Knit Notes: Hunter Hammersen

Hunter sent me a copy of her book a few weeks ago and I immediately wanted to knit a million socks and decorate my entire home in beautiful rugs. As I got started swatching and reading all the history pages I really wanted to talk with Hunter about knitting socks and the book. I learned so much talking with her that I just had to share it with you (with Hunter's permission of course)! 

Charlie - Attached are a couple photos of the swatch I did. I plan on retaking them in better light for the post. (I didn't retake them and I forgot to attached them, of course).

Hunter - Hmm, the email gremlins ate them, sorry.  I'd love to see them though!

Charlie - Oops, Here they are! I used Anzula Nebula and the recommended needle size. I might need to go up one size, what do you think?

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Hunter - So I am particular about socks and gauge/needle sizes. It's part of the reason I'll give people a gauge, and sometimes a range of possible needle sizes, but I absolutely won't ever tell someone 'just use size X needles.' Because it doesn't matter what needle size you're using, it matters what gauge you're getting!

I know a lot of folks default to 8spi (in blocked stockinette, worked in the round if we want to be super particular). But I feel like, in order to have sturdy, long-lasting socks, you actually want to work a bit tighter than that on almost all sock/fingering-weight yarns.

In this book for fingering-weight yarns, I went with a suggested gauge of 8.5 stitches per inch, which totally gives you a more durable fabric than 8. But there are a lot of sock yarns out there where 8.75 or 9 stitches per inch would be even better.

So my official answer is 'are you getting a nice dense fabric in stockinette with your first needles? If so, you're probably right on target (and remember that the lace will be under tension when you have it on, so that will help show it off in a way that can be hard to see in a swatch). Now, if you're actually getting stockinette that's too dense, the sort where it kills your hands to knit it and it feels more like cardboard than fabric, then totally go up a needle size.

That's hard to judge without actually feeling a swatch of stockinette, so I can't say for sure what you should do. But I see far more folks making socks on needles that are too big than on needles that are too small.

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Ardabil from Silk Road Socks

Charlie – Well, it looks like I'm getting 7.5-7.75 stitches per inch so based on your advice I think I'll swatch one needle smaller and see how it goes. I definitely want my socks to last as long as possible!

Hunter - Yeah, I'm always amazed by just how tiny a needle I have to use to truly get to that 8+ range on a sock yarn.  But I swear it's how you make a sock (especially one in a yarn without nylon) last!

I will confess that I'm a sucker for thick socks though.  Most of the ones I knit for myself are out of dk weight (your Cricket makes a great thick sock yarn, it's a good fiber blend for socks and it has a nice density/amount of twist...just be sure to get two skeins!).  That's a big part of why I included two sets of gauge/sizing information for all the socks in the book.  One is for fingering weight (at that somewhat daunting 8.5spi) and one for sport/dk weight (at a somewhat more relaxed 7spi).

Charlie - I also noticed that my lace stitches are uneven left versus right, do you have any tricks to avoid that?

Hunter - So my first thought is that blocking cures all manner of ills. The very first thing I'd try is blocking your swatch to see if it settles out. If it does, you're great, you're all set. If not, there are more things to try!

Next, I'd make sure that you're swatching the same way you'll be knitting the finished piece. That is, swatch in the round if your actual knitting will be in the round (there's a tutorial on how to do that over here: http://blog.ysolda.com/ysolda-blog/2014/6/5/swift-swatching-in-the-round). This is especially important for stitch patterns that have you doing increases/decreases on every row. If you're working your swatch flat, and you're not as used to doing decreases on the back side of the fabric, that can make things look wonky on the swatch (when they'll be fine on the actual project because you'll always be doing your decreases on the front side there).

Charlie - Yeah, I swatched in the round. Is there anything I can try?

Because you're already swatching in the round, and you're already blocking your swatch, and you still see an unevenness, it's time to get creative. The solution then is usually to change how you're actually making the decreases. There are all sorts of articles out there on how to tweak them, and it's fun to spend some time reading and experimenting to see what works best with your yarn, needles, and style of knitting.

There's a good article here: http://cocoknits.com/tips-and-tutorials/techniques/a-neater-way-to-ssk-2/

and another here: http://techknitting.blogspot.com/2007/09/new-method-for-left-leaning-decreases.html

But trying to change how you actually manipulate the stitches can be a pretty big job (especially if it's something your hands are used to doing on auto pilot!), so I'd totally check your swatches first!

Charlie – I did swatch in the round and I washed my swatch but I didn't pin it out, so it may not be the best point of reference. I'll reblock it with pins this time, (more reminders to do it right the first time). If that doesn't help I am going to check out these resources. TECHknitting is a long favorite of mine and I was introduced to Coco Knits last year by KnitStars.

