Knitalong

Kaffe Fassett Rowan KAL Knitalong

Thursday June 9, 2016

Christina: KAL variations with crochet

Here is the final colourway evolved from Kaffe KAL 2014. Its a simple granny square version using the sets of 4 colours originally specified for each square - but I have reversed the colour order within the squares on some pieces and also randomised the layout. I also made some mistakes in the colour combinations on some squares which I left "in" the design.
It's resulted in a very colourful blanket - smaller than the original knitted versions as each square is smaller; I could have increased the size of the squares with extra rounds but I preferred the balance as it is.

Read extended entry for a granny square pattern.

Granny Square

Squares are worked with a 4 mm crochet hook and double knitting yarn.
The squares are made up of 4 rounds with each round in a different colour. If using Kaffe's colours from his blanket, the colour sequence is B, A, C, D.

Using colour B, make 4 chain and join into a ring with a slip stitch. Continue round 1 in colour B:
1st round: 5 chain (counts as 1 treble and 2 chain), [3 treble into ring, 2 chain] 3 times, 2 treble into ring, slip stitch to 3rd of the 5 chain you started with.
Break off yarn B.
2nd round: Using yarn A, slip stitch into next space, 5 chain, 3 treble into same space, *1 chain, miss 3 treble, [3 treble, 2 chain, 3 treble] into next space; repeat from * twice more, 1 chain, miss 3 treble, 2 treble into same space as 5 chain at beg of round, slip stitch to 3rd of 5chain.
Break off yarn A.
3rd round: Using yarn C, slip stitch into next space, 5 chain, 3 treble into same space, *1chain, miss 3 treble, 3 treble into next space, 1 chain, miss 3 treble**, [3 treble, 2 chain, 3 treble] into next space; repeat from * twice more and from * to ** again, 2 treble into same space as 5 chain, slip stitch to 3rd of 5 chain.
Break off yarn C.
4th round: Using yarn D, slip stitch into next space, 5 chain, 3 treble into same space, *[1 chain, miss 3 treble, 3 treble into next space] twice, 1 chain, miss 3 treble**, [3 treble, 2 chain, 3 treble] into next space; repeat from * twice more and from * to ** again, 2 treble into same space as 5 chain, slip stitch to 3rd of 5 chain.
Break off yarn D.

Now you should be able to see how the rounds are formed and carry on if you want to add more rounds to make the square larger.
If I had wanted to make the squares larger I would have used 6 rounds in the colour sequence:
B, A, C, A, C, D.

Posted by Christina at 10:08 AM. | Comments (0)

Sunday April 24, 2016

Christina: KAL variations with modular knitting

I decided at the beginning of last year that I wanted to make the Kaffe KAL 2014 striped blankets in each colourway. However I discovered while making the cushion, that although I loved the design of his finished blankets, I did not enjoy the construction technique at all. So I decided to make variations sticking with Kaffe's colour schemes, (he always knows best...!) but not his pattern. This project has been long in the planning and after a year I have completed two blankets .

The first blanket I made in the red colour scheme (above) and the second in the blue (below). For these I have used the so-called domino technique, which is not only fun to knit but economises on sewing up.
Because it's in garter stitch, there is still a definite right and wrong side but the joins between the squares are much neater (for me anyway...), and the "wrong" side is just a different pattern.

From a design perspective, the domino technique means that I have moved away from the overall design that Kaffe created by the interaction of the original stripes. The blankets keep the order of the colours in each square, but the weighting of each colour is altered. The red blanket keeps the orientation and original layout of the squares, which means they are created in blocks of 4 and then sewn together - I decided I wanted an even number of blocks and so added an extra row of squares on two of the sides, making a bigger blanket (10 x 8), and I dispensed with an additional edging - intentional, not just expediency!
The blue blanket moves totally to the domino technique, with no sewing (except endless sewing in of "ends"!). I have still kept with the original layout, even though it was created to suit the interaction of the stripes in the original design. I chose to do this because with domino, you need a planned layout at the start, but it has resulted in a one-sided bias of colours which appears odd as I have moved so far from the real design. I could have probably done a better layout if I had pieced the squares afterwards, or tried it out virtually on a computer. The blue blanket has a short asymmetric garter stitch border.

A quick word on the yarn colour substitution: for the red blanket "papaya" was both a distinct and a key colour - I liked my substitution, but it is not red enough and the overall cast of the blanket is quite peachy; likewise for the blue blanket "magenta" sets the tone and I could not find a magenta that had as much blue in it as the original Rowan Worsted colour, thus the result has an overall pink effect.

The extended entry tells you about the construction.

Domino or modular knitting is described here in a DROPS tutorial on YouTube:

I used it in following way with Kaffe's colours:

While knitting the domino technique you should slip the last stitch in each row - knit to the last stitch, bring the yarn forward, slip the last stitch. This makes a neat edge for you to pick up as you build up the squares.

