Birkenwasser knits

Knitty Spring + Summer 2017 issue is out, and my Airelle tee is one of the lovely summer patterns. Airelle Tee is a summer knit that is easy to knit and fun to wear – or fun to knit and easy to wear. The top is worked seamlessly in reverse stockinette from top down starting with a circular yoke that switches to raglan shaping before dividing for the sleeves. Work WS out so you do not need to purl, except for the garter stitch edges. Leave wrong ends on the outside (WS) and turn work once finished to leave reverse stockinette on the RS. A-line shape gives more room for the play of colors. The gradual change from lighter to darker colors keeps you interested, but is still easy to knit. Choose four recycled stonewash denim shades or create your own combination!




Thick (Aran weight) cotton yarn is not my typical choice of yarn, but I was intrigued by the recycling aspect of the yarn, and also saw a gradient set in the four shades of denim that the recycled series provides. I wanted a circular yoke to avoid the angles that raglan shaping creates. Towards the underarms the circular shaping switches to raglan shaping to guarantee a tight fit at the top.

We had homework before the class, so everyone brought three swatches that were to be cut open. I enjoyed doing the homework, because I can't even remember the last time I did stranded knitting (except for the Welcome to Finland socks more than a year ago, but a little Finnish flag hardly counts as stranded work).


The first technique we learned was the crochet method. That was pretty straight forward, and we got to make the first cut! Nothing unraveled, and it looks pretty neat.


The second method we learned was sewing. You can see the purple yarn on the left side that was used to secure the stitches. What is also visible is that the result is not very pretty. You would need to add a ribbon to cover the ends, or make a steak sandwich cover, such as the one on the right side. I like the way the sandwich looks like, but I wouldn't use it for a button band - maybe a blanket or an open cardigan.


The third method we tried was the most laborious: knotting. It means that you unravel the steek stitches in pairs, cut them in half, knot the two strands together, and weave in the ends. That is some weaving in! You can see from the picture above that I almost finished my tiny swatch in class, but for some reason didn't feel like finishing it after class. Many people in class swore that this would be their first and last try of the knotting method! This would be a good method for slippery yarn, but, in my opinion, it would be even better to choose a non-superwash wool to work with in the first phase.

We also learned to pick up stitches from the steek, first for a simple button band and then a sandwich version. All ready to move to garments now!


There are several good tutorials about steeking online, both photo tutorials (Kate Davies' is a great example) and YouTube videos, so it would be possible to learn the techniques on your own. However, it is so much more fun to learn with other knitters and make new friends while doing it. Thank you, Renee, for a great class, and thank you all my class mates for making it such a nice experience!

Now I feel all inspired for some stranded work with steeks - maybe the Cherry Bloom by Lene Tosti or Bruntsfield by Ysolda Teague. Or do you have any other suggestions?

Edinburgh Yarn Festival attracts knitters from all over the world to Scotland for four days in March. Class program ran Thursday-Sunday March 9-12, and market place was open Fri-Sat. In addition, there was a kick off knit night on Thursday, and a ceilidh party on Friday. Unfortunately, the popularity of the festival meant that both evenings were fully booked: the Friday night party sold out in less than a minute! For Thursday night there was a sister event, though, and many suggestions for finding another ceilidh on Friday, so I'm sure that everyone was able to find something nice for both evenings.


We arrived in Edinburgh on Thursday and the sun welcomed us to the city. We had a lovely day sightseeing. My flight from Helsinki was delayed due to poor weather in Amsterdam. This meant that I had to run through Schiphol to make my connection, but unfortunately my suitcase didn't quite keep up. I was a bit afraid that they might try to deliver the suitcase while we were sightseeing, but it was only after dinner that the suitcase was finally delivered, so no big hassle there.

Ipana cardigan at Tukuwool stand

First thing Friday morning I took a couple of samples with me and brought them to the market place: Ipana cardigan for Tukuwool and Sylphide sweater for WalkCollection. Later I spent some time at the WalkCollection stand to meet with knitters. I was really happy for the feedback and interest in Sylphide. I was wearing another Sylphide sample, and many people approached me asking what design it was. Hoping to see many Sylphides knitted later on!


Of course, one of the main reasons for coming to EYF is the opportunity to buy yarn. I didn't have anything special in mind, so at first I was only looking at what there was on offer and thinking that I might not buy anything because I have enough yarn at home. Silly me! Luckily I came to Skein Queen stand and found some lovely sock yarn to take home, and after that I started noticing other interesting yarns, including a gradient kit and a couple of other treats from Easyknits.co.uk and a sweater's worth of Old Maiden Aunt merino fingering. On Saturday I continued shopping with a gradient skein from Bilum and after spending more time at WalkCollection stand I couldn't leave the awesome Koi colorway there, and paired it with Limestone in Delicate Merino. I believe this is a good enough haul considering my initial I'm-not-buying-anything plan!

Spin City stand

There was also a big knitting area in the Corn Exchange bistro, so taking a break with some coffee and knitting was always an option. And then, of course, there are all those pubs for pub knitting!

Pub knitting at The King's Wark (Photo: Vuokko Laaninen)

On Sunday I returned to the Corn Exchange with my suitcase for a class: Making the cut by Renee Callahan. Another blog post on that to follow! After the class it was time to head to the airport. The flight to Amsterdam was full of knitters. A lady in front of me wanted to take pictures of knitters in front of her and behind her, but when you looked around it wasn't only that corner - there were knitters everywhere on that flight! On the flight to Helsinki there weren't as many knitters, but the flight attendant was interested in the Ipana cardigan I was knitting, and told me I had 25 minutes to finish it before landing. Well, I didn't quite make it, but I read half of my book and almost finished the body of the cardigan, so it was a productive journey home.

Awesome dress at Woolyknit stand

What a perfect weekend! I would highly recommend EYF for anyone interested in knitting. Thank you to the organisers for making everything work so smoothly and for making such an awesome festival happen!

Let me introduce my latest design for you: Sylphide Sweater! It's knitted sideways from sleeve to sleeve, starting and ending with garter stitch cuffs. At the shoulder the neckline is created by splitting the work into front and back panels which are re-joined at the opposite shoulder. Stitches are dropped along the way, creating horizontal lace stripes. The sweater is worked flat in one piece, then sides are seamed and, finally, a garter stitch hem is added by picking up stitches at the bottom. Choose a yarn that will give enough drape – a linen–silk–alpaca mix as pictured or a similar yarn. Please also note that you will be unraveling sts, so choose a yarn that unravels easily! Dolman sleeves are full length, tight at the cuffs and loose at the top with a low armhole turning into body. The top is designed to fit loose against the body and sit on the hip. Measure your hip (about 5 cm/2” above the fullest part of your hip) to determine correct size. This light sweater is perfect for warm spring days and chilly summer nights.




This design is a collaboration with WalkCollection. You can see the sweater live at WalkCollection stand at Edinburgh Yarn Festival this weekend!