Dear Knitter,

A knitted Saddle is a perpendicular panel across the shoulders that unites the front and back of a sweater. The way this strip sits on the wearer’s shoulder 
is akin to a horse’s saddle; thus the name. 

In lieu of sewing or weaving the shoulders together:
1.: If the sleeves are to be knitted down from cut armholes:stop knitting the body a few inches shy of wanted height, and cast-on sts to bridge the gap between front and back. Now work that strip back and forth, uniting it alternately to the raw sts of the f & b as you go.
2.: If the body and sleeves are joined at base of yoke, the center sleeve sts become the saddle, and are knitted onto raw f&b body sts.
   A saddle can be garter-stitch, stocking-stitch, color-pattern, or a cable (see photo).
  Elizabeth’s first design for this type was Newsletter #4 in 1960 (now in her book, The Opinionated Knitter).
    For me, it is most often worked on a bottom-up seamless sweater or cardigan, capping the top of the yoke. But you will see patterns that begin with the saddle-panels, like Elizabeth’s Epaulat Jacket in Knit One Knit All.
   Knitted saddles aren’t just for shoulders. In our most recent issue of Wool Gathering (#114, Shaded Shawl Collared Vest), Cully cleverly uses saddles to ‘fill-in’ the upper and lower sections of the back. See image below.

   EZ’s Zig-Zag Jacket (in Knit One Knit All) includes saddle panels along each side of the body.
   Because garter stitch is relatively ‘square’, it works very well to put a garter stitch saddle on a garter stitch garment. 
   When working with stocking stitch (where the stitch and row gauges are often unequal), some empirical testing may be necessary.  I have found myself occasionaly working 2 body sts together with the first & last saddle stitch: possibly working (sssk, and wool fwd slip 3 tog) every so often, depending upon the discrepancy between sts and rows. For a diagonally-color-patterned saddle, you may have nearly equal sts-to rows, and can attach 1:1.
   The video-technique used to attach the saddle to existing raw sts - or to picked-up sts - may also be used to unite a front to back at a side seam, and eliminate sewing. For the Round-the-Bend Jacket, I named it Sew-as-you-go.

A few other patterns that utilize saddles in one way or another. Click the blue Schoolhouse Press Patterns link below to see all of our patterns.

Schoolhouse Press Patterns

SPP 2 saddle heel(!) 

SPP 15 Two Guernseys

SPP 21 Turkish Ocean

SPP 31 Betts’ Autumn Fair Isle

SPP 37 Twisted St Peplum

SPP 42 Ribwarmer, Bea Arthur variation

SPP 46 Frame Saddle Jacket

SPP 49 Shirt Yoke

SPP 50 Saddle-Shoulder Aran

SPP 55 Baroque Saddle

SPP 68 Catnip Mouse TUM

SPP 78 Felipe’s Bird of Paradise

 

Dear Knitter,

Elizabeth Zimmermann's Knitter's Almanac, a beloved book, includes a chapter called "Christmas Fiddle-Faddle in the Wilds."

Fiddle-Faddle, indeed.

There is still time to make some holiday ornaments, just as I did yesterday! (images below). The stocking is my own design, with Elizabeth Zimmermann's Afterthought Heel, and I offer you instructions below. The star, tree, and doll are all Elizabeth's designs, instructions for which appear in her book, Knitter's Almanac. They are all small and fast to knit.

The Stars are only 5 rows, and take about that many minutes. The Trees are on more sts, but only 6 rows then folded and woven.

Make them plain or, like librarian Greg Cotton, multi-colored. Greg says, "For Christmas 2023 I knit 14 of Elizabeth's stars, and for Christmas 2024 I knit 14 of Elizabeth's trees!  Every Christmas I give each of my nieces and nephews a Christmas tree ornament...this year's (Legos ornaments!) is the 41st for the two oldest. The stars and trees were knit out of Spindrift and lovely they were." Below are some of Greg's renditions, pinned for blocking.

   

 

Meg's Christmas Stocking with EZ's After-Thought Heel (bottom, right)

I designed a tiny top-down Christmas stocking with EZ’s After-Thought Heel, as follows:

Shetland Spindrift. 7 sts to the inch on a US #3 for me.

