Woolly and I have been friends for a VERY long time.

We immediately clicked. Perhaps it’s because we both have engineering backgrounds, which add a distinctive style to our knitting patterns.

You can see why short rows are such a huge element in both of our designs. They allow you to change the shape of your knitting without ever changing the stitch count.

That’s a little bit of knitting magic, right?

So, last year when they asked me to be part of their Short Row Colourwork book, I jumped at the chance.

About Woolly Wormhead & Short Rows

Woolly Wormhead has been playing with combining colours with short row patterns for several years. The first time I encountered it was in her Elemental collection, which created a unique way of charting the technique.
There are a few key fundamentals that she uses:

1. All short rows are worked in garter stitch using the German Short Row
   technique.
2. The rows are ‘balanced’ so that when added up, each stitch is worked for the
   same number of rows.
   

By finding a unique way of charting it allows knitters to visualise how the short rows and colour fit together. In written directions, this can get very confusing and muddled, but the visual of the chart makes what is happening much more obvious.

This book takes the technique and builds out a full stitch dictionary of pattern styles using it. This varied between repeating and stand-alone motifs and varied between graphic and organic forms.

As Woolly exclusively designs hats for this book to build out the accessories included, she invited several designers to contribute. Our job was to take the stitch patterns she had created and use them in a design.

About Calathea

For Calathea, I opted to keep it simple and repetitive, combining two high-contrast colours in a series of alternating colour blocks. Through those blocks, I’ve included leaf motifs and alternating row stripes that work well as a repeating pattern.

This scarf consists of a series of panels, worked in alternate colors, knitted consecutively. You can adjust the number of panels to achieve your desired size, or you can adjust your gauge. Adjusting the length is managed by adding or removing repeats of Panels A and B. To ensure the fabric remains balanced and to maintain pattern continuity, always complete each panel as written and end after a Panel A, ensuring an odd number of panels are worked.

Pattern available May 14th, 2024 in the book Short-Row Colorwork Knitting.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Width: 8”/20.5cm
Length: 68”/173cm

YARN
Malabrigo Rios; superwash merino wool; 210yd/192m per 3½oz/100g skein
• 310yd/280m or 2 skeins in each of RIO069 Pearl Ten (A) and RIO057 English Rose (B)

NEEDLES
• Pair size 6 (4mm) needles, or size to obtain gauge

NOTIONS
• Size G/6 (4mm) crochet hook

About Short Row Colorwork Knitting

Short Row Colourwork Knitting is what we like to call a legacy book. It’s the summation of almost 50 years of knitting experience from Woolly Wormhead. This book includes:

• Newfound knowledge on short rows
• An extensive stitch dictionary
• Over 50 mesmerising stitch patterns to practice and perfect short rows
• An inspiring collection of 10 accessory patterns, from chic hats to cosy scarves, so you can put your knowledge into your next project!

Whether you’re a colourwork enthusiast or new to knitting, this book is designed to captivate and inspire. It’s not just a guide; it’s your next step towards knitting mastery, revealing that the beauty of colorwork.

If you’re a local yarn shop and/or would like to stock this book, please head over to Woolly’s post here for details on pre-orders.

And if you would like to pre-order this book via Amazon (AF link) please click here 👇

Will it be on your wishlist?