On Being Naive

"Naive" has a number of connotations...

having or showing unaffected simplicity of nature or absence of artificiality; having or marked by a simple, unaffectedly direct style reflecting little or no formal training or technique.

I'm absolutely thrilled to announce that I have a design and an article in the Spring2012 issue of Interweave's Sockupied e-magazine.

Thrilled!

It's a cabled sock design, with a feature I call my "naive" gusset.

Back when I was living in New York, I was working on my first pair of toe-up socks. Socks being ideal plane knitting, I took the project with me on a flight to Seattle.  It's a long way from New York to Seattle, and I had the centre seat in the back row of Coach. And then women on either side of  me were definitely not knitters. Which meant that when I took off my shoes and socks to try on my WIP, I got some very funny looks.

And then when I realized the sock didn't fit as written, and started frogging it, I got even funnier looks.  The original blog post about this is here... 

The issue was that I've got a high-ish arch, and a straight up non-gusseted short-row heel just doesn't fit me.  If the sock fits snugly in the leg and the foot - which I like! negative ease is good! - then it won't fit around the arch and my heel.

Being stuck on a flight without internet or reference books, I improvised.  I worked some decreases before the heel turn to add a gusset to the foot, and then, after I turned the heel (on the usual number of stitches), I decreased the stitches away. Naive, absolutely.  But it worked brilliantly, and I love how these socks fit.  And I love how they enable a knitter with an arch to take an otherwise great but gusset-less toe-up sock design, and make 'em fit.

This is all outlined in the new Spring 2012 issue of Sockupied, along with a pattern for a cabled sock (slightly asymmetrical, as is my way).

Take a look! Let me know what you think!

Winter Has Returned: Need to Finish that Second Sock ASAP

Remember that skein of Qiviut sock yarn?

Qiviut is 8 times warmer than sheep's wool. And it's now 8 times colder than it was when I bought the yarn.

Well, ok, that second bit might not be scientifically accurate, but it certainly feels that way.

I've been working on these socks on and off for a couple of months, but the winter has been so mild this year that I haven't really felt pressured to finishing the project. Last weekend, however, winter arrived in full force and I'm now entirely focused on getting the second one done.

How I Spent the Weekend: A Photo Essay

Book Preview

I know, I know. I've been talking about the book a lot recently.

I'm very pleased to announce that we have made a free preview available online.

And if this works, embedded here...

Beyond Knit & Purl -- Kate Atherley

It's a few select pages, the table of contents, and some of the project photos.  I hope it gives you a sense of why I'm proud of it, and why people I respect an awful lot are saying nice things about it...

And perhaps if you like it, you might wish to buy it.. ?

The coffee cup cozy in the picture is the Mini Project for the cables chapter.  It's a quick and easy way to try out a cable for the first time... an evening's worth of knitting, not a huge investment of time, and a great confidence builder.  And it's useful! I do recommend you knit it in a yarn that matches how you take your coffee.  Mine is a very dark shade of espresso brown...

All the sections - Shaping, In the Round, Socks, Cables, Lace and Colorwork have these Mini Projects.  And three other projects, too, to allow you to expand your skills.

(Once again, awesomely fab pic thanks to Caro Sheridan. She even brought the coffee cup with her from Boston when she flew up to Toronto to do the photography.)

Beyond Knit & Purl

I'm very proud to announce that my book is complete and ready.

"Beyond Knit and Purl" is the book that takes knitters from being confident with their needles to being confident about patterns...  it went to print on Tuesday, coincidentally my birthday.

It's available for purchase NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW from Cooperative Press.

Digital only - fulfilled immediately, $16.95. Digital and physical copy, $26.95 plus shipping.

Shops around the Toronto area will be carrying it, and stay tuned for news on other places to buy it!

The Wonder of Blocking

I've said this before: always block before you sew up.

Like this:

Blocking helps with a number of things: the pieces lie flatter, which makes seaming easier. It takes care of any shrinking or stretching that might take place, so that you don't end up with puckery seams.  (You prewash fabric before you sew it up, don't you?  Same deal with knitted fabric.)  It also makes the fabric smoother and more even, and therefore prettier - even more to be proud of.

And it helps in other ways...

