TUTORIAL - Intarsia

You will remember that I embarked on the Honey Honey Cushion from Winter Knitting a few weeks ago, and this is now (pictorial evidence below!) off the needles and on to the blocking boards. All that this needs is some trusty mattress stitch to produce beautiful, professional seams and some buttons.

I enjoyed the interesting cable pattern which carried me weaving and meandering up the front of the cushion, but was happy enough to knit the much simpler back. The result is a wonderful texture that looks stylish and sophisticated in the rich berry yarn - a lovely interior accent that would look perfect in my living room . . . had I not already decided to gift it to a very precious friend.

I have discovered the thing about knitting cushions is that they are really rather addictive! Since finishing the Honey Honey Cushion, I've been enchanted by the new Valentine's Cushions and cast on 'Big Love' as soon as the patterns were ready.

The intarsia heart on the front of this cushion made me itch to try a little bit of colourwork and experiment with my colour combinations. I would 'heartily' recommend this as a great project for an improving knitter who wants to learn the intarsia technique in a simple and manageable way.



My Honey Honey Cushion from Winter Knitting is almost done!

Intarsia is a very effective way of adding blocks and shapes of different colours to your knitting, and once you have mastered the 'wrapping' of the yarn at each colour change (which is imperative to avoid holes in your work), it's also a simple and enjoyable knit. The tutorial below demonstrates the method for wrapping the yarn on the knit or Right Side of your knitted fabric, and on the purl or Wrong Side

The important thing to remember is that each separate block of colour on your knitting will require a separate ball of yarn. For more complex designs with many colours across each row, you can use bobbins to wind on a small amount of yarn which will keep it tidy and less likely to get tangled. For the Big Love Cushion I need only 3 balls at the beginning - 2 of the background colour (1 on each side of the heart) and 1 of the heart colour. When I reach the top of the heart, I will then need 3 balls of the background colour (1 either side and one where the heart splits in the middle) and 2 for the heart itself.

Wrapping on the Knit/Right Side

 

 

 

1) Knit to the point that you need to change the colour

 

 

2) Insert the needle into the next stitch. Bring the new colour of yarn (shown here in teal) up under the old colour (berry) and knit it with your new colour.

 

3) The back of the knitted fabric should look like this with a 'seam' that looks almost as if it has been stitched


Wrapping on the Purl/Wrong Side

1) Purl to the point where you need to change the colour

2) Insert needle into the next stitch and bring the new colour (shown here in berry) up under the old yarn (teal) and purl the next stitch

3) Continue along the row using the 'new' colour (you can see the teal yarn is left here until it is needed at the same point in the next row)

Big Love is proving to be a very satisfying knit, and quick one too. I've almost finished the front and as the back is largely stocking stitch I'm aiming to have this on the blocking mats in a couple of days. You may have noticed that my 2 cushions are pleasingly coordinated in berry and teal which makes them a very handsome pair. I have a feeling that my lovely friend is going to be receiving a matching set for her birthday!

(posted by Max)



FREE PATTERNS - Spread the Love

The design studio at MillaMia HQ has been overwhelmed with heart-themed mood boards, knitted swatches and a plethora of sugar sweet yarn for weeks now, and with the first whispers of Valentine's Day in the air, it would seem that the MillaMia team are thinking about spreading a little love. Helena and Tanya have indulged their romantic sides and designed a beautiful cushion collection for inclusion in an interiors book due to be released later this year, but which we are offering FREE for a limited period to celebrate Valentine's Day.

The cushions, along with a matching candle warmer form a cohesive set, tied together with a truly modern palette of midnight, fuchsia, lilac blossom and daisy yellow - something that Helena was keen to create.

She says, 'I wanted to pick up on a couple of key colours and mix sugary tones like lilac blossom with more grounding tones such as the midnight. The daisy yellow accent sets everything off and the result is a very contemporary take on more traditional fairisle patterns. I'm always excited by the idea of re-imagining something classic in a new way, and for this collection a less conventional colour palette has produced some really appealing results. And hearts are such a timeless motif to work with - we think the cushions will be great for Valentine's Day, but equally lovely as an interior accessory all year round.'

 'Big Love' and 'Sweet Heart'

 

'Cross My Heart' Cushion and Candle Warmer

With hearts being so pertinent to the season, we thought it would be a shame to keep them all to ourselves until the Autumn. So, this sweet collection is going to be FREE to download for a limited time (from Monday 26th January - Monday 23rd February) on the MillaMia website, from your usual online retailers and as actual copies in your local MillaMia stockist. There has to be a pun around 'free' and 'love' in there somewhere!

