Monday, December 10, 2018

Slalom Hat

A Free Knitting Pattern


My Last Pattern of 2018. What a great year it's been. I plan on getting an end of the year post together that will highlight all the patterns added this year to the blog. There will also be a giveaway attached to that post through my Facebook page so keep an eye out for it!

I have been working on this pattern; The Slalom Hat for awhile; August to be exact. This is the project that I would take with me to the school pick-up line and work on while I waited. I think I also remade it a few times. First I used a bulkier yarn, and with circular needles, then I tried it again with this yarn and circular needles and I still was not happy. I finally decided to go with working it flat and then seaming it. The numbers just wouldn't any other way.

There is always a big debate on using circular needles or straight or double points. I personally love using the circular needles, but I know there are others out there that are just as passionate about their straight needles. If that is you, then this pattern is for you.

I love the classic lines created in this hat, I even had first named this hat the Classy Hat, but when I was all done, I couldn't help by be reminded of little skiers running a slalom course down my hat.

Also this yarn, Baby Alpaca by Lion brand is so wonderfully soft and comfortable. It comes in at a great price of $5.00. That's a pretty great deal. A whole hat for $5.00, that is made out of 100% wool.  I will warn you, you will feel like you are playing yarn chicken with the skein, but I made it twice and had enough to finish the hat.

Where can I get this Pattern?


This is a free knitting pattern found right here on Designs by Diligence. Just keep scrolling down to read the pattern. If you would like to purchase an ads free, printer friendly PDF you can through my Ravelry Pattern Store for $3.00.
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Designer: Julia Schwartz

Yarn: Lion Brand LB Collection Baby Alpaca 3 light, 100% baby alpaca, 50g/ 1.75oz, 146 yrds/ 133m,  color tan, 1 skein

Needles: 6/ 4.25mm

Notions: yarn needle for weaving in your ends

Gauge: 24 sts x 30 rows = 4 inches Size: 19 inch circumference (stretches to fit an adult head. My head is 23 and it is perfect)

Stitches used: k (Knit), p (purl), RT (Right Twist), LT (Left Twist), k2tog (knit 2 together), k2togb (knit 2 together though the back loop), PM (place marker)
Special Stitches:

  • Right Twist (RT): Knit 2 together keeping both stitches on the left needle, knit into the first stitch, then pull both stitches onto the right needle, stitch complete. 
  • Left Twist (LT): Knit through the back loop of the 2nd st, keep the stitch on the left needle, knit in the first stitch, then pull both stitches onto the right needle, stitch complete. 
Notes: This pattern is worked flat and then seamed together at the end, so you can use straight needles for the whole pattern.

Copyright Julia Schwartz. Do not reproduce, copy, distribute, or sell this pattern without permission of the designer. This pattern must not be translated, reproduced, or circulated in another language without prior consent. If you have questions about this pattern please contact Julia.diligence@gmail.com.



Cast on 110 sts with straight needles leaving an extra long tail.

Row 1: (K2, P3) repeat for all 110 sts, turn
Row 2: (K3, P2) repeat for all 110 sts, turn
Rows 3-10: repeat rows 1 and 2
Row 11 and all odd numbers until stated: p all 110 sts, turn
Row 12: K5, RT, (k 9, RT) Repeat (to) 8 x, k 4 (110 sts), turn
Row 14: K4, RT, (k9, RT) repeat (to) 8x, k5, (110 sts), turn
Row 16: K3, RT, LT, (K7, RT, LT) repeat (to) 8x, k6 (110 sts), turn
Row 18: K3, LT, RT, (K7, LT, RT) repeat (to) 8x, k6 (110 sts), turn
Row 20: K4, LT, (k9, LT) Repeat (to) 8x, k5, (110), turn
Row 22: K5, LT, (k9, LT) Repeat (to) 8x, k 4 (110), turn
Row 24: (K9, LT) Repeat (to) 8x, k11 (110), turn
Row 26: K10, LT, (K9, LT), Repeat (to) 7x, k10 (110), turn
Row 28: K9, RT, LT, (K7, RT, LT) repeat (to) 7x, k9 (110 sts), turn
Row 30: K9, LT, RT, (K7, LT, RT) repeat (to) 7x, k9 (110 sts), turn
Row 32: K10, RT, (K9, RT), Repeat (to) 7x, k10 (110), turn
Row 34: (K9, RT) Repeat (to) 8x, k11 (110), turn

