Jen Arnall-Culliford Knitwear

What's in a Number?

Last week, somebody on Twitter posted a link to this table from positiveintegers.org (I really apologise for not making a note of who it was). It was billed as a useful resource for designers because it lists all of the factors of the numbers between 101 and 200 so you know at a glance which numbers of stitches will fit to a particular stitch pattern.

But then it really got me thinking. What if you're working on something with a change in the number of stitches in a repeat. Let's say you have a sweater with a 2x2 rib at the bottom and a 7 stitch body pattern, you can find the number closest to the size you want that will give you both. Similarly if you want to decrease evenly, you can see how many decreases you can make and cross reference against the resulting number of stitches to check whether a second decrease of similar size is possible.

I should have been doing other things, so of course I looked through for the really useful numbers - those with a large number of factors. This was when I discovered something that probably everyone else knows: 168 is a really, really useful number. OK, so it doesn't have 5 or 10 as factors, nor does it have the largest number of factors in the range, but, if we can get over our having 5 fingers on each hand for a minute, it does have plenty to work with (16 in total) and it isn't a number that springs immediately to mind.

So will I be changing how I work out stitch counts? Well, in all honesty, probably not. I'm still firmly wedded to using a spreadsheet for grading as exact numbers of pattern repeats (particularly for larger numbers of stitches) don't always give the right interval between sizes and cross referencing is much quicker. I will however bookmark it as a starting point when looking to combine two stitch patterns.

Geeky mind dump over.

June Pattern Round-Up

Much of June was taken up with promotion work, but there have still been a few patterns that have crossed our desks and been published. 

Summer is most definitely shawl season, and Bristol Ivy's eye-catching Rillmark stands out from the crowd.

It takes its name from the marks left in the sand by the retreating water once a wave has broken on a beach. It has a clever construction in the way that increases are worked not only in the body of the shawl, but also in the edging without any obvious break in the pattern.

Conifer, a baby cardigan, is the latest release from Ella Austin's Colour and Line Collection. 

Any child wearing this beautiful cardigan will undoubtedly get jealous glances from all quarters.

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Photos © Bristol Ivy and Emma Solley (Ella Austin) respectively

April Pattern Round-Up

This last month has been (nearly) all about haps. As I write, we're waiting eagerly to see the first proofs for The Book of Haps so we can iron out creases. I'd love to show off all of the amazing photos, but can't........yet. 

This is not a hap

We haven't been exclusively working on big book projects this month though. I've been working little by little on a couple of projects that won't be released until later in the year. Both of us have also had techniques articles published in magazines. Jen's most recent was in The Knitter issue 96 on pleats and tucks, her latest favourite things in the whole world and I've written about different methods for decreasing in Simply Knitting issue 146.

Gudrun Johnston has refreshed her Tirrick shawl pattern, with re-edited instructions, new charts and new photographs. It is worked in wedge sections, followed by the edging. You may recognise Ella Gordon, this year's patron of Shetland Wool Week modelling.

© Gudrun Johnston

Gudrun also has a brand new cardigan, Islay. It is sized to fit anyone from baby to adult and features the diagonal lace patterning and an i-cord bind-off at the neck. 

© Gudrun Johnston

Bristol Ivy is incredibly clever with her designs. This is Occam, no ordinary garter stitch scarf.

© Bristol Ivy

It is simply stripes, but by careful use of increases and decreases, the stripes become more and more pointed into chevrons as you work along the scarf. Basically, it's a study in gradient pointyness.

In a month of cleverly designed neckwear, Ella Austin's second instalment from her Colour and Line collection really catches the eye. Her Rachel Castle inspired Venn scarf is essentially a tube that lies flat to give the impression of overlapping circles. Because all of the ends are within the tube, it looks the same on both sides.

© Emma Solley

Don't forget to join our Ravelry group to keep up to date with what we're up to.

