Archives for category: Lace

WP5 Spotlight: Tilt

05.17.13 //
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The Tilt shawl comes from our very own Leila Raabe – an original member of our in-house design team at BT, Leila now runs operations at our Portland, Maine, location and is known for her thoughtful and detailed shawl designs (a few examples from our archive).

As you can see from the photo above Tilt is a a play on geometry, with radiating diagonals and directional mesh. It’s hard to see from the photos, but the center section contrasts diagonal stripes of stockinette and moss stitch between sets of eyelet “rays”.

The shawl rates high on our “knitability” scale. Knit circularly from the center out, the shawl is always worked from the RS (always a plus) and requires no additional knitted-on edging.

The outer motif incorporates a subtly integrated lace motif before working the bind off, though Leila has also provided a mesh-only alternative for that section of the pattern, for those wanting to keep their 45 degree angles as an absolute.

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Resources: Tilt is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with Loft yarn, shown here in color Truffle Hunt.

Categories Lace, Loft, Wool People

WP5 Spotlight: Moon & Stars

05.15.13 //
1

The beautiful Moon & Stars crescent shawl was also created up north – designer Shui Kuen Kozinski lives in the Boreal Forest of Canada and gave me the impression of being something of a sage as we walked through her design process together.

When Shui Kuen submitted her design proposal, she shared that she is often inspired by poems & stories. In this case, “The Moon, the Stars”  by poet Sully Prudhomme who won the first Nobel Prize in literature in 1901 ”in special recognition of his poetic composition, which gives evidence of lofty idealism, artistic perfection and a rare combination of the qualities of both heart and intellect”.

The shawl is worked from the top down using a gentle rate of increasing to create a wide, semi-circle shape. The welted section at top-center symbolizes the moon, while the two bands of gathered lace stitches that follow represent stars, large and small.

A very charming story of inspiration, don’t you think?

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Resources: Moon & Stars is available as a PDF download at Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. The pattern is knit with Loft yarn, shown here in color Old World.

Categories Lace, Loft, Original Patterns, Wool People

Rock Island

04.06.11 //
99

It seems like Spring has been battling its way onto the scene in fits and starts for weeks. Despite a few bizarre instances of April snow recently, the warmer air seems to finally be sticking. It’s a perfect time to think about some serious lace knitting, and today’s pattern fits the bill nicely.

The Rock Island Shawl is a piece that I designed for a special collaborative project. Last year, the nice folks at Lorna’s Laces invited me to be a part of their ongoing Color Commentary Series, in which designers are given free reign to develop a new colorway for LL yarns.

At the time, I had a very specific deep black-violet on the brain and wanted to pursue that. The original color inspiration came from some wonderful graffiti that I saw on Grand Street in Brooklyn that used heavy swaths of rich indigo and black. We worked back-and-forth for weeks and finally ended up with the finished colorway (shown above), which I’m thrilled with.  I’ve named the color Grand Street Ink, after its original inspiration, and it is now available in their wide range of yarns.

I chose to design for the color with Helen’s Lace, a fine laceweight  50/50 wool-silk blend. The silk took the dye beautifully and the finished fabric of the shawl is almost veil-like.

The piece contrasts simple garter stitch with intricate Shetland lace motifs which are worked on both RS and WS rows, also over Garter Stitch. As a result, the shawl is completely reversible – both sides look the same. The triangle is worked backwards from standard construction, beginning first with the knitted edging. After the lace edging is worked, stitches are picked up from a yarn-over-selvedge along the straight edge and the main portion of the triangle is worked directly from those stitches. This means the most labor-intensive elements of the shawl are completed first, and pattern rows get smaller as you go, which is always a nice psychological bonus.

I think the design would look wonderful in fingering weight yarn as well… I may have started one already.

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Resources: The Rock Island pattern is available through Brooklyn Tweed or Ravelry. Brooklyn Tweed’s “Grand Street Ink” colorway is available at Lorna’s Laces.

Categories Lace, Original Patterns

Sunny Lace

03.28.11 //
22

A short post on this Monday morning to offer some visual inspiration at the beginning of your week.

It’s been more than 2 years since the release of Girasole and it’s been one of my favorite projects to watch during that time. There have been so many beautiful versions that I’ve seen in my travels and on Ravelry in so many different yarn weights, colors and fiber blends – what a completely special experience that has been.

So revisiting this pattern recently at BT Headquarters has been deeply satisfying. This version was knit with 12 skeins of Shelter in our Hayloft colorway. I love how the piece turned out. Same size as the original, but lighter-weight and with a slightly lacier quality.

I shot the new version in snowy Harrisville on my last trip up there. Such a wonderful location for a photoshoot.

