Preparing for Winter...

With the temperature hitting 60 today in Maine it’s hard to believe it’s almost December. I actually just got back from getting studded tires put on my car (a necessity when you live in my neck of the woods), so despite the strange temperature I’m still preparing for the start of a Maine winter. 
Another way to get prepared for winter? Super bulky wool! My favorite is Quince and Co’s Puffin which is the yarn I used in my Abbi Shawl Collar Cardigan pattern. Recently I noticed some beautiful projects on Ravelry knit up from my pattern that I wanted to share with everyone. 
Check out their beautiful work!
 
Anne’s project:

  Melissa’s project (and here’s a link to her blog):

Kristin’s project:

 Becky’s project (click here to check out the blog she writes for her LYS):

New Concetta...now available!

My New Concetta Cardigan pattern is finally updated and now available for purchase!

 

Here are a couple of things that are different from the original Concetta pattern:

• The gauge is more inline with typical worsted weight gauge (4.5 stitches & 6 rows = 1"/2.5 cm)
• The armhole is not as deep and exaggerated as the original pattern--it's still roomy but I think the fit is much better now
• It features one large button instead of two--because the button is so large, I personally liked the look of just one but if you wanted two it would be very easy to adjust the pattern
• The pattern layout and format are now more inline with my current style

Below are some more basics about the pattern. I hope everyone likes the update! To purchase, click the "buy now" button. If you have purchased Concetta in the past you should have received a link in your email to download the new version. If not please send me an email: thebrownstitch@gmail.com
 

Pattern Description:

New Concetta has top-down raglan construction and is worked in one piece. Sleeves are split at the underarms and the body is worked in one piece to the hem. Sleeve sts are then transferred to smaller circular needles and worked in the round to the cuff (with slight bell-shaping). Stitches are picked up and worked in 2x2 Rib to create the neck ribbing and button bands. Skills used in this pattern: casting on (both at the start of the pattern as well as in the middle of your work), binding off, increasing, picking up stitches.

Pattern Info:

Finished Bust Measurement: 35 (39, 43, 47, 51, 55)” / 89 (99, 109, 119, 130, 140) cm

[designed to be worn with 2-3” / 5-8 cm of positive ease]
Gauge: 4.5 sts & 6 rws = 1” / 2.5 cm in Stockinette stitch
Yarn: 1129 (1209, 1347, 1458, 1596, 1707) yds worsted weight yarn, shown in Lambs Pride Worsted by Brown Sheep (85% Wool, 15% Mohair; 113g = 190 yds), 6 (7, 8, 9, 9, 10) skeins, shown in Grey Heather.

Needles and other supplies:

• 24” / 61 cm and 16” / 41 cm circular knitting needles in size US 8 / 5 mm or size needed to obtain gauge
• 24” / 61 cm and 16” / 41 cm circular knitting needles in size US 7 / 4.5 mm or 1 needle size smaller than used to obtain gauge
• 4 stitch markers
• 2 pieces of scrap yarn, around 20” / 51 cm in length
• Tapestry needle or crochet hook to weave in ends
• 1 button, 1.5”

Updated Concetta…coming soon

Over 2 years ago I released my first for-sale pattern, Concetta Cardigan. Over these last 2 years I have been busy designing more and more and developing a particular pattern-writing style. I have always loved Concetta, but felt that certain elements of the style needed tweaking and I also wanted to update the instructions so it was more in line with my current style.

So over the last month or so I have spent some time updating this pattern and “New Concetta” will be re-released within the next week (sneak peak photo featured above)!

If sometime over the last 2 years you have purchased the original Concetta pattern you will automatically get a new download link for the new version.

More pictures from Layering Season...

Here are some more pictures of my three latest patterns found in the e-book "Layering Season". Check out my original blog post to get more info on the patterns and to purchase.

 

 

 

 

Click here to read original blog post about "Layering Season"

Layering Season is here...

It’s finally starting to feel like fall around here! I’m not trying to push summer out or anything, but I really love the fall season. So say goodbye to summer, break out your corduroy and go get some new yarn because I have new fall patterns to share! My new fall e-book is now available:

It features three new patterns, all of which can be either purchased separately or as part of the e-book. The e-book costs $10 while each individual pattern costs $5 (for the vests) or $3 (for the wrap). So by purchasing the e-book you in essence get the wrap pattern for free.
Below is a little information about each pattern:

Woods Road Vest: a seamless buttoned v-neck vest featuring a garter ridge stitch pattern. It uses aran/bulky weight yarn. I chose Quince & Co’s Osprey which I absolutely love.

Additional information:

Finished Bust Measurement: 33 (35, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 49, 51)” / 84 (89, 94, 99, 104, 109, 114, 119, 124, 130) cm[designed to be worn with 3” / 8 cm of positive ease]

Gauge: 4 sts & 6.5 rws = 1” / 2.5 cm in garter ridge stitch pattern

Yarn: 556 (590, 623, 657, 691, 724, 756, 792, 825, 859) yds of aran or bulky weight yarn, shown in Osprey by Quince & Co (100% American Wool; 100g = 170 yds), 4 (4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6) skeins, shown in Gingerbread.

