This pattern combines the ease of the seamless yoked sweater, a traditional netting stitch, and cool cotton to create a beach or pool-side wardrobe must. Cabana is knit bottom up in one piece with a single eyelet row at the neck through which you can thread a pretty ribbon or even a length of I-cord if you wish.

Note: The pattern for Cabana contains two sets of directions; one for sizes XS through L and one for sizes L through 3X.

Sizes
XS (S, M, L)

Finished Size
Bust: 35″ (40″, 44″, 49″)
To fit bust: 30″ (34″, 38″, 42″)

Yarn
Patons Grace (100% mercerized cotton; 50g = approx. 125m/136 yards); Colour: natural: 4 (4, 4, 5) balls

Sizes
L (1X, 2X, 3X)
Finished Size
Bust: 49″ (54″, 58″, 63″)
To fit bust: 42″ (46″, 50″, 54″)
Yarn
Patons Grace (100% mercerized cotton; 50g = approx. 125m/136 yards); Colour: natural: 5 (5, 6, 6) balls

Needles and Other Supplies
“    32″ circular needle in size US 6
“    Stitch markers
“    Tapestry needle
“    Satin ribbon

Gauge
12 stitches = 4 inches or 3st/in. in Cat’s Eye Netting stitch.

$2.00

Casting On for the Armhole

Cabana uses a slightly novel cast on for the armhole section. If you’re having trouble visualising it, here is a little photo essay that might help…

First you bind off the stitches. The working yarn is on the right-hand needle:

Transfer the last stitch on the RH needle to the LH needle. Knit on 1 stitch. Cable cast on specified number of stitches.

The work now looks like this:

Knit across the new stitches.

The new stitches are not joined to the original body stitches until the next row, when you just work across them.

Or what the well-dressed whippet will be wearing this winter!

Some of you know that I taught myself to knit last summer and have been busy over the past year, knitting up a storm. Most of you know that I have a problem with authority so it should come as no surprise that I don’t really like knitting patterns as they are written (”Don’t tell me what to do, dammit!”). So I find myself knitting a lot of “custom” items…things that I just knit with no pattern.

I’m still working on different dog sweater designs, in the hopes that I can come up with the perfect cardigan for Streaka, Queen of the Gimps. As Streaka does have a pullover and all of the others’ sweaters and jackets reek of skunk (remember the Great Skunk War of January 2009?), I decided to try making Rogie a sweater as a prototype. That way he’d get a skunk-free sweater and, if it worked out, I could knit another one for Streaka.

And so I got some cheap blue yarn and started knitting Rogie’s sweater. Since he is my Roges and I do like to spoil him, I decided to knit him a special sweater…one with cables and seed stitch and stocking stitch and reverse stocking stitch. I’d give it an asymmetric closure, just like the ganseys from the Breton coast of France. He’d look like a little fisherman.

I worked on that sweater through the heat of the summer, picturing Rogie wearing it out on the North Sea. He’d have his feet firmly planted on the gunwhales of his fishing boat and a Gauloise clenched in his teeth. Maybe I could knit him a little matching beret and he could talk with a French accent.

I was so excited about that sweater.

Finally the day came when I could put it on the Little Dude and see how it looked. It fit like a glove…like it had been made for him!

But what’s this? Where’s his penis?

I poked and prodded. Oh, there it is! It was tucked up inside the sweater…

Yes, Rogie’s beautiful blue gansey would be a beautiful blue diaper if he ever wore it. I’d forgotten to take into account “that certain part of the male anatomy” when measuring the chest piece for the sweater.

Even though it had been made especially for Rogie, I decided to try it on the beautiful (and penis-free) Streaka. Maybe she could wear it and pretend she was Joan of Arc or something. (I’d just have to keep her away from the fireplace because, after all, I’d knit the sweater out of acrylic and we all know that acrylic and the auto-de-fe don’t mix!)