Here’s wishing you a great start to your week!

Resources: The Girasole pattern is available here or here.  Yarn is available here.

Categories Lace, Original Patterns, SHELTER

Tweed, Baby

03.03.11 //
23

I just returned from a 10-day trip to the Pacific Northwest. It was great to be with my family and spend some time at Madrona and Churchmouse while there.  I’m thrilled to be home, too – I’m rather attached to my home/workspace. Whenever I return from being away, I’m always reminded of how much being here keeps me grounded and inspired.

This morning, I wanted to share with you a new twist on an old pattern. I’ve worked up another version of the Tweed Baby Blanket, expanding the pattern with an optional larger size, and blatantly used it as an excuse to dig into the Shelter Naturals… I just love these colors.

My nephew recently had a visit to the Big City and I thought it fitting to shoot him with the new blanket, since the original was conceived for his birth, more than 18 months ago. The original blanket has gotten some serious use during that time! I love seeing babies using, abusing, and loving wool. It fills me with such pride and hope for more wool-filled lives…

The pattern now includes two variations on the same theme – a smaller 2-color version (shown here in greys) and a larger 3-color version (browns). This design is an homage to traditional Shetland Hap Shawls.  I never tire of their simplicity, beauty, and utility.  In Shetland, this type of shawl was always used as workwear and never considered fancy. This is one of the reasons I’ve always felt drawn to them.

The smaller size uses 2 colors and blocks to approximately 41″ square, while the large uses 3 colors with a finished dimension of about 45″. An added bonus: the larger size can easily double as an adult shawl too. I love how Hap ‘waves’ provide a blank canvas for an endless number of color combinations (Sharon Miller’s book on Haps has countless examples of different ways colors were/can be used, with variations in both shade and width of stripes). My favorite Haps usually play with gradations of value, shifting from dark to light and back again, wether in neutral or colored palettes.

The pattern is available here at BT, or on Ravelry.

Speaking of home, I’m only here for a few days. I’m making a quick trip up to Harrisville to visit the mill and work a bit with the folks there on site. I really value the time that I get to spend there watching everhything happen, not to mention being in the peace and tranquility of this part of New Hampshire.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Categories Lace, Original Patterns, SHELTER

A Winter Juneberry

12.27.10 //
39

On a snowy evening, there’s nothing quite like knitting through the long hours.  I’ve been sitting by my window marveling at just how quiet the city can be on the first calm day to follow a 30-hour blizzard. The timing seemed so perfect too — a blanket of silence to end a bustling week of holiday activity.

Behind the scenes here, we’ve been having some fun using Shelter to revive some old favorites in the BT design archive.  I love knitting old patterns in new yarns to see how they behave differently from a previous version.  Today I present you with A Winter Juneberry, worked in the Wool Socks colorway.

I originally published this pattern last Spring for Veronik Avery, using a firmly spun sport-weight wool.  It was fun seeing the triangle unfold this time with a woolen-spun yarn at a different gauge. The finished triangle blocked to a wingspan of 61″ across, with a height of 30″ at center back.  This upsized version is perfect for snowy afternoons!

Aside from being available through St. Denis magazine, the pattern is also available online as a PDF. For the digital version, I’ve added yarn requirements and gauge/dimension information for a worsted-weight version. This one took 4 skeins of Shelter.

I haven’t strayed far from my knitting spot by the window in the last two days, watching rather violent snow last night, and a whole lot of quiet today. I hope everyone is staying warm and safe, whether or not you find yourself stitching through The Thaw.

Categories Lace, Original Patterns, Photography, Scarves, SHELTER

Winter Whites

11.17.10 //
37

I’ve been relishing the indoor lifestyle these past few days and finding some quality time for designing. As we start thinking about winter I’ve been inspired by pure, white wool knits for the home.  It’s an added bonus when the project you’re working on can keep you warm at the same time.

I never tire of bulking up my own personal stash of blankets and throws, especially with thick wool that features the architecture of your stitch patterns so beautifully.  It’s a pleasure to watch stitch columns move, shift and twist with a round, bulky wool for curling up under.

I’ve also begun work on another circular shawl.  Center-out lace circles are one of my favorite things to knit — they seem to grow effortlessly and offer the perfect balance between mindless, relaxing knitting and more engaging lace patterning (that is, when you have free rounds of stockinette to scatter about). Whenever I’m approaching critical mass with too many high-maintenance projects, I always feel the urge to lose myself in a big circle of lace.

I’m working with Shelter on size 9′s and giving my new set of Addi Clicks a test-drive. Pleasure overload! Fossil, shown here, is a heathered white that reminds me of rustic cream-colored aran cardigans and downy lace shawls.