Cast on 24. Join (I had 12 sts on each of two circs. You may prefer dp’s, or magic loop) and (k1back, p1) for 4-5 rounds.

k 2 rnds plain in main color

Chart for Patterns: *for number 4, my knitted stocking used diagonal patterns separated by 3 plain stitches, but I like a separation of 2 better, so the chart shows 2 stitches between the diagonals in the motif. Knitter's choice.

work pattern 1 (white)

k 2 rnds plain in mc

pattern 2 (yellow)

k 2 rnds plain in mc

pattern 3

k 2 rnds plain in mc

pattern 4

k 4 rnds plain in mc (for heel)

pattern 5

k 2 rnds plain in mc

pattern 6

k 2 rnds plain in mc

Shape Toe:

1. *k1, ssk, k6, k2tog, k1. Rep from * on 2nd needle

2. *k1, ssk, k4, k2tog, k1. Rep from * on 2nd needle

3.  *k1, ssk, k2, k2tog, k1. Rep from * on 2nd needle

Weave 6 to 6.

   Heel: snip half a stitch in the middle of the back (photo). Ravel 6 sts in each direction. Pick up (photo) 12 sts on each of your two needles and knit another toe!

      

 

Peace, Happiness, and Good Knitting to All!

Meg

 

Dear Knitter,

  The video that accompanies this blog is very short. Our purpose is only to demonstrate how to knit-up sts when holding the wool(s) below the fabric (see photo; Knit Up in Pattern). But there is more I want to say about that.

Knit Up in Pattern

     When knitting a circular cardigan; V-neck or scoop-neck pullover; drop, or modified-drop shoulders, I always install the steek plus a "knit-up stitch" on each side of it - kept in background color throughout. After cutting the steek, there is the uninterrupted knit-up stitch thoughtfully provided in advance, and ready to receive whatever border (or sleeve) I have chosen.

    Previously, when Knitting-Up, I had tried going through the R side of the "knit-up-stitch"; then the L side; then both sides; then the bar between sts (which I used on the Mimbres Vest dvd). But the stitch distortion was noticeable, and there was always a slight gap between the new stitches and the body.

     The first design on which I tried my idea to knit-up-from-below was a solid color sleeve knitted up around a solid color cut armhole, and I periodically skipped a stitch to adjust for the approximate 5:7 ratio of vertical-to-horizontal stocking stitch. Since, by knitting up from below, I was not going through any part of an existing stitch, this new method entirely eliminated both the distortion and the gap problem.

   The diagonal motif of my Russian Prime sweater causes the row and stitch gauges to become almost perfectly square to each other. This permitted me to knit up every armhole stitch (in my fave mode: from-below) in the already established two-color motif, and proceed down the sleeve(s) with a continuous color pattern from cuff to cuff, even though the sleeves are knitted perpendicularly to the bod (see photo; Russian Prime Sleeve). This is the approach I applied in the Wool Gathering issue 113: Starflowers & Pinstripes Cardigan.

Russian Prime Sleeve

 

Cuff to Cuff Sweaters (Image from Knitting with Two Colors)

 

 

 

    Chris and I taped an instructional video for the Russian Prime Sweater, so you can see knitting-up-from-below-in-color-pattern on the DVD. (Our Fair Isle Vest video shows knitting up in a contrasting color, but because I knit up from below, there are no cc purl-bumps!)

    But Wait - There's More: If, instead of going between two existing sts, you go between two halves of a single stitch, you get an outline of the L side of the stitch running under the newly knitted-up sts (see photo; Knitting Up).

Knitting Up

Knitter's Choice @ every turn.

Meg

 

Dear Knitter,

Barbara Abbey’s Knitting Lace is now in a convenient digital format.

Barbara Abbey's book has 100 unique lace edgings and is a wonderful resource. Two of these edgings can be seen on Elizabeth Zimmermann shawls in her book, Knitting Workshop. 

On her Square Baby Blanket (purple below), I used Barbara Abbey’s Narrow Aspen Leaf Edging, and on EZ’s Stonington Shawl (silver below), Barbara’s Double Circle Edging was applied (pg 75 in Knitting Workshop). 

       

A key for working an edging around a shawl with square corners is to add fabric at the turns, so that the edging will lie flat. Note: Alternately, you could work short rows and create a mitered corner, but that involves planning and some detailed technique. I much prefer to simply continue with the edging I am working, but add a few unattached rows before and after the corner - the wider the edging, the more unattached rows you should work to ensure the corner does not curl.