Rows 35- 58 repeat rows 11- 34

Crown Decrease

Row 1 and all odd number rows: p all sts, turn
Row 2: K4, k2tog, (k 9, k2tog) repeat (to) 8 x, k4 (110sts), turn
Row 4: K4, k2tog, (k 8, k2tog) repeat (to) 8 x, k4, (100 sts), turn
Row 6: K3, k2tog, (k7, k2tog) repeat (to) 8 x, k4, (90 sts), turn
Row 8: K3, k2tog tbl, (k6, k2tog tbl) repeat (to) 8 x, k3, (80 sts), turn
Row 10: K3, k2tog tbl, (k5, k2tog tbl) repeat (to) 8x, k2, (70 sts), turn
Row 12: K3, k2tog tbl, (K4, k2tog tbl) repeat (to) 8 x, k1 (60 sts), turn
Row 14: K3, K2tog tbl, (k3, k2tog tbl) repeat (to) 8 x, (50sts), turn
Row 16: (K2tog) Repeat 20 x, (20 sts), turn
Row 18: (k2tog) repeat 10 times, turn
Row 19: p10

Cast off by clipping a long tail and sewing it through the stitches left on the needles with a yarn needle. Pull all the stitches tight and secure your end.

Seam the hat up with the long tail from your cast on using the mattress stitch.

Weave in your ends.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2018

Rebecca Sweater: Part 2

A free crochet pattern


Welcome back to the Rebecca Sweater. If this is your first stop you should know that part one is found here. In Part 1 of the sweater we talked about how to swatch and take measurements for the sweater. Then we made the body of the sweater and divided the front and back panels for the arm holes.

In part 2 we are going to finish the sweater. We will seam the shoulders, and make the hood, sleeves and border edging.

For a reminder here are the schematics of the pattern:

Designer: Julia Schwartz
Yarn: Lion Brand A Touch of Alpaca
Hook: G/6 4.00mm
Notions: yarn needle
Size: make your own size, most examples used in the tutorial are for extra large
Gauge: 15 dc X 8 rows equals 4 X 4 inches
Stitches Used: ch, dc, foundation dc, lateral braid stitch (I made a tutorial for the stitch, just follow the link), sc
Special stitches:
  •  Lateral braid stitch: yarn over, insert your hook right under the v of the stitch you just finished stitching into, and around the post of the next stitch. so it looks like you are straddling both "v's",
    yarn over, pull hook back through the stitches, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through 2 loops 

Notes: The pattern is worked from the bottom up.

Copyright:
Julia Schwartz. Do not reproduce, copy, distribute, or sell this pattern without permission of the designer. This pattern must not be translated, reproduced, or circulated in another language without prior consent. If you have questions about this pattern please contact Julia.diligence@gmail.com.

And this is the example of the notes that you took:
body of sweater: 153 stitches and 34 rows 
arm holes divided for sweater: 16 rows.
front right panel: 35 stitches,
skip 7 stitches,
Back panel: 69 stitches,
skip 7 sts,
Front left panel: 35 stitches.


Seaming the shoulders:

In Part 1 we finished off separating the body of the sweater, now it is time to seam the shoulders together.

With front sides facing each other, fold the front sides in so that they are touching the back piece. See picture for reference. Sew together the top shoulder seams for half of the stitches on each side with a wip stitch. So if you had 35 sts you will wip stitch 17 sts.

when you are done it will look like this

Sweater Hood

Row 1: Starting with right side facing up, attach yarn at the right corner of your last row, ch 3, (counts as dc), 2 dc in the next dc {sk dc, 2 dc in next dc} repeat {to} t the last 3 sts, sk 1 dc, dc in each of the last 2 dc.  Note: 

Row 2(wrong side): Ch 3, turn, lateral braid st in each dc. 

For this next row, Things might not come out perfectly even and that's okay. You are shooting for 1/2 the stitches for the body of the sweater. So for me I had 153 sts, so for my hood I wanted to increase to 77 stitches. You might have to play around a little to get the stitches evenly spaced. 

Row 3: Ch 3,turn, {sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st, 1 dc in the next st, 2 dc in the next st} repeat 13 times(or to the last 3 sts), sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st, 1 dc in the next 2 sts,  (77 sts)

Row 4: Repeat row 2 

Row 5: Ch 3, (counts as first dc here and throughout), turn, 2 dc in the next st, {sk dc, 2 dc in next dc} repeat to last 3 dc, sk 1 dc, dc in each of the last 2 dc. 

