First Pattern Release | Sandstone

I have recently welcomed my first self-published knitting pattern to the world! Sandstone, is a seamless cowl knit in a fingering weight yarn. For my sample, I used Isager Alpaca 2. I had previously purchased 6 skeins of this yarn for a project, but after quickly falling in love with it, and purposely buying extra to experiment with, I began dreaming up all of the beautiful things I could design with this yarn.

Isager Alpaca 2 is a luscious fingering weight, 50% alpaca, 50% wool hand knitting yarn from the Danish company, Isager Strik. The 50g per skein produces a generous 270 yards, which makes each skein go a long way, as long as you are comfortable using smaller needles! I purchased the skeins online from Tolt Yarn and Wool, as I’m trying to support local businesses any way I can during the pandemic. For my first pattern, I wanted to design something minimalistic, but still intricate and fun to knit. I settled on a simple stockinette stitch, seamless cowl, and as I have recently learned how to make Latvian braids, I used three to bring in some contrast. I wanted to avoid long stretches of stockinette stitch because I love an engaging pattern, so by using German short rows to put the Latvian braids on the bias, I ended up with a design that is intricate in it’s shaping, but produces a simple accessory. The pattern can be purchased on Ravelry, and I am always here for pattern support by Emailing michaela.ode@gmail.com.

With this venture into writing hand knitting patterns, I have been brainstorming all of the beautiful garments I would like to share, as well as how I would like my process to be structured. As I am still playing with a lot of my ideas, I don’t have a lot that is set in stone yet, but I do have some more designs in the works that I am excited to bring to fruition over the next several weeks and months. As sweaters require a lot more grading, and I want to make sure that I am offering an accurate and inclusive size range, I have decided to start with accessories and work on some larger sweater projects in the background. This will allow me some time to understand the technical aspects of pattern writing, as well as get some feedback on my accessories before I apply the same tools into a sweater. But as my notebooks are quickly filling up with ideas, I’m sure it will feel like no time at all until I am ready to dive deep into sweaters!