The Pentacle Cap

This is the discreet version of my more symbol obvious Pentagram tam. The cap has a cabled pentacle hidden between the ribbings of this classical style men’s hat. With a fold up it becomes a watch man cap and without the fold it will be discreetly cabled men’s hat with a sign for those who knows how to look for it.

Style and sizing
Hat with folded edge: One size.
Hat without folded edge: small 52 cm / 20 ½”, (medium: 55 cm / 21 ¾”, large: 58 cm / 22 ¾”)
The hat with folded edge  ribbing takes just under 2 skeins of Alaska. For a longer rib or if you need to be on the safe side of the amount used get 3 skeins.

About the yarn
The pattern uses Garnstudio’s Alaska. It is a pure wool worsted yarn that is available in many colours. It has a rather smooth texture that shows off the cables in a good way. Any woollen yarn with similar structure and the same tension/gauge should work fine.

Main Yarn:              Garnstudio Alaska, 2 skeins (total: 100 g, ca 150 m)
Needles:                    5 mm/US 8 circular needle 40 cm / 16” and dpns
Other tools:             cable needle, darning needle
Tension/Gauge: 17 st = 10 cm in stockinette stitch.

Technique
Difficulty: Intermediate
Stitches used: knit, purl, increasing, decreasing, purled decreasing, cables

 

Autumn as in Accessories

The most beautiful part of the autumn is here and I have even had the pleasure of seeing some leaves in their new splendid colours. Autumn has always been my knitting season above all others and this year is no exception. I am currently doing the last knitting for my exhibition, that will open October 2, and in two weeks I’m leaving home for a week of building and hanging of all the knitted objects. I will also translate many of my pattern so you Swedish knitters out there can look forward to patterns in your native language. Apart from actually visiting the exhibition, that is.

For the rest of you it is time to accessorize. Today I will publish a pattern for a men’s hat, the Pentacle Cap, which shows a discreetly cabled pentacle on top of a ribbed hat. This might be the one for those of you not brave enough to carry the full pentagram on the top of your head.

Colder days mean colder floors so the feet will have get warm too, and they will through the Little Luxuries pattern, giving three different variations of a mohair and wool blended slipper, including bows and beads. I was taking the pictures this week, together with my excellent photographer Patrik Petroff (who has taken all the pattern pictures with me in them) so it won’t be a long wait for that pattern now. For those of you who aren’t frilly enough for that sort of embellishment the Sneaker Slipper is also coming up with its recognisable three stripes decoration which brings outdoors sport to indoors floors.

A scarf pattern is also coming up, after all what is autumn without scarves? This one will use those pretty art yarns, that you so often bring home without knowing what to do with them. Having done that myself so many times I had to design something for them. I’m using Napoli for my scarf but you could easily use Noro Silk Garden or any other of those beautiful, but expensive, colour variegated yarns. So start going through those bins of left over skeins and I’ll promise you there will be a pattern for them before the end of September.

I must off course design a shawl pattern for autumn, as well, so when a knitting friend of mine recently celebrated her birthday I took the chance of designing something for her as  gift. I had wanted to make a sea shawl for a long time and her love of the sea matched my shawl idea perfectly. It is knitted in domino knitting, or modular knitting, as you might call it, and has a sea shell/waves of the sea motif that uses the colour variations of a blue-grey-white yarn that will bring out thoughts of a stormy sea with foamy waves in various shades of blue and grey. I’m waiting for the sample – I will not knit this one myself – but once that is done it will be published.

As usual I have also taken part in a challenge in Project Yarnway on Ravelry. The theme for August was “back to school” which made me think of hauling around a laptop and that I needed to have a knitted cover for mine. So here is my laptop cover with i-cord edgings; the i-case. It is felted and the pattern will include instructions for both felting and keeping it to the correct size.

There you have seven patterns to look forward too, and above that there will be a pattern of mine in the upcoming Winter issue of Twist Collective Magazine. It was one of those secret submissions I have been working on this summer and I hope you’ll like it once it is published. It is very much in line what I usually design but that is all I can tell you for now. The rest is still a secret…

In case you think I cannot count: the seventh pattern will be a surprise!

Happy accessorizing!

 

The Pentagram Tam

The interweaving of the lines of the Pentacle called out to me to make them into a cabled pattern even though I had to overcome some strange angles before it could be done.

But here it is: a way to show off who you are on the top of your hat.

Style and sizing
Size: Small/52 cm (Medium/55 cm, Large/58 cm)

The Pentagram Tam is available in two different patterns: one with a wider cabled edge and one with a smaller vintage style ribbed edge.

Size large should fit a man’s head and size small and medium most women’s. The tam with the cabled edge can e used in a slightly larger size since the wider edge will help it stay on even if it’s too big. So if you’re unsure, go up in size for the cabled edge and go down in size for the ribbed edge.