I was waffling on what size to knit when I started this cardigan, and didn't have access to a sample to try on. I cast on for the XS, being a little sort of person. It sat for a while, and last October, at Rhinebeck, I got a chance to try someone's on.... it fit perfectly, and then naturally, the wearer broke the news to me that it was the size larger than I was knitting.

This is where blocking really becomes miraculous: there's about an inch and a half difference between  the XS and the S, and I was easily able to stretch the pieces to the dimensions of the S.  (It helps that the yarn I chose might be slightly heavier than called for in the pattern.)

Yes, those with keen eyes may recognize this as the legendary Must Have Cardigan.  I am a sucker for a good cabled sweater, and this one is an excellent example of the form. 

I am working it in Galway, which at various times in history has claimed to be an aran, but in my experience has always been a worsted.  The swatch was, after washing, somewhere in between... 

I cast on for it years ago - around the time Steph was knitting hers - and it's been resting in my stash with only part of the back complete.  I picked it up again this fall, after seeing the one at Rhinebeck, and I've been quietly working on it, between design projects.  Just today I finished up the fronts, so that all the body pieces are done. To break up the finishing work some (consider this your bonus tip! for the day), I've finished up the body pieces and will sew the shoulders and work the button- and buttonhole bands now, before working the sleeves.  This will give me a chance to assess how long I want the sleeves to be, as I'll be able to put the body on, figure out where the sleeves will hit my shoulders and measure down from there.  Clever, eh?

One from the back catalogue: Santa Hat pattern

A free pattern for a Santa hat... (with US needle size conversion fixed). Neither of the yarns are available anymore, but you at this time of year you can easily find nice quick-knit yarns in the bulky section.  Lion Brand Wool Ease "Thick & Quick" would fit the bill very nicely and inexpensively.

The fur yarn used for the pattern was a good stable bulky yarn with extra fuzziness that made a good fabric on its own.  If you can't find something similar, use a nice chunky weight smooth white wool held together with a fuzzy/furry/eyelashy sort of thing.  Lion Brand's Festive Fur would work brilliantly.

Enjoy!

Estonian Mitts

Our friend I. is Estonian... her parents came to Canada from Estonia in the 1950s, and although she was born and bred in Canada, I. is in many ways a true Estonian.

She and her partner made a trip to Estonia this summer, to tour the homeland together.

Naturally, as knitter, I asked them to bring me something back - something knitted.  I told them I didn't care what it was, or how much it cost, as long as it was handknit and local in origin.

Check out the thumb - the colorwork lines up perfectly.

And boy did they come through: they brought me back this tremendous pair of Estonian mitts.  They are the classic shape and style, with fabulous colorwork.  Although neither I. or her partner E. are knitters, they managed to ask a few key questions to get some info for me about the mitts they'd chosen.  They were definitely hand-knit (by someone's grandmother, naturally!), and the stitch pattern is apparently regional, associated with Tallinn, the city in which they were bought.

They bought the mitts at the city's Knit Market - known as the 'sweater wall'.  Fab picture here, on Flickr.

Let me say that again: In Tallinn, Estonia, there is a market area that specializes in hand knits. More info and droolworthy pictures here. Many of the vendors are locals, selling their own work and work of other locals.

The work of Ms. Viira.

In addition, they came upon and fell in love with the store NAiiV, run by the very talented knitwear designer Liina Viira.  Ms. Viira is of Estonian background, but was born and raised in Stockholm.  Her work combines both Scandinavian and Estonian techniques and patterns, but with a modern spin.  Beautiful, beautiful stuff.

Next time I'm going to give them a blank cheque and a empty suitcase so that they can bring me everything back.

More Streetcar Knitting

As a follow-up to the article about me knitting on the streetcar, the Toronto Star has created this really great video...

Some great Toronto scenery, lots of gratuitous sock shots, and a bunch of knitting.

Karen's First Sweater

Image courtesy Karen Kwinter/Canadian Living

Over the late summer and early fall, I helped out the lovely Karen with a project.

We were introduced at the Purple Purl, and the girls there told me that Karen needed to knit a sweater.  We've all been there - we find a sweater pattern we just plain NEED to knit.

Karen's situation was a little different, however.  She's a very stylish style editor at Canadian Living, had been inspired by the amazing knitwear in the fall and winter lines of her favourite fashion designers, and she decided that she wanted to make herself a sweater. The thing was that she was a novice knitter, and she was working to a deadline.

