What am I Chasing?

One of the first things I ever tried to design was reversible chemo cap for a friend. It didn’t work and I didn’t know if it was possible to knit reversible fabrics. I didn’t intend to become a designer but as I found different things I could do with reversible fabric, creating knitting patterns became my vehicle for sharing my ideas.

I managed to create that reversible chemo cap a few years ago & not long after, I started thinking about Woven Knitting. I now realize that I had been chasing the chemo cap… when the chase was over, I was able to move onto something new.

Now I am chasing Argyle. The chase is different this time. I know that I can knit the argyle (shown above). I am chasing ways to communicate all the ideas required to create the Argyle.

If you have already knit one of my woven designs, you will note that the way the pattern is written is non-traditional. It relies on separating the colourwork aspect of the design from the cabling. What do I mean by that?

In the Chasing Buffaloes Cowl & the Woven Placemat Collection, I introduced a way of creating cables in two colours when you are knitting with only one yarn at a time; the design elements were worked only on the rows when the design element colour & yarn colour matched. In the Chasing the Hounds Cowl, you will be knitting with a marl and all the design elements are worked on the same odd numbered rows. In both methods, the patterns do not specify the colour of any stitch past the set up rows.

I am calling these ways of creating woven fabrics the woven platforms. On each of the platforms, you can change only the cable colours and get completely different designs. The colour placements (ie. motifs) are easily transferable from platform to platform.

The Chasing the Hounds Cowl represents the second platform I am introducing. This fall I will release a pattern with a reversible woven design — this is another platform. I am about to start knitting a 4 colour woven design — another platform. There are several more & they are building up to what is needed for the the argyle.

Please take a close look at the two cowls above & note that when the cables travel, they go over one cable and under the next. This is called a tabby weave structure.

Then please take a look at the argyle in the top picture. The crossing pattern is different for every cable. I am not a weaver but have been learning to read weaving patterns. The weaver’s method of communication is extremely efficient.

When the platforms are all introduced, I will work on efficient methods of communicating weave structures in knitting.

Thank you for reading this. I welcome your companionship as I’m on this chase. I am especially thankful for the help of test knitters who provide feedback as I develop my methods of communication.