on Patons

From the comments on my Urban Aran and my last post, it seems I’m getting people to take another look at Patons designs. While their more recent pattern booklets have been all about crazy fluffy/shiny/furry stuff, they actually have some very nice patterns in the older booklets! I really like this one, from Indigo Days:

I also like the cover sweater from that booklet:

And for those that asked, the sweater I showed in my last post (“Cabled Pullover with Hood”) is from their “Chunky Knits” booklet. I like the cover sweater of that one too, although I don’t think bell sleeves that big would be terribly practical!

I think Patons is definitely worth taking a look at – I also like their Classic Wool, although it pills something fierce. It’s rather cheap and plentiful though, and comes in great colours. I’m not sure when I’ll use it again because of the pilling, but I do so love my Must Have cardigan (from “Street Smart”) and I wear it extremely often!

In other knitting news, I finished the first sleeve of Nordic Memories! I think it looks and feels awesome (I’m using Knitpicks Merino Style), but my colourwork is, well, kinda crappy. Very uneven. Sometimes a row of motifs or two is just fine, sometimes too loose (not often too tight). I think it’s the colourwork on the wrong side that’s screwing me up – my purl stitches are already looser than my knit stitches; throw in trying to keep 7-stitch floats loose and it’s all a bit dicey.

And egged on by all your, uh, encouragement, I bought a bunch of stuff off Elann today – 18 skeins of highland chunky in “oxford grey heather” and 10 skeins of baby cashmere in “pewter” (hmmm…do I like grey?). I also purchased the patons “Chunky Knits” booklet from them.

Oh, we all know I would’ve bought the yarn anyway, encouragement or not!


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

12 responses to “on Patons”

  1. Emy Avatar

    Hmm…indigo..I love denim yarn! In fact, I just managed to negotiate with my yarn supplier to get the last remaining batch of denim yarns. :P

  2. Brenda Avatar
    Brenda

    Hi,
    The purl colourwork is why Elizabeth Zimmermann only ever worked in the round. You could do that for your sweater too – even the sleeves. Otherwise, EZ recommends stretching the work way to the ‘just finished side’ when doing a floatl That will guarantee that the float is loose. Better loose than tight. Especially with wool, as the little barbs will fasten it down. Hope this helps you as much as your blog helps me.
    B

  3. Roxanne Avatar

    I have the Patons Chunky Knits pattern book already…loved it and had to have it!! Patons isn’t so bad…for some things… ;)

  4. Tanya Avatar

    I am just finishing up a cutaway jacket using Patons Grace. It’s been surprisingly nice to work with; hope it holds up. Oh, and just finished you’re Cavern Cardi – love it!!

  5. Lisa Avatar

    Paton’s patterns are great! I have both of those books, now I just have to find the time to knit them.

  6. Stacey Avatar

    I now (thanks to you) have both books on order. I do like some of their older stuff more than their newer glitzy stuff. Next, to find yarn…

  7. Chris Avatar

    Whatever you might see as the shortcomings of your sleeve, it’s still about 200% better than any colorwork I’ve ever done. :)

  8. Yarn Abuse Avatar

    Oh my, Patons, I had no idea.

  9. Areli Avatar

    Thanks for the info on the Patons booklets, I’ll have to check those out.

    Your Nordic Memories sleeve looks great, I like the colors you chose.

  10. Latoya Avatar

    Thanks for letting me know about the Paton’s wool. I was in Joann’s and eyeing it for a project. I didn’t know about the peeling.

  11. Neola Jane Meyers Avatar
    Neola Jane Meyers

    Don’t worry about minor uneveness, I knit bicoloured mitts for both adults and kids, lately in Elann’s Peruvian Highland Wool on four needles, they look worse than lace on the needles. Turn them inside out and wash well, stretching and pulling the yarn in all directions gently and the whole thing evens out.
    The really important thing, again from EZ, is however you manage the two yarns, don’t ever change, with in a garment. I knit with one yarn in each hand, with the backround or darker colour in my left hand and the lighter or pattern colour in my right.

  12. Stacey Avatar

    I know you got the Highland Chunky – do you think it’s soft or scratchy? I plan on wearing a tshirt under it, but I hate when some wools have tons of guard hairs that stick through……I think I’ll do a chocolate brown…

Leave a Reply to Stacey Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *