Tag Archives: Leylak

Leylak Knitted by Dawn Adair

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I wanted to add some colour to your day, so here is skilled test knitter and patron Dawn Adair’s Leylak wearing size medium, knitted in the hand dyed Woolbearers SW Merino DK in Toffee using a 4 mm/US 6 needle. Dawn emailed me asking if she could modify the wings to be triangular ribbed inserts instead during the test knit. I agreed and was curious to see how it would look. The result is stunning, in my opinion. On her project page on Ravelry, Dawn writes: “Turned out perfect – style and fit! As always, another gorgeous design and well-written pattern”. Thank you ever so much for these wonderful photos!

I am so thrilled to hear it and think the colour and style suits her so well!

Here is my introduction to the pattern: Named after the Turkish leylak, the lilac tree, is this flowery cabled a-line cardigan with sidewings. The delicate cables, by Norah Gaughan, reminiscent of the lilac blossoms adorn the fronts, the back and the sleeves. Leylak ends in reverse stockinette stitch in a deep round neckline with a double neck- and buttonband. The jacket is knitted in the divine hand dyed Walk Collection Merino DK yarn, in pieces and seamed for the ultimate fit. To crown Leylak, make the cowl to act as a collar in excess yarn held together with the stunning Kid Mohair Lace.

The Leylak pattern is available in sizes XS to 5XL, with a bust circumference of 82 to 156 cm/32.25 to 61.5″ and a gauge of 22 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch using a 4 mm/US 6 needle measuring 10 cm/4″ square, in both English and Norwegian on Ravelry and on LoveCrafts.

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Leylak Knitted by Anja Helen Storø Hansen

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I am pleased to introduce another of my regular test knitters, Norwegian Anja Helen Storø Hansen, aka FlowerBirds on Ravelry, wearing her Leylak knitted in size 2XL in Hillesvåg Ullvarefabrikk, Huldra kamgarn held together with HK Lace. Anja first test knitted for me back in 2013 and has had a break due to her own pattern writing but also a year of strong chemotherapy and stem cell therapy. On her project page she continues “..I needed to put myself to the test. I would like an answer on whether I am able to test and knit a complicated pattern with a given deadline.”

“The answer is YES, my hands work, my head starts working again, the same with my eyes. AND I finished by the deadline”. I think the jacket looks stunning on her! Anja is a podcasts in Norwegian and one of her episodes is called: “Tilbake til livet“/Back to life. Her other episodes are about her knitting and sewing, see them here: YouTube.com.

Anja used a 2.5 mm/US 1.5 and a 3.25 mm/US 3 needle, instead of the recommended 4 mm/US 6 due to her yarns, to achieve the pattern gauge of 22 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch gauge.  Thank you so much, both for test knitting and for these gorgeous photos, Anja!

Named after the Turkish leylak, the lilac tree, is this flowery cabled a-line cardigan with sidewings. The delicate cables, by Norah Gaughan, reminiscent of the lilac blossoms adorn the fronts, the back and the sleeves. Leylak ends in reverse stockinette stitch in a deep round neckline with a double neck- and buttonband. The jacket is knitted in the divine hand dyed Walk Collection Merino DK yarn, in pieces and seamed for the ultimate fit. To crown Leylak, make the cowl to act as a collar in excess yarn held together with the stunning Kid Mohair Lace.

The Leylak pattern is available in sizes XS to 5XL with bust measurements from 82 to 158 cm/32.25 to 61.5″, from my Ravelry Store and from LoveCrafts.

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Leylak Knitted by Irina

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Let me introduce you to Irina, the knitting-princess on Ravelry and Instagram, who has test knitted this stunning version of my Leylak design. Irina is indeed a knitting princess as she does “… a lot of charity projects, and some for gifts. I also really like doing test and samples, because it makes me feel like I’m more a part of the process of a pattern”, as she writes on her profile page on Ravelry. To make sure you remember her name, Irina is wearing a crown in her finished project photos. She test knitted size XS for me and used the soft Schurwollkammgarn by Seehawer & Siebert in a divine royal blue colour. The yarn is thicker than the sample yarn I used so Irina used much smaller needles to achieve gauge (22 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch measures 10 cm/4″ square); 2.25 mm/US 1, 3.25 mm/US3 and 3.5 mm/US 4 instead of 4 mm/US 6 and 4.5 mm/US 7.

If you wonder how long it took her to make it, I can reveal that it took her “…57 hours and 40 minutes to knit including weaving in ends and sewing pieces together.” That is an impressive speed! I did not track my hours, but I can tell you that I used a lot longer making the sample with bigger needles.

I love these playful photos, which were taken on a playground close to her previous home in Germany, by a friend. Irina moved to Georgia in the US, recently. It shows the sidewing construction of the cardigan so well! In the notes part of the pattern you will find this information: The asymmetric lower body has extra width in each side – sidewing – that is bound off. Each front has 3 cm/1.25” extra width at center front that is bound off at the same time as the wing, then joined with the buttonband at the end.

