Dear Knitters and Crocheters,

Girls will be girls. This season's hottest frou frou neck adornment is a faux fur collar that ties with a flirty satin bow. Depending on the occasion you can wear this collar as shown with a sexy bustier or finish off a thrift store cardigan or suit jacket with a flourish of femininity. Try buttoning your favorite little pastel cardigan down the back with a flirty faux fur collar around your neck for a very 50's modern sweater girl look.

Even the strictest fitted suit jacket can be glamorized with a touch of fur and some bling bling in this quick to knit and easy to wear neck tie. This week we are posting instructions to knit 3 very pretty collars, all in our new SIZZLE BRIGHT yarn. (For instruction, click on Marni, Choo and Dolce) I think these are great holiday gift ideas, and believe it or not it's time to start making a list.

The fall fashion magazines are just beginning to hit the news stands. I have always loved the rush of "Back to School" fashion, even though it has been many years since my last fall semester fashion rush. 'Tis the season when everyone's fashion appetite peaks with daydreams of sweaters, coats, ponchos, scarves, bags, belts, boots, and accessories that will soon replace our nearly naked summer wardrobe. The local yarn shop replaces the beach as our destination of choice. After browsing the fashion magazines and the malls we determined once again that hand knit and hand crocheted fashion rocks!

I think I will knit PATRICIA from book #228. It's a modern take on a poncho that's knit in MEDLEY with a touch of PLEASURE at the cuffs.
I am going to knit it in the color shown because I have lots of browns and plums in my wardrobe. You can knit it in other shade of MEDLEY. You might prefer to knit the cuffs in a shade of SOFTWIST BULKY if you can't find one to coordinate in PLEASURE.

Both SOFTWIST BULKY and PLEASURE knit to the same stitch and row gauge, so you can interchange patterns. You will need more grams of SOFTWIST BULKY than you would PLEASURE because the yardage is less. Pleasure comes in 50 gram balls and SOFTWIST BULKY, in 100 gram hanks. Keep in mind that the SOFTWIST BULKY sweater will be significantly heavier than the same sweater knit in PLEASURE. So you see, even if you find a yarn that knits to the exact same stitch and row gauge, it is not necessarily going to make the same fabric with the same drape. Therefore it is judicious to knit a good size swatch before deciding whether you can substitute a yarn. This will enable you to make an informed design decision.




Selina from Sarasota wrote:
"I am knitting the Belle Star skirt for my daughter to wear as a poncho. This is the first time I have knit anything on a circular needle. I am confused about how you make garter stitch when you knit on a circular needle. I know that if you knit every row on a straight needle you will get garter stitch. I am having trouble understanding the instructions for the garter bands. Can you help?"

Selina, this is a simple concept once you understand it. When you knit on circular needles or double pointed needles, this is called knitting in the round or circular knitting. This is how you make hats, socks and ponchos without any seams. Many knitters prefer to knit in the round whenever possible. To make stockinette stitch in the round, you only have to knit because the right side is facing you all the time. You see, when you knit a knit stitch on the right side of the fabric, you are creating a stitch that looks like a knit stitch on the right side, but that same stitch presents itself as a purl stitch on the wrong side.

When you want to knit garter stitch in order to form garter ridges, you must knit one round and then purl one round and repeat. This is because the right side is always facing you. If you were knitting on straight needles, you would turn the work to the back on every second row creating the garter ridges with only the knit stitch. You will soon understand this and once it becomes clear to you, you will be ready for more complex pattern stitches. Truly understanding the nature of the knitted fabric and the complexities of the knit and purl stitches will free you to go to the next level of knitting awareness. Right now, you can simply meditate on your knit and purl mantra as you strive to achieve knitting mindfulness.

Till next time, keep creating.

All the best,


Margery Winter
Creative Director