Palomino Dress

From PalominoDress

I've said for a long time that I want to make more dresses, but I don't actually do it, it seems. I began this project with my original plan for this fabric (from Mood LA). I was going to make a long sleeved high-necked top that I could wear under dresses, or with a cami under it since it's so sheer. I then thought it would be nice as the yoke and sleeves of Jalie 2682. I then thought maybe I should make it a dress instead of a top, by just lengthening it. I am quite pleased with the result, and am glad I made a dress of it.

As you can see, I raised the yoke/bodice seam from under the bust to above the bust, just below the armscye. This meant that the FBA I had done on the original pattern needed to be adjusted as well, with the dart pointing up to the new seam, rather than down as before. I also added the bow with streamers. A nice strong vertical line is hardly ever a bad thing. As I look at the photos now, I may make the bow part larger, which would only involve un-tacking it and pulling them out longer. Pressing the seam out after turning the piece for the bow took about as long as making the rest of the dress. The sheer part of the burnout wants to stick to itself, and I had to pin the seamline to the ironing board about every couple of inches or less, and carefully manipulate the fabric while pressing. Hooray for teflon iron shoes, as I was able to use steam on this. It was resistant to pressing flat, too.

From PalominoDress

The Brown Burnout is a knit, and the body of the dress is Slinky Knit. I didn't have much trouble putting them together, although the burnout is very light and flimsy, and the slinky is fairly heavy. I used clear elastic in all seams involving the slinky, which seemed to work well. I used a twin-needle for the hem. This project involved changing thread colors depending on which fabric I was working on at the time. I have a fairly unique zip-up jacket made of the slinky that I will have to try with it. You never know.

This dress is really comfortable, as you might expect. The burnout seems pretty fragile, but once you have it on, it's fine. I was surprised at how much coverage it gives, especially since it's double on the front bodice. I am wearing a strapless bra with it, but I think I could wear a regular one without much problem. I found I did need a half slip with the dress, otherwise if I had the skirt fitted this closely, it showed every bump, and if I had it looser, it just looked like a sack. I think I found a happy medium, and I like wearing a slip anyway. I was just afraid it might show, but it doesn't seem to.

From PalominoDress

California Fabrics

This is a photo of the contents of a box now working its way toward me on a UPS truck. I think I did pretty well overall. Kathi took me, Susan and Lisa first to FIDM, both the store and museum, and then to the Fashion District. We did find some good things.I bought mostly knits, some linen, serger thread, and elastics and stretch laces. FIDM sells almost all of their fabrics for $1/yard, so it's very difficult to resist when you find things you like. Here are some detailed shots with descriptions.


L-R, from top
Plum Knit; Brown Knit; Mauvey Knit Stripe w/Eyelet Hem; Gray/Silver Small Print; Brown/Gold Cracked Knit; Gold/White Swirl Dot Knit; Pink/Gray Line Knit.


L-R, Bottom to Top
Pink/Lime Floral Knit; Pink/Gray/White Plaid Knit; Gold/White Dot Swirl Knit; Pink/Gray Link Knit; Elastics.
Black/Gray Small Print Knit; Teal/Black Knit; Brown/Gold Cracked Knit.
Serger Thread, Eyelet Hem Knit; Sage Taupe Linen.
Plum Knit, Brown Knit.

These are closer photos of the fabrics.





I can't wait for them to get here so I can start in with them.

Palm Trees & Papyrus

This was the view as I looked up from a bench near the ocean in Laguna Beach. It was so perfect, I had to take a photo to share.

We went to the Sherman Library and Gardens yesterday for lunch, and of course to wander in the perfectly appointed gardens.
This is their Central Garden Fountain. The Sherman is truly a tiny gem, and it's one of my favorite places out here.
They have the most darling little pond with the figure of an otter which holds a shower nozzle. There are two turtles sunning themselves on rocks below it, and you can see Lisa (or some of her) leaning over on the right. (She said she didn't want to see her face in my posted photos, and as her obedient sister, of course I would never do that.) I think the moral here is "be careful what you ask for". It is a nice photo in general though, and I have always loved the papyrus in the center of the pond. There are not koi in this pond, but they do have huge specimens in another larger pond in one of their greenhouses. The roses had all just been pruned, and so weren't blooming yet, but the orchids are at what seemed to me to be their height.

Here's me at the Gardens.


Later on, we hit the hot tub, which was fantastic for really relaxing, and unwinding after a day of being a tourist.

Fabric Shopping LA - Day One

From Drop Box

We shopped at Mood and F&S Fabrics on the way home from the LACMA exhibit yesterday. Since we're going to the Fashion District with Kathi and Susan on Friday, I should have more to take home than I brought with me. Thank goodness I have room in my suitcase. Somehow, I was prepared for this eventuality.

I knew I was looking mainly for high quality ponte-type knits for skinny pants, and that's mainly what I bought. It's so difficult to find this fabric at home, and also difficult to get the colors I want without seeing them in person. Feeling the fabric is always helpful too. I got 4 pieces for pants, so I'm pretty pleased about that. A nice brown, 2 greens, one a sage, the other more of a camo-green, and then I took the plunge and bought a piece of black. I suppose a pair of black pants will come in handy, and now I'll have one.

I found some interestingly colored tricots at F&S, and got a yard of each. They're 106" wide, like most tricots, so that's plenty and then some. The grayed blue and green are so soft looking, and they go beautifully together. I'm naturally thinking of lingerie, and I know I want to make a half-slip for sure.

The most visually interesting fabric is of course the burn-out plaid knit. I have kind of a wild idea for it that could be fun if it works. We'll see.

From Drop Box

F&S on Left, from Top: Blue Tricot, Green Tricot, Olive RPL, Black Ponte.
Mood on Right, from Top: Brown Burn-Out Plaid knit, Sage RPL, Brown RPL.

Fashion Exhibit at LACMA

Fashioning Fashion at LACMA

There's always something fun to see in Southern California, and this was fun to see. If you're anywhere near the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, you should try to see this exhibit. It's really fun to see all the gorgeous garments close up. They have mirrors behind some of them so you get a 360 view, too. We went yesterday since it was a Target Free Holiday Monday. I took a few photos at the fashion exhibit.

The first two are the same dress. It's early 20th century, and I love the trim, besides the general style of course.

From Drop Box

From Drop Box

This dress has wonderful shaped collar and cuffs in velvet.

From Drop Box

This shows the cuffs, and guess who, in the mirror?

From Drop Box

A gorgeous emrboidered velvet kimono with a Fortuny-pleated skirt peeking out below. I have to think that the reason we only get a glimpse of the Fortuny dress is that it's in bad shape. What's there is gorgeous, though.

From Drop Box

This is a hat I just adore. Real gold embroidery.

From Drop Box

You wouldn't know it from my photos, but there were quite a few men's garments as well. Not quite 50/50, but probably at least a third were menswear. Most were highly embellished and embroidered, and in fabulous fabrics, so they were well worth seeing too.

There's a beautiful book available about the exhibit. It has great photos of the pieces, and lots of explanation. If you can get a look at it, you'll enjoy it.

We met a new friend at the exhibit too. It seems one can recognize fellow-enthusiasts. Hi to Mary from Fort Collins, Colorado!

Plane Knitting

From Drop Box

Of course I had to come up with something to knit while on the plane, and thank goodness I came up with a good project since I ended up spending a couple of extra hours in Phoenix's airport. I 'finished' the Verena sweater last week, but decided that although it looks exactly like the photo in the magazine, I want it longer. Since there's only the 3 ridges at the bottom instead of 3 ridges, 2 basketweave repeats, and 3 more ridges like on the sleeves and collar, I'm going to pick up stitches around the bottom edge and add the basketweave band and the 3 ridges. However, this was not a project I wanted to do on an airplane or in an airport. I wanted mindless knitting, if you know what I mean.

