Keyword: Projects

Knitting gloves is quite the high art - you think perhaps? But it's not, honestly! Mittens and hand warmers can be knitted super fast in between and are always a nice souvenir. Some people might even wear them rather than knitted socks. But also mittens are not as difficult as you might think. You can learn all this in my new video course at Makerist "Knitting gloves".

Photo: Makerist.com

This class is really all about the technique of knitting gloves. I show different types of cuffs and thumb attachments and of course on the one hand mittens and on the other hand open and closed finger gloves.

Photos: left Makerist.de, right Maschenfein.com

The course comes with a chart as a PDF download that you can use to knit your own mittens. I used sock yarn from Lang Yarns in the course, because sock yarns are the basis for the conventional charts. But once you understand the technique, you can apply your knowledge to all other yarns and knit beautiful mittens from Bergamo (like in the upcoming picture below) or of course from cashmere. For example, I have a pair of Cashmere Premium gloves on the needles right now.

By the way, my favorite thing to knit for gloves is a double border as a cuff. That's why I show it in detail in the course, of course. First, it is provisionally cast on, then a long cuff is knitted with a break and later joined together.

We knit in the course with the Colibri double pointed needles and the sock wonder. So you can look at both and then decide what you want to try. The very short stocking needles are suitable for knitting the fingers. You should definitely treat yourself to them so that knitting the fingers doesn't spoil the fun of the whole glove.

Do you feel like knitting gloves? You can find my video course as well as my other online knitting courses on Makerist.

My current favorite part is the Bergalu poncho, on which so many of you have already cast an eye. There were namely already now and then small glimpses of the poncho and Instastories about it. The poncho I wear at the moment almost around the clock. The mini version for the Miss is also already in the works, I am very enchanted by the color petrol in this yarn combination. Look, on Instagram I had shown a close shot.

The Bergalu poncho is knitted with two threads on 7mm needles. So it slips off the needles in no time. The combination of Lusso and Bergamo I find so great! There are almost all colors in combination, although it is two manufacturers (namely Lamana and Lang Yarns). You could also use Cusi from Lamana instead of Lusso, but I like this slight melange effect that Lusso gives in combination with Bergamo. In the Instagram picture linked above you can see the effect I'm talking about in more detail.

The poncho is knitted quite simply from the long side up as a rectangle. So it's constructed a little differently than the checkerboard poncho, but it's just as simple. The seam you see here in the picture on the shoulder is created by knitting the bind-off edge left and right of the rectangle together. I've also drawn a diagram for this in the knitting pattern. I intentionally made the seam so nicely visible. You can also wear the poncho a little differently, and move this seam to the front.

The turtleneck is worked in rounds at the very end, doubling in length. It is then folded inward and fastened. Thus, the turtleneck gains a little strength and does not slouch around.

Bergalu poncho from Maschenfein
Two strands of Bergamo knitted by Lamana and Lusso Lang Yarns
7mm needles
To the knitting kit
To knitting pattern without yarn

Linked at *RUMS

We are very lucky, do you know that? Ponchos are totally in this fall and I think that's so great, because they are not only super comfortable, but also quite easy and fast to knit. In my shawl book there is a shawl with crocheted vertical rows and because I find this technique so great, I quickly had the idea of the checkerboard poncho in mind.

Unfortunately, I lacked knitting time. But since I have the glowing needles of Kerstin sitting in such situations in the neck, who can never keep the needles still and is always open to new things, the outcome of which she learns only during the Abketten, I have simply drawn my pattern, calculated and noted and finally Kerstin has knitted the poncho. Fortunately, we have very similar tastes (or should I say "unfortunately", because so I have to bring her the poncho probably very hesitant again soon). Or do you think she will mind if I just keep it here for a few more months - let's say until May?

Anyway, I was happy as a snow queen when he was then finished. The checkerboard poncho is really a pretty piece for fall. Knitted from the wonderfully light merino yarn Como on 4mm needles, it is a breath of nothing, keeps a little warm, but not too much, so you can wear it just perfect indoors. Because that is often the problem with ponchos: Outside they keep only so half warm, indoors they are too warm and actually ruin one's hairstyle when constantly dressing and undressing.

But no matter, you forget that quickly again, I have namely another poncho for you, the Bergalu poncho, which I just early in the morning and in the evening when it is cooler no longer want to take off. He also gets his own blog post, he has earned and I know some of you are already waiting for it.

Back to the checkerboard poncho. It is first knitted as a rectangle in the base color with contrast rows. On the stockinette stitch background, purl stitches are worked vertically, onto which the contrasting color is later crocheted again. A corresponding link to an illustrated tutorial is of course in the knitting pattern and in my book you will find an illustration on page 18.

