If you've been following along on the California Revival Knits blog tour, even a little bit, you've already gotten to see the gorgeous patterns, the inspiring tiles made by hand, and the fact that the author herself models some of her work. If you haven't, I encourage you to check it out on Ravelry, or here or here, or in some of the other posts from the blog tour.

I wanted to take a different angle. As a fellow designer who likes to encourage design-y impulses in all knitters, I wanted to ask Stephannie about her process. I was secretly hoping to get advice on how to narrow down the dozen ideas I have for one design into one thing...and I wanted to hear how other designers offer patterns to suit a variety of knitters.

In this book the options are evident in several ways. There is the simple variation–the Quatrefoil Mitts come in both a full mitten and a fingerless version and the Undersea Garden Cowl has instructions for two different weights of yarn. There is also the "collection" approach, seen in the four items–hat, socks, mitts, and sweater–all using wrought iron inspired motif.

The last sounds the most obvious: by providing explicit instructions in a wide range of sizes.

This sounds simple, but it is actually quite difficult to execute one design, especially a complex one, in a large size range. To make the design look the same on different proportions, you often have to design 2 or 3 sub-patterns. Details such as sleeves, neck lines, motif beginnings, endings and edges, etc, often need unique instructions for each size or group of sizes. In the case of the Wrought Iron Cardigan, there are 29 charts–charts for different sizes of the back neck, the shoulders, etc, so you can be sure that each finished object will have the same graceful look, nothing fudged.

This is not your average plug in a stitch pattern from a dictionary type of design.

Why, is this not more common, you may wonder? There are several reasons, but a big one is the cost of printing. That kind of design takes space, space costs money, and traditional publishers who don't really get knitting or craft rarely are willing to risk investing so much in just one design.

This is why I'm so glad that Stephannie was able to pair up with Cooperative Press. They are all about letting designers do what they think a certain design needs - and if it needs 29 charts to be right, 29 charts it will be. This is especially true if it will make a pattern available to knitters of all sizes. They have faith that if they let the designer fully realize a clear, distinctive, vision, it will make their books compelling enough for knitters to buy and enjoy.

The amount of freedom given to the designer means that flipping through this particular book is like hanging out in Stephannie's house for an afternoon. The styling is all California casual–the kind of clothes she lives in–pairing a beautiful knit with jeans or a casual spring jacket. I can imagine seeing every one of these pieces on people at a farmer's market, cheese, or wine shop. The inspiration comes from the architectural style of her very own house, the pieces are the sort of thing she likes to wear.

This collection has something for everyone. Those knitters who might shy away from intermediate - advanced patterns, can be sure the final product will be worth the effort involved. Knitters who crave patterns with thoughtful detailing in design and fit will be delighted, and even those knitters who rarely knit from patterns will find plenty of inspiration.

All in all I learned a lot from paging through the book and chatting with Stephannie. As another designer who likes complex, beautiful detailing, I hope that the number of knitters willing to tackle it is growing, and that they will find and enjoy this book.

Let me know which type of "option" you use the most of: the variation, the collection, or the extensive and detailed sizing.

The book is available as hardcopy+digital copy, or digital-only at Cooperative Press.

Next stop on the blog tour is on May 21st with Donna Druchunas at Sheep to Shawl.

Required Disclaimer: I received a free digital copy of this book for review. This blog post represents my honest opinion; I was not paid for a positive review nor did I promise one in advance.

This is by far the largest tutorial I have made to date. It is so big, that I can not put it all in a blog post. I will link to the four separate parts.

I made this tutorial specifically for the Tramonto lace shawl pattern, and it is intended to be accompanied by them. If you are looking to do short rows in a different lace pattern, the basic principles in this tutorial will help you get a sense of one way to do it.

In this case, I had to fit 8 rows of patterning into 2 stitches. I did not want to wrap and turn on yarnovers, nor did I want to interrupt the pattern. I chose a static pattern element, in this case a 2 stitch column, and chose to double wrap each stitch twice to get 8 rows. Since a full repeat is worked the transitions are seamless and natural, although not completely invisible.

I made the tutorial soooo detailed (with plenty of labels), that even if you have never done short rows before you should be able to follow along successfully. I like to include the steps-between-the-steps, if you will, as that is where I always get hung up when learning something from a book or photo tutorial. This kind of project brings out the teacher in me.

If you purchase the pattern, this tutorial is included as an additional 4 page file for those who dislike reading off screens. If you look at the tutorial and have no desire to ever use this technique, but like the stitch pattern and shawl, rest assured that they are optional and you can knit a version of this lovely and fun scarf without ever needing to wrap and turn.

Without further ado, here are the links.

Short Rows for 8 row Lace: Part 1

Short Rows for 8 row Lace: Part 2

Short Rows for 8 row Lace: Part 3

Short Rows for 8 row Lace: Part 4

I am always interested in improving my tutorials, and I love hearing if they are useful, so feel free to use the comment section or contact me for either of those things.

We spent the last two days in Tivoli, a small town about 18km away from Rome that is the source of the Tiber, and has been a resort town for wealthy Romans almost as long as the city has existed. The town itself is lovely, with many medieval streets, but the two most popular attractions are the Villa D'Este and the Villa Adriana.

The two villas are very different and interesting, and I often find decorative elements in the rooms inspire designs. One wonderful feature of the Villa Adriana is that many of the floors are preserved. The most famous floor mosaics are pictoral, but for simpler rooms the Romans created wonderful geometric patterns.