Alas, Rogie is built quite differently from Streaka and so the sweater doesn’t really fit her that well. It’s a bit too short in length but too big in the chest. I suppose she could wear it in a pinch but it’s been my experience that, if you put a slightly too large sweater on a whippet, you usually end up with that sweater lying in a heap somewhere in the garden.

Damn that penis!

About ten days ago, Wayde opened up a new avenue of design for me. He came up with the idea that we do some collaborative work…I design outdoor pieces (gates, trellises, garden accessories, etc.,), he vets the design (because I know nothing of practicality), and then he builds them.

My first piece is a gate/fence panel. I tried designing it using a 3-D sketch software application but had trouble kludging my way through it so fired up Illustrator for the design.

Wayde added up how much material we’d need, brought it home, and taught me how to use his metal saw so that I could cut the steel to length. He then spent several hours welding it up. (Note to self: lots of cuts means lots of welds means lots of time!)

Today, the panel is finished and (almost) ready to hang. It won’t actually function as a gate, since we don’t need it to:

I’m thrilled with how it turned out; it looks just how I thought it would!

(Note: a PDF version of this pattern is also available.)

Finished Size

To fit a woman’s medium foot

Materials

v 1 skein Knit One Crochet Too Soxx Appeal, 50g/190m (See note!)

v Set of 5 US 1/2.25mm double-pointed needles

v Set of US 2/2.75mm double-pointed needles

v Tapestry needle

Gauge

16 stitches and 23 rows = 2 inches in thatched bamboo stitch before blocking

Notes

v I highly recommend trying these socks on as you go, especially if you are not used to knitting with elasticized yarn. It took me several goes at the pattern before feeling comfortable with my tension.

v Stitches should be increased in increments of 4 if adjustments are needed in order to get a well-fitting sock.

v After finishing the pair, I had about five yards of yarn left over. If you think your foot or ankle is larger than a woman’s size 8-8.5 with a medium width, you might like to buy two skeins of yarn. As they say, better safe than sorry!

Abbreviations

CO cast on
K knit
k2tog knit two stitches together as one
P purl

RHN right-hand needle
Sl slip stitch
SSK slip 1 stitch knit-wise, slip next stitch purl-wise, knit the two stitches together through the back loop
YO yarn over
* starting point of repeat

Stitch Guide

Thatched Bamboo

Eye of Partridge Stitch

Gusset Decrease

Toe Decrease

Instructions

Using larger needles, CO 48 stitches and join in round, being careful not to twist. Distribute stitches evenly between needles.

Cuff

Switch to smaller needles as you begin cuff stitches. Work in k1-p1 rib for 1 inch.

Leg

There is no leg! But you will need to divide for the heel flap by placing 24 stitches on each of two needles.

Heel Flap

Work in Eye of Partridge stitch for 24 rows.

Turn Heel

Row 1 Sl1, p12, p2tog, p1, turn.
Row 2 Sl1, k4, k2tog, k1, turn.
Row 3 Purl to first st before gap formed on previous row, p2tog, p1, turn. Row 4 Knit to first st before gap formed on previous row, k2tog, k1, turn.
Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all stitches have been worked. Fourteen stitches remain on your needle.

Gusset

Using a new needle, pick up and knit stitches along edge of gusset. Knit across instep needle in pattern. Using another new needle, pick up and knit stitches along other edge of gusset. Knit across half of the remaining heel stitches. Transfer remaining stitches to the first gusset needle; you now have three needles.

Begin your gusset decrease rounds; continue to decrease until 48 st remain (24 on instep needle and 12 each on needles 1 & 3).

Foot

Ndl 1: knit in stocking stitch; Ndl 2: knit in pattern; Ndl 3: knit in stocking stitch. Continue in this manner until you reach your desired foot length less 1 inch, ending with Row 4 of the Thatched Bamboo stitch pattern. (Note: this is where you’ll want to try on the sock for size; elasticized yarn can be very stretchy!)

Toe

Divide instep stitches onto two needles.

Knit two rounds even. Work one toe dec round every other row until 32 st remain.

Work toe dec rnd every row for three more rounds (20 st rem).

