Slip Stitches Make Lumaya Knit up in a Flash

I love slip stitch knitting patterns. They’re an easy way to add texture and color to a project and they make your work look more complicated than it is because it looks like you’re using more than one color at a time but really it’s just one color per row.

It also feels to me like slip stitch patterns go faster because you aren’t knitting every stitch on every row. And you get a little something like the fun of working with a striping or self-patterning yarn where you want to keep knitting to see what happens next.

The Lumaya Shawl from Louis Boria uses slip stitches and eyelets on an asymmetrical triangle shape. The eyelet border is particularly striking in a bright color that contrasts the other yarn, but I’m sure it would be lovely in a more tonal or coordinating color as well.

The pattern is $7 on Ravelry.

[Photo: Louis Boria.]

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Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

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