I’ve been deep in a quilting cave (I’m not going to show it until it’s all done!), but I have emerged to show you some knitting I finished over the weekend! It’s my first time trying stranded colourwork, and my first time making a cowl. I watched a bit of this Bluprint course on stranded colourwork back when they had everything available for free, and then picked out a pattern to try. Here’s my finished project, the Tessera Cowl!
This project came to life because of a few different factors. I had been wanting to try stranded colourwork for a while ever since I learned how to double knit (that project is currently still underway, but I’ve been working on it more lately and it should show up here eventually). I was also given a bunch of fingering weight yarn from a professional knitter/knitting designer I know, because companies tend to send her loads of samples and things for free and her eclectic yarn drawer was getting out of control. This particular yarn is the Highland Sport by Cloudborn Fibers in Oatmeal Heather and Caribbean, plus the Cloudborn Merino Superwash Sock Twist in Majestic Purple.
Because I wanted to use up some of this (because a girl can only knit so many pairs of socks), I limited my perusal of the Brooklyn Tweed pattern collection to ones that used fingering weight. I also knew enough about the whole colourwork thing to know that I wanted a really repetitive pattern, a simple accessory like a scarf or cowl, and something that wouldn’t have long floats. Floats are created by the yarn not being used and passing in behind the work, and I got the impression that the longer they are, the harder it is to maintain good tension over the work. With the Tessera pattern, the longest a yarn goes without being used is three stitches, which seemed very manageable to this newbie. The other great thing is that the Tessera is a cowl, so you just knit in the round over and over and over (occasionally changing needle size) with no decreases or anything. And this pattern has you knit a tube double the height of the finished piece, and then you fold it down inside to enclose everything safely inside by stitching it closed. You can see the “inside” in the photo directly below. You can also see the full, non-scrunched height of the cowl (as well as the fact that I have no sweet clue how to photograph accessories properly!).
I’d followed a chart before when knitting my Snoqualmie, so I wasn’t particularly worried about that part. In fact, the colour chart was way easier to follow than the cable chart for Snoqualmie because you don’t have to swap stitches around. It feels more like paint-by-number than anything. I thought maintaining tension would be a lot worse, but I didn’t find it that bad. My main thing was actually pulling a little TOO tight, as you can see below with the slight rippling (nothing I would redo though). I did block my Tessera, even though the yarn I used was a superwash, and that helped it lay better. While it was drying, I made sure to shuffle the folds around so it didn’t get creases. When wearing it, I put the start/finish (because it’s somewhat visible) in the back, but I really don’t find it’s noticeable when it’s crinkled up during wear.
The main thing I learned with the Bluprint course was the concept of background vs dominant colours. This basically just influences where you hold the yarn behind the work (up or down) and was not that hard to manage. I honestly wish I had taken good photos of the back of the work before I sewed it shut, because I am so proud of how neat it looked! No weird crossovers or anything! Speaking of sewing it shut though, using Kitchener stitch to graft together 168 stitches when I’m used to maybe 4 at the end of a sock toe was a LOT. Took me multiple episodes of Elementary to get through it. But it’s very neat and tidy, and with all the strands plus the two layers of fabric, it’s SO cozy.
I definitely recommend the Tessera for anyone who wants to try out stranded colourwork for the first time! I think I might make another, except switch the placement of the turquoise and oatmeal yarns. I have more leftover than I thought I would, so I think I can squeeze out another cowl! (And if I run out of yarn, I can just make it slightly shorter). Sewing-wise, I’m currently sewing more masks, but once I’m done I hope to work on a birthday gift for my best friend and then I’m very intrigued by the Helen’s Closet Ashton and the By Hand London Hannah. With the Ashton, I already own the Winslow culottes and I have dreams of an outfit that combines the two of them. Have any of you made either the Ashton or the Hannah? Tell me your thoughts!
