Lindy's Knits & Laces 10 in 2010,knitting,Knitting Projects,Lace Knitting,Yarn FO: Multnomah Shawlette in Crazy Zauberball

FO: Multnomah Shawlette in Crazy Zauberball

Knitted shawlette using Multnomah pattern

I took a little knitting detour last week and knit up the Multnomah Shawl in Zauberball Crazy yarn. Colorway is Fliederduft, which is loosely translated as “lilacs”. I had allocated this yarn to a pair of socks as part of the “10 in 2010” projects at the beginning of this year. However, after looking through many examples of socks knit with Zauberball Crazy in the Ravelry projects, I decided that I really didn’t want to knit this yarn into a pair socks. So — I switched to a shawl and ended up doing the Multnomah pattern by Kate Flagg.

The shawl was done in garter stitch until I had 265 stitches and then I started the feather and fan pattern and did 9 repeats. This pattern is a fairly quick knit. I was able to finish it up in a week and that was even with needing to frog back a couple of rows in order to have enough yarn to bind off.

Final size of the shawl — it’s actually a shawlette — was 15.5 inches by 58 inches.

Multnomah Shawl knitted in Zauberball Crazy

I am pleased with the result. It’s an nice size for a decorative scarf/shawlette and I think the striping of the yarn is shown off to better affect than it would be in a pair of socks.

Zauberball Crazy is a self-striping, marled yarn. Which means that it stripes, but because the two plies of the yarn may be different colors, you get a somewhat “tweedy” appearance in many of the stripes. It’s a unique yarn. It is a fingering weight, superwash wool and nylon yarn and the fabric is soft and drapes nicely after blocking. I did find that the yarn had a tendency to split occasionally and there were spots where a tuft of yarn from one of the plies would stick out — these were easily removed. I might be tempted to try another colorway — but not certain what project I would use it for.

The Multnomah Shawl pattern is a very popular pattern on Ravelry and there many knitters who have made larger shawls, so when I knit this pattern again I plan to knit a larger one. The pattern is free and available for download from Ravelry (must be Ravelry member) or on Kate Flagg’s website.

I have finally figured out how to share information from my Ravelry project pages, so I am linking to this project details on my “Z Crazy” Multnomah Page.

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It’s October — Breast Cancer Awareness MonthIt’s October — Breast Cancer Awareness Month

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a 13-year survivor of breast cancer, I make a point of promoting Breast Cancer Awareness. I was about 18 months overdue for my annual mammogram when I went in and had it done. To my great surprise, I had a small lump in my right breast and that started me on my journey as a woman with breast cancer. If you are reading this and are a female age 40 or more — please get your annual mammogram this month. If you are a male who has women in your life — ask them to get their mammogram if they haven’t done so. Early detection increases the chance of survival in breast cancer.

I designed a pattern for a Turban Style Hat that is knitted using a soft yarn specifically for women undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer. If you are a knitter and know someone who is dealing with breast cancer, please feel free to download the pattern.

How to Knit a Helpful Swatch – Part 1 GaugeHow to Knit a Helpful Swatch – Part 1 Gauge

First, a definition: A Helpful Swatch is a swatch that gives you, the knitter, information that helps you in the planning, preparation and construction of your knitting project. It tells you a number of things that are essential for successful completion, among them:

  • Your stitch and row gauge with the yarn and needles  you have selected for your project
  • The type of fabric produced with your yarn and your gauge.
  • What happens when the yarn is washed and dried.
  • What adjustments are needed to make a garment that fits the way you want it
  • How a given stitch pattern looks when knitted using your selected yarn.

In addition, you can use your swatch to test out different techniques such as decreases or increases that you might want to use during construction. Full disclosure here: You’ll need to knit more than one swatch to get a helpful swatch. This is why most experienced knitters will tell you that you should buy an extra skein of yarn just for swatching.

One of the first issues new knitters encounter when doing a swatch is not knitting a big enough swatch  — they tend to cast on only enough to knit a 4 inch square. In most cases, this isn’t big enough to provide helpful information.  So, how big does a swatch need to be? The short answer is: Big enough to get a good sense of how the project will knit up. Elizabeth Zimmerman wrote that “a hat is a good swatch” – which is true if you are planning to knit your sweater in the round. Some knitters use a sleeve as their swatch, others knit a swatch that is at least 6 inches wide by 6 inches high. I would say that the 6 X 6 swatch is a good starting point – but you made need to make one that is even wider.