Karen is a woman possessed of excellent focus and perseverance, and in less than 7 weeks from our first meeting, she had a most excellent alpaca sweater that looks great and fits her beautifully.  She blogs about the process here.

I'm incredibly proud of her.  Check out the pictures in the January issue of Canadian Living.

It's True, I Need No Excuse

Photo courtesy The Toronto Star/Matthew Sherwood.

Piece in The Toronto Star today about knitting socks in public.

Excellent quote given by my friends Mary Margaret, Jane and Robbie.

(I was working on the Tuffy socks, in case you're wondering.)

The Procedural: Perfect Knitting Television

two separate
yet equally important
groups

Like many serious knitters, I am an inveterate consumer of television.

(It's not just TV, for the record... am also a huge fan of intelligent radio documentaries, plays and readings.  BBC Radio 4 I'm looking at you.)

I joke sometimes that I'm not sure if I knit so that I can watch TV, or watch TV so that I can knit.

And my favourite kind of knitting TV is the procedural: the various Law & Orders, the CSIs and their ilk.  You name it: Homicide, Castle, Criminal Minds, Bones, The Mentalist, Spooks (MI-5), the original Prime Suspect, Cracker, The Wire in the Blood, and so on. The TV shows that feature detectives solving a crime.  (Any good recommendations?  Leave 'em in the comments!)

Hey, if someone dies before the opening credits, I'll watch it.

It doesn't have to be a murder - I enjoyed Law & Order: Criminal Intent during its run, and sometimes those stories were about fraud and robbery - but it most often is.

I find this kind of TV both engaging and satisfying - there's a puzzle, and there's a conclusion.  (Not to say I don't like TV without a conclusion; am currently totally obsessed with Fringe. Although on the surface it's also a procedural, there is a larger story arc that's fabulously complex and open-ended.)

And it's also very easy to watch while paying attention to something else. The point about the procedural is that they follow a procedure. The solving of the mystery follows a procedure; a set of rules the cops much (roughly) follow. The drama itself also follows a procedure. The procedural shows follow the same structure: a crime is committed, detectives are called. Evidence is collected. Suspects are interviewed. Someone is arrested. This person is proven to be innocent and released.  Evidence is reviewed. The right person is arrested. And then the cops go out for breakfast/coffee/beer.

This repetitive aspect is what makes them so very satisfying - but also very easy to watch while knitting.

If I miss a few key lines of dialogue because I'm counting stitches, I'm not going to get lost. If I need to leave the room to get a new ball of yarn, I know that the suspect they have in interrogation in the first 20 minutes is not guilty. If there's a particularly grisly crime scene (Criminal Minds, The Wire in the Blood) or autopsy (CSI), I've got something to distract myself with.

I can happily watch my "murders" all afternoon, knitting away. When I've got a knitting deadline, my TV supplier Norman knows he needs to ensure that I've got a bunch of DVDs or episodes stacked up on the DVR. It doesn't really matter if they are old or new, if they are set in the present day or the past, if it's a serial murder or a story about insurance fraud; if it's got a crime and detectives, I'll watch it.

Sure, if the detective is charming, funny and handsome (Castle), or the social analysis particularly intelligent and thought-provoking (Homicide), or the setting fabulously interesting (Wallander), even better.  But honestly, all I need is a crime and some cops.

The funny thing is that I've tried watching some of these without knitting in hand, and it's not nearly as much fun. The shows dealing with the more grisly or nasty crimes are difficult to watch and discomfiting. The lighter shows are often uninteresting or silly. The dated look or style of some of the older shows grates.

And I do enjoy other types of TV (Fringe, as mentioned above); and costume dramas like Downton Abbey, and of course, the single most engaging and intelligent piece of television ever made, The Wire.  And there's movies on DVD, too, of course.  (And I have pretty good access to those...)

But I watch at lot less of the "good stuff": the movies and high quality, intellectually challenging and visually engaging television.  Why? Because if I do miss a few key lines of dialogue, I could be in serious trouble.  And the engaging visuals demand to be looked at.  And foreign films require me to read the subtitles.

So it's not just that the procedural is good knitting television: I'd go so far as to say that knitting is really the best way to consume these shows, and these are really the best things to knit to.

Noro Kureyon 242: How I Love Thee

I know you know I love Noro.