The rectangle is folded and sewn at the end (after another cuff is knitted on), so that then only the opening for the head remains. The poncho can thus also be worn in two ways - with the checks or with the parallel lines in front.

In the store you will find both the knitting pattern separately and the knitting kit, where you can choose your favorite combination from all colors Como. Needles you will find as always in the accessories.

How is it with you? Do you like ponchos?

-> Linked at RUMS

If you've been reading here for a while, you know my love for mohair yarns. I just really like the fluffy, soft, "fuzzy".

Therefore, of course, I have now gathered many different qualities of mohair in the store, which are all a little different. Mohair fibers come from the angora goat (not to be confused with angora wool from rabbits), are warmer and firmer than wool from sheep and considered alone very inelastic. To prevent knits made of mohair from losing their shape, mohair is often paired with other fibers that provide more dimensional stability, such as wool. Especially often we see mohair combined with silk and since silk absorbs dyes differently than mohair, this slightly shimmering, brighter effect comes about, you can see that already a little in the picture.

Mohair Luxe (the dark blue yarn in the picture) is the very classic mohair silk yarn that actually every manufacturer has in their range. A few meters longer or shorter and a few percent more or less silk, depending on the manufacturer. I particularly like the mohair yarn from my store because it's a little more "grippy" and less scratchy than the mohair yarn I used to knit a lot. It's also a little more expensive, but I think it's worth the investment if you want to wear the part on your neck.

I have many matching pattern. From left to right these are: My diamond scarf (double thread knitted and super cozy), the Easy triangle scarf (perfect also for beginners), the XXL stole and the leaf scarf in the mohair version.

Mohair Luxe is really kind of a standard yarn, that's why there's such a crazy wide range of colors, so you're spoiled for choice!

We continue with Mohair Luxe Paillettes. This contains less mohair and a fair amount of wool, which makes the yarn stronger and more dimensionally stable. It also contains conveniently already stranded sequins, which make the knitted piece then of course again a little special. You can also use it to knit the Easy Triangle Shawl or the Mohair Leaves Shawl, you can choose between the yarns in the knitting kits. Sequins make in any case just with simple cloths really what:

Mohair Trend (the light blue yarn at the very top of the picture) is a heavier counterpart to Mohair Luxe with a yardage of less than half in comparison. It looks very interesting up close because it is made of a kind of net of silk, which in turn encloses the mohair fibers. It feels much more slippery than Mohair Luxe in comparison.

Lusso I find also just super great, you know that. I have knitted it as a supplementary thread for my new Bergalu poncho (won't be long now, then the pattern and the knitting kit are ready!), have a look:

And I'm currently combining a few Lusso colors in three strands for a fluffy cozy scarf, because you can create great color effects that way:

So on the one hand, you can use this kind of yarns for super simple projects without knitting big complicated patterns. Or you can knit the yarns double, triple or multiple times and create fluffy color effects. Or you can use them as a supplementary yarn, for example to give smooth merino yarns a little more "fluff".

Great, isn't it?

One of the nice side effects of my many projects around Maschenfein is knitting with many different, beautiful yarns. As stressful as it is sometimes, I always have the choice between beautiful yarn and beautiful yarn. Today I'll tell you a little bit bundled, what I have knitted in the last weeks or what I have here just for fibers on the needles.

Cashmere Big is.... just Big! A really really heavy chunky yarn. Since it consists of one hundred percent cashmere wool, it is of course correspondingly heavenly soft. But also precious and preciousness has its price. I'll say this, if you want to afford a really nice, soft and precious hat, Cashmere Big is a surefire way to knit a beautiful piece. To try it out or leave it lying around, it's nothing. I knitted a hat from it in the style of "Lakota". You'll find the knitting pattern in the upcoming issue of Mollie Makes, and of course I'll show you more pictures of the hat here then.

Lusso is one of my new favorites among the fleece yarns. I think Lusso is just really great! It has this fluffy character of the brushed mohair yarns, but at the same time it is even softer, although I personally also find the mohair yarns soft and not at all scratchy. The scratch factor is simply very individual. I also like Lusso so much because I find the addition of camel hair fibers just totally exciting. The camel hair makes the yarn softer than traditional mohair yarns. Did you know that the camel undercoat comes close to cashmere fibers in its softness? Who would have thought that when you look at the animals like that. But I'm always amazed at the softness of various animal hairs anyway (same with the yarn Bayak below), especially in animals where you wouldn't expect it at all. I have Lusso on the needles right now for my current Maschenfein project and will continue to knit it at least at the beginning of #maschenfeinKAL2016. I combine it with Bergamo, but I would also find a poncho or a shawl made only of Lusso very exciting.

