Torbay

Hollywood stars holidaying on the French Riviera in the late 1950s was my inspiration for this cardigan (although it is named for an area on the South coast of England known as the “English Riviera”).
Torbay is knit from the neck down in a seamless yoke style and features a simple cable down both fronts, garter stitch welts, and trims in a contrasting yarn.

If I look like I’m melting, it’s because I took these photos in June, on the one day of Summer we had this year!

Anyway, I like top down cardigans, but I wanted something a bit different to the usual raglans.  I love the look of yoke cardigans and so with much head-scratching and a lot of maths, I created “Torbay”.

For me, it’s the little details in this design like the contrast colour cast on and the garter stitch welts.  But I’m biased!

I nearly tore my hair out trying to get the maths right for each of the sizes (which I had to work out individually) but I hope you will agree that it’s worth it!

Name: Torbay cardigan from the Winter issue of The Inside Loop

Yarn: Patons Diploma Gold Aran (180 m/100 g) in colour: Cocoa 08218

Size made: 43 inches to fit 44.75 inches/109 cm to fit 114 cm

The End!

Esme

Esme (pronounced ezz-mee, it’s a Scottish girl’s name!) is a quickly-knitted hat which gives you two looks in one.  Worn on the top of the head, it’s a tam.  With the cabled brim pulled down over the ears, it becomes a cloche hat.  Knit at a tighter tension than recommended, the yarn makes a warm fabric, perfect for the cooler weather.

Yarn: 1 (2, 2, 2) skeins Sirdar Click Chunky (75 m/50 g) in colour: 0155 (Echo).  Adult Medium used 70 g (approx. 105 m)

Tension/gauge:
16 sts and 21 rows = 10cm/4inches in stocking stitch in the round
Note: for substitution purposes, chose a yarn with a tension of 14 sts and 19 rows = 10 cm/4 inches in stocking stitch.

Free pattern: Toe Cap

Ideal for diabetics, people with Raynaud’s Disease or simply if you have cold toes, this little cap knits up very quickly and uses very little yarn.  Perfect for those last few yards of left-over sock yarn.

Yarn: Sock/fingering weight yarn, approx. 30 m/6 g made one toe cap of size given.

Needles: Five double pointed needles (or preferred style for working in the round) in size to obtain tension

Tension: 28 sts and 36 rounds per 10 cm over stocking stitch in the round

Materials/notions: set of 5 double pointed needles or type of needles you prefer, in size to obtain tension listed above

A blunt sewing needle.

Abbreviations:

• K = knit
• P = purl
• Kf/b = knit into front and back of stitch (1 st. increased)
• rnd = round

Pattern:

Using Judy’s Magic Cast On method (or preferred method) cast on 12 sts (6 per needle).

K 1 round, distributing sts even over needles

Inc. rnd: (K1, Kf/b, K2, Kf/b, K1) twice

Rep. this rnd 8 times [44 sts], then every alternate rnd until 64 sts are on the needles.

Instep stitches: (K1, P1) across half sts.
Sole sts: K.

Work in this manner for approx. 2 cm.

Work K1, P1 rib over all sts for another 3 cm or until reached desired length.

Cut length of yarn approx. 30 cm long.

Using the sewn method, cast off all sts.

Weave in ends.

Legal note: I am offering this pattern for free. Do not sell this pattern. I encourage you to make some for charity or for someone you know who needs their toes kept warm. Donations to charity or for raffles and the like is OK.  If you use this pattern, please consider making a donation to a health or age-related charity.

(C) Amy Pickard 2008.

Free Pattern: Traeth bag from The Inside Loop

I love all those knitted and crochet market shopping bags I’ve seen around, but I wanted something I can use that will still leave my hands free.

The drop stitch pattern and the cotton yarn means the bag has some give and will stretch to accommodate your shopping or your beach essentials.

The webbing straps wont stretch out of shape, even with all your summer market purchases on board, and add a nice contrast to the yarn.

As for the name? Traeth is Welsh for beach.

Larger view: Medium (500 x 447)/ Large (1000 x 893)

Pattern: Traeth from The Inside Loop Summer 2008

Ravelry:

Yarn: Patons (UK) Cotton DK in colour 2710 (Purple)

Needles: Denise Interchangeable needle set in sizes US7 and US8

Knitting Style: Continental

Notes: I know it’s not very modest, but I really like this bag! I use it a fair amount and it’s proved useful for shopping and for carting stuff around the house, too.

The theme for this issue of The Inside Loop was “The British Summer” and for me this means the beach, market-day shopping, and rain!

I styled the bag on a mouldy deckchair stuffed with the essentials for a day on the beach in Britain; sunglasses, sunscreen, a towel, a book (Jane Eyre, in this case) and an umbrella!

With thanks to my neighbour for allowing me to use her gravel-garden to stand in as a pebble beach (I don’t leave near enough to the coast to warrant a photoshoot by the sea!).

And dudes – I made the front cover!

Tags: Traeth, bag, beach bag, knitting, The Inside Loop, free pattern, free knitting pattern

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Free pattern: Chess Set

This has been floating around since Christmas 2005, so I thought it was about time I shared it!

This is a super-simple scarf and wrist-warmers set suitable for men or women of any gender (!) and it knits up really quickly.

I used 2 balls Lana Grossa Multicot (60% cotton, 40% acrylic; 80 m/88 yds per 50g). NOTE: if you make the wristwarmers larger or the scarf longer, you will probably need more yarn.

Possible yarn substitutes: Rowan Yorkshire Tweed Aran, Rowan Scottish Tweed Aran, ggh Samoa, Lion Brand Cotton Ease, or any yarn that knits up at 4 sts per inch (2.5 cm) over stocking stitch. NOTE: the yarn is knit up at a slightly looser tension than stated on the ball band. This is intentional.

Ravelry:

Also available as a free PDF download from Ravelry. Use the above link to obtain the pattern.

Pattern is in a PDF format and its size is 172KB

PATTERN LINK – Knit away!

NOTE: this is Version 3 which fixes a mistake with the written instructions in previous versions. The charts are correct.