About the yarn

The pattern uses Garnstudio’s Alaska. It is a pure wool worsted yarn that is available in many colours. It has a rather smooth texture that shows off the cables in a good way. Any woollen yarn with similar structure and the same tension/gauge should work fine.

Main Yarn:  Garnstudio Alaska, 2 skeins (3 skeins for tam with cabled edge size large)  (total: 100/150 g, ca 150/225 m)
Additional Yarn: Contrast yarn for provisional cast on for tam with cabled edge.
Needles:  5 mm/US 8 circular needle 40-60 cm and dpns 4 mm/US 6 40 cm circular needle or dpns (for tam with ribbed edge)
Other tools:  cable needle
Tension/Gauge: 17 st = 10 cm

Technique

Difficulty: Experienced
Stitches used: knit, purl, increasing, decreasing, purled decreasing, cables, short rows, picking up stitches, grafting, provisional cast-on

Getting it!

The Pentagram Tam is available as a pdf-file for $5 at my Etsyshop or through  Ravelry (available without an account). It has instructions for both cabled and ribbed edge in three sizes. The pattern has written instructions a well as a chart for the cables.

Ravelry – pattern listing with option to buy and download
Etsy – buy trough my store

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Ps. Not a knitter? You can order your knitted Pentagram Tam from my Etsyshop in your size and choice of colour. Ds.

 

The Morrighan Shawl

Some yarns, especially those with mixed colours over long stretches, look so good in the skeins but it’s not easy to capture that beauty into the knitted object. Duo has long stretches of one colour before changing to the next one and I wanted that to show. So I came up with this domino knitted shawl where each square will be different from the next one depending on where in the yarn I am while starting the square.

The Morrighan is the Celtic goddess of death and war and she can be seen as a crow or raven flying over the battlefield. She is also a goddess of passion and are often depicted in black and red. Her time of the year is the beginning of November when the earth gets to rest for the winter. This is a large shawl for snuggling up in during that time.

About the yarn
Järbo Garn Duo is a multicoloured yarn with reds varying from cherry black to strawberry pink. The colour reports are very long so it will take many squares before the same colour returns. If you can’t find a yarn with this colour pattern I suggest that you try and do it in different solid colour reds or with a thinner yarn and two strands of different colour reds held together for greater variation.

Main Yarn:     Järbo Garn Duo, 3 skeins (total: 200 g, ca 1000 m)
Järbo Garn Vinga, 2 skeins (total: 200 g, ca 382 m)
Additional yarn:    Ribbon yarn, ca 200 m, for the fringe
Cotton bouclé yarn, ca 200 m, for the fringe
Colours:    Multicoloured red with long colour reports (Järbo Garn Duo)
Black (Järbo Garn Vinga, fringe yarn)

Needle:     6 mm/US 10 (preferably a short circular needle)
Other tools:    5,5 mm crochet hook
Smaller crochet hook (for adding fringes)
Tension/Gauge: 14 st = 10 cm

Technique
Difficulty: Easy
Stitches used: knit, purl, decreasing, purled decreasing, one stranded cast on, picking up stitches,
Other craft: basic crocheting

Abbreviations
st(s)  – stitch(es)
k  – knit
p  – purl
k2tog  – knit 2 together
p2tog  – Purl 2 together
skp  – slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over – one stitch decreased
sp2p  – slip, purl2tog, passed slipped stitch over – two stitches decreased purlwise
sl    slip one stitch

Special abbreviations
p-sl1p-s   –  purl 1, slip 1 purlwise, put both stitches back on the left needle, slip the second stitch over the purled stitch and put the purled stitch back on the right needle.

Shawl

The shawl is made up of individually knitted squares started at the tip of the shawl and worked upwards towards the shoulders. The squares after the first one is made by casting on stitches for the edge and picking up stitches from the previous square. Triangles form the line at the top edge. A short circular needle will probably be the most comfortable to use for the squares and triangles.

The placement of the squares should be varied according to the coming colour on the skein so that very similar colours do not end up at the same place. Compare the skein to the squares and make a square where it contrasts to the surrounding squares. Make 78 squares and 13 triangles for a really large shawl or stop earlier for a smaller size.

General reminders
The first row after casting on/picking up stitches is always purled from the wrong side. The first st on every row is always knit (unless slipped for decreases).

Squares

Casting on for squares
First square: With Järbo Garn Vinga (black), cast on 39 st with one stranded cast on technique.
Squares at left edge: With Järbo Garn Vinga (black), cast on 20 sts with one stranded cast on technique. Continue at the right edge of the square from the previous row of squares and pick up 19 st (= 39 st)
Squares at right edge: With Järbo Garn Vinga (black), pick up 19 st at the left side of the in the previous row of squares and continue by casting on 20 st with one stranded cast on technique (= 39 st).
Squares in the middle: With Järbo Garn Vinga (black), pick up 19 st from left side of the square from the previous row, pick up 1 st from the top of the square between the ones from previous row, pick up 19 st from the right side of the square from the previous row.