Hunter - Yeah, try giving it a yank, sometimes stitches just need a little persuasion to line up!  And when they're on your feet, they'll be under a bit of tension, so what it looks like blocked is a pretty good idea of what it will look like on your feet.

Charlie - I've been pouring over your new book and there is so much fascinating history along with the patterns. How did your love for oriental rugs turn from hobby to obsessive study?

Heriz from Silk Road Socks

Hunter - I've actually liked rugs longer than I've liked knitting! I grew up with them (one of my most treasured possessions is a rug that belonged to my great grandfather). And somewhere along the way it became a tradition to get a rug to commemorate big life events (Graduate college? Get a rug. First apartment? Get a rug. Finish grad school? Get a rug. First book? Totally get a rug.)

They're this perfect blend of beautiful and practical (rather like knitted socks!). And they're a marvelous demonstration of how skill and time can turn basic materials into something breathtaking (and something that will last for generations). Add in all the fun history stuff (who makes the rugs? what are those people's lives like? where do rugs go after they're made?), and it's just too much to resist!

Charlie - Agreed! All the pictures in your book show the most beautiful carpets. Where did you start your research?

Hunter - Lots and lots and lots of reading. And it's tricky, because rugs are heavily romanticized, so you have to be careful to find books that are focused on facts rather than trying to tell you a story. But the real history is worth tracking down (and so much more satisfying than the tales).

But, if you want to start learning about carpets, your best bet is to actually go to a good store and lay hands on them. Look for a shop that's been around for a while (avoid anywhere that's constantly having going out of business or moving sales) and spend some time just looking. You'll know pretty quickly if they're something you want in your life!

Joshaqan from Silk Road Socks

Charlie - Where is your favorite place to knit?

Hunter - Is it shameful if I admit I'm a TV knitter? I mean it would sound so much more romantic if I described some perfect scene of a roaring fire in an alpine hunting lodge...but mostly it's me tucked up at home catching up on Netflix!

Charlie – Not shameful. At. All. I confess to watching a lot of Netflix, and Hulu, and Amazon Prime while knitting. Lol! So we know you love rugs and knitting, what are your other passions?

Hunter - I am such a homebody! I love cooking and playing board games. But let's all pretend I said something exciting like ice caving or sky diving!

Charlie – Ah, just like the rugs, the reality is so much more interesting than the fantasy. Just for fun name a favorite recipe, favorite game, and favorite show (I have a hundred favorites and know it's hard to choose, so maybe just the ones you're really into right now).

Hunter - Oh let's see...so there are few things in life better than a roast chicken.  It makes your house smell amazing, and you've got built in leftovers.  I really like the Jamie Oliver Milk Chicken recipe (you can find it over here: http://www.thekitchn.com/jamie-oliver-chicken-in-milk-best-chicken-recipe-all-time-80388 . 

For board games, I'm a fan of the 'let's settle in for three hours and really do this' style, so I'm a big fan of Agricola. 

And as for tv?  Well let's just say I'm very much looking forward to the next season of The Walking Dead!

Charlie - Do you consider yourself a dog or cat person?

Hunter - Kitties all the way! We have two now (and have had several more over the years), and they are totally in charge around here.

Charlie – I love cats! What are their names? 

Hunter - This is actually a pretty accurate reflection of my world most days...you've got Levon there in the front being attentive, and Douglas in the background plotting something nefarious.  Plus tea...and both rugs (very likely in need of a vacuum) and woolly blankets (in a shamefully untidy state) in the distance!

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Charlie - How do you take your coffee or tea?

Hunter - Tea all the way...super strong but with lots of honey and half and half.

Charlie - If you could go anywhere, where would you go and what would you do there?

Hunter - So we're in the middle of moving from Ohio to Maine (as in, I'm surrounded by moving boxes as I type this...remind me not to bring out a book and move at the same time ever again!). So right at this very moment, I desperately want to be in my new house, snuggled up on the deck, staring at the ocean (very possibly with some sort of hot chocolate beverage in hand).

But once we're all settled in there (and I've had a bit to catch my breath), I very much want to plan a trip to Iceland. I've never been, and it's at the very top of my 'I really need to see that' list!

Charlie – I hope your move goes well and nothing, especially your yarnie stuff, goes missing!

Hunter - Hah!  Does it make me crazy that all the trunk show samples and all the pieces for next year's book that I have already are going with me in a suitcase in the car?  I mean I can buy new pots and pans or lamps if one of those boxes goes missing...but the knitting is irreplaceable!

Charlie - Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me in the middle of this crazy time in your life. I love your new book and can't wait to dig in deeper. 

You can find Hunter's new book on Ravelry and Amazon.