This is the back of the matching skirt, so far. I cast on after I got to the airport in Omaha, and all in all, I was very pleased with my progress. I love the stockinette stitch stripes, which will save the skirt from looking too wide with all that diamond patterning. It is such a fun stitch pattern to knit, too.

My other choice for plane knitting was to start another counterpane square, but I just couldn't see juggling the pages with the pattern, etc. I think I made the right choice.

Lisa and I are going with Kathi and possibly DrSue to the Fashion District on Friday. Lisa and I will also be going to Mood and the Westside on the 28th. We're hoping to meet anyone in the area for lunch or whatever on a different day. Let me know if you are interested, and what works for you.

Another California Trip

I've been really busy getting ready to go visit Lisa in Orange County again. I leave Saturday, and next Friday, KathiR from PR, whom I met out there in September, is going to guide us around the Fashion District. I can't wait, and I'm hoping there might be a few others who can get together with us then or another time while I'm there. I'll be there until the 1st, so just over a week.

We plan to go to the Westside to visit Mood, etc., on a different day, so let me know if you have ideas.

Counterpane Pattern Finalized

I talked about wanting to knit a counterpane recently, and I decided to swatch a little to at least see if it was something I enjoyed enough that I could see myself doing all that knitting. I first did a swatch of a pattern from Mary Thomas's Knitted Counterpanes book.

From Counterpane

I used J&P Coats' Royale Fashion Crochet Thread in Size 3, because that's what I had on hand. I like the size of the block: bigger than I'd expected, but still nice looking, I think. The color is not what I want, of course. I'd like to finish the block as a pillow top if I can find another ball of thread to match.

I next tried a variegated swatch (below left, very small) of Megan's Counterpane, the pattern I showed in the previous post (link above) in a Size 5 thread, again because it was on hand.

From Counterpane

I liked the pattern better, but the variegated color was awful, and made it difficult to 'see' the pattern itself. I went and bought some thread in the same size (5) in Natural to see how I liked it. I also got it in a Size 3, to see how I liked that size thread. I would rather use the larger gauge, as the results will be quicker. Perhaps really slow rather than glacial. In between I also tried a swatch in size 10 thread, which was not good, and I just ripped it right out.

I like the size (3), the color (Natural) and the pattern Megan's Counterpane), so I began in earnest, but haven't gotten very far, as I decided I'd better finally finish up the Verena sweater before I got completely away from it. I only had the front collar to do, and I have struggled. Perhaps it knew it was being cast aside for a new project, but I think I knitted and ripped that thing at least 5 times before I got it going correctly. I counted wrong, I was confused about how many repeats of the pattern I had to get my increases in, I did too many, I did too few, I seemed to have lost my mind in general Everything went beautifully on the whole thing, and suddenly it was the project from hell, I'm in two minds about whether to start on the skirt after this. Probably not immediately anyway. I'm going to block and make up the sweater right away, and see how resilient the yarn is. It may not be terribly suitable for a skirt, and I'd just as soon know now

I've since ripped out the square I'd begun with Natural Size 3 on a 0 needle, and started again on a Size 1 needle, which seems to make all the difference. Since I've been so slow posting all of this (most of it was written on the 5th) I've actually finished the first 'real' square, and here it is!

From Counterpane

It takes a little over 1 ball to make a square, and now I need to figure about how many I need, and order them. They are a no-dye-lot item, which is nice, but I'm not sure that's very trustworthy really, and I'd like to get all of them at once.

Fleece Thoughts -Plus- Most Fabulous French Onion Soup Ever

From inbox

First, thank you for the comments on my fleece cami. It's nice and warm. Sally had an interesting thought, which made me think. She mentioned that she'd like something that came up higher on the back since her upper back was always chilly. I then wondered why you couldn't use a pattern like Jalie 2568 with fleece. You could make the back neckline higher without too much trouble, although at some point a CB seam, some shoulder darts or other shaping method might be desirable.
You might have to be a little careful of the size you cut, comparing the amount of stretch in your fleece to the amount called for in the pattern, but fleece is pretty stretchy, and I think this could be a real winner. I have an OOP KwikSew pattern that is almost identical that I would use.

