The Sweatshop of Lovers Blog

This month away from Chicago was always billed as a ‘working vacation’. I’ve got a ton on my to do lists (yes, lists! I’ve got so much I want to get done this month that I’ve broken it all down to different themed lists) and am determined to get as much out of this time as possible.

The first huge thing I wanted to do was to change the welcome page of my website into The Sweatshop of Love’s Pattern Store.

Oohh Holla! Pattern Store!

This was a painful. I manage my site on iWeb, the free website building program on Macs. I don’t use Macs, so this is challenging from the get go.

I updated it and it looked awesome, but then I couldn’t get it to publish. No matter what I did it wouldn’t publish. After a few days of trying different things right up to the point where I wanted to throw the GD computer out the window, I finally called BlueHost.

So I’m sitting in PT’s room, trying to make the IT guy not think I’m stupid while explaining to him why my site isn’t publishing, MICE start scurrying around the room! Luckily the farm girl in me helped me keep my cool. I just pulled my legs up on the couch so they wouldn’t run across my feet and kept talking to the nice gentleman.

For 50+ minutes! And he couldn’t figure it out, either.

But after we hung up, between what he was saying and what I had figured out on my own over the last few days of frustration, I published my website all by myself!

Even My Free Patterns!

My ebook and patterns from the ebook are listed, along with the free patterns I’ve released over the past year and a half.

Those of you who know me know what an accomplishment this is. I rarely ever get mad. When I get angry at people I just start crying. Except for technology! When I can’t figure out how to do something technologically I get a big fiery rage ball in my chest that explodes on everyone and everything around me.

But I didn’t cry, or yell, or get angry, or get rabies! So holla!

I hope this makes it easier for everyone to find patterns that have started to get buried in the blog. And stay tuned for more and more exciting changes around here!

Cordia Rocking Her Bow Headband, and Cayo!

Last week Cordia, my student Lori’s daughter, turned 3! Naturally this was a big deal in The Sweatshop of Love and a bunch of us caravan-ed to her birthday party.

A special little girl like Cordia needed a special present.

If there is one thing Cordia knows it’s fashion. She is always dressed in the highest of high fashion. Cute dresses with matching tights and headband.

… did someone say headband?! I can do that!

Cordia always picks yellow and purple yarn for the projects Lori makes her, so she had to have a yellow and purple headband.

This project is great for scraps and little yarn leftovers. The duplicate stitch hearts add sweetness without letting intarsia make you insane.

