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Kasjmier

Looking for a delightfully fluffy layering piece for when the temperatures are low? A knit that combines both relaxing stockinette as well as some lace patterning? Look no further! The Kasjmier shawl has you covered. And yes, pun intended! It can, of course, also be made in a different material.

This shawl is worked from the top-down in one piece. Both written and charted instructions for the patterned edging are included. The pattern is available in 3 sizes; the shawl pictured is in the smallest size.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Difficulty level

The Kasjmier shawl starts with a garter stitch tab. The lace in the edging is worked on both RS and WS rows. Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, k2tog, skp, m1l and m1r increases as well as a centered double decrease.

This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Size S (M, L): Wingspan of 142 (160, 178) cm (56 (63, 70) inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 56 (65, 74) cm (22 ( 25 ½, 29 ¼) inches), measured after blocking.

Adjust the sizing further by working a different number of repeats of the body. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Gauge: approx. 12.5 sts / 18 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette, after blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages for the English version and 5 pages for the Dutch version (letter size)

Materials

Yarn: 340 (510, 680) m (372 (558, 744) yds) / 100 (150, 200) g Lang Yarns Cashmere Light (88% Cashmere goat, 12% Nylon; 85 m (93 yds) / 25 g) in 950.0015 Cognac. Substitute any soft worsted weight yarn with a halo for a similar result. For best results, choose a natural fiber that blocks well.
Size 6 mm (US 10) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles were used for the sample shawl in size S.
Yarn needle
2 stitch markers to indicate the center stitch
Stitch markers to indicate repeats of the lace patterning (optional)

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tutorial – working a purl-side left-leaning lifted increase

In previous tutorials I already showed you how to work a Right Leaning Lifted Increase on both knit– and purl-side of your project. The knit-side version of the Left Leaning Lifted Increase, we’ve also covered. This one is usually named Left Lifted Increase with the abbreviation LLI. So, now it’s time to focus on the purl-side Left Leaning counterpart! The purl-side version is called the same, only with “purl” added after it. Left Lifted Increase (Purl) with the abbreviation LLIP.

You may remember it from before: A lifted increase is an increase that you work from a stitch below the one next on the needle. To work this stitch, lift it to work into it.

Materials used

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: * KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working a purl-side Left-Leaning Lifted Increase step by step

I’ve made a little swatch, continuing the same one from the previous tutorial. And since this increase is worked on the purl-side, I’m knitting this bit in reverse stockinette.

1. To make the increase a left-leaning one, we have to lift the left-side of a stitch unto to the needle to work into it. This means we will work the increase 2 stitches below the last stitch knit. In other words: You’re not looking at the stitch below the loop on the right-hand needle, but the one below it. I’ve indicated this stitch with the tip of the third needle pictured below.

2. To start, insert your left-hand needle from bottom to top into the second horizontal purl bump below the last worked stitch on the right-hand needle.

Step 2 in working a purl-side left-leaning lifted increase

3. Next, place the lifted stitch on the left-hand needle…

Step 3 in working a purl-side left-leaning lifted increase

4. …. wrap the yarn around the needle as you usually would to make a purl stitch …

5. … pull the yarn through the stitch …

6. … and complete the stitch by slipping the worked stitch off the needle. You have now increased one stitch.

That's how to work the left-leaning lifted increase!

The below picture shows how the left-leaning lifted increase looks after 2 more increase rows. The first picture shows the purl-side, the second the knit-side. Increases are worked 2 stitches in from both garter stitch edges.

Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.

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tutorial – the k3tog right-leaning double decrease

Tutorial on working the k3tog right-leaning double decrease

In a previous post, I showed you how to work the sl1-k2tog-psso left-leaning double decrease. In this tutorial, I will tell you all about the matching right-leaning double decrease, the one abbreviated with “k3tog”. This stands for “knit 3 stitches together”. It’s a common way to reduce the number of stitches in your project and make it narrower. With its matching left-leaning decrease it’s often found in lace patterning. Also not unimportant: the k3tog is a very easy to work double decrease which gives a lovely texture to your knitting.