Now on to the onion soup. The perfect meal on a cold, cold day.

I have to give all the credit for this to my dear friend Barbara, of Cat Fur Studio. She is many-talented, and also has a cooking blog where I found this. Her method for making Caramelized Onions in the crockpot is fabulous and unbelievably simple. I now make sure I always have some of her caramelized onions at the ready in the fridge at all times. Makes for some wonderful things, and of course real French Onion Soup is not the least of those.

Barbara's Caramelized Onions and French Onion Soup Recipe and one more look at the delicious result.

From inbox

Fleece Camisoles

From Lingerie

Perhaps not the most sexy lingerie item, but when it's below zero with 40mph winds outside, I think most of us are a little more interested in warmth. I am anyway.

I have a fleece camisole that was part of a pajama set I bought a few years ago that I use as a camisole when it's really cold. I've always thought I should copy the idea, and I finally did. I made two. The first one is very plain, with fleece straps, and just hemmed at top and bottom, and was made from a scrap of fleece I had. It was my test version, and I didn't even take a photo of it, I just put it on and wore it.

From Lingerie

The second cami is in a polka-dot fleece I bought with this project in mind. I used a piece of embroidered and scalloped sheer tricot (from my FabricDepot Stretch Lace Valu-Pack) beneath the hem edge, and found some large chenille rickrack in a hot pink that is the perfect strap. The top edge ended up a funny, but intriguing shape because of the way I cut the front and back together. I forgot to cut the front lower in the center after I was done with the double layer, but it is a very interesting look, almost like an Elizabethan corset top, and I like it. It would look cuter with a bow or twist of rickrack where the straps connect, but the chenille rickrack is so ravelly I think I won't bother, and it would make quite a lump under clothing anyway.

From Lingerie

The original has no shaping at all really, and I didn't give this much either, just making a small pleat where the straps attach, and giving it a fairly close fit, making the stretch of the fleece do the work. I love the sheer tricot hem edge and the straps give it a little kick, perfect with polka dots.


I think these are going to go on the list of great Xmas gifts, and my sister-in-law may get one for her birthday much sooner.

Toe-Up Socks and Possible Knitting Adventures

There's a chapter of the Knitting Guild here in Lincoln, and although I've been going to one of their monthly Sit-and-Knit afternoons for probably a year off and on, I'd never made it to one of their 'actual meetings' until Saturday. They're doing several Knit-Alongs this year, and the first is for a Toe-Up sock. Well, I'd tried a toe-up pattern once, and although it worked okay, it wasn't as much fun to knit as the regular top-down variety. However, I was willing to try again, especially since there would be expert advice on which techniques really do work the best.

We're doing The Traveler, A Toe-Up House Sock with Traveling Cables by d-made.com.

It's a worsted-weight sock, which makes for quick results; very suitable for a knit-along. The photo below is my progress so far.
Traveler Sock Progress - Photo Link
We're supposed to do the heel next month at the meeting, so I will probably just do the second one up to this point, and then wait on both of them.

I should say that we didn't do the crochet-chain provisional cast-on called for in the pattern. Instead, we did a Figure-8 cast on, which worked well for me. I'd done the Turkish cast-on before, and it's quite similar, but this seems easier, or maybe I just don't remember the Turkish as well as I should.

I've also suddenly gotten the urge to knit a counterpane, or cotton coverlet. The photo below is something like what I'm thinking of. It shows 4 squares which total about 14" across, so there would be many more before I was done.
Megan's Counterpane
I'm planning to swatch a little bit to see if I really want to use tiny yarn (thread) and very fine needles, or if I want to use a larger yarn for faster results and a very different look (and a different pattern). I've thought about knitting one of these for years. Ever since reading an article in Piecework in about 1996, and would now need a pair for the twin beds in my guest room. So, not only a lot of work once, but twice. You can see why I'm a little hesitant at jumping right in.

