Tag: steeks

  • Another song / Òran eile

    Another song / Òran eile

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Good news this morning: our work is done and the Wester Ross book is away to the printers in Glasgow, which means we should be able to publish it around the middle of next month. I’m sure that in time, with the benefit of distance, I’ll be able to feel proud of this book –…

  • Denys Martin

    Denys Martin

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    a cold-weather cardigan for the Knitting Wester Ross club

  • Blue Monk

    Blue Monk

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    a twelve bar blues and a two-tone pullover

  • Powdermill

    Powdermill

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    A cardigan with kaboom!

  • Hirne

    Hirne

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    A cosy nook or corner

  • Sterntaucher

    Sterntaucher

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Designing hand-knit garments (and clear instructions for others to follow) can involve a lot of compromising, a lot of accepting that, for a multitude of reasons the finished thing won’t turn out quite as you initially envisaged. But sometimes you design something that looks and feels exactly as you expected. This design started with a…

  • What is a steek?

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    (Helen Stout, knitting in the round, Busta, 1950. Courtesy Shetland Museum and Archives). I have recently received a number of messages prefaced with this very question, and I thought that this rather basic introductory essay I wrote about knitting in the round, and steeking, might form a useful addition to my series of posts and…

  • Machrihanish

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I was very excited to have the opportunity to design the Machrihanish vest  and always enjoy knitting for Tom, who is its recipient and model. Tom often bemoans the general lack of shaping, and poor fit of men’s garments, so I like to knit him things that are well-fitting. Men’s knitted vest patterns rarely include…

  • finishing a steek

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    I have recently been designing and knitting a thing with steeks, which required finishing. This project is part of an exciting collaboration, and I’ll be able to tell you (and show you) more about it in a couple of weeks. When working on the steeks, it occurred to me how many different ways there are…

  • steeks and swants

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Anatolia by Marie Wallin So, have you seen Rowan Magazine 54 yet? I finally got my hands on a copy yesterday and there are some wonderful designs in there. My two favourites are probably Anatolia by Marie Wallin – a beautifully luscious yoked sweater knit up in rich shades of Felted Tweed – and Sarah…

  • Bláithín

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Ok, before I begin, allow me a moment: I think that this is probably the best photograph I have seen of myself in ages. I like it because I look comfortable and physically capable — concepts which, a couple of years ago seemed totally unimaginable. Few people seem to talk about just how bloody uncomfortable…

  • steek peek

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    At last! Some actual sunshine! We’ve been out taking photos of my new cardigan design, which will be released tomorrow. Heres a peek!

  • steeks 4: your questions answered

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    Why do you weave in your ends away from the steek centre? This is just a personal thing: I know that many knitters recommend just leaving the ends in the middle of the steek (as everything will be trimmed later), but I personally don’t like to do this. I want the back of the work…

  • steeks 3: the sandwich

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    In this post, I’m going to show you how to further reinforce (and cover) the cut edges of your steek using a techique that I’ve called “the steek sandwich.” There are many other methods of binding / covering steek edges – but this one works well, I think, for a steeked cardigan. The front edges…

  • steeks 2: reinforcing and cutting

    steeks 2: reinforcing and cutting

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    Kate Davies Designs
    in

    In this post I’m going to show you my preferred method for reinforcing a steek before cutting. My favourite method is the crocheted steek. Other methods are available, and I’m definitely not saying that this one is the “best” or the most “valid” or anything — it is simply the method that I like, and…

  • steeks 1: introduction

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    Kate Davies Designs
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    This is the first of three posts looking at steeks and how to reinforce, cut, and finish them. I thought I’d start right at the beginning: what is a steek? Put simply, a steek is a small bridge of knitted stitches that are additional to the main pattern. This bridge enables the knitter to work…