Inspiration
5 Patterns for Airy Mohair and Silk
As I work through my Sommerfeld Wrap (glory is ahead), I continue to admire Karida Collins’s Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft yarn.
We have 16 shades of it in the Shop. The colors are a mix of juicies and blahs, our favorite recipe—each intensifies the other, and just when the juicy gets too juicy, you can throw a blah in to calm the thing down.
Our friends at Churchmouse Yarns and Teas are longtime advocates of mohair and silk yarn, and their patterns make the most of this flurfy stuff. If you’re in the mood to try out our Loft yarn (a skein has 350 yards, so a little goes a long way), here are four solid gold ideas from Churchmouse.
Number 1: Spin Stitch Scarf and Wrap. The twisteroo stitch in there is good fun. It’s not a cable—it’s twistier than that. It’s pretty much all the action you need with a yarn like this.
Number 2: Inside Outside Cowl. I made this gorgeous thing a couple of years ago.
The harrowing Kitchenering is chronicled here, warts ’n’ all. But as with childbirth and family vacations, all I remember now are the good parts—in this case, a perfect two-sided tube of mohair and silk yarn. Picking the colors for this was definitely a large part of the fun. More stripes, fewer stripes, no stripes at all. Choose your joy.
Number 3: Mohair Bias Loop. As elemental as it gets: a simple tube, but with the very clever idea of knitting on the bias, which reduces curling in the stockinette fabric.
I can imagine this in stripes, or a couple of shades as colorblocks. It doubles around the neck easily. The warmth of this weightless yarn is eternally a surprise to me.
Number 4: Color Play Mohair Scarf. This pattern is particularly wonderful for playing with color, because the four colorblocks are created by holding two strands of Loft together.
Four solid colors, held two at a time for each block. There will be marling. Your combination of four shades can be as subtle or wild as you like.
And Number 5: Ann Weaver’s Sommerfeld Shawl, from Field Guide No. 4: Log Cabin. Make up your own colorway of four shades.
Make it your own splendid experiment.
Quietly slipping this under the door: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/palindrome-2
I was just about to post a link to this, no foolin’! Perfecto.
How lovely and stripy.
Those colours! Would it be wrong to knit enough fall scarves to use all of them?
Perfect inspiration on a cool morning.
Ina (Tante Sophie) will scold me if I don’t add the famous Airplane Scarf to the list: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/alexandras-airplane-scarf
You can wear it on an airplane. You can knit it on an airplane. I believe Ina has done both at the same time! It’s a weightless wonder.
I’ve been behind last month-did you already post the September project for Year of Techniques?
Coming tomorrow, Sept. 6! We needed to get past Labor Day.
You are tempting me with the flurf! So pretty. I feel an imminent cast on!
Good ideas here! I have some Louet mohair/linen I bought in someone’s de stash that needs a pattern. Thanks!
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