As I mentioned in my last post, I am working on my third Kildrummy. (A handspun version this time around). After I wrote that post it occurred to me that I had never written an formal blog post on my first two Kildrummys.
The original design was created using two colors of The Plucky Knitter's Traveler Aran. A delectably squishy blend of merino, silk and yak. My goal was to design a cowl that would knit up quickly, yet still be fun and interesting to make, using two colors to create an ombre effect. I gave the cowl chunky cables on a garter stitch ground. Narrow garter stitch stripes transition broad bands of color from one, into the next. The garter stitch gives the cowl body, and allows the squishy, soft yarn to shine. It also makes for quick knitting. Since every other round – with the exception of the cable rounds – is a plain knit round.
Since Sofie and Izzy love a chunky, chunky cowl, and I love playing with color combinations, I knit a second Kildrummy using two colors of Malabrigo Chunky. For this version I modified the pattern by casting on fewer stitches to accommodate the larger gauge. (This pattern is very easily modified to accommodate just about any gauge yarn.) To make this chunky version, I used a skein each of Polar Morn and Pearl Ten that I bought at Trillium Yarns. Izzy took this one back up to school with her within minutes of finishing the photo shoot.
This pattern will knit up quickly for last minute Christmas knitting, and you probably have two skeins of yarn in your stash that you can use to make one. And don't forget, my pattern sale continues until midnight tonight, so there's still time to get Kildrummy (and any of my other patterns) for 20% off. Just use coupon code CRAFTFRIDAY.
and Ravelry.
Now available from Penguin Random House.