I was wearing my Graceful Pullover yesterday, and have often thought the stitch pattern (Frost Flower) is so pretty that I should use it for something else. Well, maybe a coverlet would be a fine place.
Photo Link
The sweater is worsted, which is very pretty, and if I did the coverlet in worsted, it would go fairly fast, and I could do the main pattern once down the middle with cables and eyelets at the sides, or more probably twice down the top, with one or two of the sleeve cables in the center. Then for the 'fall' on each side I could either do another pattern repeat, or something much simpler. I would seam it at each edge of the top, and I can see putting ribbons through the eyelet rows (columns). Anyway, I need to finish the Verena sweater I'm knitting now before I begin anything major. I'm on the back collar now, so it will soon be done. I was going to make a matching skirt though, and I suppose I still can. We shall see.

It was a beautiful day here today, and I hope the weatherman is completely wrong about tomorrow, and they're saying it's going to be bitterly cold, with possible freezing rain, etc. I'm probably driving to Omaha tomorrow, so I'm hoping for another 45 degree day like today.

Knitting Progress - Verena Veronique

You may remember that before Christmas, I was beginning to knit the Veronique top from the Fall 2010 Verena knitting magazine. I'm still working on it, and I'm now finished with the main sweater pieces, and am working on the collar. It's done a little differently than any other sweater I've made. Usually you sew the pieces together, and then pick up the stitches for the collar and knit it in the round. Well, in this case, you do the front and back collar on the front and back before you stitch everything together. I can only think this must be because of the shaping of the collar since it has to fit down around the shoulders, and there's a lot of shaping to it as you knit. Anyway, it's different, and we shall see. Here is the front with the collar started.

Photo Link

Since it's only taken me about 2 months to mostly finish the top, I'm fairly sure I can get the skirt done as well. I hope so anyway, although now that I've read the skirt pattern seriously, I see that it's done on much smaller needles than the top, so that means more stitches, and longer to do it. Oh well, I need a project, I guess. I do seem to be doing more knitting than sewing though, and I'd like to change that.

I did alter some older turtleneck tops the first of the month. Quick and easy, but nice to have them to wear. These were much too big, and not even ones I'd made, and I had been not wearing them unless I needed something for scooping snow, etc. I'm glad to be able to wear them 'for real' now, as they're great for layering under things, and the colors are ones I like (Surprise!) I just put them on and pinned in the sides, and under the arms, then took them off, marked on the inside, trued things up, stitched and cut off the excess. I didn't even use my serger, just a very narrow, longish zigzag. 0.5 x 3.0 is what my machine shows. Pfaff's IDF system really is a wonder on knits.

An Outfit for 'The' Shoes

Photo Link

This is the vest/sleeveless jacket I made to wear with the wonderful Fergie shoes. It's the FSG #1960 Cardigan pattern, without the sleeves, and with the shawl collar modification in Nancy Erickson's newsletter. I think it is much more a sleeveless jacket look than a vest, and that's what I'm calling it. The color is probably truest in the first photo.
Photo Link

It's a nice, beefy knit with surface interest from the black raised threads. Since it was so beefy and almost thick, and because I used no interfacing in it, it has a very soft look and feel.
Photo Link
You can see that I stitched down the edges of the uppermost seam allowance after grading the allowances that lie beneath. The collar/band unit was sewn on as one, with the allowances all laying the same way, so this made a nice finish which allowed everything to fall as it should.

As noted above, I used the shawl collar pattern piece provided in the Nancy Erickson newsletter, and I think it's fine. I think I might make a less pronounced curve out to the collar from the band if I make another like this. I can't decide if it would make it too bulky where it closes, or if it would be better, but I can always try it and then change back if I don't like it.
Photo Link
I had thought I'd do patch pockets on this, but I was afraid it would make the front so much heavier than the back that it would hang funny, especially if I actually put anything in the pockets. So, I left them off, and for the look of it, I'm glad I did. I like pockets though, and I wonder if in-seam pockets might work next time. I really don't need the bulk though, so we'll see. I know I could have used weight in the back hem to make it hang straight, but this isn't a structured enough or 'important' enough piece to do that, in my opinion.

