Kristin Omdahl - A knitting wrapsody: innovative designs to wrap, drape, and tie

Kristin Omdahl

Dedication

To Marlon, my Shark Hunter. I love you, sweetheart!

This book represents the talents and hard work of many people. I wish to thank everyone at Interweave for your support, especially Rebecca Campbell, Jaime Guthals, Marilyn Murphy, and Tricia Waddell. Thank you to Ann Budd for your patience and brilliant attention to detail and to Lauren Koestner for your gracious knitting assistance. Thank you to my friends at Lantern Moon for the beautiful handmade knitting needles I used while knitting this collection.

Convinced that all expectant mothers should make booties and blankets for their babies, I taught myself to knit and crochet while I was pregnant with my son. I was living overseas at the time and had extremely limited access to yarn, patterns, and education. Thanks to my mom, who sent supplies, I tackled both crafts with such gusto that by the time my son was born, I had themed layette sets for every day of the week (Rastafari, sailor, and angelic, just to name a few) and enough blankets for a whole nursery.

Knitting and crochet were in my blood, and I couldnt fathom the idea of quitting just because I didnt need to make any more baby items. I started to make shawls and thoroughly enjoyed making them in different shapes. Squares and rectangles were pretty easy to figure out based on the stitch and row gauge, but to design triangular and circular shawls, I combined some of my favorite equations from my ninth-grade geometry class with the stitch and row gauge. I always loved math in school and enjoy working out real-life problems with algebra and geometry. Combining math with knitting and crochet was a spectacular aha moment for me. This was something I wanted to seriously explore.

I needed to work after my son was born, but I desperately wanted to stay at home with him. I had dreamed of making a living through my knitting and crochet and decided to make it happen. I sold shawls to boutiques for a while, created my first website (www.StyledbyKristin.com), and started writing patterns. My first published pattern was for a knitted sweater, the second was for a crocheted sweater. I wrote my first book Wrapped in Crochet: Scarves, Wraps & Shawls a few years ago. My follow-up book Crochet so Fine: Exquisite Designs with Fine Yarns came next.

I am thrilled to now introduce A Knitting Wrapsody, my first knitting book. Here, youll find a collection of knit scarves, wraps, and shawls, with a focus on accessories that are wrapped and tied. Every project is knitted, but much of the aesthetic is inspired by crochet. For me, knitting and crochet are intertwined and this collection draws inspiration from the geometry, motifs, and techniques of crochet, but in the medium of knitting.

Whether you are learning new techniques, trying something different, or relaxing with comforting, familiar stitches, remember to breathe and have fun!

Kristin

This chapter highlights a variety of my experiments in knitting design with a collection of scarves that are quick and easy, but each has a surprise twist. The cut-out flower design in Lucky Clover (). Thanks to the addition of laces (tied with my favorite fishing knots), this scarf can also be worn as a cowl or capelet.

Although this design suggests separate motifs that are joined together, it is knitted in a single piece. The geometric circle-in-a-square motif forms a diamond, which brings to my mind a large diamond solitaire engagement ring. The squares are worked from tip to tip in diamond formation, and the sides are framed by a modified half-square and half-circle. This geometric pattern is completely reversible and requires just one skein of yarn. For a longer scarf, double the yardage and number of row repeats; for a beautiful wrap, double the yardage and number of stitches per row. With four skeins, you could double both the width and length for a luxurious shawl.

MATERIALS

About 10" (25.5 cm) wide and 52" (132 cm) long.

Fingering weight (#1 Super Fine).

shown here: Buffalo Gold Lux (45% premium bison down, 20% fine cashmere, 20% mulberry silk, 15% Tencel; 330 yd [302 m]/40 g): #12 Huckleberry, 1 skein.

Size U.S. 6 (4 mm). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.

Markers (m); tapestry needle.

25 stitches and 18 rows = 4" (10 cm) in lace pattern, blocked.

Download the chart for this project here.