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You can keep up on all things Hunter Hammersen on Ravelry and on her website. 

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Pattern Spotlight: Ecliptic

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Hello everyone out there! I am very excited to be guest posting today about my pattern, Ecliptic, which happens to be the cover shawl on my new book, A Garden of Shawls!

Before I get started on the shawl itself, I thought it might be fun to give you an intro as to where this self-publishing thing came from.

When I first started as a designer in 1998, my goal was to eventually end up with my own company producing books. Little did I know the internet would be what it is now! :) At that same time I had met my favorite designer, Terry Kimbrough, who had been at that point designing for many years (she actually started in her teens). She and I had talked a lot about how self-publishing was the way to go. She already back in the late 1990s could see the way the industry was trending. And I did self publish patterns back then. I would publish patterns that weren’t picked up in magazines, and I actually self-published 3 books myself in 2002-2003 - which you can see here.

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I got a little sidetracked in the early 2000s and started designing primarily for books and magazine companies, but what I discovered over the years is that I like to do what I want to do. I don't like to be given a theme, or colors of the season. I prefer to design what is coming out of me at the time. I guess you could say I like having control over the entire process! :) In the last 2 years, I determined that this was the time to refocus and go back to my dream. In September 2016, I launched to the world Occhi Blue Press - my new book imprint. The first book, A Garden of Shawls, started pre-sales March 1st, just in time for National Crochet Month. And you will notice I am releasing far more indie patterns starting this year. I am shooting for 2 a month!

I have so many ideas in my head and on paper that I will be busy for years to come!

Let’s talk a little bit about Ecliptic! If you know anything about me and my background, you already know that I learned to crochet from my Italian grandmother, who learned to crochet from her grandmother in Italy. I have a strong background in crocheted Italian laces and for this book I really wanted to go back to my roots and use lace in new and interesting ways.

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Ecliptic crocheted in Anzula Breeze, colorway Persimmon.

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If you are not a lace person, consider this - you don’t have to use tiny thread and hooks to create late. In fact, in my beginning lace classes, I recommend using worsted weight yarns and a J or K hook to get started so that you can get a feel for it.

Ecliptic is born out of that idea. Sure, Anzula’s Breeze yarn is considered lace weight but I used a 3.00 mm crochet hook (between a C and a D) which is considered a much larger hook that a standard lace hook - usually is a size 6 steel at 1.75 mm. So right there I have removed one of the biggest fears crocheters have with lace. The hook is almost double the size!

Ecliptic is worked from the top down as most triangular shawls are. You start with a shell in the middle of the top edge, and then you gradually increase as you go. The entire shawl consists of triple crochet and chain stitches. Triple crochets are heavily used in Italian lace, and I used a simple shell motif that is just a 4 row repeat - one you can memorize easily! And the best part? If you want to make the shawl smaller or larger all you have to do is reduce or increase, respectively, the number of repeats before you make the edging. And the beauty of the edging is that it mimics the shawl pattern, but it isn't the same. More openwork shells as in traditional Italian laces are used to finish the shawl off. And the edging is just one last row! Easy-peasy!

If all that doesn’t convince you - there is a section in the book that explains how you can use heavier weight yarns for ANY of the patterns in the book. So is Squishy more your speed? You can make this shawl using Squishy. Or what about It Could Be Worsted? You can use that too! You have options!

Ecliptic is one of my favorite shawls in the book. Why? The yarn. Who wouldn't want a spring shawl in a linen/silk blend? Breeze is so smooth and easy to crochet with. The stitch definition is beautiful as you can see from all the photos. And the best part is that even with a shawl made out of a dense crochet stitch, the shawl weighs next to nothing! Ecliptic will be the perfect topper for a summer night. Persimmon was my color of choice for this shawl, but with Anzula’s line up of colors you can chose your perfect color.

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A Garden of Shawls is now available on my website. You can also purchase the book on Amazon.com (print and Kindle) iBooks, Kobo, and Barnes and Noble.

I hope that I have inspired you to make your own Ecliptic shawl. And if you do, let me know about it! I would love to see your finished project on Ravelry or you can always contact me anytime over at at my website!

-Karen

Pattern Spotlight: Jesse's Girl by Kate Oates

Thank you so much Anzula for having me as a guest to talk about one of the designs in my new book, Grown.  I'm honored to be here!  In addition to design details, I'd also like to share some modification info that could be of interest to knitters who prefer cardigans :)

This is Jesse's Girl.  It was inspired by Jesse Half-Zip, a sweater that was part of my Knits for Boys book and is also now available as a single pattern. My husband and my oldest son share the name Jesse. My son is the 4th generation actually, so the name has been in the family for quite a while. He modeled the Jesse Half-Zip, of course.  And so, I decided it was fitting for me to wear the Grown version.  I openly admit that I made Erica spend WAY more time shooting this piece than the others because I knew I was going to have trouble looking at these photos of myself, ha!