Row 6- 47: Repeat row 4 and 5. 

Row 48: Ch 1, turn, fold the row in half and working through both halves of the row, sl st in each of the stitches across for a total of 39 times.

Finish off.

You might want to add more rows or less it's totally up to you it's your sweater. You have the power to make it what you want. 


Sleeves (same on both sides)

This is probably the trickiest part of writing the pattern for me to make it fit for everyone. So bare with me. 
There are 3 man areas that you need to make decreases on the arms, Right at the arm pit, the elbow, and down to the cuff. 

Everybody's arms are different, so you may find that your deceases need to be in different rows, or maybe you don't need as many rows as me. At this point you can keep trying it on to see that it is correct. 

Row 1 (front side): Attach yarn in the 3rd (4th) stitch of the 5 (7) open sts from the last row of the sweater body, ch 1, sc in the same stitch, sc in the next 2 (3) sts, 2 sc in each post of each dc moving around the arm hole, sc in the next 2 (3) sts, sl st into the starting sc. 

Row 2(wrong side): Ch 3, turn, lateral braid st in each sc, add a lateral braid stitch to starting ch, for an extra st. (We are now needing an even number of stitches instead of an odd number)

Row 3: Ch 3, turn, dc in same sp, (sk 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st) repeat (to), {sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st} repeat {to} to the last 5 sts, sk 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st, sk 2 sts, sl st into the starting st. 

Row 4: Repeat row 2 

Row 5: Ch 3, turn, dc in the same space, sk 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st, {sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st} repeat {to} the last 3 sts, sk 2 sts, sl st into starting st. 

Row 6: Repeat row 2 

Row 7: Ch, 3, turn, dc in the same sp, {sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st} repeat {to} last st, sk 1 st, sl st into starting st. 

Row 8: Ch 3, turn, lateral braid st in each dc.


Row 9: Ch, 3, turn, dc in the same sp, {sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st} repeat {to} last st, sk 1 st, sl st into starting st. 

Row 10 - 20: Repeat rows 8 and 9

Row 21: Ch 3, turn, dc in the same space, sk 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st, {sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st} repeat {to} the last 2 sts, sk 2 sts, sl st into starting st. 

Row 22- 23: Repeat rows 8 and 9 

Row 24: Repeat row 8 

Row 25: Ch 3, turn, dc in the same space, sk 2 sts, 2 dc in the next st, {sk 1 st, 2 dc in the next st} repeat {to} to the last 2 sts, sk 2 sts, sl st into starting st. 

Row 26: Repeat row 8

Row 27: Repeat row 25

Row 26- to your wrist: Continue repeating row 8 and 25. Decreasing to your wrist. 

Last 4 Rows: Ch 1, turn, sc in same st and sc in each st, sl st into first st.

Finish off. Repeat on the second sleeve.


Sweater Edging Band

Round 1: Attach yarn at right front corner (with the front side facing up), ch 1, (sc, ch1,  sc) in same st, 2 sc in each st post around the right front, hood and left front, (sc, ch 1, sc) in the corner st, 1 sc in each st of beginning row, sl st in beg. sc.

Round 2-5: Sc in each sc, (sc, ch 1, sc) in each ch st.

Finish off. Weave in your ends.

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If you like this pattern be sure to subscribe to Designs by Diligence to get notified when new patterns come out. The only time you will get an email is when a new post happens on the blog, usually on Tuesday.

You can also follow me through my social media sites. I love sharing sneak peeks, wips, and fiber arts news and projects.
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More Patterns you Will Love:

Becca Sweater

Double Brimmed Hat

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Monday, November 19, 2018

The Rebecca Sweater: Part 1

A Free Crochet Pattern


When I made the Becca sweater I knew right away that I wanted to make an adult version. It has such an easy construction that I knew I also wanted to make it so you could pick your own size measurements, so you could make it just right for you. Because let's face it, we all come in different shapes and sizes. I want to give you the confidence you need to make your own sweater and have it fit just the way you need it.

I'm dividing this pattern into two parts to make it even easier to follow. In part one we will talk about swatches, measurements, and the body of the sweater. Part 2 we will talk about the hood, the edging band and the sleeves.

Where Can I purchase this Pattern?


