Knit a Sweater That’s All About the Finishing Touches

I won’t say this sweater wouldn’t be pretty on its own, but the finishing embellishments on the Schickimicki pullover definitely take it to a different level.

The sweater, designed by Claudia Quintanilla of EweKnit Toronto, was knit with a luscious combination of a silk/mohair yarn and a merino/cashmere yarn. You can use a lace weight and a light fingering together, or a single strand of sport weight.

It’s a top down sweater that skims the body (it’s meant to be worn with 0-2 inches/0-5 cm of positive ease) and has loose sleeves that are cinched in at the wrist.

As I said it would probably be a lovely, a definitely a luxurious, sweater if that was the end of it, but that is far from the end of it.

The area around the neckline on the front of the sweater is playfully embellished with beads and flowers that I thought were buttons but they are actually made of leather. But you can go whatever way you want with this, adding embroidery, duplicate stitch, different kinds and colors of beads and baubles. I love a project where you can just play and you get to decide where it ends.

The pattern comes in eight sizes, with a finished chest measurement ranging from 31.5 to 58.5 inches, or 80 to 148 cm. The body is cropped but you can always add length if you want, just be aware of how the low amount of ease plays on different parts of the body (or add some increases if you need to make more space).

And if you’re wondering about the name, Schickimicki is German slang for things that are trendy, fancy and posh, which the details of this sweater most certainly are.

You can download the pattern from Ravelry or get a kit with just the yarn, yarn and beads, or yarn plus beads, ribbon and flowers, from EweKnit.

[Photo: Claudia Quintanilla/EweKnit Toronto]

Book Review – The Knitter- Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters

Cable Couture: Modern Cable-knit Sweaters

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Blankets are a great blank slate project that you can change up in a million different ways. From color to stitch pattern to size, the possibilities are almost endless.

Jared Flood, the designer behind Brooklyn Tweed, was inspired by a log cabin quilt his mother made in 1995 to re-create that design in knitting, which led to more blankets and ultimate Brooklyn Tweed’s Knit and Crochet Blankets, which includes 25 patterns from an array of designers using different skills and techniques to make cozy, pretty blankets.

The patterns are divided into three aesthetic themes: traditions, minimalism and colorplay. The patterns are rated on a scale of one to five, with one being the easiest, and there aren’t any pieces rated five. Two blankets are rated one, 14 are two, eight are three and one is four.

In addition, three of the 25 patterns are crocheted, but they either use single crochet or granny stitch, so they are pretty easy even if you don’t do a lot of crochet. You can see all the patterns on Ravelry.

Some of my favorites include Rattan by Rastus Hsu, a chunky blanket worked in knits and purls with simple crossing stitches to make a raised woven look; Homewood by Seth Richardson, covers in dramatic, loopy cables; Ainur Berkimbayeva’s Tessellate, one of the beginner projects that doesn’t really look beginner but is totally worked in knit and purl stitches; Warp + Weft by Aist? Butkevi?ien?, which is mostly knits and purls but makes a fun woven look fabric that blew my mind a little bit; and the same designer’s Canyonland, a multicolored blanket with wavy stripes.

The patterns tell you how to resize them for different dimensions and include information on pattern repeats where it is possible to make a totally custom size.

Many different techniques are included here such as cables, lace, shadow knitting, intarsia and other colorwork techniques, as well as modular knitting and lots of sewing pieces together. The patterns are all presented with charts, but there are line by line written instructions available on the Brooklyn Tweed website if you need them.

The book ends with a deep dive into log cabin knitting, telling the story of the quilt Jared’s mom made and how he made it in knitting, as well as the multitude of variations you can make if you want your own log cabin style design.

The back of the book includes a little written information about some of the special techniques needed, but there are no photos.

This is a lovely book full of inspiration for knitting and crochet blankets for any skill level. If you like to make blankets as gifts or aspire to have a handmade blanket in every room of the house, these designs would be a great place to start.

About the book: 192 pages, paperback, 25 patterns. Published 2024 by Abrams Books, suggested retail price $24.99.

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