Category Archives: Simply Knitting

Buttercup

Buttercup 4ply v-neck Cardigan

Wow. I’ve just realised I haven’t made a blog post in 8 months! This has gone by so quickly, I’ve wanted to write something and share photos, but I had to keep super quiet about what I was spending all my free time making. There will be a lot more about this in the next post!

This post for me to celebrate the fact I finally designed a garment! It’s a very simple 4ply v-neck cardigan, which was exactly what I was looking for at the time and I decided to take the plunge. It wasn’t a particularly big plunge, as I spend all day Monday to Friday checking numbers for other designers’ garments, it just took me a while to get around to working everything out from scratch. And knitting it. And deciding what to do with the neckband.

I digress. I designed this pattern using Knitpicks Palette which is 4ply weight, 100% wool and comes in every colour under the sun. I didn’t even set out to design anything, it was just what I was after at the time, and I found there was a surprisingly small amount of patterns for similar v-neck cardigans in 4ply on Ravelry, so I ended up crunching a few numbers. I’m planning to make at least 3 more, it’s a real staple cardigan and I love the neckline. The yarn is lovely, it knits up really neatly, though I have noticed it start to pill a little so I will keep an eye on that. The best thing is, it’s cheap at £3.75 for 211m/50g balls, and I only needed about 4.5 balls to knit the size 8.

The cardigan is worked flat in stocking stitch with a garter stitch neck band and is sized from a UK 8-26 (bust 81-127cm or 32-50in). The pattern is available in Issue 133 (May 2015) of Simply Knitting magazine, which is out now (in all good newsagents!) or you can buy a digital issue here:

Fair Isle Mittens pattern in Simply Knitting 115

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Here is the second of my patterns published in the new issue of Simply Knitting, available on the 6th December. These mittens are seriously cosy, knitted in Blacker Swan Falkland Islands wool DK, which sooo soft! The pattern came about by mistake when I was charting an old vintage chevron pattern and messed it up, so I flipped it over and ended up with this.

The pattern is a simple two-colour Fair Isle design which is fun to create. The mittens are knitted in the round, increasing for the thumb, which is then added on afterwards. The pattern is charted clearly and is available in 3 sizes – Women’s Small-Large and Men’s large.

Simply Knitting issue 115 (January 14) is available on the 6th Dec (in all good newsagents!) and also contains my slip-stitch “Cute Cabled Socks” pattern. You can also purchase the magazine online it at myfavouritemagazines, where it will be available for 6 months, or as a digital issue from iTunes or Zinio.

Cabled Socks Pattern in Simply Knitting 115

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I’ve got two patterns in the new issue of Simply Knitting, so I’ll start with these cabled socks, which appear in the free supplement.

Knitted in Rowan Fine Art, I played around with cable slip stitch patterns to show of the variegation of the yarn.

Photo © Philip Sowels Future Publishing

The pattern is easy to learn as the repeat is only 4 rows, which make these socks a great tv knitting project. They are worked top down on 2mm needles, the ribbing designed to flow nicely into the pattern.

Photo © Philip Sowels Future Publishing

This yarn is scrummy to work with – 45% wool, 20% mohair, 10% silk and 25% polyamide, making these socks really soft and cosy! I love how each of the slipped stitches shows up as a different colour.

Simply Knitting issue 115 (January 14) is available for £4.99 on the 6th Dec (in all good newsagents!) You can also purchase online it at myfavouritemagazines, where it will be available for 6 months, or as a digital issue from iTunes or Zinio.

The mittens in the top right corner of the mag are also my design – I’ll be posting about them tomorrow!

Coffee Mug Hugs in Simply Knitting

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Issue 108 of Simply Knitting will be hitting the shops soon and my cup cosies are front page news! (The little picture next to the number 24)

The idea was to create three mug hugs in varying patterns and colours. I chose Erika Knight’s British Blue Wool, as it comes in the teensiest cutest little 25g balls and every colour is delicious. The cosies range from a fairly simple knit and purl chequered rib pattern to twisty lace and a fun cabled pattern, and each are tapered slightly to fit neatly around your take-away coffee cup.

The blue cabled cosy is actually my favourite but it isn’t so visible in this picture. It’s tricky taking a photo of a glossy page in strip lighting, so here’s a shot of it on my desk..

The cosies were a really quick, fun knit, and it was a nice chance to play with Erika’s squishy 100% Blue Faced Leicester. The only downside is, now I’m craving a cardigan in it!

Cupcake Pin Cushion Pattern in Simply Knitting

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I’ve been so busy this week I totally forgot to mention my pin cushion pattern in the May issue (106) of Simply Knitting magazine! It’s a cute little project to go with the free set of 3mm (US 2) DPN’s that come with the issue. Currently my version is serving it’s purpose quite nicely on my desk, where not only does it brighten the place up a bit, it keeps all my pins handy for when I need to grab them quickly!

It’s a simple pattern that can be created in an evening or two, and is great for those of you new to knitting in the round. It begins with an icord cast on, so you don’t need to worry about joining in the round or twisting stitches. The mag is available worldwide through the Simply Knitting website in both print and digital versions.

In other news this week I have been mostly knitting Fair Isle socks! They should be finished by the weekend so I will post photos soon. For “in-progress” shots join me on Instagram!

Free Knitted Bunting Pattern!

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If you’ve been following my blog and Instagram lately you might have seen a few pictures of my free knitted bunting pattern! This was a design for Simply Knitting and The Knitter, which we used in workshops over the weekend at the Spring Knitting and Stitching Show at Olympia.

Photo by Jesse Wild

A few of you have asked if the pattern is available, and I am happy to say that yes, it is! You can now download the pattern for free here and from the Simply Knitting website.

I went along to the show on Thursday and was on hand to help anyone who felt like joining in. We provided a nice space for new and experienced knitters to put their feet up and click their needles for a bit, and in the process met some lovely people. The free workshops ran from 11-3.15, Thursday to Sunday, and each of us on the team took part in a day at the show, showing newbies the ropes and chatting with some of the more speedy folk.

Photos by Jesse Wild

I’d have loved to have stayed longer to have a look around, and even check out Somerset House’s “Wool House” if I hadn’t been booked in a taxi home, but alas that shall have to wait! There are so many things to see and do in London..

All in all it was a successful weekend and we all had a great time – hopefully those of you that joined in enjoyed it too!

Click here for all my published and downloadable patterns

Faye Perriam-Reed

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