Irina, the knitting princess, writes that it fits perfectly and that she is super pleased with it! I am so honoured to hear it! Thank you so much, Irina!

The Leylak pattern, in sizes XS to 5XL, is available in both English and Norwegian on Ravelry and on LoveCrafts. I look forward to showing you more stunning versions of my Leylak design!

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Leylak Knitted by Ronelle

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I am so delighted to show you Ronelle’s Leylak, which she test knitted for me in size Large using Filatura di Crosa, Zara (Print Melange). A friend of hers took these brilliant photos of Ronelle wearing the Leylak jacket in her home town of Sulmona, Abruzzi in Italy. Ronelle modified the jacket by making the front neck less deep, made the button band wider as her buttons were larger and adjusted the cable pattern so that the cable crossing would not be interfered by the shaping. On her Ravelry project page – where she is charme – you can see even more photos of this stunning version together with the hat she made of the yarn she had left over! Ronelle has knitted so many of my designs, I am honoured to say! Thank you so much, Ronelle!

Here is a side view of Ronelle’s Leylak, that shows off the ribbing in the side as well as a bit of the sidewing. The cardigan is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed. The asymmetric lower body has extra width in each side – sidewing – that is bound off. Each front has 3 cm/1.25” extra width at center front that is bound off at the same time as the wing, then joined with the buttonband at the end. Due to the asymmetrical cable pattern the number of purl stitches in the side ribbing varies from back to front.

Named after the Turkish leylak, the lilac tree, is this flowery cabled a-line cardigan with sidewings. The delicate cables, by Norah Gaughan, reminiscent of the lilac blossoms adorn the fronts, the back and the sleeves. Leylak ends in reverse stockinette stitch in a deep round neckline with a double neck- and buttonband. The jacket is knitted in the divine hand dyed Walk Collection Merino DK yarn, in pieces and seamed for the ultimate fit. To crown Leylak, make the cowl to act as a collar in excess yarn held together with the stunning Kid Mohair Lace.

Leylak is available in sizes XS to 5XL with a bust circumference of 82 to 156 cm/32.25 to 61.5″ and knits to a DK yarn gauge of 22 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch using a 4 mm/US 6 needle measuring 10 cm/4″ square. The pattern is available in both English and Norwegian in my Ravelry store and on LoveCrafts. A yarn kit, without the pattern, is available from Walk Collection.

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Leylak Pattern Released and KAL 2020

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I am thrilled to present my Leylak pattern. It has been released on Ravelry – soon also on Love Crafts – in both English and Norwegian. My test knitters did a fantastic job correcting and improving the pattern and I look forward to present some of their projects at a later time. I knitted the sample in the divine Walk Collection Merino DK in the shade “Flieder” which also means “Lilac” in German, just as the pattern name does in Turkish in size Small but I have graded the pattern from sizes XS to 5XL. The sample was brilliantly photographed by Eivind Røhne, worn by the gorgeous Olivia Lindtein, with hair & make-up by Sissel Fylling. I also choose to use a detail of the Leylak for my discount offer for my KAL – Knit-A-Long – in my Ravelry group for any of my designs, see below.

Named after the Turkish leylak, the lilac tree, is this flowery cabled a-line cardigan with sidewings. The delicate cables, by Norah Gaughan, reminiscent of the lilac blossoms adorn the fronts, the back and the sleeves. Leylak ends in reverse stockinette stitch in a deep round neckline with a double neck- and buttonband. The jacket is knitted in the divine hand dyed Walk Collection Merino DK yarn, in pieces and seamed for the ultimate fit. To crown Leylak, make the cowl to act as a collar in excess yarn held together with the stunning Kid Mohair Lace.

Sizes: XS (S, M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL, 4XL, 5XL)
Shown in size Small
Skill level: Experienced

Finished measurements:
Bust: 82 (90, 98, 106, 116, 126, 136, 146, 156) cm/32.25 (35.5, 38.5, 41.75, 45.75, 49.5, 53.5, 57.5, 61.5)” plus 2 cm/0.75″ buttonband.
Hip after wings: 94 (102, 110, 118, 128, 138, 148, 158, 168) cm/37 (40.25, 43.25, 46.5, 50.5, 54.25, 58.25, 62.25, 66.25)”
Length: 70 (71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78) cm/27.5 (28, 28.25, 28.75, 29.25, 29.5, 30, 30.25, 30.75)”
Sleeve length: 49 (50, 50, 50, 51, 51, 51, 52, 52) cm/19.25 (19.75, 19.75, 19.75, 20, 20, 20, 20.5, 20.5)”
Peplum width: 17 cm/6.75″
Peplum length: 20 cm/7.75″
Cowl: 54 cm/21.25″ wide and 20 cm/8″ high.
Intended ease: + 5-10 cm/2-4″. Sample shown is 90 cm/35.5″ and worn with + 7 cm/2.75″ ease on model.