 

Jim 

 

New Ravelry Group

We have finally succumbed to the inevitable, and set up a Ravelry group for all things Arnall-Culliford Knitwear. Do come and join us! Arnall-Culliford Knitwear on Ravelry

We will be chatting about knitting (of course!), our designs, new pattern releases from our clients, techniques and anything else we fancy! I should imagine that there will be knitalongs at some point (since I'm a big fan of this kind of collective endeavour). And with Jim around there is bound to be some witty repartee too.

Keep your eyes peeled for news of my biggest project to date, The Book of Haps, which I'm co-editing with Kate Davies, as well as other exciting projects in the pipeline...

Arnall-Culliford Knitwear on Ravelry

March Pattern Round Up - 2

March was a busy month for publishing patterns, so here's the second half of a post that should probably have been called, "What We've Been Up To."

Anyone familiar with Brooklyn Tweed's Wool People, Interweave Knits, or Pom Pom Quarterly will know the name Bristol Ivy. Her designs are innovative in their construction and she thinks about space in a way that would stop my brain dead for days. Jen worked on her Selkie Hat and Mitts for Taproot magazine. Taproot is not a knitting magazine, but a quarterly magazine for "makers, doers and dreamers." Looking at the website immediately put me in mind of Oh Comely, or Selvedge.

The cables in the hat and mitts are inspired by the myth of the selkie and movement of water on the shoreline, the ripple of seaweed just under the surface and the gentle patterning of a seal's skin.     

Selkie Hat and Mitts (Photo ©Carrie Bostick Hoge for Taproot)

Ella Austin publishes as Bombella and you may have seen her recent collection of colourwork animals, Dovestone Smallholding, with Baa Ram Ewe knits. Her Delta Hat and Mitts are the first patterns to be published from her graphic inspired Colour and Line collection. She is releasing a pattern a month and patterns can be bought singly, or altogether. I've misplaced my mitts that I wear in the office when it's chilly, so may have to whip up a pair of Deltas to stay warm until summer comes (if ever it does). 

 Sue Stratford runs The Knitting Hut and has a large back catalogue of knitted toys. That's not her only skill, as her Swanpool Cardigan shows. It is worked top down and features mock cable details on the yoke to give it an interesting look.

April has started busy and there should be plenty to share in a month's time. Hopefully I'll be able to share some sneaky peeks from the Book of Haps too!

 

Jim 

March Pattern Round Up - 1

Hi, I'm Jim. I've been half of Arnall-Culliford Knitwear Ltd. since last September. One of the most common questions I was asked when I changed jobs was, "What exactly will you be doing?" So, for those who've asked that question, here's what I've been up to.

Each month I'll be putting together a digest of published projects and patterns that we've worked on. March has been particularly busy, so I'll split things in half.

We pattern write and check for both Stylecraft and Yarn Stories and it's deeply satisfying to see the designer's intentions translated into a garment, particularly when you've really had to work hard to produce a pattern that works for a range of sizes. The Botanics collection from Yarn Stories has a range of spring/summer garments and we're both really pleased with how they all look, but particularly those we worked on.  

Sequoia (Photograph ©Charlotte Johnson)

 After turning out extra sizes for Mary-Jane Mucklestone's Stopover sweater, featured in the Mason-Dixon Knitting blog's Bang Out a Sweater KAL, the next pattern we looked at for her was the Nash Island Sweater. Designed to be a throw on/throw off affair, it is knit in flat pieces and features a modified drop shoulder and a lace-up placket.  

Nash Island (Photo ©Kathy Cadigan)

  We're deep in edits for The Book of Haps that we're working on with Kate Davies. As someone who is never not thinking about design, she's published three new patterns in the last month.

Funyin is exactly what is sounds like - a fun hat. Inspired by a Hornsea Pottery cruet set, designed by John Clappison, it really is eyecatching.  

