Knitted Lace
I am attempting to knit lace. After mastering socks and embarking on a whole piece of clothing (a waistcoat) I feel that the time has come to learn a real grown-up knitting technique.
Here is what I have managed so far. It's a very pretty leaf repeat (can you see the leaves?). More about the pattern on Ravelry. It turns out that knitting lace is not as horrifying as you'd expect. Just a series of increases and decreases. The increases are made by doing a yarn over, which is exactly like it sounds, pop the yarn once over the needle to form a 'stitch', this makes the holes in the design. The decreases are mostly formed by knitting 2 stitches together, or slipping one, knitting the next one and making the former jump over the latter. Simple!
You do need to concentrate on following the instructions, as it seems a bit like it's constantly changing at the beginning. Hypnotising! However, as you go you get a sense of repetition and things get easier. Although maybe knitting lace with a glass of wine at your side is not the best idea in the world!
The design is looking a bit scrunched up right now, but I have a feeling that it'll block lovely and clear. And the best bit is that yarn. Pure silk. The true colour is somewhat between the first and second photos. This sample is destined to become the star feature of a little fascinator hat I'm planning for Mimi.
That's luxury knitting that is!
