Sweet knit
I've cast on this sweet easy knit by Bergere.
I've even gone the whole hog and bought their cerise fluffy yarn!
I'm usually a bit of a yarn snob, preferring natural fibres, and this
yarn really is not - it is only 11% wool. The rest is man-made. But, its
saving grace is that it is super soft, squishy and feathery. And, while it may
not be my first choice of colour, it certainly is eye-catching and, you know?
only hot pink will do for some little girls...
This lightweight, short-sleeved cardy will be perfect for the fresh
spring weather we're having at the moment.
It's garter stitch, knitted from side to side and crammed full of short
rows...fun! See the way it grows on one side? That's the beauty of short rows.
They are little rows popped into your knitting that don't go the width of your
normal row. You stop knitting part way through the row and turn your work to
knit back again.
By inserting short rows you can almost invisibly add soft angles,
shaping at the bust or tummy, roundness to shoulders, curves to hems, or darts.
Sock heels? Short rows!
Some short rows lie entirely in the middle of your usual rows creating a
bulge, others (like mine) are knitted along the edge and create the look of a
wedge inserted into your knitting.
My short rows give a swinging fullness to the sweet knit cardigan. It is
fitted at the neck and flares out down the body to the bottom. I've just
started the left sleeve and the short rows will ensure that it falls over the
shoulder like a cap sleeve.
I've only discovered short rows in the last couple of years and what a
revelation they've been. Lots of designers use them and with a bit of practice,
you can use them to customise your own knits.
My sweet knit pattern uses the "turn, yarn to the back, slip as if
to purl and then knit the stitch with the wrap" variety of short row. Confused?
It sounds harder than it is. There are numerous methods to do short rows, and
different ways depending on whether you are knitting or purling the row. Most
sound much trickier than they actually are.
I've got several books that explain short rows really well: Ysolda's Little Red in the City and Kristina McGowan's Modern Top-Down
Knitting both have very clear step-by-step illustrations. There are
also very comprehensive instructions on how to knit a variety of short rows at TECHknitting.
Let me know if you have another great link that you use.
I've been shaping the cardy with short
rows in a fairly radical fashion, and it is proving quite addictive to
knit. I did mean to stop and take photos sooner....but I couldn't stop! And
quick! Wow, this thing grows like a weed...
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| Photo used with permission from 100-rain.blogspot.com |
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Photo used with permission from 100-rain.blogspot.com
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Short rows are pretty popular in lots of designs these days. Maybe
you've tried them yourself?
I am a huge fan of the knitwear designer Veera Välimäki. Many knitters rave about
her wraps and shawls shaped with short rows. I love these two of hers pictured
above. They are beautiful and her colour choices are spot on. Some people have
knitted one, after another, after another!
Like pretty much all of Veera's patterns, I have drooled over her shawls
and wraps and thought they were fabulous, but I didn't quite get the total
compulsion to drop everything and knit them right now. Certainly not
more than one... I think now I am starting to understand why. Not only is her
use of colour appealing, the shawls are totally full of those very addictive
short rows.
In the meantime, I'm back to knitting those short rows.
Join me anyone?!