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Monday 17 November 2014

Perfect sparkly wrap to wear with your favourite LBD at parties ...

Christmas is just around the corner ... and I've got the perfect sparkly wrap to jazz up your favourite Little Black Dress. It looks great over a jumper during the daytime, or if you need to cover your hair to keep your ears warm it's as light as gossamer so it won't mess up your hairstyle and leave you with helmet hair. 



As with all my other patterns it's super easy peasy to make. All you need to know how to do is cast on, knit, purl and cast off again. It's also a relatively quick project - even though it's worked in fingering 2 ply lacy wool, which usually takes an age to go anywhere.



I used a wonderful yarn that I'd bought on special discount at the great Ally Pally Woolfest. It's called Simonetta, and it's by Louisa Harding. It's a mix of mohair, metallic polyester and nylon, and it knits up like a dream. The only little itsy bitsy problem that I encountered is that it's difficult to rip out if you make a mistake. It's got this awful habit of knotting up. Luckily this pattern is so easy that a total beginner should be able to make it without needing to do any ripping out - no sweat!


I started off with my favourite wrap, which is a total Goldilocks piece: just the right size in every dimension to do the job, and then I calculated how many stitches I'd need to produce something the same size. My perfect wrap was 72cm wide and 180 cm long, so those were my target dimensions for this pattern. You can check your tension, measure your own favourite wrap and adjust the number of stitches/ rows to fashion it so that it's just perfect for you.

Anyway enough waffling about how easy it is! Here's what you'll need and here's how to make it:






Materials

5, 50g balls 2 ply fingering lacy wool - Simonetta by Louisa Harding is pretty good if you've got it to hand

1 pair of size 4 mm needles
1 pair of size 8 mm needles

Pattern

Using the 4mm needles cast on 240 stitches.

Knit 14 rows of plain knit stitch. i.e. each and every one of those 14 rows is a plain knit row.

Row 15: Knit 2 stitches together from start to finish. You should finish this row with 120 stitches

These first few rows knitted with twice the number of stitches as we're going to use for the body of the wrap produce a small frill at the end, which hangs naturally into loose pleats. It's a simple technique to add a not-too-fussy embellishment. We'll do the same in reverse when we get to the other end. You can sort of see what I'm on about in the photo below.


Row 16: Knit row from first to last stitch using 4 mm needles.



Row 17: Purl row from first to last stitch, using one of the 8 mm needles to purl onto.

From here on in we're going to use these alternating needle sizes. This is a really simple way to achieve an open lacy weave. The self-patterning effect of the sparkle in the wool adds another not-too-fussy detail to what will be the perfect party wrap. To my way of thinking it's chic and understated.



Row 18: Knit row from first to large stitch, knitting onto the 4 mm needle.

Keep repeating Rows 17 and 18, alternating between the 4 mm and 8 mm needles until your work measures about 5 cm short of the target length I wanted mine to be 180 cm so I kept going with my knit and purl rows until it measured 175 cm. finishing on a knit row.

Next row: Knit into front and back of each stitch to the end of the row, using 4 mm needle. You should end this row with 240 stitches.

Knit 14 rows of plain knit stitch using only 4 mm needles to produce another frill at this end of your wrap to match the one you made when you cast on.

Cast off and enjoy wearing your new creation!

Bonny x


4 comments:

  1. You are so good at knitting, Bonny, this is a delight! :)

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    1. Thank you, Kia. It really couldn't be easier to make. All the best and thanks for stopping by, Bonny

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  2. You make me smile.
    Pour me a coffee and I'll show you the sparkly thing I just bought off ebay. Talk about sparkly! It's loaded with tiny little beads and the belt alone is a jewel. Trouble is the matching silk trews are about ten sized too small. Well...two sizes. But have a plan for that.
    And I want to show you the shawl I knitted a while back, with handspun and home dyed yarn., with a shetland knitted lace edging.
    and..... we wouldn't stop talking.

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    1. It sounds like we're overdue a coffee ... with a shared love of yarn and sparkly things, well there's a whole lot to talk about. All the best and thanks for stopping by, Bonny

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