The basic idea for an edging is to knit it perpendicularly in relation to the border of the completed project (in this example, a shawl). During every other edging-row, the last edging-stitch is worked together with a border stitch. As you approach a corner, work as follows (for a medium-width laced edging of about 12-18 sts):

At 6 sts from the corner,

1. work the lace over and back without attaching to the shawl.

2. work the lace over and back and attach the last edging stitch to a shawl stitch.

Repeat those two rows to the corner; attach the edging to the corner stitch,

then repeat the two rows over the next 6 sts on the other side.

You can see how the corners lie nice and docilely on the shawls from EZKW.

Another instance of my use of BAKL is the lace edging on my Mananita Shawl from the DVD, ‘Knitting Lace with Meg Swansen’. I chose the ‘Very Narrow Lace Edging’ from Barbara’s book, which I think suits the shawl very nicely (see image on cover).

 

Barbara Abbey’s Knitting Lace has a superb array of choices for the knitter looking for a lace border - from simple, narrow motifs to complex, deeper borders, all illustrated, and with clear row-by-row instructions. The new digital format is less expensive and allows you to print out the motif you wish to work and carry it with you - you can also team it with knitting software in its pdf format.

Good Knitting!

Meg

Dear Knitter,

Unique diagonal colorwork makes these distinctive, plush and cozy cowls quite the eye catchers. In the video, Cully outlines the approach to working color-pattern ‘on the bias’, and discusses how to follow the charts when knitting the latest WG offering.”

Buy the issue or subscribe.

 

Dear Knitter,

We were introduced to Debbie Zawinski many years ago through her proposal for Schoolhouse Press to publish her unique story of a walking journey through Scotland, spinning and knitting socks as she searched for and communed with each breed of Scottish sheep. This intriguing story, along with Debbie's photographs and knitting projects, became the beloved book, In the Footsteps of Sheep. Debbie describes her project in the introduction to the book, which you can hear in this Sample Clip from her In the Footsteps of Sheep Audiobook

More recently, Debbie wrote and published in Scotland, her second book: Stories in Stitches. This new book brings together life and travel tales, lovely photos, and original knitting projects. Debbie reminisces about her childhood playing in the streets of Cardiff, traveling through Nepal and India, exploring Iron Age culture and a ruined castle, creating a giant sock as a communal knit for charity, and more. Debbie Zawinkski's socks, mittens, hats and more designs include unusual shapes, bright colors, and inspiration from nature.

 

 

Watch the interview/film, The Feral Spinner Debbie Zawinski, produced by Debbie's friend Harrie. Learn more about Debbie's life and art.

 

 

 Note: The video begins with about 11 seconds of silence and images before Meg begins speaking. No need to adjust your volume.

Dear Knitter,

Between following my grandson ELI’s disc golf tournaments in New Zealand for 5 weeks, and watching the Australian Open, I am transported to Summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

Right now, Eli is very close to the Rangitoto volcano, which was my mum’s inspiration for her New Zealand sweater. She (and my father) toured both North and South islands, giving knitting workshops. The trip to NZ was a dream fulfilled for Elizabeth and, as anticipated, she fell in love with the country.

The sweater it inspired is knitted up from the lower edge with a seamless body, as discussed in the video above. Add EZ's Phoney Seams as you work your way to underarm gussets. Now start the yoke back and forth in stocking stitch on ever-shortened rows. When you reach the top of the volcano, switch to garter stitch with a Phoney Seam on the center stitch. As you work a similarly-shaped back, you will incorporate a sneaky back-of-neck shaping embedded into the yoke. Unite the shoulders, knit up around the armholes and work the sleeves down.

The 3 versions below are (top to bottom as shown in photo) 2-ply Unspun Icelandic/Plötulopi @ 4 sts per inch; 3-ply wool @ 3.33 sts per inch; Shetland Spindrift wool @ about 7 sts per inch (choose from over 200 colors). Specific instructions are in Elizabeth’s book, Knit One Knit All, where you can read a bit about her NZ trip.

 

 

One of the versions (shown below) was knitted by Betsy Wyeth, in which she included Mrs Laidlaw's Gansey motif on the body (chart in Elizabeth's book Knit One Knit All), and added Quaker Stitch cuffs and neck; a great example of the variations that may be added, according to your whim. The model is also wearing Elizabeth Zimmermann's Brimmed Hat, Vertical, also from Elizabeth's book Knit One Knit All.