Photo ©Kate Davies Designs

 Miss Rachel's Yoke and Gauntlets are named after Rachel Kay Shuttleworth, founder of the textile collection at Gawthorpe Hall, near Burnley. The colourwork on the yoke of the sweater and the gauntlets was inspired by a Kashmir shawl from the collection. 

Miss Rachel's Yoke and Gauntlets (Photo ©Kate Davies designs)

While all of these have a different feel and style, we pride ourselves in making sure that the patterns are concise but comprehensive to ensure that anyone can have a go at making anything that crosses our desks.

There's loads more to share with you and that will be in the next round-up post.

  

Jim

Musings on construction

I've been thinking a great deal about the different ways to achieve outcomes in knitting over the last few months (actually, I've probably been thinking about it since I started knitting 10 years ago). There are many ways to get to a similar end point - say a cardigan. Some will favour knitting in pieces and seaming, others will do anything to avoid a seam and will knit the body flat and the sleeves in the round. You can then choose whether to start at the bottom and knit up, or whether to start at the neck and work down. Depending on the sleeve construction, you may pick up the sleeves and work down to cuffs, regardless of which direction the body was worked in. And you can even choose to add a few stitches as a bridge at the centre front (a steek), and work everything in the round, cutting the steek later. Or work from side to side, starting at one cuff and working across to the other.

So with all these choices available, how do you decide which route to take? Much will come down to personal preference:
To seam or not to seam?
Would you rather work flat or in the round?

Other choices will be determined by the design itself:
Does the stitch pattern dictate one technique or another?
Does your sleeve construction (raglan, set-in sleeves, yoke etc...) particularly lend itself to a construction?

And then there is the psychology of working on a project. I love the sense of acceleration you get as you work through the yoke of a seamless yoked sweater. The rounds get progressively shorter, and with the end in sight it seems to fly by. Having two sleeves left to work at the end of a sweater is my personal knitting black hole. Will these sleeves NEVER END?! Far better for me to get them out of the way early on, when my project enthusiasm is high. My Stopover sweater was a great example of this: By the time the sleeves and body were joined for the yoke, I could almost feel the warmth the finished sweater would give me. As well as the decreasing rounds, there was the excitement of the colourwork pattern at the top of the yoke, and once I reached that point, I just couldn't stop knitting.

The best thing about all this, is that despite what some may tell you, there are no wrong or right answers. It's your knitting, and you can work in whatever way suits you best!

I'm currently editing the A-MAZING designs for a book of Haps, that I'm working on with Kate Davies. The thirteen designs use a range of constructions, and I can't wait to tell you more about them over the coming months. My needles are itching already, and I might have made a cheeky yarn purchase too...

Toasty volume 2

I have the enormous privilege of editing for Rachel Coopey. I may have mentioned my love for her a few times before on the blog... But it never gets old. 

Rachel's latest book is the second in her Toasty series, showcasing the beautiful Titus 4ply from Baa Ram Ewe. This is a truly beautiful yarn. The colour palette is stunning, and it works brilliantly in both colourwork and in textured knits.

If you're thinking about knitting accessories over the next few months, then definitely check out the patterns in this collection. As well as the 7 hats there are also a pair of mittens and a lovely cowl - guaranteed to keep you snug as the temperature drops!

Jim and I worked on this collection over the summer and it's such a thrill to see our names together in a pattern book - more on this to come...

You can order a print copy of Toasty volume 2 from Rachel's online shop (and each print copy comes with a code to give you a copy of the eBook as well): Print Toasty 2 £12.00

Alternatively, if you're having the urge to CAST ON NOW, then you can download it instantly from Ravelry for £12.00. You will be Toasty!

Yokes!

With all of the children now at school, I have returned to a bit of editing work. It has been lovely to pick up the threads of life before I became this new "Mummy person". I've missed my regular Skype chats with clients, and I didn't realise quite how important it is for me to use my brain for more than the juggle of family scheduling, food and clothing stock control, and washing. I love those things too, but alone they aren't quite enough.