Bergamo is a new yarn from Lamana and again one that uses merino. In Bergamo it is mixed with a part alpaca fibers. The result is a heavy, soft and at the same time very light yarn. Just like Milano and Como, it's also a favorite yarn that was used in my book. This color has namely also the cloth Cerlane.

Bayak is the novelty at Pascuali consisting of yak and viscose. And if you imagine such a yak, then you may find it equally fascinating what soft yarn can be obtained from these fibers once. I am very excited to start a new shawl with it in the next few days and will surely show pictures of the growing shawl soon. I will combine the colors anthracite, brown and light pink.

What are your favorite fibers, what do you like to knit with? What does your skin not like to wear?

My Cusi cardigan is now cast off and sitting on the stretch mats to dry (as you can see on Instagram in the Instastories* just a few hours), so here are some fresh thoughts on knitting the project.

The Cusi cardigan is absolutely suitable for beginners and perfect as an in-between-I-won't-think project. The main part is knitted crosswise from the side, i.e. it is simply a rectangle with small turn-up sections that loosen up the whole thing a bit. You should definitely put stitch markers in front of the lace pattern, otherwise you will knit over it thoughtlessly.

The rectangle also has two holes where the sleeves will be inserted later, because the sleeves are knitted separately according to the pattern, and I followedinstructionsttern in this case.

It is relatively important to pay attention to the gauge for the sleeves themselves. Otherwise, what happened to me, I had to shorten a sleeve at the end again. I tend to knit looser and looser at the end of a project and since I had my problems with the gauge anyway (because of my loose back rows), that was my undoing with the sleeves:

According to the pattern, the sleeves are knitted up from below (i.e. by hand). When I was then finished with the first sleeve with the arm ball, I noticed that the sleeve has unfortunately become much too long. Does not matter - I thought - then I just fold the sleeves later when wearing.

However, since I suspected that the additional yarn consumption caused by the now longer sleeve could cause me problems, I knit the second sleeve from the top down to be on the safe side. This makes it much easier to bind off earlier, because the arm ball is already knitted.

In fact, I ran out of yarn earlier. The length of the second sleeve was sufficient, the decreases according to the pattern not all through yet, but that doesn't matter. So I unchained the second sleeve and set about shortening the first sleeve with a heavy heart.

Anyone who has ever rubbed a brushed material (whether alpaca or mohair is hopped as jumped), knows how I felt about it.

But I managed to do it. Ha!

By the way, Kerstin had asked in the Maschenfein Facebook group right at the beginning for an alternative to knitting on the sleeves directly. Sophia had the tip ready: You can also do it like this!

The knitting kit for the Cusi cardigan is available here.

* Instastories are the latest feature of the Instagram app. So if you have the latest version, you can record and share Stories yourself, or watch other people's short videos for 24 hours before they disappear.

I'm sending you a teeny "hello" from summer vacation today with a few glimpses of the #cusicardigan project, because it's so much fun to watch different versions and colors on Instagram.

Above left you see my version, quite classic after the knitting kit and in the color silk gray. Next to it in the color petrol from Kerstin and below left also the color jeans from @main.knit. Since Dagmar does not tolerate alpaca well, she knits (below right) the pattern without further ado simply in Como! I'm super excited to see the results, I think this just screams "copycat"... if I didn't have what felt like ten thousand more projects in the pipeline... I wish this whole knitting thing would go a little faster. Like Kerstin, who has already finished her first #cusicardigan in silk gray, check it out:

By the way, in the store you can already find some knitting kits to my book! If you want to browse :). Oh, and even though I'm in vacation mode, orders are being processed daily. Great, isn't it?

A few weeks ago I stood in front of the camera for the second time at Makerist and filmed many video sessions about patchwork knitting with the nice team for two days. The shooting there makes me meanwhile so much fun that I will be in front of the camera again in September. The topic I'll tell you soon through some knitting pokes on Instagram. It will be this time what great, relatively small, useful and totally fun! I can already tell you that.

But back to the patchwork knitting. I had a great sponsor on board, whom I would like to thank once again for the great cooperation. Lamana had sent me in advance a large box full of Cosma and Como in my desired colors, so that I could knit the projects once completely and then of course in many partial steps before. Since such a course is turned namely within two days, the projects must be knitted of course accordingly in different stages before.