This weekend I’m headed up to Harrisville for a few workshops and meetings at the mill.  I’m excited to enter the next phase with the mill and explore some new ideas.  I’m hoping to catch a decent dose of the waning Fall colors as they cling to their trees on the ride up.  If the winds continue to howl as fiercely as they have been here today in the city though, I doubt there will be any leaves left!

Categories In Progress, Lace, Original Patterns, SHELTER

Autumn Leaves Stole

10.19.10 //
22

The Embers color in the Shelter palette was directly inspired by the fiery shades of orange that paint the woods this time of year.  With that in mind, I wanted to create a lace piece that pays homage to those beautiful, falling Autumn leaves.

The design process began with a simple Estonian ‘cookie’ or leaf pattern that was similar to more commonly found 10- or 12-row leaf motifs but with a slight variation in the ways the stitch columns meandered back and forth in wave-like lines. This motif is located at the center of the rectangle and sparked the design for the rest of the fabric’s patterning.

Starting with that simple idea, the lace flows out from the center towards either end elongating the ‘leaves’ by 2 rows on each repeat. The original, shallower leaf then becomes stretched as it falls from the neck.

The pattern is a simple rectangle and enjoyable for watching a single stitch pattern slowly morph into multiple variations of itself. In order to achieve perfect mirrored halves, the piece is worked in two parts — each starting at the outer edges and worked towards the center.  Live stitches from either half are grafted together upon completion.

The stole is generously sized and, worked at the given gauge, blocks out to approximately 19 x 72 inches. It can be worn as a generous scarf, or draped more dramatically for a bit of volume around the neck and shoulders.  Worked in Shelter, it remains light and lofty despite the ample amount of fabric for an accessory.  The simple repeat makes for easy moficiation when working with yarns of differing gauges.

The pattern is available now through both Brooklyn Tweed and Ravelry.

Being surrounded by all the amazing colors of Fall is really inspiring – I find myself reaching for more of those shades in my own wardrobe.  Perhaps the Autumn Leaves Stole will bring a bit of the same to yours.

Categories Lace, Original Patterns, SHELTER

Ptarmigan

05.25.10 //
27

As the weather warms up, I find myself busying my hands with smaller projects.  Sure there are always a few sweaters that accompany me through the long & sweltering East Coast Summer, but small projects are always happily embraced during this time of year.  Mittens, gloves, neckwarmers, hats — those in-betweens that we sprinkle around our larger undertakings — help me feel like I’m being conscientious in storing up for Fall & Winter.  They also bulk up the now-depleted pile of gifts, so that when another cold season comes (we’ll wait patiently) there are plenty of woolies to dole out to friends and family.

I’ve recently worked up a few accessory patterns that I’ll be sharing here with you now as Spring becomes Summer.  Today we start with a pretty piece of lace that is designed with a nod to those special one-off skeins of luxury fiber that we all have stashed somewhere special, but often don’t know what to do with.

Ptarmigan is designed for sport-weight or light-dk-weight luxury yarns — cashmere, yak, bison — pick your poison.  I tend to be plagued by a too-little amount of yardage in many a beautiful (expensive) yarn.  Luxury fibers are pricey and sometimes only allow a single-skein-splurge, leaving us with very special yarns but all too often a roadblock in the way of pattern options.  It was with this in mind that I started knitting this little lacey number.

If you’re lucky enough to live in a cooler climate, this might still qualify as spring-wear (nudge to you, Pacific Northwesterners — this is the time of year I start getting really homesick), although here in the city the heat and humidity are already poking small jabs at my own cold-weather biases.

The neckwarmer is closer-fitting, rather than relaxed and slouchy, to keep those soft fibers nice and close to your skin, exactly where they should be!  Very light. Very warm. Gets the job done.

The pattern requires approximately 175 yards of yarn, although instructions are included for extending the length in case you have extra yarn and a penchant for more voluminous, slouchy neckwear. By all means, use up every last yard! All the pattern specifics are listed on the Ptarmigan Pattern Page here at BT or over on Ravelry.  The buttons below will whisk you off to either location.


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I’ve had a few weeks at home, which has been an absolute luxury. I’ve gotten back into my own studio and have been exploring and experimenting with wool and stitch patterns, something I never tire of.  I love swatching — it’s the moment of possibility, and more often than not the moment of unexpected discovery.  Or to call it in a different way… your first date with your yarn. All nerves and thrill.

Things in the garden are growing and so it feels like the time of year to plant new ideas and regain productivity.  I hope you find some inspiration and motivation around you as we push forward in our creative work.  Happy Spring!

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Categories Lace, Original Patterns