kathleen dames

knitwear design

[kathleendames]

Day 1 #fiberuary Hi! My name is Kathleen, and I am a knitter. My grandmother taught me when I was young but we lived far away from each other, so it wasn’t until I worked with a friend who knit that I finally learned for realsies. From the beginning I’ve wanted to create things my way (which freaked out my first LYS) and, when I figured out what I was doing, I wanted to share that with everyone, so I put my writing, editing, and art directing skills to work and started designing. I live in New York City and in this pic am enjoying lunch (with hot chocolate - it’s still v cold here) at @mariebelleofficial after dropping copies of my @onemorerowpress book I Knit New York off at @purlsoho After practicing being brave and outgoing on Periscope, I started The Sweater with Kathleen Dames podcast to help everyone catch the sweater-knitting bug. I talk a lot about being the boss of your knitting, being honest with yourself about things like swatches and measurements so that all your hard work will result in a garment you love (because you deserve it and handknits don’t have size tags), and the galloping horse test. Many thanks to beautiful friend @creativececi for starting the @fiberuarychallenge - I’m looking forward to meeting more wonderful knitters this month! (at MarieBelle) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtYpmVdFyDm/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1addw3q1qed7r

[kathleendames]

Fiber people! If you are in the greater San Francisco area, my micropress @onemorerowpress (we have two published books and another almost ready) is looking for you! #Repost @onemorerowpress with @get_repost ・・・ Our next destination is San Francisco! We want to work with knitwear designers, dyers, shepherds, and LYSes from Santa Rosa to SF and Berkeley to Santa Cruz (maybe a little further south, like to Monterey). We have started doing our own research but also know that there are plenty of talented fiber people we don’t know yet. If you are one of those ”fiber friends we haven’t met yet” or know someone who should be, please send an email to hello at onemorerowpress dot com. #knitlikealocal #iknitsanfrancisco #iksf #knittersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BtTe5J9Fd2f/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1k9hc3bcyhfsa

[kathleendames]

First night of VKL: so much fun seeing fiber friends! So grateful to my friend Liz for joining me for a crazy whirl around the marketplace and snapping some photos (in my excitement I forgot - see, enthusiasm sent some more important stuff right out the window). More fiber show advice: wear comfortable shoes (I’ll be commuting in sneakers today but there will be sparkle boots), come with a buddy if you can (bouncing ideas off someone is super helpful, whether it’s talking you off the ledge of buying something that’s too much or nudging you to go for it because you’ll regret not having that thing), and check your coat (it’s $4.50 this year, which is kind of annoying in terms of change, even for the coat check people I would imagine, but it can be warm in the market and you don’t want to be weighed down or any bulkier - I mean, we need to take up our space, but we also need room for friends and yarn). The first photo is from the @hi.ravelry meetup which was a great chance to see new and old friends (thanks @jessica.mf for organizing this - always lovely to see you!), the second from our stop at @brooklyngeneralstore booth once the craziness died down (isn’t Catherine’s sweater fabulous?!), and the last photo is some of Liz’s post-show therapy: a glass of wine while looking at stash - I snarfed a pile of 🥟 in my pjs and thought about what I want to add to my stash. Hope to see many more lovely people today and maybe snap some photos. Alice and I will be @knittycity from 2-3 and otherwise wandering and enjoying the show. #vogueknittinglivenyc (at Marriott Marquis) https://www.instagram.com/p/BtGexaqllfr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15zvnyvsena6p

[kathleendames]

Just a bunch of ends to weave in, but I am loving my new little poncho of peerie patterns. It needs a name, some adjustments to the written pattern (at the last minute I switched to a turned hem, which is 🔥), and then some testing. I used @backyardfiberworks California Dreaming six pack (but only five of the colors because I’m a twerp like that) plus a skein of Sock. This would look great as a two-color project, too. Anyway, I’m too excited to keep it secret. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bs_q8eHFq_s/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=117c3ms93p360

[kathleendames]

Test knitters, I am looking for you! I sent an email out to my tester list last week but would be happy to have a few more testers of the sweater I designed during November (my own sort of NaKniSweMo, which I talked about daily during the design/knit process over on my YouTube channel, so you could knit along with that if you’re new to colorwork). I could also use a few testers for the cowl I knit over winter break that you see here. The cowl is a quick colorwork project that doesn’t require perfect gauge (you’re just knitting a tube that will get scrunched down while you wear it - perfection is not needed here), so it’s great if you’re working on your stranded knitting technique, and you could do the flower bands in different colors, if you need a stash buster. Sign up for my tester list on my website, and we can get started. #enwreathedpullover #enwreathedcowl https://www.instagram.com/p/BsoZ0mzFDID/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=vj49dw6v0rl0

[kathleendames]