I've been doing a small amount of regular editing and writing work for Rachel Coopey since earlier in the year, and it's kept my toes in the water a bit. However, I really just dived in at the deep end in October, and worked on the secondary checking of Yokes for Kate Davies. What an amazing project to be a part of!

For the first time, I worked closely with another technical editor, Rachel Atkinson. Not only was it brilliant fun to be back working with Kate and Nic, but having someone to bounce technical questions off was also a joy. Boy did it feel good to be back!

If you've not yet seen a copy of Yokes, and you have any interest in knitting, fashion or textile history, then go and buy a copy! It's a great read over and above having eleven beautiful garments (all with a yoked construction, but not all recognisably classic yoked sweaters). Jim idly picked it up off the sofa, and later commented what an interesting read it was! Kate's research has taken her to Sweden, Iceland and Shetland, and the stories she's uncovered are fascinating.

I'm torn as to which garment to knit first - there are so many that leapt out at me...

         

These are my top 3... Ásta Sóllilja, Epistrophy and Fintry (the photos above will all enlarge if clicked on). Of the three, Fintry is the only one that I have suitable yarn for, so naturally that should be first. However, it's also the finest gauge at 4ply compared to DK for Epistrophy and Aran for Ásta Sóllilja. So I might have to make a strategic plan...

What a treat to work with such inspiring material! I spend a lot of time at my desk wishing I could edit and knit simultaneously!

I can't wait to share the next book project I've been involved in, which is about to go to press. Yay!

Yokes costs £19.99 for the eBook from Ravelry or £19.99 for a print and eBook copy from your local yarn shop or direct from Kate.

All images © Kate Davies Designs and used with permission

Super socks

It's gone to press, so it won't be long before I have a copy in my hands! Coop Knits Socks is the last complete book project that I technical edited before I went on adoption leave. It was an absolute delight to work with Rachel on a project - she was one of team Shetland last year, and we've been looking forward to geeking out over long-tail cast on methods and the rest ever since!

Nic did the layout for the book, so I had virtual coffee breaks with her on Skype too. It was excellent!

I had my first go at modelling for a proper book (as opposed to standing in for the gallery pages in The Knitter, or modelling my own knitwear). It was a bit scary, as Caroline and Jeni looked amazing in all their photos, but I think it worked out OK in the end!

Here we are, keeping warm in the beach hut just after lunch on the first day. I'm wearing the Saltburn socks, which are knitted in The Knitting Goddess Merino and Nylon Sock. The cable pattern is really lovely, and combined with the contrast cuff and toe, these were very popular on the shoot - we had to check Jeni's bag for them before she went home!

If you want to see the sensible shots, then head over to the Ravelry page for the design here: Saltburn. I figured, what's the point of blogging about it, if I don't share the daft out-take pictures with you? I'm not known for being sensible in front of the camera...

Here they are on Caroline's gorgeous feet - for a closer look at the lovely design. One of the things I love the most about Rachel's designs, is the attention to detail. She makes sure that the two socks are proper mirror images of each other, so there are often slightly different stitch patterns for the first and second socks. I love touches like this. It helps to stave off second sock syndrome!

The second pair of socks that I modelled were Saxifrage. These are cabled socks, knitted using Opal 4ply Solid - a great workhouse sock yarn. Perfect for wearing whilst perched on a ladder... :D

This book is (in my ever-so-slightly-biased-opinion) a must-buy for even infrequent sock knitters. The designs are stunning, and great knitting care has been taken at every stage of the production process. There are photo tutorials for Kitchener stitch, the long-tail cast on method and how to work an afterthought heel, as well as hints and tips to improve your sock knitting. If you'd like to buy a copy, you can get an eBook only from Ravelry for £14.00 or purchase the print book and get a free digital version too for just £15.00. It's a bargain, what are you waiting for? :) I'll be back shortly to tell you which of the designs I cast on first...