Earlier this year I was so much not in a headspace to be designing that it was kind of a surprise when this pattern came off the needles, almost as if I designed it subconsciously. I had come to the conclusion that I've reached a sock saturation point -- i.e., I have no room for more hand-knit socks right now -- but that has not stopped me from buying more sock yarn, and I still have a healthy stash of it in addition. So this started as a way to use up some of it in a project that wasn't socks. I've always noticed that self-striping yarns do fun things when there are slipped stitches involved, such as in the heel flap of socks, so I thought that I'd toss some slipped stitches into an otherwise plain cowl. The result was pretty stunning, especially given how simple it was to knit. And it got such a strong response on Instagram that I decided to write it up. Meet Slipdash.
This pattern is designed for self-striping sock yarn, especially self-striping sock yarn with a lot of colors. An easy-to-memorize slip stitch pattern allows the colors in the striping pattern to shift and intermix, creating the look of colorwork without any of the complexity.
For the sample, I used my favorite sock yarn, Fibernymph Dye Works Bounce, a durable but soft superwash merino/nylon blend. The colorway is the one Lisa created for her shop's ninth anniversary based upon her customer's favorite shades, and fittingly it has nine stripes. There's a good mix of bright and more subtle shades in this colorway, which I think goes so well with the stitch pattern.
And speaking of the stitch pattern, a bonus feature I discovered after the fact is that the wrong side looks great, too, so if you weave in your ends carefully, your cowl can be reversible.
The pattern is $1 off for the first week when you use the code SLIPIT on Ravelry. Because of the issues some are having with the new Ravelry site, I've also made all my self-published patterns available on LoveCrafts (though unfortunately I'm unable to offer discounts there). You can find Slipdash here on LoveCrafts.
Hooray, I've been waiting for this pattern! I imagine myself knitting several of these over the summer for Christmas gifts. That may be just a dream, but I'd rather be working on a cowl than a baby blanket!
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful pattern, thank you. Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteI think being reversible--serendipitous or otherwise!--is a great feature on a cowl.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, it looks wonderful!! Now I have to find a way to get my hands on this (no paypal). I'll ask my best friend. I hope this will be super successful!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations. What a great pattern for sock yarns. I love that it looks good on both sides. Often when I wear a cowl, both sides show. Maybe it's my sometimes slapdash approach to getting out the door with all my winter gear.
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