Blooming Bomber Jacket (Modified) by Katie Jones

This pattern is available for free online under an agreement between Paintbox Yarns and Katie Jones. Please go and have a look at the Paintbox Yarns site first if you’re considering making it. Also, check out Katie’s other designs on her website.

I liked the original pattern and knew immediately I wanted to make it in Merino. The intention for me was more about having something warm to snuggle in through winter, rather than an ultra-cool acrylic fashion piece.

The changes I made were based on my objectives of comfort and warmth. While my final jacket looks significantly different from the artist’s original work, the bones are the same. And I love these bones.

When winter arrives, there’s every chance I’m going to be gorging on kimchi noodles and pork belly daily if last year is anything to go by. Yun Mart in Fairy Meadow, I love you too. As such, I figured a longer jacket would facilitate the lifestyle choices that make me happiest.

To create the extra length, I considered how the pattern is constructed. I could’ve added rows to the bottom edge of the jacket once it was finished, but I wanted to keep the triangular geometry going along the edges. I find that aspect of the pattern interesting.

In short, there are two hexagonal fabric panels (one for the right side of the body and one for the left) and these are individually folded in half to make a ‘7’ and a forward-facing 7. Can you visualise how the top edges of the 7 and forward 7 make the sleeves? The slanted vertical edges are the length of the jacket. Without going into too much detail, any alteration can be made by understanding which edges of the hexagon create depth and length.

Three edges of the hexagon when folded into the ‘7’ become the sleeve. One edge is the sleeve opening folded in half near your wrist, and two edges are seamed at the top to create the length of the sleeve. The other three edges of the hexagon form the depth of the jacket as it wraps around you, and the front and back length.

Each side of the hexagon represents:-

Sleeve upper edge (1), wrist hole (2), sleeve upper edge (3), length (4), body depth (5), length (6).

When casting on the foundation chain, instead of 10 chains, I made 20. This allowed enough space for me to increase the stitch count at sides 4 and 6.

At round 1 per the pattern, the instruction is to crochet 6 clusters of 3 trebles (US dc’s), and these set up the 6 sides of the hexagon. I crocheted 3 trebles for all clusters except sides 4 and 6. I made 12 trebles at those clusters to get the right proportion of length I was after.

From this point forward it was easy to follow the rest of the pattern, and I had two completed 7’s within a week.

When it was time to seam along the centre back I was concerned there was going to be too much room in the back and it would pitch out the front and back at angles. I made only one infill row for each of the left and right centre back edges. When I seamed the centre back together, I started a few stitches lower than the shoulder so the shoulder seams wouldn’t get pulled into the back.

I crocheted the cuffs and left them on for a few days while I thought about whether to keep them. I live almost exclusively in black, white, grey and blue. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say I could use some colour. So I thought about it. And then I wussed out and took them off.

I didn’t attempt the blooms on the same basis as above. Although, they are pretty cool.

I used my 8 ply 100% Australian Merino which forms a soft and stretchy fabric.

The finished jacket is all the comfort I was hoping for. I like that the stitches remind me of colourful teeth. Cosy with a bit of an edge.

The 'Blooming Bomber Jacket' pattern can be found at:-

https://www.lovecrafts.com/en-us/p/blooming-bomber-jacket-free-crochet-pattern-for-women-in-paintbox-yarns-simply-aran

xx

Stripescape by Stephen West

The asymmetry of this trapezium shaped shawl is among my favourite aspects of it. There are so many angles already being played off one another, and the final shape is icing on the cake. Excuse me while I geek out. I really, really like it.

Wedges of stockinette and garter stitch begin the shawl, and the way they’re placed gives an undulating, sea swell-like effect. The garter stitch rows create a raised 3D stripe which adds another sensory layer beyond just keeping you cosy and warm. Like a fluffy lion’s mane in a baby’s book, you can’t help but touch it. Surprisingly gratifying.