Cast on 70 sts using colour A
1st row (wrong side): Knit 34, knit 2 together, knit 34 [69 stitches]
2nd row: Change to colour B, knit.
3rd row: Knit 33 st, slip 1, knit 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over, knit 33 [67 sts]
4th row: Change to colour A, knit.
5th row: Knit 32 st, slip 1, knit 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over, knit 32 [65 sts]
6th row: Change to colour B, knit.
7th row: Knit 31 st, slip 1, knit 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over knit 31 [63 sts]

Continue decreasing 2 stitches at the centre of each row and the overall colour sequence is as follows:

Cast on and 1 row in A, 2 rows B, 2 rows A, 2 rows B, 2 rows A, 2 rows B; [59 sts]
4 rows A; 4 rows C, 4 rows A; 4 rows C, 4 rows A; 4 rows C, 4 rows A; 4 rows C, 4 rows A; [23sts]
2 rows C, 2 rows D, 2 rows C, 2 rows D, 2 rows C, 2 rows D, 2 rows C, 2 rows D, 2 rows C, [5 sts]

Complete final rows colour D:
Next row: Change to colour D, knit 5.
Next row: Knit 1, slip 1, knit 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over, knit 1 (do not slip the last stitch) [3 sts]
Next row: Slip 1, knit 2 together, pass the slipped stitch over.
Fasten off.

Posted by Christina at 8:59 AM. | Comments (0)

Monday January 26, 2015

Alison: Californian redwoods

Posted by Alison at 3:48 PM. | Comments (0)

Thursday January 22, 2015

Alison: Kaffe Kat Bed

Posted by Alison at 3:43 PM. | Comments (0)

Tuesday January 6, 2015

Alison: Kaffe Fasset Rowan KAL - Almost there

I have knitted all my squares (67 of them) and while the last 'clue' is drying I laid out the blanket. I have to say it looks lovely (even without clue 9). I sewed up the first 2 rows last night. Once I assemble the blanket I am planning to knit an icord edging in Damson (the called-for edge colour). I did an icord edge for my lizard ridge blanket and really like how it looks - plus its a lot quicker than a garter stitch edge!

Posted by Alison at 4:23 PM. | Comments (0)

Saturday January 3, 2015

Christina: My little cushion is now complete

Finished! And as a cushion it certainly looks more like a planned project than it did when it was just a lot of squares! This isn't Kaffe's fault - it is wholly because I struggled to copy the colours. Below I show both sides of the cushion - as they are not the same...
It is interesting that I had quite a good "damson" but not enough, so on one side I had to substitute a paler colour, and this is definitely not as good in the mix as the darker one.

Now I am done I want to make another one! Typical!

[I am seriously considering trying out the "red" colourway - also from my stash. I think I would struggle with all the different greens required - and it needs "raspberry" again - I did actually buy a (substitute) raspberry ball for the Martin Storey blanket but seem to have lost it to some Guild joint craft project.]

Posted by Christina at 6:15 PM. | Comments (0)

Wednesday October 22, 2014

Alison: Kaffe KAL Clue 2

As I am knitting the blanket I need to knit 7 square. I think if I were to think of knitting 67 8" squares for a blanket it would seem very daunting, but actually knitting 7 squares in 10 days is really easy. I still have time to knit on other things. I like the squares - great TV knitting (which after all is really all I do) but interesting enough that its not just a never ending mountain of stockinette. 

Clue 3 is due out on Weds and here are all my clue 2 squares blocked and ready to go.

Posted by Alison at 4:20 PM. | Comments (0)

Tuesday October 21, 2014

Alison: Kaffe KAL Clue 1.

The first clue came out and the pattern is a simple stripe.  However its not completely brainless knitting as the stripes and increase/decreases are not regular. The first colours are pretty unusual - and certainly not ones I would have combined automatically but look rather nice together.

Posted by Alison at 4:14 PM. | Comments (0)

Saturday October 18, 2014

Christina: Kaffe KAL Cushion clue 2

Here are my squares for the first 2 weeks.
Are they actually square you ask yourself? Well cobbling together the colours I need in a consistent thickness is very challenging I'm afraid.

I am finding the squares surprising tricky to knit considering they are in fact so simple. I think I get carried away and forget to increase and decrease in the right places. Most issues I have are with increasing - for some unknown reason - and also the shape of the corners is poor in the first part of the square. Thus, pretty soon, I developed a method to overcome this - it's a bit weird but...

First of all, Alison wrote us a nice shorthand version of the pattern - stripping the rows down to colour and number of increases - with breaks at colour changes. After this, I decided to knit my squares from the middle using a waste-wool cast-on and working back from the 34th row to the beginning; I then pick up from the middle again - discarding the cast on - and work as the pattern is written to the end. I only have to decrease on both halves of the square. Heaven knows why this helps me but it does.

My squares still aren't square but they are better than they were!

Posted by Christina at 6:02 PM. | Comments (0)

Sunday October 12, 2014

Christina: Kaffe KAL Cushion

I'm not committed enough to make another blanket so I thought I would do the small cushion. Once again I am using DK yarn that I already have - and it's not quite so challenging only having to find enough yarn to make a smaller item.

Here are my colours for the first 2 weeks.

Posted by Christina at 5:53 PM. | Comments (0)

Wednesday October 1, 2014

Alison: Kaffe Fassett Rowan KAL

I am knitting the blanket in the brown colours as part of the Kaffe Fassett knit along that is being organized by Rowan. Here is my bag of wool ready to start. I actually need to knit 67 squares total for the blanket with 7 of each colour combination. I am hoping that by Christmas I have a lovely Kaffe blanket for the cabin.

Posted by Alison at 4:11 PM. | Comments (0)