A few weeks ago I was asked to be part of the ‘Scrumptious Knits Collection volume 3′ blog tour. This collection is created by a group of super talented people who produce a fantastic end product working as a team. Of course everything starts with Jeni, who creates beautiful yarn and is always innovating, and dreaming big. I’ve had the pleasure of working with her (and her yarn) many times before and it’s always a great experience. The beauty of her yarn really shines through in this collection and is used to its full effect by some very talented designers.
Nic has done the pattern layout for this book. It is clean, clear and very easy to follow. Every chart has got full written directions to accompany it which I’m sure many knitters out there will appreciate. Each pattern is laid out with the full set of abbreviations for that particular pattern in the pattern layout. You don’t often see this in pattern books but I think it makes life a little easier for knitters, everything you need is all in the same few pages, no flipping to the front/back of book to find what you need.
So now that you have a feel for how the book is laid out I’ll get down to business, the patterns!
Iwerne (designed by Kyoko Nakayoshi) is the first garment for this collection that caught my eye. I saw it pop up on ravelry’s ‘Hot Right Now’ list and I was very curious about the construction. For me that’s often what catches my attention as a designer. I’ll see something pretty and I immediately want to know how it was put together.
Much to my joy this was a seamless construction. It begins with the two front/bottom sections knit sideways from the front to the back and then joined. From there each side of the front is worked with the sleeves and with picked up back stitches to create the yoke shaping in one piece. It creates an elegant, well constructed garment that should be as much fun to knit as it is to wear.
The second garment that I fell for is Hample Sweater (designed by Lien Ngo). This is a simple sweater with clean lines, lovely details, and some great pattern additions. This pattern uses one of my favourite techniques, short rows, to create a nicely raised neck back as well as giving sizing instructions for adding short row bust darts. This isn’t provided in patterns very often so it makes this one pretty special!
Giveaway!
The kind people at Fyberspates have offered a copy for one of my blog readers. Let me know what design/design feature you like best in the comments below and you’ll be entered in a raffle to win a copy of the book. Enter before Tuesday night (28th January) and I’ll announce the winner on Wednesday morning.
Do you want to follow along on the tour and read a bit more for the designers and contributors?
22nd January 2014- Celtic Cast On and True Brit Knits
24th January 2014- Nic Blackmore, Platinum Knits and Louise Zass-Bangham
26th January 2014- Carol Feller, The Knitgirllls and Ashley Knowlton
28th January 2014- Coopknits and Jen AC
30th January 2014- Stitched Together, Kyoko Nakayoshi and A Playful Day
If you want to get your hands on the book:
Price: (print and digital) £12.00, $26
Distributors:
Retailers: The Scrumptious yarn and pattern range is widely available from shops and online retailers around the world. For an up-to-date list of where to find our products, please click here.
I like Iwerne.
I’m crazy for cables at the moment…I’m taking your Celtic Cables class right now… and just getting started on an Aran pullover with saddle shoulders for my husband. I think saddle shoulders are a great design feature in men’s sweaters…making their shoulders look wider. I hope my first attempt at a man’s sweater turns out well!!