Below you can find how to work this decrease, so get your materials and follow along!

Materials

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: * KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working a k3tog step by step

1. First, work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the decrease. In this case, I want to work the double decrease over the 3 stitches in the middle of the swatch.

2. Next, insert the tip of the right-hand needle into the first 3 stitches at the same time as if to knit.

3. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

4. …and pull it through the stitches you inserted the right-hand needle in.

5. To finish the k3tog decrease, slip the original stitches of the left-hand needle.

The below picture shows how it looks after 2 more decrease rows have been worked. Please note that the bottom half of the swatch pictured shows the sl2-k1-p2sso centered double decrease I showed you in a previous tutorial.

The k3tog right-leaning double decrease used in several rows.

And that’s all there is to it!

tutorial – the k3tog right-leaning double decrease Read More »

mint chocolate

Mint Chocolate is a shallow triangular shawl knit sideways. There is just something about the combination of striped garter stitch and openwork that appeals to me: Lazy mindless knitting, together with patterning that requires a tad more attention. The perfect project for me!

The pattern contains both fully written out as well as charted instructions for the lace. The lace section is worked on both wrong and right side rows. However, increases and decreases are only worked every 4th row, making it quite suitable for new “true lace” knitters.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Difficulty level

The lace in this pattern is worked on both RS and WS rows. The points in the pictured shawl are blocked that way. You can, however, block it straight instead of scalloped, if you prefer.
Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, kfb, k2tog and a centered double decrease.

This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: Span width of 186 cm (73 ¼ inches) along the upper edge and a max. depth of 91 cm (36 inches), measured after blocking.

Change the size of this shawl by using lighter or heavier yarn and/or working fewer (or more) repeats of the various sections in the body of the shawl. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Gauge: approx. 13.5 sts / 23 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch stripes, after blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)

Materials

Yarn: The Dutch Yarn Barn Double Dutch (100% Texel wool; 200 m (218 yds) / 50 g) in the following colors and amounts – MC: 400 m (437 yds) / 100 g in Linden Green, and CC: 200 m (218 yds) / 50 g in Madder/Indigo brown. Substitute wool fingering or sport weight yarn of comparable thickness, in solid or tonal colorways for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles
Yarn needle

mint chocolate Read More »

tutorial – working a knit-side left-leaning lifted increase

Tutorial on working a knit-side left-leaning lifted increase or LLI for short

In a previous tutorial, I already showed you how to work a Right Leaning Lifted Increase on both knit- and purl-side of your project. That means it’s now time to focus on the Left-Leaning counterparts! The knit-side version of the Left-Leaning Lifted Increase is usually named the somewhat shorter Left Lifted Increase. This is abbreviated as LLI. The purl-side version is called the same, only with “purl” added after it: Left Lifted Increase (Purl) with the abbreviation LLIP. I will focus on the latter in another tutorial.

With left-leaning I mean that the increase leans to the right, relative to the surrounding “normal” stitches. Pair it together with its right-leaning companion to symmetrically increase the number of stitches on your project.

What is a lifted increase?

Basically, it’s exactly how it’s called: an increase that is worked from a stitch below the one just worked on the right-hand needle. This stitch is lifted to be able to work into it.

Materials

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: * KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working a knit-side Left-Leaning Lifted Increase step by step

1. First, work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the increase. In this case, I want the increase 2 sts in from the garter stitch border on the right.

2. To make the increase a left-leaning one, we have to lift the left-side of a stitch unto to the needle to work into it. This means we will work the increase 2 stitches below the last stitch knit. In other words: You’re not looking at the stitch below the loop on the needle, but the one below it. I’ve indicated this stitch with the tip of the third needle pictured below.

3. To start the decrease, insert your left-hand needle from back to front into the left leg of the stitch as identified above. Note that the stitch mount is different from usual. The right leg of the stitch is not in front of the needle but in the back.

4. We don’t want to have a twisted result. So, we now untwist the stitch by inserting the right-hand needle into the back loop.

5. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

6. … and pull it through the stitch.

7. Complete the new stitch by slipping the worked stitch off the needle as usual. You have now increased one stitch.

The below picture shows how it looks after 2 more increase rows have been worked. Increases are worked 2 stitches in from both garter stitch edges.

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tutorial – sl1-k2tog-psso left-leaning double decrease

Working a sl1-k2tog-psso left-leaning double decrease

The double decrease as shown in this tutorial reduces 3 stitches down to 1 stitch in a left-leaning way. The sl1-k2tog-psso abbreviation is short for “slip 1 st, knit 2 stitches together, pass the slipped stitch over the knit-together stitches”. You may however also encounter SK2P as an abbreviation for this decrease.

As you may already expect, there are 3 main steps in working this double decrease: sl1, k2tog, and psso. Read on to see how it’s worked.

Materials

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: * KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working a sl1-k2tog-psso step by step

2. To start, slip the next stitch knitwise from the left knitting needle to the right knitting needle. Unfortunately no picture for this step, I noticed too late that it was totally out of focus…

3. To work the next step, insert the right-hand needle knitwise into the front loop of the next 2 stitches on the left-hand needle.

4. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

5. … and pull it through the 2 stitches.

6. To finish the k2tog part of this decrease, slide the original 2 stitches off the left-hand needle.

7. Now for the third and last part of this decrease, insert the left-hand needle into the slipped stitch …

8. … and pull it over the k2tog and off the right-hand needle to complete the decrease.

And the last step of the sl1-k2tog-psso is done!

The below picture shows how it looks after 2 more decrease rows have been worked.

tutorial – sl1-k2tog-psso left-leaning double decrease Read More »

tutorial – working a yo

A yarn over (abbreviated as “yo”) is a simple way to increase stitches and deliberately make a little hole in your knitting. On its own, it can be used to add shaping to your knitting project. When combined with strategically placed decreases it makes lace, either as a single design element or as all-over patterning. Yarn overs also have other applications. Think for example off simple buttonholes, when paired with a k2tog decrease.

This tutorial will give you step by step instructions on how to work the “yarn over” increase.

Materials used

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: * KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working a yo step by step

I’ve continued with the little swatch I used with my previous tutorial on working the sl2-k1-p2sso centered double decrease.

1. First, work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the increase. In this case, I will be making the yo increase 2 sts in from each of the garter stitch borders.

2. To make the yo, move the working yarn from the back to the front between the needles and then over the right-hand needle back to the back of the work.

If you’d be wanting to make the yo in reverse stockinette, the working yarn would already be at the front of the work, So, in that case, it would just be a matter of wrapping the yarn over and around the needle, and back to the front of the work.

When wanting to make a yarn over between a knit and a purl stitch or vice versa, you’d have to make adjustments regarding where you’re moving the yarn from and to. The main thing to remember is that you want to wrap the working yarn over and around the needle, before bringing it to the correct position for continuing your knit.

3. And below, you can see how it looks when 2 more rows with yarn over increases have been worked.

And that’s all there is to it!

tutorial – working a yo Read More »

faaborg

The Faaborg shawl (or Fåborg as written in Danish) is a delightfully whimsical shawl – a lovely layering piece with a lot of playful character and substance. This is certainly a shawl that will keep you warm and cozy in the most turbulent of autumn and winter weather.

Start the shawl with a garter stitch tab. The colorwork in the border is done using the slip-stitch mosaic technique, so you will be handling only one strand of yarn at all times. The border patterning is both charted and written out.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Difficulty level

Knit the triangle-shaped Faaborg shawl from the top-down, starting with a garter tab cast-on. The edging uses the slip-stitch mosaic colorwork technique. Stitches used include knit, purl, m1bl, k2tog tbl, as well as slipping stitches.

This pattern is suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

One size – finished dimensions of the sample shawl: 193 cm (76 inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 84 cm (33 inches), measured after blocking.