If you want to work ahead or if you would like a printer friendly ads free version. I have the PDF version available in my Ravelry Store for $3.00. With the PDF you will get Part 1 and Part 2 all in one place.

<--------->buy now <-------->

Follow and Subscribe 

If you like this pattern be sure to subscribe to Designs by Diligence to get notified when new patterns come out. The only time you will get an email is when a new post happens on the blog, usually on Tuesday.

You can also follow me through my social media sites. I love sharing sneak peeks, wips, and fiber arts news and projects.
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Instagram

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Designer: Julia Schwartz
Yarn: Lion Brand A Touch of Alpaca; 4 medium, 90% acrylic 10% alpaca, 207 yrds/ 190m, 3.5 oz/100g
Color Crimson 138 (6 balls for small, 7 balls for m, 8 balls for l, 9 balls for xl)
Hook: G/6 4.00 mm (On ball band recommended hook is I-9/ 5.5 mm)
Notions: yarn needle
Size: make your own size, most examples used in the tutorial are for extra large
Gauge: 15 dc X 8 rows equals 4 X 4 inches
Stitches Used: ch, dc, foundation dc, lateral braid stitch (I made a tutorial for the stitch, just follow the link), sc
Special stitches:
  •  Lateral braid stitch: yarn over, insert your hook right under the v of the stitch you just finished stitching into, and around the post of the next stitch. so it looks like you are straddling both "v's",
    yarn over, pull hook back through the stitches, yarn over, pull through 2 loops, yarn over, pull through 2 loops 

Notes: The pattern is worked from the bottom up.
Copyright:
Julia Schwartz. Do not reproduce, copy, distribute, or sell this pattern without permission of the designer. This pattern must not be translated, reproduced, or circulated in another language without prior consent. If you have questions about this pattern please contact Julia.diligence@gmail.com.


Tutorial 


If you have looked through the Becca sweater you will see that the whole body of the sweater is worked in one piece and it is seamed at the shoulders. This gives you control over how long, and wide the body will be and how big the arm holes will be.

The first 2 most important things to do when making a sweater is take your measurements and make a quick swatch. Whenever you start something new it's always important to have a plan, and notes to help you succeed. A lot of times we are investing a lot of money into making a sweater. I purchased my yarn at 30% off for $45.00. I rarely buy a piece of clothing for that price, so I know I don't want to make mistakes and I want to use this investment for a long time.

When taking measurements and  making a swatch, the ball band on the yarn skein is really your best friend. It's going to give you a lot of the information you need to make something successfully.

On your ball band you will hopefully get the information for how many yards/meters the skein has, and the gauge.



The Gauge and Swatch


For this project I'm using the yarn Touch of Alpaca by Lion Brand. On their ball band it says that if I am using a 5.5 mm hook I should get 14 sts and 18 rows every 4 inches using a sc st. I personally am a really loose crocheter and knitter so for me to get that gauge of 15 stitches and 18 rows I have to go to the hook size of 4.00mm. If I used a 5.5mm hook without checking my gauge my sweater would have been way too wide. and I would have ran out of yarn before finishing my sweater.

Any good sweater pattern is going to have a small swatch pattern to help you find the gauge you need. So here is mine: (hint you can use your swatch for a pocket later on at the end of the sweater.) 

Row 1 (wrong side): Make 21 foundation dc or ch 23, dc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch for a total of 21 dc.
Row 2 (right side): Ch 3, (counts as first dc here and throughout), turn, 2 dc in the next dc {sk dc, 2 dc in next dc} repeat to last 3 dc, sk 1 dc, dc in each of the last 2 dc. (21 sts)
Row 3: Ch 3, turn, lateral braid st in each dc. (21 sts)
Row 4- Row 11: Repeat rows 2 and 3
finish off with a long tail. 

When you are finished with this swatch, measure it with your measuring tape. You should have 14 stitches fit inside the 4 inch mark and 8 rows fit inside the 4 inch mark. Remember those numbers they are going to come in handy really soon. 

Measurements


Next you want to take your measurements. For this sweater there are 3 main measurements I want to focus on. The cross back, chest, and arm hole depth. 

The cross back measurement is taken at the middle of your back. Start the tape at the base of your neck and measure down to your belt buckle or to where you want the bottom of your sweater to fall. 

For the chest measurement you are going to wrap the tape measure around your breast and measure at the widest part. 

The arm hole depth measurement will be from the top of your shoulder to your arm pit. 

