I think that April has to be one of my favourite times of the year. The grass is scattered with daffodils and daisies, tiny green leaves are beginning to sprout on the trees and there's a hint of summer in the air. Following on from a difficult winter in lockdown, spring is certainly a welcome arrival this year. It's even more welcome to knitters and crocheters, as our winter projects are left to hibernate and lighter, breezier garments are cast onto our needles. Despite the weather in the UK flitting between 20˚ and light snow, I have already started to look ahead to a warmer climate, and my needles are currently holding nothing but summery items. I've just got one project on the go at the moment, but I'll be casting on a few more throughout the month.
Victorian Rosebuds Top
The only project on my needles at the moment is a top that I've designed myself. I've been using standard body measurement, a gauge swatch and a bit of maths to work out the stitch and row counts. It's a good opportunity for me to try out my new knitwear design book- Knitwear Design Workshop: A Comprehensive Guide to Handknits. It's my first time using this book and it should help me to work out some of the more complex knitting maths, such as creating correctly sized sleeve caps to fit a set-in sleeve.
The top itself will have a square neckline and gathered sleeves, with a lace edging along the sleeve edge and hem. The lace pattern is from the 1870s and is knitted horizontally, from one edge to the other. It's a very intricate design but fortunately it's quite simple to knit. It comes from a Victorian knitting book called The Knitted Lace Pattern Book, which has been uploaded for free by the East Aryshire Council. As the book is now free of copyright and in the public domain, I can include instructions for the lace pattern below, updated with modern instructions. I've been using Drops Belle, a DK-weight cotton, viscose and linen blend yarn using 2.5mm needles for the lace, and 3.75mm needles for the rest of the top. The yarn feels a little ropey but it's nice to work with and is soft enough once it's knitted up.
Victorian Rosebud Lace Pattern
Abbreviations & techniques
k - knit p - purl s - slip 1 stitch (knitwise) yo - yarn over k2tog - knit 2 together sk2p - slip 1 stitch, knit 2 stitches together, pass slip stitch over k2tog
Pattern
Cast on 16 stitches* using DK weight yarn and 2.5mm needles
Row 1: s1, k2, yo, k2tog, k1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, k2tog, k3, yo, k2
Row 2: k5, k2tog, yo, k3, yo, sk2p, k1, yo, k2tog, k1
Row 3: s1, k2, yo, k2tog, k1, yo, k4, yo, k2, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
Row 4: k6, p8, k2, yo, k2tog, k1
Row 5: s1, k2, yo, k2tog, k1, yo, sk2p, yo, sk2p, yo, k3, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
Row 6: k7, p7, k2, yo, k2tog, k1
Row 7: s1, k2, yo, k2tog, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, k2tog, yo, k2
Row 8: Bind off 4 stitches (leaving 1 stitch on your right needle), k3, p7, k2, yo, k2tog, k1
Repeat rows 1-8 until the lace measures the desired length, then bind off*.
*Alternatively, if you want to join the lace together, use a provisional cast on and then graft the lace at the end. For more information, check out Interweave's lace grafting guide.
Bell sleeve top
I managed to cast off one project this month, and that was my bell sleeve top. I used a pattern from 6000+ Pullover Possibilities, a mix-and-match sweater book, to create an A-line sweater with bell-shaped sleeves. The yarn was Lion Brand Hand-dyed Heaven in lady marmalade, which is a beautifully soft speckled yarn in shades of pink, blue, purple and green. The top itself came out OK, although I found the pattern sizing to be somewhat problematic. The sleeves were too long and the neckline was too wide for me, meaning that the sweater looked rather oversized. I usually wear a size XS, but the final measurements of the jumper were more suitable for a size small. I can't decide whether it was a poorly graded pattern or an overly stretchy yarn that was at fault. The pattern itself included the garment measurements, but the less accurate gauging (which was stitches per inch instead of stitches per 4") may have caused the problem. It's a shame, I'll admit, but the jumper luckily fits my mum rather well. She's eagerly waiting for me to finish my next knitting project, in the hope that it'll be too big again.
Little Cotton Rabbits
One of my favourite toy patterns is the adorable girl bunny pattern from Little Cotton Rabbits. Weirdly enough, this knitting pattern literally changed my life. I bought it a few years ago and looked up the yarn brands that were mentioned in the pattern. One of the first sites I noticed was an online yarn store I recognised, having used their knitting app many times before. I immediately fell in love with the website, ordered lots of squishy yarn to make a bunny, and soon became a regular customer. When I finished university, I immediately applied to work there and spent 6 incredible months learning so much about knitting and the yarn industry. Spending most of my salary on yarn, I learned to knit so many new things - socks, crop tops, sweaters and more. I have that job, and ultimately the Little Cotton Rabbits knitting pattern, to thank for this blog and my ambition to publish my own knitting designs someday. It's funny how life turns out sometimes!
I made this rabbit last year, unfortunately in a non baby-friendly yarn
Anyway, I will be casting on the Little Cotton Rabbits bunny pattern this month as my former neighbour/ babysitter is expecting her first child. My mum and I thought it would be nice to make something for her little girl, who will be arriving sometime in May. As the yarn has to be suitable for a baby, I bought some acrylic Big Value yarn from King Cole and two balls of cotton-acrylic Stone Washed yarn from Scheepjes. The yarn had to be either cotton or acrylic and aran weight, but I also wanted something with colour variations to make the bunny's face more interesting. The speckles and marbles of these yarns should be great for a cute little rabbit. My mum is also crocheting a blanket for the baby, so I'll be using some of the blanket yarn to make a matching dress for the bunny. I'll have to get started soon, as this is the only project that has a time pressure. It's a lovely pattern, but it certainly does take a while to sew together!
Fine Line Sweater
The last thing I'll potentially be casting on this month is the Fine Line Sweater by Lily Kate France. This pattern has been on my to-do list for a while now, and I'm very excited to finally be casting it on. I've ordered 8 balls of Willow & Lark Poetry in a deep jewel green shade and I'm already obsessed - the yarn hasn't even arrived yet! One thing I love about knitting is that I can make clothes that are exactly my style. And this vintage-feel sweater combined with a rich green yarn is the stuff of my dreams. I'm also very excited to support a young designer. I'd love to design patterns myself one day and I really enjoy seeing and hearing from knitwear designers that are of the same age. It's a good source of inspiration!
That's it for my April monthly makes. Feel free to leave a comment with what you're knitting or crocheting this month - I love to hear what other people are making!
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