Change the size of the shawl by using heavier or lighter weight yarn and/or working less (or more) repeats of the various sections. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Gauge: approx. 12.5 sts / 22 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette, after blocking.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)

Materials

Yarn: MC – 450 m (492 yds) / 150 g CaMaRose Økologisk Hverdagsuld (100% wool; 150 m (164 yds) / 50 g) in Mørk Okker 37. CC – 150 m (164 yds) / 50 g Tusindfryds Hverdagsuld (100% wool; 150 m (164 yds) / 50 g) in 47/39870 brown. Substitute any 2-ply 100% wool DK or sport weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles
Size 4.5 mm (US 7) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles
Yarn needle
4 stitch markers

faaborg Read More »

tutorial – sl2-k1-p2sso centered double decrease

Working the sl2-k1-p2sso centered double decrease

A centered (or central) double decrease as shown in this tutorial, reduces 3 stitches down to 1 stitch in a symmetrical way. The sl2-k1-p2sso abbreviation is short for “slip two sts, k1 st, pass the 2 slipped sts over the knitted st”. You may however also encounter CDD or S2KP as abbreviations for this decrease.

It results in a strong vertical decrease line that doesn’t slant to either the left or the right. It’s a decrease that’s often used in lace patterns, and for example at the base of a v-neck opening in a sweater. A very useful decrease to have in your knitter’s toolkit!

Read on to see how it’s worked.

Materials

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: * KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working a sl2-k1-p2sso step by step

2. To start, slip the next two stitches knitwise and together from the left knitting needle to the right knitting needle. Basically as if to knit those two stitches together.

3. The below picture shows how it looks after slipping these two stitches to the right-hand needle.

4. To knit the next stitch on the left-hand knitting needle, first, insert the right-hand needle knitwise into the front loop of the stitch.

5. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

6. … and pull it through the stitch.

7. To finish the knit stitch, slide the original stitch off the left-hand needle.

8. Now for the third and last part of this decrease, insert the left-hand needle into the two slipped stitches …

9. … and pull them over the single knitted stitch and off the right-hand needle to complete the decrease.

The below picture shows how it looks after 2 more decrease rows have been worked. Please note that the bottom half of the swatch pictured shows the kfb increases I showed you in a previous tutorial.

Result of the sl2-k1-p2sso centered double decrease

tutorial – sl2-k1-p2sso centered double decrease Read More »

tutorial – working a kfb

There are lots of ways to increase the number of stitches on your needle. Knitting in the front and back of the same stitch, also known as the kfb increase, is a relatively easy one. The kfb increase is also known as a “bar increase” because it forms a little horizontal bar in your work.

Due to this little bar, this increase is virtually invisible in garter stitch. When used in stockinette, as shown in this tutorial, it forms a series of decorative bars along the increase line. This how-to will give you step by step instructions on how to work the “knit front and back” increase.

Materials used

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: * KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working a kfb step by step

I’ve made a little swatch and will be making the increases 2 sts in from each of the garter stitch borders.

1. First, work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the increase. In this case, I want the increase 2 sts in from the garter stitch border on the right. A kfb first makes a knit stitch, followed by the extra “bar” stitch on the left of it. Because of this, I start working the kfb over the second stitch.

2. To start, insert the right-hand needle knitwise into the front loop of the stitch.

3. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

4. … and pull it through the stitch. Do not let the original stitch slide of the left-hand needle yet!

5. Now we insert the right-hand needle knitwise into the back loop of the stitch.

6. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

7. … and pull it through the stitch.

8. To complete the kfb increase you can now let the original stitch slide from the needle. This is how it looks now: a knit stitch with an extra “bar stitch” to the left of it.

9. In this swatch, I’m also making an increase on the left side of the fabric. Because I want the bar stitch to be 2 sts in from the garter stitch, I now have to work the increase over the 3rd stitch from the right of the garter stitch edge stitches.

This is how it looks after the entire row with its 2 increases has been worked:

And here again, after 3 increase rows total have been worked, each with 2 kfb increases.

And that’s all there is to it!

tutorial – working a kfb Read More »