Stitch of the Week: Feather and Fan

A few days of warmer weather (followed rapidly by cooler, rainy days) has me in the mood for spring, and for some reason spring knitting means lace to me.

I’m not the kind of girl who’s going to spend months of my life and tons of concentration on an intricate lace shawl, but I do like the look of eyelets and openwork from time to time.

If you’re new to lace knitting or just want to try a stitch that is quick, relatively easy and not too fussy to knit or to wear, check out Feather and Fan, also known as Old Shale.

This pattern uses increases and decreases that are bunched together in the row rather than having an increase right next to its decrease. This causes the edge of the work to ripple in a pretty way (but that rippling means if you’re knitting something like a scarf you need to knit it in halves so that both ends of the scarf match).

I’ve used Feather and Fan in my Feather and Fan stole, which is really just a wide scarf worked in three colors, and on a washcloth.

This is such a popular pattern that just searching for free patterns with a photo on Ravelry you get just over 200 results, so I can’t possibly highlight them all, but here are couple of pretties you might want to check out:

I adore this Feather and Fan hat designed by Betty P. Balcomb for Cascade Yarns and their Baby Alpaca Chunky Yarn (scroll down the page to find the PDF download link).
Jean Miller’s Feather and Fan cowl, available for free download on Ravelry, is a great one-skein beginning lace project.
This short scarf by Kelly Faller is another beauty that would make a great gift. It’s kind of wide as written, but if you know that the stitch pattern is a multiple of 18 stitches, you can make a narrower and thus longer scarf with no problem.
Wendy D. Johnson used Feather and Fan to great effect on the leg of a pair of toe-up socks (search for feather and fan socks on this page to find the download link).
And then there’s the giant stash-busting Feather and Fan comfort shawl, worked from the tip out as wide as you want it to be. There are some really lovely examples in the pattern’s Flickr group.

Have you ever used Feather and Fan? I’d love to hear how you used it.

Next Pattern:

Craft retailer Michaels has acquired the intellectual property and private label brands of now-defunct retailer Joann, according to a media release, and the Joann website now forwards to Michaels.

The releases states that Michaels will be developing the “beloved Big Twist® brands as part of the Michaels portfolio.” It also notes plans to expand its offerings in the fabric, sewing and yarn categories, with more than 600 new products being added.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to welcome JOANN customers into our creative community and are committed to delivering the selection, value, and inspiration they are looking for at Michaels,” David Boone, CEO of Michaels, said in the release.

Specific to yarn, the company notes it has plans to expand its yarn selection by 25 percent this year, including releasing more than 60 new private-label Loops & Threads products beginning this month, expanding offerings of Lion Brand and the Yarnspirations family of brands, and welcoming Big Twist yarns.

The release specifically mentions Big Twist Value Plus, Big Twist Twinkle, Big Twist Posh and Big Twist Baby Bear, and notes that the offerings are “now being developed as part of Michaels portfolio of brands and will be available in-stores and online later this year.”

No word on what this means for Herrschners, which previously announced it would carry Big Twist. Its page announcing the news still says “at this time we are not able to release details on specific Big Twist varieties or colors, or the exact date the yarn will be available to order” and encourages signing up for email updates.

This news comes just days after the final closing of the last Joann locations and the appearance of a message on their website talking about “stitching up something new.” The Joann website now forwards to a landing page for craft retailer Michaels.

“Welcome Joann customers,” it says at the top. “We’ve got your go-to essentials and so much more.” The page also notes “everyone is welcome at our craft table” and says the website is a source for “fabrics, yarn, notions & more.”

Further down the page it says “With JOANN stores closing, Michaels is excited to welcome new makers, crafters, and sewing enthusiasts into our community” and has a string of links to product categories these shoppers might be looking for. It says Michaels carries “many of the favorites that Joann customers love” including patterned fabric, yarn, ribbons and notions.

The release calls this a “dedicated landing page” with a “curated assortment of products” they think are relevant to the Joann shopper.

If you go directly to Micheaels.com, you see their regular website but there is a link at the top of the page for Joann customers that leads to the same page linked above.

The release doesn’t mention opening any new stores in towns left without a craft store thanks to the Joann closure. It does note they have 1,300 stores in 49 states and in Canada, and they have both US and Canada-facing websites.

What do you think of this news? It’s not the exciting future I’d hoped for with Joanns cryptic announcement, but I know legions of knitters and crocheters will be happy to know Big Twist will live on, and other crafters will probably be happy about expanded selection at Michaels.

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