Fine Lace

My very first fine lace project was exciting and frustrating all at the same time.  

I love bulky knits and many of my projects include using 2 strands of yarn together to bulk them up even more.  But I also love, admire and drool over fine lace.

I have just started knitting lace with fingering weight yarn for a little over a year, so I just became comfortable working with fingering weight yarn.  So naturally the next step is to work with an even finer yarn. I kept eyeing the cobweb yarn at my local yarn shop, but something in the back of my mind kept telling my I wasn't quite ready for that yet. 

After my dear friend April gave me a ball of Yarn Place Gentle in an absolutely gorgous cranberry red, I couldn't stop thinking about what I would knit with this wonderful yarn.  I finally decided to try a wrap pattern in Victorian Lace Today, which would also by my very first project with knitting on the edge. 

I faced my inner fears and cast on the center panel that seemed to go rather smoothly. Although, I did need to pay very close attention to ensure I grabbed the actual stitch on the needle rather than the loop below. (I later realized that the wooden needles were just too blunt to grab that tiny stitch and I have since moved on to super pointy Addi Turbo Lace needles)

My problems really came in to play when I started knitting the edging. I ended up modifying the edging pattern after several (about 50) false starts. I even heard myself say that I would never do this again during certain trying moments, but I was determined to master the process.

I did complete my project and love, love, love the lighter than air feel of this shawl. There is a couple battle scars along the edge but I do feel quite accomplished that I got it done.

And even though I had stated several times that I wouldn't ever do this again, I have already cast on my next wrap in a lovely green wool/silk.  This one is in lace weight yarn, which believe it or not feels like bulky after working with the cobweb weight.

I will definately do another in cobweb as the end result is so stunning.

Lace Weight Yarn

I've been putting off working with lace weight yarn as frankly, I was a bit afraid of it.  It is so fine and thread-like, that I could see myself breaking it or getting into knots.  I don't think there was any real substance to this fear, just something in the back of my mind telling me that this would be beyond my skill level.

So, I bit the bullet and found a shawl pattern with an easy repetitive design so I could concentrate on working the yarn rather than the stitches themselves. After I did a few repeats, I had to laugh at myself for having anxiety about working with lace weight yarn, as there really is no difference at all!

Was it FDR that said there is nothing to fear, but fear itself? He was right in this particular case.
I can't believe that I put this off for so long!

So, here is my very first shawl knit with wool/silk blend lace weight yarn.
It is light as a feather and drapes so very beautifully.



This is the first of many more to come, I am sure.  Now, the problem is choosing the pattern....

Have you worked with lace weight yarns?  Please leave a comment to talk about your experiences.

Anna ~ My First Shawl Design

With all the shawls I've been knitting lately, I decided to design a pattern of my own and I am very happy with the end result.

I had a vision of the basic design and set out to start knitting in fingering weight yarn and added some bead work on the edging. What took place was pretty much a mess, but I figured out better bead placement from the first try. So I frogged that one and cast on again. The second try was better, but not really what I had in mind, so again, it was ripped out.

I put it aside for a few days, but the pattern was still in my head. So I picked up some heavy worsted yarn and started knitting along. Once I got going, it just started taking shape and turned out perfect!

The pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy.  I would consider it a medium level project is it includes both cables and lace, but once the repeated pattern is knit a couple times, it is very easy to catch on and get the rhythym of the design. 

I named this desgin Anna, after my mother who taught me to knit many, many years ago....