It's always good to have a partner to help you take these measurements. If you don't have someone to help you or you want to double check your measurements you can always grab your favorite sweater and measure that just like you would yourself.



Finding the Right Size

Now we have all these numbers what are we supposed to do with them. In this section I'm going to use my numbers as examples but when you are making your notes use your own numbers. ;). 

The best thing to do at this point is take out a piece of paper and take notes, actually hopefully you already did this to write down your measurements. 

Starting with your chest measurement, lets figure out how many stitches you will need for the body of your sweater. you are going to divide your chest measurement by 4. (The 4 stands for the 4 inches in the gauge) So for me it was 44 divided by 4 = 11

Then you are going to take that number and multiply it to the number of stitches in your gauge which if you remember for us that as 14. So for me the numbers were 11 x 14 = 154. For the stitch pattern you need an odd number so I am going to round down for 153 stitches. 

This last number is how many stitches you will need to start your sweater.

Now lets figure out how many rows you need. For my cross back measurements I had 25, and the arm hole depth I had 8. I have really big arms so some of you are going to have a smaller number here. So again you are going to take your cross back number and divide by 4 so 25 divided by 4 = 6.25. Take that number and multiply that by the row gauge 8. 6.25 x 8 = 50. 

When we are completely done with my sweater  I'll have 50 rows, but First we need to divide up the arm holes. Remember my arm hole depth was 8. 8 divided by 4 is 2. Then 2 x 8 = 16. I need to subtract 16 from my total number of rows for the sweater to make the arm holes. So 50 - 16 = 34. This last number is going to tell me the amount of rows needed for the body of my sweater. 

The last thing we need to figure out is the amount of stitches for the front panels, arm holes and back panel. 

First for the back panel.  Now it gets a little tricky because we have to figure out our arm holes. I am leaving a 7 stitch gap between my front and back panels (this will make more sense later). Again I have big arms so if you are on the smaller side you might want to just do 5 on each side. I'm going to subtract 14 (or 10) from my total stitches of the sweater body so 153-14= 139 Divide this number by 2. 139 divided by 2= 69.5 round down to 69 and divide again by 2 = 34.5 round up to 35. So now you can check your work. 35+7+69+7+35=153 

So your notes should look something like this:
body of sweater: 153 stitches and 34 rows 
arm holes divided for sweater: 16 rows.
front right panel: 35 stitches,
skip 7 stitches,
Back panel: 69 stitches,
skip 7 sts,
Front left panel: 35 stitches. 


Okay we made it through the hard part and it really wasn't that bad. All that hard work is going to insure us that we are going to have a sweater that fits us the way we want it to. Are you ready to finally stitch?


Body of Your Sweater

Row 1 (wrong side): Make the number of body of sweater stitches (example 153) foundation dc or ch 2 extra your number, dc in 3rd ch from hook and in each ch for a total of your sweater body stitches.
Row 2 (right side): Ch 3, (counts as first dc here and throughout), turn, 2 dc in the next dc {sk dc, 2 dc in next dc} repeat to last 3 dc, sk 1 dc, dc in each of the last 2 dc. 
Row 3: Ch 3, turn, lateral braid st in each dc. 
Repeat rows 2 and 3 for the number of rows needed for the body of your sweater before you separate the sections for the arm holes.

Do not finish off. 


Separation of sleeves for right front 

Row 1: Repeat row 2 for a total number of front right panel of  stitches. 
Rows 2 - number of rows for front panel (example 16 rows): Repeat rows 3 and 2. 

at the end of your last row finish off. 

Separation of back

Row 1: With right side facing you, skip 5 (7) sts on last row of sweater body, ch 3, 2 dc in next st, {sk dc, 2 dc in next dc} repeat to last 3 dc of your number of stitches for the back panel), sk 1 dc, dc in each of the last 2 dc. 

Rows 2-number of rows for front panel (example 16 rows): Repeat rows 3 and 2.  Finishing on a row 3. 
at the end of your last row finish off.

Separation for Left front

Row 1: With right side facing you, skip 5 (7) sts on last row of sweater body, ch 3, 2 dc in the next st, {sk dc, 2 dc in next dc} repeat to last 3 dc, sk 1 dc, dc in each of the last 2 dc. 

Rows 2 - number of rows for front panel (example 16 rows): Repeat rows 3 and 2. 
at the end of your last row finish off.

Congrats! you made it to the end of Part 1. If you want to continue to part 2 Click Here!


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