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What makes all other work come to a screeching halt? The long-awaited delivery of Japanese designer Hitomi Shida’s Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible.*
This stitch dictionary had been on my pre-order list for many months, and when it came in the mail I did a loud SQUEE! (yes, out loud) and maybe a happy dance. Then I sat myself right down and started swatching.
The Charlotte Hat
My very first swatch became a design, the Charlotte Hat for women. My enthusiastic test knitters** got their hats knit in record time. One knitter said, “This hat’s a winner!”
The stitch pattern is a combination of ripples, lace and garter stitch which is easy to set up and memorize. The crown shaping maintains the pattern to create an 8-pointed star. It’s written for worsted-weight yarn knit in the round on 16″ [40 cm] circular and double-pointed needles, but of course you can use Magic Loop or the two-circular method of knitting in the round if you prefer. Both text and charted instructions are included.
I used Cascade Yarns Cascade 220 in #8010 Natural for one version and Brown Sheep Company Nature Spun Worsted in N85W Peruvian Pink for another.
Newer knitters looking for a little challenge or more experienced knitters looking for interesting-but-not-difficult, this one’s for you.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to my knitting. There are more exquisite stitch patterns to explore.
The Inspiration
For more beautiful stitch patterns, check out the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida, translated by Gayle Roehm..
For more fun with knit ripple patterns, take my new Reimagining Ripples class at Stitches West 2018.
*Watch for more on this book in the next couple of weeks.
**Thanks to Jan, Ruth, Mary, Ruth, Penny, Robin and Beverly.