And in particular, I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this colourway, #242. It's got all my favourite colours in it: black, red, orange, green and a smattering of grey. There isn't a colour in it I don't like. Everything I make with it matches everything in my wardrobe, because these are the colours I wear. And it looks great with denim.

Just perfect.

I have so far made a Lanesplitter and a hat from the Lanesplitter leftovers; I've also made a crochet shawl in the Sock version of the yarn. Up next: fingerless mitts, and I'm hoping I can find the time to knit myself an Undercurrent cardi in the same colourway. How excellent would that look? (Not worn together, though... that's a little crazy even for me.)

The sad part is that the Kureyon Sock has been discontinued, so I've had to do some bartering for the yarn required for the fingerless mitts.... I made a trade for a different sock yarn...

 I'm also thinking I need to find another ball of the Sock so I can make an actual pair of socks with it. Anyone have another ball of it hiding in their stash?

Tuffy Socks: Free Pattern

I'm often asked, usually at this time of year, for a recommendation for a thick sock yarn.

There seem to be two common motivators: knitters are seeking a yarn that will make warm boot socks for the encroaching winter. And they are also seeking a yarn that will knit up quickly, for gift knitting.

My favouritest thick sock yarn is Briggs & Little Tuffy.  Briggs & Little, based in New Brunswick, is the oldest continuously operated wool mill in Canada.  Operating for over 150 years, they produce classic wool yarns and blankets woven from their wool.

Now, here's the thing about Tuffy: It's hard-wearing yarn spun tight and blended with nylon for long-lasting socks.  It's machine washable, and very easy-care.  And it comes in a wide range of classic colours. But soft it is not.  It's woolly.  Boot-sock woolly.

Also in its favour is the unbelievably low price: $5.99CDN for a skein, purchasable online from Ram Wools in Winnipeg.  1 skein will make a pair of women's medium socks; anything larger requires two skeins.  Still a bargain. And they will last you a lifetime, I guarantee it.

I'd heard rumours about the wonderfulness of this yarn, but was having trouble finding it in Toronto.  A couple of years ago a student found me a couple of skeins at Spun Fibre Arts in Burlington. I was easily able to get two pairs out of those two skeins, and wore them to death in my boots last winter. My feet were warm, well-protected and comfy.

Prompted by a student in a recent sock class, I've written up my pattern and made it available for free.  Download now, from Ravelry.  Naturally, there are multiple sizes: Women's S, M, L, covering US shoe sizes 5 to 10, and Men's S and L, covering US shoe sizes 6 to 12.

So whether you're in a rush to finish up a holiday gift, or just need a pair of socks for the oncoming snow, your needs are taken care of.

I do regularly rave about the yarn, and another student of mine was recently visiting family in New Brunswick, and she brought me three skeins back! These are screaming out to be made into a pair of striped socks, don't you think?

Socks Sized for Men: Basic Ribbed Sock with full range of sizes

I've gone on and on about this topic - sock patterns with multiple sizes.

I've had several knitters leaving comments on my blog looking for the multi-size version of my Basic Ribbed Sock.

The original pattern was published in a single size, but I resized it to include sizes for a full range of men's and women's sizes.

The multi-size pattern is available for download from Ravelry, here.  This link should work if you're not a Ravelry member.

Intrepid Knitter of the Week

I've been teaching my War & Peace socks class a fair bit recently. 

I love this class, as it's a great way for experienced sock knitters to test their skills, expand their knowledge and learn a new party trick. And it's an excellent way for me to meet intrepid sock knitters.  

On a recent weekend, an extra intrepid student made a long drive across southern Ontario to attend the class.  And she rocked it.

In the class we work my training sock - 24 sts in worsted weight yarn on 4.5mm needles.  Small enough that you can make decent progress in the class, and thick yarn so you can see what you're doing...

And this student, lovely Danielle, really got into it.  

After the class, she headed off to the curling rink to watch her boyfriend curl, and knitted....

Two socks, hiding:

Two socks, revealed:

Go Danielle!  She gets my Intrepid Knitter of the Week badge.

Resisting no more

Although I had a passing knowledge of spinning, I'd never formally taken the plunge into actually buying a spindle and fibre and creating my own yarn.

The idea that I would take time away from knitting to increase the size of my stash was a bit scary.

But I knew that I needed to tackle this, to expand my skills and knowledge of yarn.