(posted by Max) 

KNITTING - New Project

You may recall that last week, I was feeling a rush of New Year motivation and excitement to embark on a challenging garment project? That I was keen to cast on something for myself after the selfless months of Christmas gift knitting? That I wanted a large project that I could indulge myself in?

It's funny what a week can do to the best of intentions isn't it? I have to confess that I have cast on something - though sadly it isn't for me, nor is it a garment and although it has cables, it isn't really a true challenge either! I have been shockingly sidetracked and lured in by our Winter Knitting book again, and this time by one of the gorgeous cushions.

The story of my drastic change of mind is simple really. Feeling enthused and inspired after writing the blog post last week, I went in search of my 20 balls of Berry yarn (buried rather deep in my ever growing stash!). While searching through my yarn, I got to imagining that delectable berry colour knitted into some interesting textures and cables and found myself suddenly trying to remember where exactly I had seen some beautiful cable detail in that very same Berry yarn . . .

It came to me pretty quickly. The Honey Honey Cushion in Winter Knitting. I was soon sat knee deep in yarn (including the bags of Berry) and with Winter Knitting open in my lap. The rest is history - I had the yarn, I had the pattern and more compellingly - I remembered an imminent birthday which I would need to knit something for.

And so, I have cast on this beautiful cushion. It isn't the large, complex, time consuming pattern that I thought I wanted to immerse myself in, and it isn't even for me. But the gentle repetition of the cable pattern and the ever soothing glide of the Naturally Soft Merino on my needles is actually cathartic and satisfying enough. And as all knitters know, our greatest pleasure is often in the gifting of our time and talent, and not in the ownership of the things we make.

(posted by Max)

NEW YEAR - New Projects

Happy New Year from us all at MillaMia! We hope your holiday season was a delightful time spent with your family, friends, and your knitting.


The Livia Cardigan is sized from kids to adults and is a FREE download

So with all the gift knitting delivered to grateful recipients and a strange sense of needing something new and exciting to start the year, what do us knitters typically turn to? Well, knitting of course!

And not just any knitting. January typically heralds the 'sweater cast on phenomenon', and is something I seem to fall prey to every year. I wonder if this sudden urge to cast on a large project is prompted by a rekindled sense of purpose and intent that the New Year always seems to bring, or if the colder weather triggers an inner need to knit cosy items to comfort ourselves with? Maybe, having knitted so much for other people, our selfish side decides it's time to pick up the needles and knit something just for 'me'.

Where before Christmas the urgency to complete lots of gifts drives me to heavier weight yarns and simple garter projects, the New Year sees me looking for a considerable challenge . . . in a lighter weight yarn that I can indulge in and spend time with. I find that I want cables, and complex stitch patterns - shaping, colourwork and charts, interesting construction and a canvas bag filled with lots of balls of yarn all eager to be knitted up into something extraordinary!

This poor sweater has quite a brief to meet. And in order to find the exact pattern to tick all of the boxes, I've been browsing the MillaMia adults women's patterns. These are my top picks - all cardigans!

First up is the Daniel Cardigan from our latest book Winter Knitting. A fairly simply shaped cardigan with a shawl collar and patch pockets, the real interest is in the fabulous fairisle section adorning the middle.



The Daniel cardigan is warm, cosy and oversized - perfect for the chilly winter evenings

Next is more fairisle in the form of the Kia Kimono from High Society. This cardigan is all about the pretty fairisle yoke and the interesting symmetrical opening and although there is a fair amount of straight stocking stitch the other elements will provide just enough interest to keep it moving along.



The Kia Kimono has a beautiful stranded colourwork yoke which makes it interesting to for even the most experienced knitter

With some pretty cable on each panel, shaping and rib edging the Charlie Cardigan from Country Escape is not the most difficult garment to knit, BUT it is a wonderfully versatile transitional piece and one that I can see me wearing right through to early summer.



The Charlie Cardigan in Claret from Country Escape

Last, but by no means least is my pick of the bunch - the Livia Cardigan. This lovely jacket meets the challenge element of my brief as it has some complex cabling all over the garment AND bobbles. It is knitted in pieces which gives it great fit and structure and best of all it's a FREE pattern (download it here). The sizing goes from child right up to adult so you could knit one for yourself and then another for a daughter or granddaughter once the selfish knitter has been appeased!



The Livia Cardigan in Sable - cables and bobbles make it wonderfully textured and warm

With 20 balls of MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino in Berry just sitting quietly in my stash, it seems a shame not to cast on right away doesn't it?

(posted by Max)