It’s a tiny bow headband for a special little girl in your life! It should be as painless to knit as possible.

~~~

Cordia’s Bow Headband Pattern

Cordia's Bow Headband!

Finished Measurements Length: 4 1/2”. Width: 2″.

MATERIALS

Yarn A tiny amount sock or sport weight yarn in two colors. I used Knit Picks Shine Sport in Daffodil (MC) and Knit Picks Gloss Sock Yarn in Grape (CC). Both are discontinued colors because they’ve been in my remnant ball pile forever!

Needles Size 5 (3.55 mm): Straight needles. 2 size 3 (3.25 mm): Double pointed needles.

Notions Yarn needle.

GAUGE

Gauge is not important in this project.

Duplicate Stitch Hearts!

DIRECTIONS

Bow
With MC and larger needles, CO 18 sts. Work 2 rows of seed sts.

Row 3: Work 2 sts in seed st, K 14, work 2 sts in seed st.
Row 4: Work 2 sts in seed st, P 14, work 2 sts in seed st. Work in pattern until bow measures 4 1/4”. Work 2 rows in seed st. BO all sts.

Bow’s Loop
With CC and larger needles, CO 4 sts. Work in seed st for 1 1/2”. BO all sts.

Bow’s Band
With CC and DPNs, CO 3 sts. Make a 24” icord. Cut yarn and secure sts.

FINISHING

With CC, duplicate stitch two hearts on each side of bow.

Weave in all ends. Seam ends of Bow’s Loop together around center of Bow and Bow’s Band. Secure all three pieces together at base. Weave in remaining ends.

I hope you enjoy knitting these adorable little bow headbands for every adorable little girl you know!

Ravelry Download!

I loved making friendship bracelets when I was younger. They came around at the perfect time; right before high school when crafting was lame and right after I became super sick of needlepoint.

When I saw Amy’s post on Things We Make proposing a friendship bracelet swap I knew I had to come out from my friendship bracelet retirement. But, since we are about knitting over here, I wanted to add a knit-spin.

ICord Friendship Bracelet

ICord Friendship Bracelet Pattern

Materials

Yarn Leftover scraps of sock weight or sport weight cotton yarn. I used Knit Picks Comfy Sport.

Needles 2 size 3 double pointed needles.

Gauge

Gauge is not important in this project

Directions

CO 3 sts, leaving a long tail. Make an icord that wraps loosely around your wrist, between 9-10 inches. Cut yarn, leaving a long tail. Pull end through sts to secure.

Make 3-5 icords in the same color or different colors.

Rocking the ICord Friendship Bracelet!

Finishing

Tie first icord together with tails. Loop second icord through first bracelet and tie it together by tails. Repeat for each remaining icord.

With a yarn needle, work left over tails into base of icord to weave in. Cut remaining tails.

Cute Friendship Bracelet!

My bracelet is four icords, two gray and two purple. The smaller your yarn the daintier your bracelet. Make a thicker, bangle like bracelet with more icords!

I’m putting this bracelet in the mail to send to Amy straight away. I hope whoever gets my bracelet likes it!

Ravelry Page

Today is the day! I’ve been talking about it and working on these patterns like a crazy person and today it is finally ready for you to enjoy!

It's Here! It's Here!

That link takes you to www.e-junkie.com where you will type in your info or paypal and a PDF of the ebook will be available for download. Pretty sweet, right?

This ebook includes easy to read and super clear instructions for 10 fun summer knits and some helpful how-tos to get you through this summer knitting season. Scroll down for pictures and click links for more information on each pattern.

Questions about a pattern before you buy? Let me know!

Ebook Patterns:

Caitlin’s Cardi ~ More Info

Door County Wooden Handle Bag ~ More Info

Twin Cities Headband ~ More Info

Hyde Park Legwarmers ~ More Info

Traverse City Tube Top ~ More Info

Gus Gus Kitty Toy ~ More Info

Detroit Tigers Headband ~ More Info

Twin Cities Anklets ~ More Info

Baby Sweater Buffet ~ More Info

The Look Entrelac Tank Top ~ More Info

Shoot me an email if you have any questions about any of the patterns found in the ebook. I hope from the bottom of my heart that you enjoy it!

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Traverse City Tube Top

When I was young every summer my family would go to northern Michigan for a week of camping. At some point we would drive through Traverse City and I would gawk at the fancy people vacationing in the city. In beach front hotels instead of tents. In pretty clothes instead of t-shirts and jeans. If I were ever fancy enough to vacation in Traverse City, or in a hotel anywhere for that matter, I would wear this top. As it is I’ll rock this shirt on a patio eating brunch with a mimosa; my kind of fancy.

The Traverse City Tube Top is a textured top with a two button back closure. The top band is knit in seed stitch with smaller needles. Stitches are picked up along the bottom of the band and added, then the Diamond Pattern is worked with larger needles to give an airy, almost lacy effect.

Finished Measurements 32 (36, 40, 44)” bust circumference at top of Diamond Eye Pattern. 18 (18, 20, 20)” long. Traverse City Tub Top shown in size 36″.

Traverse City Tube Top

MATERIALS

Yarn Knit Picks Comfy Sport (75% Pima Cotton, 25% Acrylic; 136 yds/50g): Flamingo, 3 (3, 4, 4) balls.
Needles Size 4 (3.5 mm): 24″ circulars (cir). Size 7 (4.5 mm): 24″ circular (cir). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
Notions Removable marker (RM), stitch marker (M), 2 7/8″ fabric covered buttons, tapestry needle. Fun fabric for buttons.

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Caitlin's Cardi

Monday night wing night is a staple among my group of friends. When Caitlin showed up in a short sleeved red vintage cardigan with no tag she thrifted for $3 ages ago, I knew I had to recreate that sweater for myself. It was fun examining an existing sweater for stitch counts and gauges and increases, trying to match on my needles what was happening on the sweater. Especially since I found mistakes, dropped stitches, and I’m pretty sure the wool sweater was shrunk a few times. And mystery button hole band stitches were discovered to be crocheted!

I added a few of my own touches – cable bands to the tops of the pockets and big fabric covered statement buttons – but whoever knit Caitlin’s cardigan originally would be able to recognize my version today.