I had at least for the first project in the course deliberately times not the so typical Maschenfein colors blue and pink chosen, after all, it should also be a little different color here, otherwise it will be boring, right? Instead, you see in the project pillowcase the colors "sun yellow" and "coral" as well as "pine", "lime" and "May green". Cosma is a great summer yarn that I highly recommend for knitting summer tops. And of course it knits away with the olive needles and 5mm gauge just like that. Like butter. For the course I had to cover different topics and therefore decided for a pillowcase and as an added bonus for a scarf.

I show you in the course first of all how you can knit geometric shapes, ie triangles, diamonds and squares each in different variations. Then we knit one side of the pillowcase using the classic Horst Schulz technique, which is the left side in the picture. The patches are knitted up from the bottom by decreasing in the middle, then at the end one stitch is left and from the edges of two patches are each picked up new stitches for the patch above.

For the other side of the pillowcase (kept in green, at the very top of the picture on the right side) I show you the classic knitting of diamonds in 3D technique. In each case, a 3D piece is knitted in one piece by picking up and knitting on stitches. The pieces are then sewn together later.

Then came the scarf and well, there I fell again to my blue-pink preference, the eye knits with, after all! In the shawl, which has a classic wave pattern, I show you how you can knit such a kind of shawl without the sewing together and by even less stitch pickups. Using short rows, this is so wonderfully simple construction that it really just knits away.

For the shawl I had chosen Como from Lamana, because you can knit it with slightly heavier needles (than, for example, Milano) and it still becomes so nice and airy due to the "superlight" character of the yarn. It was the colors "ice blue" and "old pink".

The course should go online either at the end of this week or next week at the latest! The course also includes the knitting pattern for the projects as a PDF and I would like to take this opportunity to thank my super great test knitters who have helped me to perfectinstructionsttern!

At the moment you can still get the 50% early bird discount: To the course Patchwork Knitting.

Before I finally bind off the Whippet from ANKESTRiCK, I want to show you the progress once again. I'm knitting the long version, but I still didn't knit it quite as long because I assume that the yarn will still slacken quite a bit during tensioning.

The long version has lateral increases compared to the short version of the whippet. Maybe you can see that on the right picture? In the short version, the hole pattern goes through the sides.

I like the Whippet already very much. The Milano yarn is excellent and it also wears quite wonderfully, I was already allowed to try with Kerstin's short Whippet. Maybe I should have knitted one size smaller, it could be a little more snug. Let's see how the shape will still change by stretching.

The first sleeve is finished and for the second sleeve I used a Colibri Double Pointed Needles. Since I usually knit sleeves with the Magic Loop, I just wanted to try out whether it might not be at least as fun with the double pointed needles.

And lo and behold, it goes faster! The first part of the sleeve is knitted in the lace pattern, before the forearm follows in the rib pattern. I have to see how the rib pattern can be knitted with the double pointed needles and whether too strong "bars" arise, because Milano does not really "forgive".

As always, when I get to the last sleeve of a larger project, I like to finish now and already have the next project, the Cusi Cardigan posted in my mind... You know, right?

You can find the tutorial for the Wippet Cardigan at ANKESTRiCK, who also answered a few questions about her label here the other day.
The Milano yarn is available in all colors in my store, I also wrote about my Whippet here and here, and you can find some more "Whippets" in Milano in my Facebook group.

My Makerist course on patchwork knitting is supposed to go online next week, so I'd like to finally show you the huge freestyle patchwork shawl made from Owls by Quince & Co. that I created during my preparations for the course.

When Makerist came around the corner with the idea of shooting a course on this topic, I first thought: I don't know, what is that? I googled the keyword "patchwork knitting" and then the ambition grabbed me. It must be possible to do this beautifully! So I started knitting and tried out simple triangular shapes before I tried out the classic patches à la Horst Schulz. The result was my first patchwork shawl, which I then gave away in several color combinations for Christmas. It consists of simple triangular shapes that are knitted together in different directions.

Then it was time for more geometric shapes, which I tried out in this freestyle patchwork shawl that I'm finally showing you today. with a few skeins of Owl from Quince & Co. Just because I felt like it. From the top up and as it suited me I knitted the shapes together with increases and decreases.

A few diamonds, a few triangles, then sometimes striped and sometimes plain. It turned out to be a huge shawl. Owls is a great yarn. Quite sturdy and a little too hard for my taste. But it knits up beautifully and is nice and heavy (i.e. it goes fast).

There are no pattern for this shawl. But you can learn how to knit geometric shapes, how to pick up stitches and how to knit shapes together in my latest Makerist course. If you're up for it, you can get it now at the early bird discount.

Patchwork knitting is great for a bunch of yarn scraps. Just knit away and combine your yarns as you please!

Today once again linked at RUMS!

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