Needles and other supplies:

• 24” / 61 cm circular knitting needles in size US 9 / 5.5 mm or size needed to obtain gauge
• 24” / 61 cm and 16” / 41 cm circular knitting needles in size US 8 / 5 mm or 1 needle size smaller than used to obtain gauge
• 2 stitch markers
• 3 stitch holders
• 4-5 buttons, ¾ - 7/8”
• Tapestry needle or crochet hook to weave in ends

To purchase the entire e-book for $10 click here:
To purchase just the Woods Road Vest for $5 click here:

Salt Marsh Wrap: an easy lace wrap that can be worn like a scarf or clasped like a shawl. Directions are both written out as well as charted.  It uses worsted weight yarn and I chose Berocco’s Vintage and it only took 3 skeins.

Additional information:

Gauge: 4.5 sts = 1” / 2.5 cm in St st

Yarn: 650 yds of worsted weight yarn, shown in Vintage by Berocco (50% Acrylic, 40% wool, 10% Nylon; 100g = 217 yds), 3 skeins, shown in Chana Dal.

Needles and other supplies:

• 29” / 74 cm circular knitting needles in size US 7 / 4.5 mm or size needed to obtain gauge
• 2 stitch markers
• Clasp or pin of some kind if wrap is intended to be worn closed (in sample, a wooden cable needle is used)
• Tapestry needle or crochet hook to weave in ends

To purchase the entire e-book for $10 click here:
To purchase just the Salt Marsh Wrap for $3 click here:

Ledge Trail Vest: a seamless pullover vest featuring a buttoned placket and wide collar. It uses super bulky weight yarn so it will knit up very fast! I chose Quince & Co’s Puffin which is available in some beautiful shades.

Additional information:

Finished Bust Measurement: 32 (35, 37, 40, 43, 45, 48, 51)” / 81 (89, 94, 102, 109, 114, 122, 130) cm

[designed to be worn with 3” / 8 cm of positive ease]

Gauge: 2.5 sts & 3.75 rws = 1” / 2.5 cm in St st

Yarn: 337 (395, 413, 448, 484, 502, 538, 574) yds of super bulky weight yarn, shown in Puffin by Quince & Co (100% American Wool; 100g = 112 yds), 4 (4, 4, 4, 5, 5, 5, 6) skeins, shown in Twig.

Needles and other supplies:

• 24” / 61 cm circular knitting needles in size US 13 / 9 mm or size needed to obtain gauge
• 24” / 61 cm and 16” / 41 cm circular knitting needles in size US 10.5 / 6.5 mm or 2 needle sizes smaller than used to obtain gauge
• 3 stitch markers all one color, 1 stitch marker a different color
• 3 stitch holders
• 2 (2, 2, 2, 3, 3, 3, 3) buttons,1” / 2 cm
• Removable markers or safety pins (to mark button holes)
• Tapestry needle or crochet hook to weave in ends

To purchase the entire e-book for $10 click here:
To purchase just the Ledge Trail Vest for $5 click here:

It's almost fall...

With labor day weekend upon us I thought it would be a good time for a little fall update! Any day now the air is going to start getting a little cooler and we will all start thinking about casting on for those fall projects.  I have 3 new patterns I’ll be releasing in September and I’m so excited about all of them.  The below picture is just a tiny sneak peak of one of them…

Also, I am in the midst of updating one of my oldest patterns, Concetta. The yarn I originally used for this pattern gave a row gauge that many knitters have found is difficult to obtain using typical worsted weight yarn.  I really appreciate all the feedback I get from knitters on my patterns so I felt it was time to update this pattern so that gauge issue could be avoided. If you had purchased Concetta in the past you will of course get this new version free of charge. I’ll give more updates on this once the sample I’m working on is finished.

So lots of things brewing for September!

Pattern Collection Reformat Complete!

After many months in the making, my pattern reformat project is now complete! All 14 of my patterns have been reformatted and laid out. Phew--can't believe it's finally now done.

Using Crocus as an example, here are some mini screen shots of the new cover page and the new pattern info page which is now found on all of the patterns (please note: they are cut off--that's not the full page):

If you have previously purchased one of my patterns you will have already received an email letting you know you can download the new PDF.
I’m very excited about this for a couple of reasons. One is that this project allowed me to learn the basics of Adobe InDesign which has been a goal of mine for a while now. Also, now all of my patterns have the same look and feel to them—they look like a cohesive portfolio now.
So here are some other important details about the new format you might want to know about:

• I reformatted all of my free patterns as well. This way you don’t have to try to copy and paste the directions from this blog--I know formatting can get funky when this happens. “PDF Download” links have been added to all of my free pattern pages. Check out Little Coffee Bean if you want to see an example of the new format.
• Two of my free baby cardigan patterns (Little Coffee Bean and Baby Blueberry) were quite similar other than one was short sleeved and one was long sleeved. I combined them both into one pattern now, keeping the name Little Coffee Bean.
• Some of my oldest patterns, such as Little Coffee Bean, were made very early on in my designing career, so a few changes were made to make them more in line with my new pattern writing style.
• I kept the style of the new format very simple and kept the number of pictures to a minimum. Since you are printing these patterns on your own printers at home I don’t want you to have to use up all your ink. So all of the patterns have at least 1 picture of the garment and there are notes to check out this website if you want to see additional pictures.

I hope everyone likes the new pattern format!