I think many of these patterns could translate well to two color knitting. The patterns based on circles would be the most challenging, but I think trying to swatch them could be fun.

I think I have to try to chart this one, and see if I can knit a beret inspired by this design.

This has potential for a pattern as well, I think, but perhaps simplified a bit and on a small or medium scale.

I love the borders around the floors. Sometimes they have a completely white floor, with a simple border like the one above (wide black stripe next to the wall, then two more narrow black stripes). I could see the border being beautiful on a drapey cardigan, skirt, or child's dress.

There were very few corners left of some of the more expensive colorful geometric floors. The natural variations in the marble make me think that many of these patterns would translate well into geometric patterns knit up with semi-solid or variagated yarn, provided the contrast was high enough.

What do you think? Do you see knitwear potential? Should I start making stitch patterns?

 

One of the trickier parts of designing is estimating yardages. Typically you have, at best, the yardage of one sample from which you extrapolate the other sizes. Sometimes, you are hiring sample knitters, get test knitters, (or hosting a KAL...) and you need to estimate the yardage for sizes without knitting an entire sample first.

It's very important to estimate well, because knitters who have purchased a pattern are rightly upset if they run out of yarn while following the instructions. Most designers pad by 10% or so. Too much is also not good, because it is also frustrating to end up with 2 or 3 skeins of yarn you didn't need, that you may not be able to return.

I've read a lot of forum threads about this, and read the recommendations in several books for designers, and had not run into any issues with too little or far too much yardage. I like to weigh a large portion (or the whole thing) on an accurate kitchen scale, and then use proportions to estimate the other sizes.

Enter Tramonto. I knit a large swatch (an 8 x 8 triangle), got it weighed by the kitchen staff on the pastry chef's scale (this took a few days because they're pretty busy in the kitchen), and did my math. Everything got checked out, good to go, pattern information released.

Until I started my own sample. I started a few days before I released Clue #1 (I have to be a little ahead of the game so I can get the photos done for the final pattern). I was just to the end of clue 2, and I should have had about 1/3 of a skein left. And....I didn't. It was all gone. The midi size is definitely going to need 2 skeins, and probably almost all of 2 skeins.

(

(Tip for using silk yarn - after winding on the ball winder, slip onto an old toilet paper tube. Knit from the outside of the ball.)

I redid my calculations using the sample, and got very different numbers. My original estimate was off by about 30%. It is possible that these are a little high now; I'll redo them one more time based on the final sample for the final pattern.

I'm not really sure what happened. My guess is that because it is lace, the swatch needs to be much, much, bigger to get an accurate estimate. I've successfully used swatches that size for other garments. Lesson learned.

I felt my mistake most for some of the KAL-ers who had purchased yarn based on my estimates, or had their heart set on using some special handspun, and now would not be able to knit the size they wanted.

I've decided to add an extra size for those knitters who really wanted to use about 600-650 yards of yarn. It will be an Extra Long Mini, which sounds a little funny, but that's what it is. It will be the same width as the mini (about 15"), but be closer in length to the midi (hopefully 55-60"). This is just right because I wanted one size that would use exactly one skein of the Cleopatra anyway, as it is such a special yarn that many knitters are likely to only have one skein.

I may consider adding another size, that will be a true mini (about 9" wide), that would also be around 400 yds. I've never seen a shawl pattern with 5 sizes before, but this pattern lends itself so well to playing around with size, I want everyone to make the one they like best.

What size shawl or scarf do you wear the most?

I promised you mystery information, and here it is!

The pattern is fully designed and tech edited before you see it. I haven't knit or photographed the sample, however, so I'll be knitting along too.

You can join on Ravelry by adding the free pattern to your library by May 1st. I will deactivate the pattern sometime in the evening of May 1st (Italian time), or possibly very early May 2nd. I can't promise exactly when - but it won't matter because if you're interested, you'll sign up right away!

If you aren't on Ravelry, or simply prefer it, email me by May 1st via the contact page and ask to be added. Be sure to add me to your address book so that the clues don't get caught in you spam filter.

The KAL is free for participants who sign-up by the deadline, the pattern will be available for pre-order after that, and when the last clue gets sent out it will be available at full price.

The first clue will go out on May 2nd, with one or two weeks between clues, depending on how big of a chunk it it. I'll post on here, Twitter, Facebook, and Ravelry when I release the clues, so make sure to follow me at one of those places so you know when to expect the emails with the new info.

If you want to use the same yarn I did, which I highly recommend just because it's beautiful, go to YarnLove's etsy shop, or visit an online retailer that carries her yarn. The yarn is called Cleopatra, and is 100% Tussah Silk. In gorgeous colors.

The photo above is of Emma Woodhouse, in Cranberry.

If you're interested in choosing a color related to the inspiration, look up crespuscular rays. They occur in water, at sunrise, and sunset, so that actually covers most colors.

There are instructions for beading the shawl included, but these are optional. If you aren't lucky enough to have a local bead store, I recommend Earthfaire. You need 8/0 seed beads.

There are instructions for two shapes, one which involves doing short rows in the lace pattern. I will post a VERY detailed tutorial on my blog, and if enough KAL people want it I will make a pdf version as well (I'll do a poll when it gets to that step). The other special techniques are visible on the first page of the pattern.

I can assure you it is very pretty, fancy, and completely wearable. If you can't join in this time, at least tell a friend. I don't want to knit alone, and my online knitters are all I've got.