Both sweaters share a central cable pattern and utilize Anzula For Better or Worsted.

I can't help it.  Sometimes I accidentally have a favorite and from Grown, Jesse's Girl is it.

It has all of the things I love. Squishy yarn with incredible color and depth. Textured fabric with cables that pop.  Flattering lines. A scoopneck that I can accent with big sparkly jewelry. Purple.

I had a "knitting disaster" with this sweater.  I knit the entire body and then realized I needed to make an adjustment to the cable pattern.  For a day or two I sat on it, trying to figure out a way around ripping the whole thing out.

NOPE. I had to do it. Frogged the entire thing.  It was painful. So painful. I had been petting those cables for several weeks.  I forced myself to get right back on the horse and reknit it quickly before I had time to get more frustrated. As has happened every time I have made this kind of decision, I don't regret it.  All in the name of perfection!

This sweater is worked from the bottom up with raglan-style seamless sleeves. Shaping at each side flatters.  I am a mom of four.  These things are important. The shaping occurs outside of the underarm stitches in a sweet spot that works whether you are trying to create some curves or nicely accent those that are there without messing with either of the stitch patterns in the body.

I have already had several comments from folks who would like to see this design in a cardigan version.  I don't have any immediate plans to do that, but I am happy to share a few instructions on how you can accomplish this modification!  It is really nothing fancy.  It will be easiest to follow along with the Jesse's Girl pattern while reading these notes, but the principles are definitely applicable to other designs as well.

First, adjust the cast-on to remove width for the buttonband. For this design, I suggest you CO 6 fewer stitches.  This removes the center front cable only while providing for 2 selvedge stitches (one at each edge).  The selvedge stitches make it easy to pick up for your buttonband.  In this design, it is important to set up the Ribbing properly, so that your side Ribbing matches with the hem. With this in mind, set-up your Ribbing like this:

Row 1 (WS): P1, k1, *p2, k2; rep from * to last 4 sts, p2, k1, p1.

Row 2 (RS): K1, p1, *k2, p2; rep from * to last 4 sts, k2, p1, k1.

After you work the hem, and this is the only tricky part, map out your cable set-up row since the end-of-round for the pullover is not in the center front.  The easiest way to do this is to draw yourself a little picture like so:

Using the information in the existing pattern, fill in stitch count numbers for each section.  During the following row, you should be able to establish the stitch patterns properly and then you can knit back and forth for a while without thinking too hard. Do not forget to leave your first and last stitch as selvedge sts (that is, work them as knit on the RS and purl on the WS throughout the entire project and don't include them in your cable set up). You won't need to modify the sleeves or the sleeve join.

Next, determine your new center front neckline numbers. Subtract 6 sts (for the width you left out in your CO) from the total front neck stitches that are slipped to hold in the pullover  and divide the remaining sts in half.  The example below shows the smallest size. 22 stitches are slipped to hold for the front neck in the pattern.  After subtracting 6 and dividing by 2, 8 stitches should be put on hold for each side.

Work the remaining shaping just like for the pullover, taking into account that your end of row does not match the patterned end of round.  Your stitch counts both in total and in each section should match up at this point.  When you're all finished, pick up a multiple of 4 stitches plus 2 along those neckline stitches and use the same Ribbing pattern I provided for the hem.

Finish up with your buttonband, once again picking up a multiple of 4 sts plus 2, including along the vertical edge of the neckline.  This time, establish your Ribbing slightly differently...

Row 1 (WS): *P2, k2; rep from * to last 2 sts, p2.

Row 2 (RS): *K2, p2; rep from * to last 2 sts, k2.

Your buttonband should be about 1.25" wide; place buttonholes as you like, with the top and bottom buttonholes about an inch away from each edge.  If you need help placing the buttonholes, use the Scholar Cardigan instructions as a guide. Buttonhole instructions are included in the Technique section of Grown.

I hope that sharing some of these notes with you is helpful! Grown is full of lots of tips and tricks to help you personalize your knits. After all, if you're making your own clothes, they might as well be just right.  For more details about the entire collection, check out this post. Click here to buy it now.

All the sweaters from Grown will be touring around in a Trunk Show next year, which is wonderful but kind of a downer for my closet.  I would really really REALLY like to knit myself this sweater.  Along with several others.  But I've already admitted this one is my favorite so yeah...  first up!  Before I say goodbye, here's a photo of the other Anzula sweater in Grown, shown on my guy. This is is the Eli Cardigan.

Cheers,
Kate