Yarn: Walk Collection, Merino DK (100% Superwash Merino, 100 g, 225 m/246 yds)
Sample is knitted in Flieder:
Cardigan: 7 (8, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11, 12, 13) skeins; 1525 (1660, 1795, 1963, 2131, 2299, 2467, 2635, 2803) m/1668 (1815, 1963, 2147, 2330, 2514, 2698, 2882, 3065) yds.
Cowl: 1 skein; 140 m/153 yds held together with
KidMohair Lace (70% mohair, 30% silk, 50 g, 420 m/459 yds) held together with Merino DK for Cowl, both in Flieder:
Cowl: 1 skein: 152 m/166 yds.
https://www.walkcollection.com

Needles: 4 mm/US 6 straight needle.
3.5 mm/US 4 circular needle (80 cm/32″) for neckband and buttonband.
4.5 mm/US 7 circular needle for cowl.
Adjust needle size as needed to match gauge.

Notions: 11 (11, 11, 11, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12) buttons (20 mm – 13/16″) from Razzle Dazzle Corner on Etsy: Vintage Pink Lilac White Streaked Convex size Medium.
Stitch markers (removable), cable needle and yarn needle.

Gauge: 22 sts and 30 rows in st st using a 4 mm/US 6 with Merino DK, after blocking measures 10 cm/4″ square.
18 sts and 28 rows in st st using 4.5 mm/US 7 with 1 strand of Merino DK and 1 strand of KidMohair Lace for cowl, after blocking measures 10 cm/4″ square.
20-sts cable repeat measures about 8 cm/3.25″ across.
50-sts cable measures 19 cm/7.5″ across.

Notes: The cardigan, knitted in Merino DK, is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed. The asymmetric lower body has extra width in each side – sidewing – that is bound off. Each front has 3 cm/1.25″ extra width at center front that is bound off at the same time as the wing, then joined with the buttonband at the end. Due to the asymmetrical cable pattern the number of purl stitches in the sides varies from back to front. The cowl, knitted in 1 strand of Merino DK held together with 1 strand of KidMohair Lace, is worked in the round.

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New Design: Leylak

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I am thrilled to show you my new design Leylak, knitted in the gorgeous hand dyed Walk Collection Merino DK in Flieder. The yarn was generously sponsored by Cathrin Walk who I met, through Isabel Kraemer, at Barcelona Knits last year. My plan was to work on the Ataraxia silhouette with its peplum and make the same silhouette without the peplum but with the wings. Instead of a collar I wanted to make a cowl and asked for one skein of Cathrin’s KidMohair Lace in the same colourway. I knitted Leylak using a 4 mm/US 6 needle with a 22 stitches and 30 rows in stockinette stitch gauge measuring 10 cm/4″ square. My husband took these photos of me wearing size S, a few minutes from our house, down by the Rødnessjøen in Ørje. The pattern will be graded from size XS to 5XL.

Named after the Turkish leylak, the lilac tree, is this flowery cabled a-line cardigan with sidewings. The delicate cables, by Norah Gaughan, reminiscent of the lilac blossoms adorn the fronts, the back and the sleeves. Leylak ends in reverse stockinette stitch in a deep round neckline with a double neck- and buttonband. The jacket is knitted in the divine hand dyed Walk Collection Merino DK yarn, in pieces and seamed for the ultimate fit. To crown Leylak, make the cowl to act as a collar in excess yarn held together with the stunning Kid Mohair Lace.

The cable itself is one found in Norah Gaughan’s inspiring Knitted Cable Sourcebook. It seemed so perfect with its delicate look, even though it is a very time consuming cable to work, with a few rows where you need to be aware of changes as cables end or begin abruptly. But I do believe the cabling to be rewarding in the end, I must say.

The cardigan is worked back and forth in separate pieces and seamed. The asymmetric lower body has extra width – sidewing – in each side that is bound off. Each front has 3 cm/1.25″ extra width at center front that is bound off at the same time as the wing, then joined with the buttonband at the end. Waist shaping is worked in the sides.

Here is a detail of the neck and the cowl. You can also see how perfect in colour and texture the vintage buttons are. I found the buttons online, first I searched in Oslo, before the Corona virus, then online in both Norwegian stores including Epla (a Norwegian version of Etsy), before I found some on Etsy from an Italian store – vintage buttons in plastic in the perfect colour even though they are a bit big. The shop is called Razzle Dazzle Corner with an owner from Bologna, Italy, and specialises in vintage haberdashery, clothing & accessories.

I am planning to launch the Leylak pattern on September 9th and to begin the test knitting in July, allowing extra time since it is far from a quick knit.

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