Rows for squares
Row 1:     p 18, sp2p, p 18 (= 37 st)
Row 2:     change to Järbo Garn Duo (red), k 16, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 16 (= 35 st)
Row 3:     p all st (= 35 st)
Row 4:     k 15, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 15 (= 33 st)
Row 5:     p 14, p2tog, p 1, p-sl1p-s, p 14 (= 31 st)
Row 6:     k 13, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 13 (= 29 st)
Row 7:     p all st (= 29 st)
Row 8:     k 12, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 12 (= 27 st)
Row 9:     p 11, p2tog, p 1, p-sl1p-s, p 11 (= 25 st)
Row 10:     k 10, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 10 (= 23 st)
Row 11:     p all st (= 23 st)
Row 12:     k 9, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 9 (= 21 st)
Row 13:     p 8, p2tog, p 1, p-sl1p-s, p 8 (= 19 st)
Row 14:     k 7, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 7 (= 17 st)
Row 15:     p all st (= 17 st)
Row 16:     k 6, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 6 (= 15 st)
Row 17:     p 5, p2tog, p 1, p-sl1p-s, p 5 (= 13 st)
Row 18:     k 4, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 4 (= 11 st)
Row 19:     p all st (= 11 st)
Row 20:     k 3, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 3 (= 9 st)
Row 21:     p 2, p2tog, p 1, p-sl1p-s, p 2 (= 7 st)
Row 22:    k 1, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 1 (= 5 st)
Row 23:    p all st (= 5 st)
Row 24:    skp, k 1, k2tog (=3 st)
Row 25:    sp2p (= 1 st), break of yarn and pull the end through the last stitch.

Triangles

Casting on for triangles
Triangle at right edge: With Järbo Garn Vinga (black), cast on 20 sts with one stranded cast on technique. Continue at the right edge of the square from the previous row of squares and pick up 19 st (= 39 st)
Triangle at left edge: With Järbo Garn Vinga (black), pick up 1 st from the top of the square between the ones from previous row, 19 st at the left side of the in the previous row of squares and continue by casting on 20 st with one stranded cast on technique (= 40 st).
Triangles in the middle: With Järbo Garn Vinga (black), pick up 1 st from the top of the square between the ones from previous row, pick up 19 st from left side of the square from the previous row, pick up 1 st from the top of the square between the ones from previous rows, pick up 19 st from the right side of the square from the previous row (= 40 st).

Observe that there is one picked up stitch between the triangles which makes the total number of stitches 40 for the middle and left side triangles. These stitches are not knit but will be left for the top edge. 2 stitches are left on the needle at the first turn on these triangles.

Rows for triangles
The triangles are made by doing short rows on the middle of the squares. Each row is 1 st shorter than previous row at each end before the turn. Leave the unknit stitches on the needles and transfer all of the stitches to a strand of yarn or knit picks cable when finished.

Row 1:    sl, p 17, sp2p, p 17, turn
Row 2:     change to Järbo Garn Duo (red), sl, k 14, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 14, turn
Row 3:     sl, p 29, turn
Row 4:     sl, k 11, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 11, turn
Row 5:     sl, p 9, p2tog, p 1, p-sl1p-s, p 9, turn
Row 6:     sl, k 7, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 7, turn
Row 7:     sl, p 15, turn
Row 8:     sl, k 4, skp, k 1, k2tog, k 4, turn
Row 9:     sl, p 2, p2tog, p 1, p-sl1p-s, p 2, turn
Row 10:     sl, skp, k 1, k2tog, turn
Row 11:     sl, p 3, turn
Row 12:    sl, k 1.
Transfer all stitches to one of the needles and then put them on a strand of yarn or cable needle until all triangles are finished.

Finishing

Edge
Put all the saved stitches from the triangles on a long circular needle. There’s 23 st/triangle + 1 st between the triangles (= 311 st for 13 triangles). Using Järbo Garn Vinga (black), start at the Wright side.
Row 1:    k all st
Row 2:    p all st
Row 3:    k, *p1 k1* to end.
Row 4:    k all p st, p all k st (moss stitch). Continue with moss stitch for two more rows. Cast of in moss stitch.

Making up
Fasten all threads from the squares and triangles. Block or press lightly (follow directions for the yarn).
Start at the top corner and do one row of crochet around the tip up to the other top corner.
Cut double lengths of fringes (fringe length ca 15 cm) from ribbon yarn and cotton bouclé yarn (or other yarn of choice). Add the fringe to the crocheted edge.
The fringe could also be made up from different sorts of black waste yarn. Maker sure that you mix them so that the various sorts get spread fairly evenly over the entire fringe.

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The contents of this pattern and its knitted design are subject to copyright. Even though it’s offered for free please respect the copyright and use this pattern only for your personal non-commercial use. Do not publish it without the designers consent, distribute or sell electronic or paper copies of this pattern, or commercially sell any items produced using the directions in this pattern. © CarolineCreations 2010