So at Rhinebeck, I finally did it.  I spun! Read all about it on the Knittyblog...

Classes at Shall We Knit this coming weekend

This weekend I'm off to visit the lovely ladies of Shall We Knit, in their new location in Waterloo.



There are four classes on the calendar:

• Continental Knitting - ideal for knitters of all levels, speed up your knitting and help ensure you don't injure yourself.  See Kate demonstrate the magical Norwegian purl!
• Introduction to Lace - ideal for knitters with a little experience, I teach you to work lace stitches, I talk about how lace works, provide some tips for choosing easy lace patterns, and make sure you can read both written and charted lace patterns.  We'll get you started on your first lace project!
• Lizard Ridge (the single most beautiful blanket project in the entire world; ok, I'm a huge Noro fanatic and I may be biased, but you gotta agree it's pretty spectacular)

and

• War & Peace: 2 Socks in One  - for sock knitters with experience and a well-developed sense of adventure... two socks, one inside the other... 

There are a few spaces available in all the classes - call or visit the shop to register.

What I did last week: Rhinebeck!

Every year at this time, I used to read all the blogged recaps of the Rhinebeck wool festival with great envy.  It seemed like such an excellent way to spend an autumn weekend, and somehow, I never seemed to manage to go.

This year, I got organized and I actually went.

Holy sheep! What a weekend!

Pics and a recap on the Knittyblog.

Something for Mum to show off?....

Although popular, knitting is still, ultimately, a "fringe" activity.  Not everyone does it (although we're trying), and (despite our best efforts), it's not something that's mentioned everyday in popular broad-distribution media.

Sometimes I worry about my poor Mum, who for so many years has had to attempt to explain to her friends what it is I do for a living.  For a long time, it was obscure jobs within the tech industry, varying from things as exciting and commonplace as SGML editing software, to Document Management, to media streaming services.  (My brother Tony is a science teacher - that's much easier to explain to your friends.)

And then I chucked all that tech industry nonsense to knit for a living.  Although everyone knows what knitting is, unless you're an active crafter, chances are you won't come across evidence of my work.  And so there's poor Mum, stuck at the coffee shop, still trying to explain what it is I do.

But now, we have the answer: the November issue of Canadian Living magazine. Canadian Living is ubiquitous.  It's a terrific magazine, and it's been around for a long time.  Everyone has a copy somewhere in their house - often a back issue with one of their terrific recipes marked.  (I still regularly make a mushroom barley soup they published in their pages in the early 1990s.)

It's got food, lifestyle, style and craft features. And they publish knitting patterns.

And this month, it's my pattern!

I'm thrilled to appear within the pages, with a lace scarf design. It's intended to be an introduction to lace knitting for knitters of all levels - all you need to know how to do is cast on, cast off, and knit and purl.  My tutorial takes care of the rest.

And Mum can show it off to her heart's content!

"Beyond Knit and Purl"

I'm very proud to announce that my book!!!!! is available for pre-order now...

"Beyond Knit and Purl" is designed to be the book that takes you from being confident about your needles to being confident about patterns.

I've been teaching knitting for nearly 10 years, and it's pretty clear to me that there's been a massive hole in the knitting literature and instruction... we teach you how to hold your yarn and needles, we show you how to knit and purl, and then we send you into a yarn shop and expect you to be able to choose a pattern and yarn and then successfully knit it.


My book is designed to help knitters grow from being confident with their needles to being confident with patterns. In it, key questions are answered, e.g.: "What's ease", "What does it mean when it says to decrease evenly across?", "What skills do I need to knit socks?", and "What's the big deal about not twisting the round?"

The first third of the book is all about working with and from patterns - how to choose a good pattern, how to know if a pattern is going to be easy or difficult.  How to choose the appropriate yarn and why and how to swatch (and when not to... ).  How to choose what size to knit. And I explain all that strange language you see in patterns... like "work even" and "every foll alt"; I teach you how to read charts.  I clearly explain what skills are needed for different types of projects and what the appropriate next steps are for newer knitters.

The rest of the book is all about specific techniques... Increasing & Decreasing, Working in the Round, Socks, Cables, Lace and Colorwork. Each chapter explains they key facts, stitches and techniques with lots of helpful photos and diagrams, and then provides four projects for knitters to practice.  There's a quick-hit mini project, one or two evening's worth of work, a great way to try out some skills and gain confidence, and then there are three other skill-builder projects, lots of quick and easy knits like hats and mitts and scarves and shawls.  Even a top-down one piece baby sweater, to learn all about this important and popular sweater knitting method.