The top with this is from a set I made from this same pattern (there's a charcoal cardigan jacket as well) and the skirt is part of it as well, although not from the FSG pattern. I shortened the skirt from calf-length. I think it looks good, and I love a simple 4-seam straight skirt in a knit fabric. It's so much more slimming than without the CF and CB seams. It's an elastic waist, and honestly, you don't need a pattern to make one like it.

It's really, really cold here lately, and we have a bunch of snow on the ground, but at least more isn't coming down right now. I hope the bad storms and big problems are missing all of you, too.

Cool Shoes

And now for something to wear with them.


They're from Fergie, and they're called Jigsawed I found them on sale at VonMaur's, and absolutely could not resist. I think they really need a skirt to show them off best, and I think my brown straight knit skirt will be just fine, but I want a jackety-type piece with it (third piece). I am working on a sleeveless version of the FSG#1960 cardigan, belted. I love the look of the long vests I'm seeing, and I think this will be good. I want to use a teal knit for it. I have a lot of the same thing I made narrow Marfy pants from, or I have some that's a little thicker with a slight texture and a black/brown design on it. I can't think of what you call it, but it sits on top of the fabric, and is kind of shiny. Embossed, I think. Anyway, I'm leaning toward it. I think with the skirt and a long-sleeved sweater/top and the vest it will be nice.

The other thing I'm thinking of is a very, very short jacket. I posted a while ago that I was thinking about something like that, and I went to a presentation of a graduate thesis in design, and she had done a collection of suits. One was based on the Korean national dress, and it was THE must-have piece of the group, IMO. A very short jacket with an asymmetric half-bow with a long tail. Gorgeous, especially with the skirt she showed, but the skirt would not be wonderful on me. The jacket? Maybe not either, but I'm dying for it. Here's an example of traditional Korean dress.


The skirt was nothing like this. It was very form-fitting from the very high waist through mid-hip with horizontal channel quilting, then a straight wrap skirt for the rest of it. It gave the effect of an obi under the jacket because of the wide quilted part. The whole thing was in a deep charcoal suiting fabric. Very chic.

Veronique In-Progress

Photo Link

I've been working on the Veronique pullover from the Fall 2010 Verena magazine. I found some lovely gray yarn that was just what I was looking for. Almost anyway, as it was spun by a friend with 2 plies. I have been taking the plies apart and using a single to knit this to get the gauge I needed. I like the way it's turning out, and it's been a fun pattern to knit so far. This is the back. I'm not sure I'll ever get the skirt done to match it, but I'd like to try, and I think I have plenty of yarn to do both the pullover and the skirt.

I'm a Featured Blogger on Bernina's We All Sew Blog!!!

Yes, as you can tell, I'm pretty excited! I got a comment this week that I would be featured next week, and I was very surprised to see that the note and link are already up.

Erika, Miss Sews-it-all, notified me, and I immediately went to look at both the We All Sew blog, which is sponsored by Bernina, as well as her personal blog, Miss Sews-it-all. I quickly realized that here is one very talented lady.

Welcome to everyone who comes here by way of We All Sew!

Thanks so much Erika!

Verena Fall Knitting

I think I mentioned before that I subscribed to the digital version of Verena Knitting beginning with this issue, simply because I loved Pattern #1, a pullover and skirt. The link will take you to their Flash Player, and this should be the first one, it's in gray with a diamond-lattice pattern. I've been sort of looking for some yarn for this, and found some lovely stuff that a friend had. She was donating it to the church knitting group, so I traded them for some nice yarn I had that I wasn't going to make up, so we're all happy. This is a 2-strand yarn, and I'm splitting it into a single strand. So far, I've done the lower edge on the back, so there's a ways to go yet, but it's interesting. I'm hoping to get it all done before gray is no longer an 'in' color.