GAUGE: Here’s one inescapable truth about yarn, needles, and gauge: “Your Mileage May Vary”.  Meaning that gauge is a very personal thing – it’s yours and yours alone. It is a measurement of the fabric YOU produce when you knit. So doing a swatch to identify your gauge is important to your success.

Before you start your first swatch you need to decide what size needle works best for the project. Yarn labels usually have a recommended needle size and gauge listed. Some manufacturers state a range on the label, others use a symbol to indicate the recommended gauge. Either way, this is just the starting point. A pattern may also include information about the yarn, needles and gauge the designer used to create the pattern. Both sources provide you with a starting point for selecting the size needle you need to use to obtain the knitted fabric you want to make.

Here are the steps I follow to make a Gauge Swatch:

  1. Select 3 sizes of needles – if the recommended needle size on the yarn label is a US 7, I use a US 6, US 7, and US 8 for this swatch.
  2. Cast on enough stitches on the smallest needle size for a width of at least 6 inches. (To estimate the number of stitches to cast on, I use the recommended gauge on the yarn label. For example, the label states 20 stitches in 4 inches, that’s 5 stitches  per inch, so I’d cast on 30 stitches for 6 inches.). Knit in stockinette stitch for at least 3-4 inches ending with a right side (knit) row.
  3. Knit the wrong side row to indicate where the change in needle size occurs.
  4. Change to the US 7 and knit in stockinette stitch for another 3-4 inches.
  5. Repeat steps 3 & 4 with the US 8. Bind off loosely. (You can also just put the live stitches on waste yarn).
  6. Take stitch and row gauge measurements for all needle sizes and make note of these before blocking per step 7.
  7. Block this swatch using the care instructions on the yarn label.
  8. Once the swatch is dry, take stitch and row gauge measurements for each needle size and write them down in your project notes. These are your “finished gauges”.
  9. Select the needle size by looking at the fabric produced by each size needle. Which one gives you the best fabric? Do you like the stitch definition? Do you like the way it drapes and feels? Is one better than the other two? It’s your choice – but this helps you select the needle that works best with you and your choice of yarn.

Measuring the Swatch for Gauge:

Stitch gauge is expressed as “number of stitches in number of inches (or centimeters)”. You may see this as “20 sts/4 in (10cm) or 5 sts/in.  To determine your stitch gauge you need to count the number of stitches in a horizontally measured row of stitches. This measurement should be taken using a ruler and marking the starting point and ending point away from the edges.

Row gauge is expressed as “number of rows in number of inches (or centimeters)”. You may see this as “28 rows/4 in( 10cm) or 7 rows/inch. To determine your row gauge you need to count the number of rows in a vertically measured column of stitches. Again, the measurement needs to be taken using a ruler and away from the top and bottom edges of the swatch.

Note that it is not necessary to measure just 4 inches horizontally or vertically. If you measure more than 4 inches, you may get a more accurate gauge because it will give you a better average – yes – gauge is actually the average number of stitches or rows per inch. And, math is required to determine gauge.

There are any number of YouTube videos available on measuring gauge swatches to determine stitch and row gauge. I recommend the following ones for more detailed explanation:

Making an Accurate Gauge Swatch (Suzanne Bryan)

Measuring for Gauge (Arenda Holladay)

Hats for New GrandsonHats for New Grandson

My new baby grandson has a small head. This is a family trait, as both his father and paternal grandfather have small heads and this is always an issue when they are picking out new ball caps….

So, I have been making the little guy some smaller hats. I started out by checking on what the “newborn” head measurement is — which my references state is “14 – 15 inches”. I cast on the appropriate number of stitches for the gauge of the worsted weight baby yarn I was using — three rows in and I thought: “Too Big.”

After some experimenting, I got what looked like the right circumference and knit up a beanie type hat — one inch of 2 X 2 ribbing and then straight stockinette until the hat measured 3 1/2 inches. I used the standard K2tog decreasing to form the top of the hat. I guessed correctly, because the hat fit perfectly. The circumference of this first hat was 11.5 inches.

The new parents were impressed and asked me if I could knit up a few more in different colors so that they could use them to coordinate the baby’s outfits. Now, being a new grandma, I said, “Of course!” —

So — I knit 3 more hats — each one only took about 90 minutes to knit up and I varied them a little just so I wouldn’t get too bored with them. The bright green one and the baby blue one were knit using Berat Cottontots yarn and the aqua one was knit using double-stranded Baby Ull (Dale of Norway) washable wool.

BTW — I didn’t get a picture of the first hat — also knit with Bernat Cottentots yarn — but it was baby blue with a bright green stripe.