Visit the Cooperative Press website for more info and to pre-order.

I'll be at Rhinebeck with the book, showing off some of the projects.  Come by to say hello!

Mittens for Very Cold Hands

I have a problem.  It's called Raynaud's phenomenon. When I experience cold weather, (or a rapid change in temperature), the blood vessels in my fingers contract and blood supply is decreased.  It's not dangerous, but it is unpleasant, and I therefore try very hard not to get my hands cold. (It's true for my toes, too, but the problem is generally easier to solve with 2 pairs of socks.) Combine this with naturally low blood pressure and not great circulation, and it's a recipe for needing mittens in October.

This means that I need a fairly extensive collection of warm hand-wear. It's October now, and I'm already wearing fingerless mitt to walk the dog in the morning  

Another couple of weeks, and it will be full-on Fair Isle mittens for the morning walks.  Stranded Fair Isle makes lovely warm mittens because the strands provide a lining that keeps the wind out, and keeps the warmth in.My Morse Code mittens are my latest Fair Isle mitten design.

Come the middle of November, the Fair Isle mittens will start to fail me.

At this point, I usually give up with the hand-knit mitts entirely, and switch over to my Everest-rated Expedition mittens from Mountain Equipment Co-op.  Come January, I'm wearing those with an additional layer underneath.  

As a knitter, I also feel slightly sad when I have to break out the store-bought mittens.  Surely I should be able to make something myself. Surely I should be able to keep myself warm with wool?

This year, I'm trying something new.

I'm making stranded Fair Isle mittens to be felted! So they're wool, stranded, and they will be felted. The felting will make them thicker, denser, more windproof. With any luck, these will keep me going until December...

The design is a very very loose interpretation of the Felted Fusion Mittens from Green Elf Designs, using Briggs & Little Heritage yarn.

Unfelted, they are comically large.  Being a household with only a front-loading washing machine, 'll be hitting up my friend with the top-loader again this weekend.

And there are rather a lot of ends to weave in.  It's a good thing I'm teaching a Finishing class tonight... I always need a good demo for weaving in ends...

The Barbie Surprise Jacket, in action

Barbie helps Wilma lay out the squares for her Noro blanket....

KAL: The Slipper Suite

I've had a great response to my Slipper Suite pattern from the July 2011 issue of Creative Knitting magazine.

I'm very excited to announce that the lovely people at Creative Knitting have started a KAL for the patttern on Ravelry.  Join us in the group.

If you don't have the magazine, you can get a digital copy here.


I'm actually working on a pair of these slippers myself, with leftovers from Project Black Sock... I got the first one done in the spring, and have been suffering from a fairly bad case of second slipper syndrome...

(On a different note, my friend Franklin is entirely correct - it's really tough to take a good photo of your own foot, isn't it?)

And so I will be knitting along.

October & November Teaching Schedule

Wow!  A busy schedule.  I'm really excited about all my teaching engagements this fall.

I've got my regular teaching schedules at Lettuce Knit and The Purple Purl in Toronto.  All sorts of  fab classes - socks, both top-down and toe-up, the Baby (Barbie/Frankenstein) Surprise Jacket, Fixing Mistakes, Finishing, all sorts of things...

In addition, I'm teaching again at the Creativ Festival: Lace Knitting, my War & Peace socks, and my Expert Tips session. Details here.

I'm also teaching again at Shall We Knit at their fab new location in Waterloo. (They have a sock yarn ROOM.  A room for sock yarn. I feel faint just thinking about it.)

And I'm adding a new shop to my list: The Needle Emporium in Ancaster.  Very excited about this one - it's a great shop, and the people who run it are lovely.

Looking forward to meeting lots of new knitters!

Sock Summit Feature in Knit Magazine Issue 42

My article about Sock Summit appears in the current issue of Knit Magazine, on the newsstand in the UK and North America.

Barbie Surprise Jacket?

In the near future, I'm teaching a couple of classes on the fun, fascinating and sometimes frustrating Elizabeth Zimmernmann "Baby Surprise Jacket". This pattern is a wonder, and remains incredibly popular. It's fun to knit, and the resulting garment is a clever little piece of knitterly origami that, once folded, becomes a sweater.