That's my progress so far, and as you can see, it's pretty meager. This is a size 4 needle, but I'm about to change to a 2 for the body of it. The pattern calls for a 6 and a 4, so this is my usual go-down-two-sizes change. I'm always surprised about this, as I don't think I really knit that loosely, and I can't imagine knitting so tightly that I could go up 2 needle sizes and get the right gauge. I guess I'm a relaxed knitter.

I took a photo of the latest Ruffled Shawl too. It's a mystery content yarn from Mangelson's. I'd bet on a high cotton content though. It's more of a DK weight than a worsted, so it's very drapey. The ruffle doesn't stand quite as well as the worsted yarns have. I love the colors.



I woke up at 4am this morning out of a sound sleep and was instantly alert and getting an early start on my worrying. You know what those kind of nights are like. I got up and decided to sew after about 45 minutes. I cut out and did the first step of the pockets on 2 pairs of narrow pants last week and then stalled. I finished them both this morning except for the elastic, which I will try to do tonight. I'm excited to have them in my wardrobe. I'm a little short on casual pants, and these are going to be nice. Photos when they're done.

Lots of Knitting

I've been knitting lately with a group at my church. We do prayer shawls for those going through a rough patch, and afghans. The shawls are distributed by the Stephen Ministry there, and the afghans are given to each high school graduate in the spring. I did one afghan a few years ago, and really hated the enormity of the project, but I really am enjoying doing prayer shawls.

This is a 2x3 rib pattern, very plain, but I love the way the yarn patterned itself because of the ribs. This is really long (about 7 feet) because everyone immediately decided it could be for a man since it was more masculine than many of them turn out to be.



It seemed like it took forever to knit, although I don't know why it should have. It was just a slow project.

I then came up with my own pattern that I really like doing, and I like the result as well. I've made 5 of these now, and I keep thinking I'm going to do one to keep.





You can see in the photo of it on me that the ruffled edging makes a really nice neckline when you wear it. The black and white version is a mohair/cotton/nylon that I'd had around for a while. I hated to give it away, and may try to find something of a similar yarn in a color that's more me, and do one for me.

The others shown here are all in just Red Heart acrylic yarn. Since they're donated, you don't know how someone will care for it, and the decision was made to try to use easy care yarns unless someone donates some other nice yarn, and then an attempt will be made to make sure the recipient understands the care requirements.




Here are 3 more, and I didn't get a photo yet of the last one. I'll give you my pattern for the ruffle-edged ones. It is a knit and crochet combination.


Ruffle Shawl in Knit & Crochet

3 skeins Red Heart Super Saver yarn, or equivalent worsted weight yarn.
Size 11 knitting needles
Size 11 (L) crochet hook

CO 42 stitches
Row 1: K10, (yo, K2tog) 3 times. Repeat sequence twice, end K10.
Row 2: K3, P to last 3 st., K3.

Repeat these 2 rows for desired length of shawl body.
BO on Row 2.

Without breaking yarn, begin to crochet edging around shawl.

1st Round: DC in corner stitch, chain 2 (or 3 depending on what looks best, and is not tight), skip one, DC in next stitch. Repeat around, making 3 st at corners with ch1 between, to make a nice turning. Slip st to join to beginning. **Be sure to make ch spaces match the yo columns of the knitting, with DC matching the K2tog columns for the best look.**

2nd Round: Single crochet into the spaces created by the chain 2 (or 3) stitches, making 3 in each space between the DC in the previous row. Space them nicely, making more or fewer as is called for by your yarn. This will give you a nice solid edge to work your ruffle.

3rd Round: (Ruffle Round) Triple crochet into each SC in previous round, ch3 between each triple. Join to first tr. when you get around, and fasten off.

This makes a fairly wide edge, and does use a fair amount of yarn, so be prepared.