Caitlin's Cardi

Caitlin’s Cardi is a short sleeved cardigan with cable accents down the front, at the center of each sleeve, and on the tiny front pockets. The body is worked in a deep textured lazy man’s seed stitch pattern in one piece from the bottom up. At armholes the fronts are held while back is completed, then each front is completed separately. Sleeves are worked from cable band down to create a puffed look. Finally, tiny cable lined pockets are added that are, lets face it, are more adorable than they are functional! After assembled, a single crochet neck edge, button band, and button hole band are worked to complete the look. Make this cardi even more special by finding unique fabric to cover your buttons!

CAITLIN’S CARDI

Finished Measurements 30 (34, 38, 42)” bust circumference. Cardigan shown in size 34″.

Yarn Patons Classic Wool (100% pure new wool; 223 yds [205 m]/100g): Jade Heather, 3 (4, 4, 5) balls.

Needles Size 8 (5 mm): 29″ circular (cir). Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge. Size G crochet hook.

Notions Removable markers (m), cable needle, stitch holders or scrap yarn, 7 (8, 8, 9) 1 1/8″ fabric covered buttons, tapestry needle. Fun fabric for buttons.

GAUGE

22 sts and 26 rows in stitch pattern = 4″
Row 1: K
Row 2: *K1, P1; rep from * to end
Repeat rows for stitch pattern.

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The Loop Entrelac Top

When I had a big girl job in The Loop in downtown Chicago, I had to dress all fancy every day. This was especially challenging in the summer, going from a non-air conditioned apartment, to an over-air conditioned train car, to the sweltering city streets, to an over-air conditioned office, and back again. I’d look for little shirts that look great standing alone but that could also be worn under a suit coat.

The Loop Entrelac Top is a classy summer top you can take from day to evening, or, more importantly, from inside to outside in the heat, by just losing your blazer. The entrelac straps are knit first, with or without contrasting color strips. Stitches are picked up for the contrasting color bands, and then again for the front tummy panel. Back is worked separately, ribbed top to help with fitting, then increased out to give the bottom of the top some swing. A single crocheted bottom edging prevents curing. Clever construction, lightweight cotton knit in a larger than recommended gauge, swing bottom: Everything designed to keep you cool this summer.

Finished Measurements 32 (36, 40, 44)” bust circumference. Cardigan shown in size 36″.

The Loop Entrelac Top

MATERIALS

Yarn Knit Picks Simply Cotton Sport (100% Organic Cotton; 164 yds/50g): Basalt Heather (MC), 2 (2, 3, 3) balls. Brass Heather (CC), 1 (2, 2, 2) balls.
Needles Size 4 (3.5 mm): straight needles. Size 6 (4mm): straight needles. Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge. Size G crochet hook.
Notions Tapestry needle.

GAUGE

NOTE

There aren’t a lot of stitch totals in this pattern. There are a lot of picked up stitches and seaming as you go and that leads to slight differences in stitch size and picked up stitch totals with every knitter. Make sure that you seam as you go when instructed to seam as you go, and make sure to pick up your stitches evenly, and you will be fine. The sweater shapes up clearly as you knit so any sizing issues and stitch count issues you may not be sure about are easily caught and fixed as you knit.

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If summer brings anything it seems to bring a lot of babies, and with babies comes the necessity for quick to knit, simple and customizable baby sweaters. How embarrassing would it be for a baby to run into another baby wearing the same sweater?! No need to worry about that with Baby Sweater Buffet.

Baby Sweater Buffet

Baby Sweater Buffet is everything you would want in a baby sweater pattern rolled into one quick and easy pattern. Want a quick knit baby cardigan? Done! With stripes? Done! Want to add a hood? Done! Want to add adorable front pockets? Done! Want to turn it into an animal? Done! All with practically no seaming, size 9 circulars  and worsted weight yarn for speed, and guaranteed adorableness.

Baby Sweater Buffet is sized Newborn, 3, 6, 12, 18, and 24 months, with the buffet items, like ears and pockets, knit in one size.

Finished Sizes Newborn (3, 6, 12, 18, 24) months. Zebra Cardigan shown in 6 month size, green and brown striped cardigan shown in newborn size.

Yarn Any soft worsted weight yarn, approx. 250 (275, 300, 350, 400, 450) yards. I’ve used Lion Brand’s Pound of Love and Caron’s Simply Soft, both with great success.
Needles Size 9 (5.5 mm): 16″ circular (cir). Size 9 (5.5 mm) dpns. Adjust needle size if necessary to obtain the correct gauge.
Notions Removable markers (m), stitch holders or scrap yarn, 3 (3, 4, 4, 5, 5) 1″ buttons, tapestry needle.

GAUGE

16 sts and 20 rows = 4″ in St st.

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Throw it on your arm while eating custard and window shopping in Door County, Wisconsin. Toss in a trashy novel on your way to the beach! Dress it up for a hot date at the Friday night fish boil. You will want to use this bag every day this summer to matter where you are.

Door County Wooden Handle Bag

The Door County Wooden Handle Bag is the perfect summer bag. It’s versatile, deceivingly large without being bulky, and it can be dressed up or down. What more could you want? Garder stitch ribs give the body of The Door County Wooden Handle Bag a lot of stretch while holding it’s bell shape. The top cables add interest and flare.

Knit in any color and using a variety of different handle shapes, this one pattern will go a long way! Mix it up for a different bag every week.

Finished Measurements 12″ at widest point, 10″ deep.

Yarn Any worsted weight yarn, the stronger the better. This project is a great stash buster! Pull out a light colored acrylic and go to town.
Needles Size 6 (4 mm): straight needles.
Notions Stitch markers (m), cable needle, tapestry needle, a pair of size 7 wooden handles. Optional: Fabric for lining.

GAUGE

Gauge is not important in this project.

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