Others - including me - have blogged about the project, and there are over 15,000 projects on Ravelry for this pattern. I would be willing to bet that this is one of the most-knit projects in recent history.

 The challenge with it is that in classic EZ style, the pattern instructions as originally given in her newsletter and books were... shall we say... casual and minimal... EZ liked a knitter to think for her- (him-) self, and so wasn't much for row-by-row instructions.

 As such, the pattern can be somewhat intimidating to a newer knitter.

 As is my wont, I've developed a mini version, to allow knitters to work through the construction in a short amount of time, to help them figure it out, and to get all their mistakes out of their system.... It was dubbed by V. as the "Barbie Surprise Jacket".

 I had a few keen knitters test out the instructions for me. One intrepid knitter, the lovely Liz, tested it out for me, and sent me this picture...

So if you've got a desk toy that needs a cardigan, I have just the class for you!

Sock Math: A Photo Essay

One skein of Wollmeise Twin weighs 150gm.

And I have small feet.



And one sock weighs 37 gm.



Therefore, one skein of Wollmeise Twin equals four socks.

WOOT!

Free Pattern: Worsted Weight Slouchy Hat

Worsted Weight Slouchy Hat
A simple construction to show off a gorgeous yarn.

Suitable as a first hat project, this is a quick and easy knit.

SIZES & FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
S: Fits teens and small women - 21 inch circumference and 9 inch length
M: Fits average women and small men - 22.5 inch circumference and 10 inch length
L: Fits average men - 24 inch circumference and 10.5 inch length
The hat should be a little loose - choose a size a little larger than your head size.

MATERIALS
1 (2, 2) x 50gm balls Liberty Wool (100% washable wool, 122yds/ball)
-sample uses colour 7897
-substitute 120 (150, 200) yds of any worsted weight yarn (e.g. Galway)
4mm 16 inch/40 cm circular needle
4.5 mm 16 inch/40 cm circular needle
1 set 4.5mm double-pointed needles
a stitch marker

GAUGE
20 sts and 32 rounds = 4 ins by 4 ins/10 cm by 10 cm in stocking stitch
stitch gauge is very important, round gauge less so

STITCH GLOSSARY
M1: I prefer the backwards loop make 1: simply make a backwards loop and put it on the right-hand needle.
S2kpo: Slip 2 stitches together as if to knit. Knit 1, then pass 2 slipped stitches over the stitch just knit. This is a centered double decrease that creates a nice vertical line.

METHOD
Lower Edge
With 4mm circular needle, cast on 92 (100, 108) sts. Join for working in the round and place a marker for start of round.

Ribbing round: (K1, p1) to end.
Repeat ribbing round until hat measures 2 inches from cast-on edge.
Change to 4.5mm circular needle.
Increase round, size S: (K8, m1, k8, m1, k7, m1) 4 times. 104 sts.
Increase round, size M: (K8, m1, k8, m1, k9, m1) 4 times. 112 sts.
Increase round, size L: (K9, m1) 12 times. 120 sts.

Body
Work even in stocking stitch until hat measures 7.5 (8, 8.5) inches from cast-on edge.

Close
Change to double-pointed needles when hat gets too small to work comfortably on circular needle.

Size L only:
(K6, s2kpo, k6) 8 times around. 104 sts.

Sizes S & L only:
(K5, s2kpo, k5) 8 times around. 88 sts.
(K4, s2kpo, k4) 8 times around. 72 sts.
(K3, s2kpo, k3) 8 times around. 56 sts.
(K2, s2kpo, k2) 8 times around. 40 sts.
(K1, s2kpo, k1) 8 times around. 24 sts.
S2kpo 8 times around. 8 sts.

Size M only:
(K5, s2kpo, k6) 8 times around. 96 sts.
(K4, s2kpo, k5) 8 times around. 80 sts.
(K3, s2kpo, k4) 8 times around. 64 sts.
(K2, s2kpo, k3) 8 times around. 48 sts.
(K1, s2kpo, k2) 8 times around. 32 sts.
(S2kpo, k1) 8 times around. 16 sts.
(S2kpo, k3) twice, s2kpo, k1. 10 sts.

Finishing
Weave in ends, and wash.