Now that we are getting more seasonal weather (I’m jinxing it, aren’t I), I’m loving my big cozy Brassaï shawl even more. Second photo shows you just how big it is. This is your chance to show off one of your treasured speckle skeins! Link in profile. #shawlknitting #knittersofinstagram #brassai #speckles https://www.instagram.com/p/BsYWZ7gFDKa/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=q20utl8h2ovs

[kathleendames]

In the middle of blocking Brassaï, George showed his true #woolpig colors even before I got the top of the shawl straight 😂 #brassai #shawlknitting #knittersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BsOTLPiloGp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=szfhbvu7ok9o

[kathleendames]

Last night’s swatch: @catsandwichfibers in a couple of crest of the wave variations that play so nicely with this variegation. I have two skeins that I picked up at NJSW, which is enough for a layering tee or a rectangular stole. What do you think? https://www.instagram.com/p/Br77m2OF3yq/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1ih7njaziqbwb

[kathleendames]

Unblocked cowl to go with sweater design that needs some work. It was a good Boxing Day. Now to decide on the next project out of the big travel knitting bag... https://www.instagram.com/p/Br5sUS8F0cC/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=wvokucxcilvf

[kathleendames]

Ooh, Christmas Eve FO! I had knit one Bonnie glove, like, a year ago then tucked it away in my @madderrootmaine project bag for work knitting. So, I grabbed my favorite DPN set from dear @hrhjbc and knit the second glove in the car. Now I have @julie_asselin Stella sparkly gloves for the winter! The Bonnie set first appeared in @knitfilament No. 1, consisting of i-cord gloves with a knit-purl chevron pattern on the back of the hand and a beret with the same pattern that is worked from the i-cord stem down employing EZ’s pi shaping. The original set was sized for our model’s delicate hands, so I knew I would eventually make a pair that would fit my long fingers. Who knew it would take *years* to do so. What will I pull out of the massive project bag next?! (at Rossford, Ohio) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrxiH2XFASe/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=15tfccgmcxaqc

[kathleendames]

Woods Are Lovely... is now available for lucky @woolywonkafibers Yule Club subscribers (the rest of you will have to wait a couple of months). Inspired by the classic Robert Frost poem, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, this shawl starts at the top right point of the triangle with bands of snowflakes alternating with bands of garter stitch and expanding out to form this handsome asymmetrical triangle. After whirling into a snowstorm, you will knit a forest of fir trees and finish with lacy fircones for a wavy edge. Stitch patterns are written and charted, and the whole thing knits up in two delicious, silky skeins of Wooly Wonka Fibers Nimue Sock, shown here in the divine Minerva colorway. If you aren’t one of Anne’s lucky subscribers, go favorite this one on Ravelry for the future. #woodsarelovely #shawlknitting #yule #woolywonkafibers P.S. There’s another shawl design that’s *almost* ready for you, so grab two contrasting skeins of sock yarn plus a mini... https://www.instagram.com/p/BrqzFykFUuv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1kdxc9buen6h5

[kathleendames]

Vushka! #happyplace #veselka #beetsfordays (at Veselka :: Beceлкa) https://www.instagram.com/p/BrYxAE2F9S3/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ju1briiw333b

[kathleendames]

Joy to the world. #joygarland #knittersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BrWTgeqliZr/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=6a3fexlqqij1

[kathleendames]

Looking for a cozy, pretty pair of mittens to knit up *and* a worthy cause to support? Me, too! Meet my Holly Berry Mittens in Bare Naked Wools Festivus Worsted (cozy inside mitten) and Kent DK (lacy outside mitten provided in both charted and written forms) from @knitspot . All proceeds go to the Red Scarf Project in partnership with the Foster Care to Success program, a wonderful charity that Anne and the Knitspot crew have supported for years. I am thrilled to contribute to this worthy cause. Visit my Designs page (profile link) for details - you can make additional donations on the Bare Naked Wools website from the link on the pattern page. #festivus #hollyberrymittens #redscarfproject #knittersofinstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/BqcqhreFsKx/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1f9ni73t0r9b5

[kathleendames]

Today is a day for all the knits here @nysheepwool (Hoarfrost beaded sweater in @woolywonkafibers and Cold Hands, Warm Heart in @sinceresheep from @knitfilament No. 5) Thanks @merrittbookstore for having us! #sheepandwoolfestival #merrittbookstore #rhinebeck2018 https://www.instagram.com/p/BpM9OIElKFv/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1c6czjhv9ma2a

[kathleendames]

Come see me authoring all day and talking at 2:00 in Book Alley. #sheepandwoolfestival #merrittbookstore #rhinebeck2018 #iknitparis #iknitnewyork (at Dutchess County Fairgrounds) https://www.instagram.com/p/BpMbBpLFZI1/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=o1c8qypleoth

[kathleendames]

A sweater in a week! Well, I have one more pocket to sew on but wore it out to the corner store last night. It needs a good block, then I can show off the little puff in the sleeve cuff. I am ridiculously pleased with myself. #rhinebecksweater https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo47egkFsrp/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ra6twce8kmy