Knit across Ndl 1 with Ndl 4. Combine stitches on Ndls 2 & 3 onto a single ndl (10 st on each of two needles).

Finishing

Graft st together using Kitchener stitch. (Tip: Knitting Daily’s Sandi Wisehart has a fantastic blog post for those who hate the Kitchener stitch!)

Weave in ends and block.

My biggest task for today was to work on my entry for the IG club’s logo competition. Initially, I’d wanted my little beauty to be nose cone art but I’m just not that talented. So, instead, she’s part of the welcoming committee…

The next steps will be to work out the background (palm trees? flags?) and get the text on there. Good thing the deadline for submission is a month away…

(Note: a PDF version of this pattern is also available)

The design for these socks came about while I was “on the way to somewhere else”…in other words, while trying very hard to design something completely different.

Finished Size

To fit a woman’s medium foot

Circumference: 7.5 inches

Materials

v 1 skein Malabrigo Sock (440 yards)

v Set of 5 US#00 double pointed needles

v Tapestry needle

Gauge

22 stitches and 27 rows = 2 inches in eyelet rib after blocking

Notes

v Don’t worry if these socks look really tiny while you’re knitting them…the eyelet rib pattern is very stretchy.

Abbreviations

CO cast on
K knit
k2tog knit two stitches together as one
P purl
Rnd round
Sl slip stitch
SSK slip 1 stitch knit-wise, slip next stitch purl-wise, knit the two stitches together through the back loop
YO yarn over
* starting point of repeat

Stitch Guide

Eyelet Rib

Heel Stitch

Gusset Decrease

Toe Decrease

Instructions

CO 70 stitches and join in round, being careful not to twist. Distribute stitches as follows: Ndl 1: 21 st; Ndl 2: 28 st; Ndl 3: 21 st.

Cuff

Work in k1-p1 rib for 1 inch.

Leg

Work in Eyelet Rib for 5 inches (or desired length).

Divide for heel flap by placing 35 stitches on each of two needles. Each needle should contain 7 pattern repeats, starting and ending with a single purl stitch.

Heel Flap

Work in heel stitch for 36 rows.

Turn Heel

Row 1 K21, k2tog, k1, turn.
Row 2 Sl1, p8, p2tog, p1, turn.
Row 3 Knit to first st before gap formed on previous row, k2tog, k1, turn.
Row 4 Purl to first st before gap formed on previous row, p2tog, p1, turn.

Repeat rows 3 and 4 until all stitches have been worked.

Gusset

Using a new needle, pick up and knit stitches along edge of gusset. Knit across instep needle in pattern. Using another new needle, pick up and knit stitches along other edge of gusset. Knit across half of the remaining heel stitches. Transfer remaining stitches to the first gusset needle; you now have three needles. One of the gusset needles should hold one more stitch than the other; don’t worry about this…it’s all good.

Begin your gusset decrease rounds; continue to decrease until 70 st remain (35 on instep needle and 17 and 18 on needles 1 & 3).

Foot

Ndl 1: knit in stocking stitch; Ndl 2: knit in pattern; Ndl 3: knit in stocking stitch. Continue in this manner until you reach your desired foot length less 1.25 inches.

Toe

Divide instep stitches onto two needles.

Knit four rounds even. Work one toe dec round.

Work three rounds even, then one toe dec round.

Then work toe dec rnd every other row twice more (54 st rem).

Work toe dec rnd every row for four more rounds (38 st rem).

Knit across Ndl 1 with Ndl 4. Combine stitches on Ndls 2 & 3 onto a single ndl (19 st on each of two needles).

Finishing

Graft st together using Kitchener stitch. (Tip: Knitting Daily’s Sandi Wisehart has a fantastic blog post for those who hate the Kitchener stitch!)

Weave in ends and block.

Last night, I finished up all of the knitting on the first of what I’m calling the “Somewhere” socks (as opposed to the “Somewhere Else” socks). All that remained for me to do this morning was to graft the toe, weave in ends, and block.

After grafting the toe, I couldn’t wait to try on the sock:

(Yes, those are my jammies…I said I couldn’t wait!)

So get this: the socks are about 1/2″ too short. I measured them and measured them and measured them and I knew exactly how many vertical repeats were required to get me to the start of the toe. So why are they too short?

My theory is that I subconsciously sized them incorrectly. When I was making the first Somewhere Else sock, I was unsure for whom I’d make them and ultimately had it narrowed down to two possible recipients. After having decided on which one, I then spent a lot of time thinking that I needed to make the other a pair of socks.

Guess what? The Somewhere sock would fit that person to a T.

(I guess I’m not keeping these ones for myself!)

A couple of days ago, I wrote about my latest sock project and how it came about as a result of going in a different direction.

Well, here’s what “somewhere else” looks like:

I finished up one of the prototype socks and, in an attempt to stave off “second sock syndrome”, I plan on working on the same pattern in a tighter gauge. For that, I picked up some gorgeous Malabrigo yesterday and have already started on them.

I remembered to take notes this time around and so basically have the US 2 pattern written. I’ll have to remember to take notes for my US 00 version as well; it might be nice to offer both versions, especially since those tiny needles sometimes discourage people.

The author of one of my current blog reads, Lolly Knitting Around, apparently also coordinates a challenge-your-creativity-type knit-a-long (but not a knit-a-long–it’s more of just a “be creative”-a-long): Project Spectrum. This year’s theme is the cardinal directions. Each compass point has been associated with a colour and it’s our job, as participants, to create something using that colour as inspiration.

The exercise begins in March with North. The colour for North is green.

I toddled off to Flickr in search of green inspiration and, among a couple of real standouts, this photo just grabbed me:

This is someone else’s photo so I can’t show it here but you really must go see it

Now that, my friends, is inspiring. Inspiring enough, in fact, that I charted out a pattern to make some “Rush” socks. Each round is made up of only three repeats and the pattern takes 25 rows to finish a single iteration. I have some ivory Regia Silk sock yarn kicking around so I started working on them.

After finishing the cuff ribbing and about half of the first set of rows, I decided the gauge wasn’t working for me. The sock was ripped out and started over, this time with 66 stitches instead of 60. That meant rejigging the pattern for the extra stitches. No problem.

Right around row 20 of the next version, I realised that the pattern wouldn’t work out to be as random as I wanted. Each needle being worked would be great but, when considered as a whole, the sock wouldn’t be a series of three repeats. Obviously, that wouldn’t do…

The sock was ripped out again and restarted. This time, Needle 1 started with row 1 of the 25 row pattern, Needle 2 started with row 8, and needle 3 started with row 16. (My inspiration for this approach was singing “Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in the round during Grade 4 music class.)

Yes! It worked!

I had the randomness I was after and it looked like I had rushes growing up my socks!

Too bad I didn’t like them.

Yes, that’s right…I didn’t like the way the segments in the rushes were formed (with purl stitches) and so I ripped out the whole works, turned the page on my charted pattern, and decided to head off in another direction.

On the way to somewhere else has led me here:

I’m loving the pattern of these lacy little numbers (which, unfortunately, you can’t see very well because they’re not blocked) and, so far, they seem to be a very, very quick knit. That last bit might be because I’m using US 2 needles. After my Peapod Socks (72 stitches on 00s, oh my!), I thought I wanted something quick. Unfortunately, I forgot that one reason why I love the Peapods so much is the density of the fabric produced.

So, these will be a prototype pair and I will finish them just to see how the pattern looks overall. After that, the pattern will be reworked for tiny stitches on tiny needles.

Thanks to Debbie for letting me know about an error in the Kathleen Cowl pattern.

The original instructions called for the pattern repeat to be two times after the completion of the initial pattern, for a total of four pattern repeats in the entire work. However, the cowl as illustrated has only a total of three pattern repeats.

The pattern as originally published read:

Work rows 1 through 12 twice more.

It should read:

Work rows 1 through 12 once more.

The PDF file has been updated with this change.