In the Loop
Get in touch and share your photographs, tips, ideas, tweets and comments on what you’ve seen in The Knitter
Your letters, photos and tweets, plus views from our guest columnist
Pattern ideas
The Knitter has been my favourite magazine since I first discovered Issue 8 in my news agency. Emma Vining has become my favourite designer, and I have just completed ‘Jadeite’ from Issue 105, which I enjoyed knitting and love to wear now we are into autumn here in Australia.
I have been gifted some lovely striped 8-ply (DK) yarn and would love to make a sideways or cuff-tocuff jumper, but nearly all the patterns I have found on Ravelry.com have been for worsted or aran-weight yarn. I wonder if you have any plans to commission such a design, or if there is a pattern in a previous issue which you can recommend? I have every issue, lovingly stored, for future reference and enjoyable browsing. Althea Leonard, South Australia Althea wins a copy of Noro Silk Garden: The 20th Anniversary Collection (Sixth & Spring, £17.99)
KIRSTIE SAYS: We don’t have any immediate plans to publish a sidewaysknit, cuff-to-cuff jumper, but we will certainly consider this type of construction when we plan our future pattern collections. In the meantime, I wonder if you could consider the ‘Lempicka’ design by Emma Vining in Issue 98, which calls for a DK yarn? The pattern has short sleeves, but it could easily be adapted to have longer sleeves, and would look striking worked in a single self-striping yarn. Noro is a good source of patterns for self-striping yarns, and there are some sideways jumper designs in The World of Nature Vol 35 and Game
of Hues that might appeal. If any of our readers can suggest other good cuff-tocuff patterns, do get in touch!
Shapes to suit
In response to the ongoing debate on necklines in your Letters pages, I couldn’t resist one last word on the matter. For many years now, it seems to me that the retail fashion industry, whether producing knitwear/tops or knitting patterns, is concentrating its efforts more on featuring low and wide-of-the-neck necklines than any other style. I certainly don’t want polo or turtle necks, but I’m a size 8 with a narrow frame, and I find that most of these low and wide-of-theneck necklines are in fact so wide that they virtually hang off my shoulders. Round necks - those sitting at the base of the neck - have all but disappeared having been replaced by crews, scoops and wide V’s.
I returned to knitting after many years for the sole reason of hoping that I would find necklines that were more attractive than what appeared to me to be just a large hole to put your head through. Fortunately,
The Knitter does a pretty good job in this respect, featuring a number of styles that I find suit me better. Gwen Baker, Southend-on-Sea
A useful tool
I read your lace blocking masterclass (Issue 108) with interest as just in the past year I have started knitting lace. I loved knitting the ‘Exmoor’ shawl in Issue 100. I thought my fellow readers should know about a pretty fab tool for curves in lace. I just heard about them before Christmas and, yes, bought them. These blocking wires are bendable and are called Lazadas. They are made from an innovative alloy and can be bent and snap back to a straight wire. I bought the introductory mix set. I recently used them to block my ‘Autumn Leaf Shawl’ from Loop’s 10. They worked beautifully. Laura Oakley, via email