knitter-friendliness of the pattern (thanks, Terry!).  Happily, I have no further errata to report, but I have already modified the pattern text slightly, and as soon as I can get some modeled photos, I will be emailing an updated version of the pattern to all those who have previously purchased it.     

Deflating the ol' ego

I hadn't heard from many knitters about errors in my patterns, and so I have to admit I was feeling rather smug about my proofreading and tech editing abilities.  As it turns out, what probably was happening was that many knitters purchased one of my patterns, and then after some period of time-- finding the right yarn, finishing up other projects, etc.-- actually started knitting from it!  Whatever the reason(s), in the last few months I've been notified of errata for the Dragon-Skin Wrap, Wyvern Wrap, Fern Fitted Shell, and now the Sorelle Pullover.

Ah well.  At least Interweave Knits has decided to add the Dragon-Skin Wrap to their patterns available for purchase (hope they fixed that chart before they republished it).

Correction for Dragon-Skin Wrap

I notified Interweave Knits back in late January that there was an error in one of the charts for the Dragon-Skin Wrap for babies and toddlers, but the correction has not yet appeared on their corrections page.  So, if  you are making the smallest size (22" chest circumference) of the wrap, from the IK Holiday 2007 issue, in the "Left-Front Side Edge" chart, all "ML"s should be "MR"s.

Yarn substitutions for the Wyvern Wrap

(or the Dragon-Skin Wrap from the IK Holiday Gifts 2007).  I've been asked for some possible substitutions, so here they are.  Please remember that swatching is more important than ever when substituting yarn!  In addition, I have personally worked with only a couple of these yarns, so don't consider the list below to be anything more than a starting point for finding an alternative for the Kollage Yarns "Yummy" called for in the pattern.  Especially since there is a PLETHORA of yarns in the proper weight range!  My criteria for putting a yarn on the list:  same gauge using the same needle size as the "Yummy" (5.5 sts per inch on US #6 needles*); range of colors that appealed to me; some sheen; yarns that would seem to have good stitch definition.  I also tried to choose yarns from a variety of price points, and finally there are some yarns suitable for warm weather or "no-sheep" types, too.

Bamboo/wool blends (like the "Yummy"):  Classic Elite Wool Bam Boo, Sirdar Baby Bamboo
Alpaca/silk blends:  Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk DK, Knitpicks Elegance
Wool/silk blends:  Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool, RYC Silk Wool DK,
Wool/cashmere blends:  RYC Cashsoft DK, Debbie Bliss Cashmerino DK
Non-wool:  Katia Linen (linen/cotton), Elsebeth Lavold Hempathy (hemp/cotton/nylon), S. Charles Collezione Kyoto (cotton/rayon/silk), Louet Euroflax Worsted (linen)

OR:  Feeling adventurous??  How about Noro Silk Garden Lite (silk/mohair lambswool)--the Dragon Skin stitch pattern just might look really cool with this yarn.  Or how about Rowan Scottish Tweed DK (wool)?  I'm not sure the tweedy look would work well with this project, but then again....

*I noticed that the Kollage Yarns website now calls for US Size 7 needles with this yarn, but the ball bands on the leftover yarn I have call for US Size 6.  Which is what I used.

(Photo:  Lake Lugano on the Swiss-Italian border, from the top of Monte San Salvatore.)

Selva Skirt, Winter IK 2007

I know a knit skirt isn't everyone's cup o' tea, but isn't the Hearts of Oak stitch pattern super-cool?  And it's crunchy enough to hide the panty lines--yes, I am wearing them.

So che una gonna fatto a maglia non e la tazza di te' (??) per tutti, ma non e' il Cuore di Quercia disegno super-cool?  Anche e' abbastanza croccante (??) di nascondere le rughe  delle mutandine--si, le sto indossando.

(I've decided to rename the Dragon Skin Wrap for women the Wyvern Wrap--a wyvern is a type of dragon, according to Wikipedia--to avoid confusion with the juvenile version.  I hope to finish the pattern tomorrow; however, daily life threatens to delay me for a day or two--patience, please!)

(Ho deciso a ribattezzare il Dragon Skin Wrap per donne il Wyvern Wrap--un wyvern e' un tipo di drago, secondo Wikipedia--per evitare confusione con la versione giovanile.  Spero di finire il modello domani; pero', la quotidianita' (amo questa parola!) mi minaccia di ritardare per un paio di giorni--pazienza, per favore!)

"Gone to fetch a dragon skin...

                             

to wrap the baby bunting in." 
Apparently I should have bagged a bigger dragon, and designed a bigger (adult -sized) wrap, as I've already gotten a number of emails and comments requesting this!  I can't deny that the same thought crossed my mind as I was making the sample for the Interweave Knits Holiday Gifts issue; I think "Dragon Skin," from Barbara Walker's 2nd Treasury of Knitting Patterns, makes an elegant and unusual overall pattern, and the construction of the wrap was a lot of fun.

Sembra che dovrei catturato un drago piu grande, e disegnato un cardigan avvolgemente piu grande (per adulti), perche ho gia ricevuto delle email e dei commenti che chiedono questo!  Non posso negare che avevo questo pensiero in mente, mentre facevo il campione per IK Holiday Knits; secondo me, "Pelle di Drago" fa un' elegante e particolare fantasia, e la costruzione era molto divertente.

The difficulty in sizing up the pattern lies in making sure that the diagonal sections of the wrap are started in the right place, so that by the time the sweater reaches the neck, the opening is the right size--neither too narrow nor too wide.  The factor of the stitch pattern meeting in a pleasing way at the side seams, which I also calculated for the child-sized version, seems less important, and finally, making the sleeves a full pattern repeat, both in rows and stitches, so that the sleeve edges work properly and the underarm seams meet perfectly (especially if they are grafted) seems fairly simple.  The other question is whether Interweave will have anything to say about whether an adult version violates my contract with them.  Hmmm....