The first panel of brioche stitch encapsulates the above wedges and draws attention to the essential shape of the shawl. A fun aspect of this brioche band was changing the knitting direction yet again; now working horizontally across the edges to install vertical parallel stripes. Mind blown. The repetition and predictability of the brioche made this a comfortable place to relax and enjoy my cups of coffee while they were still hot.

The yarn over section was worth the time and I love it now that it’s blocked and finished. Each yarn over hole is made with a lower and upper stripe of colour, and the section came alive when blocked. In full disclosure, there was a moment part way through when I felt a bit grumpy and didn’t want to pick it up. Nothing dramatic, just a little misunderstanding over the time making the yarn overs. And obviously, I was in the wrong.

The i-cord border was knit progressively, giving a nice tidy edge. I marvel when i-cords stripe and morph into other colours as they go along.

The reverse side is pretty neat looking too. I’d happily use it in reverse to get more wear out of it when the cool weather returns.

The colours I used were Plum, Deep Gold, Particle, Woods and Verbena, all in the 4ply 100% Australian Merino (280m/100g). In my easy-going state, I didn’t keep track of how much of each yarn I’d used. Given the shawl’s 435g final weight, working backward would estimate: Plum 122g, Deep Gold 91g, Particle 68.5g, Woods 68.5g and Verbena 85g.

I’m really pleased to have made this shawl. The name ‘Stripescape’ is incredibly fitting. I’d encourage anyone thinking of making it to go ahead and get started.

The 'Stripescape' pattern can be found at:-

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/stripescape

Rock Creek by Boyland Knitworks

Winter has set in here in NSW. We’ve not long passed the solstice, and the days are still short and cool. In summer I’m an early riser, keen to get a head start on the day. At the moment I trudge out of bed in the dark, grumbling away until the coffee sets in. Some days I’m still waiting for the coffee to kick in.

This jumper is warmth and comfort. The Honeycomb yellow makes me feel invigorated and optimistic. It isn’t quite the saying, but if you are what you wear, well… you know what I’m getting at.

I’ve made this jumper once before in the Territory colour and I just love it. It needs a good defuzzing at the moment so I’m not going to show it here. Making the jumper a second time, I thought I’d change it up and make it a little more fitted. I’m happy I achieved that.

When planning the first jumper, I considered the effect of yarn substitution before anything else. The pattern suggested Malabrigo Rios, worsted weight 100% merino. The metreage for that particular yarn is 192m/100g. My 8 ply 100% merino is 180m/100g. In the book, ‘The Principles of Knitting ’, June Hemmons Hiatt suggests yardage variation of up to 20% can be a guide in determining a successful yarn substitution. There was only 6% variance between the yarns, so I took that as a green light to begin swatching.

Since I’ve already got a completed jumper in the same XS size, I didn’t need to swatch again. I put it on and cinched it gently where I’d like to alter the fit. I counted the stitches that I wanted to take out, and wrote them in pencil on my pattern.

To make my fit changes I reduced the sleeve circumference by 6 stitches. That gave me a slim sleeve and flowed on to reduce the width of the sleeve caps. The upper body panels were then stretched to create more fit above the bust, upper back and at the neckline.

To even out the colour distribution I alternated yarns from different cakes each row of the body panels. I alternated at the beginning of the round, bringing the most recently used yarn to the front and taking the new working yarn to the back (unless the first stitch was a purl). The right side seam looks tidy and the method worked well.

One other small change I’d made this time was to use a twisted rib technique at the cuffs. There was no imperative for doing that, I just wanted to change it up from the first version.

The jumper is still super stretchy and comfortable despite removing stitches. I think a good deal of that is owed to the forgiving nature of the seed stitch panel at the front.

I’d happily have a few more of these in my wardrobe in different colours. It took me about 3 weeks of on-and-off knitting to complete, so I could get a couple more completed before winter is through. Maybe an Emerald and Classic Blue?

If you’re keen to make your own, the 'Rock Creek' pattern can be found at:-

http://boylandknitworks.com/#/rockcreek/