Wednesday, November 21, 2007

FEATHER N FAN ORGANIC WRAP: VARIATIONS ON A THEME

Feather n Fanscapes in a woody mood

Well, this little Feather n Fan Organic Wrap pattern is turning out to be a favorite. So many people are emailing me their positive comments that I think a Feathernfan club is starting (ha.ha.—can't resist a pun). Actually, there is a thread on Ravelry about this pattern.

Meanwhile, as promised, here's variations on the feather n fan wrap theme. The first shown above is a capelet, though not of the official, fasten-down-the-front variety. This design sits on the shoulders and then hangs down the front not unlike in the shorter original. It's actually a modification of the pattern only knit with more rows, hence length, and completed by a little collar, if you choose. Knit it with the front extensions for a front tie or not (the not version is shown below).

Into the Woods Wrap

To make this version without the front tie extensions, follow the instructions for the Organic Wrap with the following modifications:

• Cast on stitches as per pattern and follow pattern to last row WITHOUT DECREASING after row 17.
• Continue increasing 10 stitches evenly across one knit row in each four-row feather n' fan sequence.
• Following row 31, continue in pattern and increasing stitches until you reach the desired length. I gre the cape version a full 12" longer than the original version.

          You can even add a little collar :

• After completing your capelet, find the middle section of your neck area. I find this easiest just by trying the piece on to see where it will best fall around the neck.
• Mark where you’d like the collar to begin and end.
• Pick up and knit along the entire inner edge of the neck area and knit 1 row.
• On the next row, bind off up until the first marker and knit across.
• On the following row, bind off to the second stitch marker and carry on knitting across.
• Bind of 2 stitches at the beginning of each row until 20 stitches remain on needle. Bind off.

Please understand that free range knitting is not like a blueprint. Making random decisions on things like how many stitches to increase across a row are not only perfectly acceptable but celebrated. You will likely have success by experimenting, changing, alterating and otherwise playing with these 'seeds' I offer. And, besides, making changes makes something unique, very yours.

Celebrate random acts of knitting creativity! I'm so tempted to insert in every second line of my 'patterns' lines like 'but you don't have to do it this way' or 'terrible things won't happen if you do this or that....Actually, now that I think about it, I think I do that already.

THE SCARF VERSION

Let's say, hypothetically, that it's the holiday season and you're interested in making someone a quick and easy gift for Hannuka, Christmas, Kwanza or 'just for the fun of it' . So, how about the scarf version of this pattern? Easy, easy, easy. Cast on the same number of stitches and follow the recipe for only 4 or five rows before decreasing and binding off. What results is an apple peel curl of a scarf that wraps around the neck multiple times before you tie it like so:

And, if you use highly textured yarns like little flags or fringes, you create a kind of jewel-like effect to frame the face.  Try mixing your different yarns together to take advantage of feather and fan's lacy, scallopy effect. I've been knitting these up like a  fiber dervish these last two weeks and they knit up quickly.  You could also bead the tie ends or sew on little special effects for even more zing.

The mossy version of this peel scarf is rich with tiny detail which doesn't necessarily show up in these photos. I spent several intense moments bending over this stone while a flurry of chickadees commented from the surrounding trees and my squirrel chattered 'that's it, these humans ARE nuts'! Talk about the peanut gallery.

Great Adriondack's Bronzite holo-hoops flicker amid this spicy colorway

*By the way, I posted the print version of this pattern on Lulu here http://www.lulu.com/jane23