 

And speaking of "reaching the top of the volcano" as you knit, here is my grandson Eli in NZ (having just hiked up the Taranaki volcano), wearing my Swedish Gradient Ull Hat, instructions for which can be found in Schoolhouse Press Pattern (SPP) #56, print or digital download. Interested in Disc Golf or Adventures, follow Eli on Instagram: swansendiscgolf or watch his YouTube channel: @EliSwansen.

   

Dear Knitter,

In our October newsletter, we discuss our favorite cardigan patterns, including my Throwback Cardigan. The design was inspired by a sweater my mother (Elizabeth Zimmermann) made for me when I was a teenager (photo below). I remember fondly many of the garments she knitted for me, which inspired my family to ask me about my own knitting history and the garments I knitted during my childhood. In honor of the new release of the updated edition of Knitting Around by Elizabeth Zimmermann and her autobiographical Digressions within the book, I've written a Digression of my own about my knitting history.

Knitting Around: Circular Designs & Techniques with Autobiographical Digressions by Elizabeth Zimmermann

 

Left Image: Throwback Cardigan Right Image: This photo was in the local Findley, Maine newspaper when my sister Lloie and I were ski-bums @ Sugarloaf Mountain. EZ knitted both my plain raglan cardigan, and Lloie’s all-over patterned Norwegian sweater  - which was the prototype from EZ’s 12-week PBS-tv series. Yes, both of us are "smoking beastly cigarettes” as EZ always referred to it; it was the ‘60s.

Digression: Growing Up a Knitter by Meg Swansen 

Learning to Knit: I remember when my mother taught me How to Knit. We were on the enclosed back porch in New Hope PA, overlooking the Delaware River. Mama was sitting sideways on a chair, and I stood beside her. She had given me her knitting and put her arms around me to guide my hands through the moves. I’m not sure if she recited "slip, over, under, off”, as she had been taught by her mother; but likely she did. I have no recollection of any follow-up…did she then set me up with cast-on stitches to knit a square? I know not.

Knitting a Scarf for Auntie Pete: The next memory is from Shorewood in Wisconsin when I was about 7 or 8. I must have been pestering my mother about having nothing to do, so she set me up to knit a scarf for Auntie Pete (who lovingly made and sent from England beautiful, smocked wool velour dresses for me and Lloie; one was a soft beige, the other soft gray). The scarf was about 6” wide garter stitch. I recall beginning new rows incorrectly, and inadvertently increasing. When the scarf was a suitable length (about 14-15” for the first half), Elizabeth instructed me how to work a series of short rows to form a horseshoe around the neck-back. I’m sure I didn’t know what I was doing, I merely did what I was told, which must have meant the Mary Thomas instruction to slip the first stitch on the way back from a short row. After the Short Rows came another laborious 14-15” for the second half. The scarf was eventually completed and shipped to Great Britain. DEAR Auntie Pete (actually named Gwendolyn). Below is a photo of her from the new Knitting Around with Baby Betty and Merrilegs the donkey. Read more about EZs Aunts and her knitting Auntie Pete in Knitting Around.

Knitting for Friends and a Grandmother: After this scarf, there must have been more knitting in the interim to my teenage years, but of that I have no recollection. All of my early knitting was centered around gift-giving, at least those I can recall. In high school, I knitted a Loden green cuff-to-cuff sweater for a friend of my brother, and in advance of a visit from Elizabeth’s “Mummy,” Grace Muriel I made my grandmother a cardigan. I chose 2-ply grey Sheepswool and knitted a shallow color-patterned yoke cardigan with a cornflower blue motif that was just the color of Mummy’s eyes. It fitted her well, and she wore it daily. I’m sure my mother told me how many to cast on and gave me verbal help throughout, though I do not remember actually how or when I learned to knit with two colors, assemble body and sleeves, weave underarms, or slash a cardigan down the front. How did I secure the stitches? Probably with Elizabeth’s old treadle sewing machine (at which I was quite skilled, having made myself a number of skirts and dresses during high school. Below is an image of Grace Muriel from EZs Digressions in Knitting Around.

 

Grace Muriel, "Mummy" to Elizabeth Zimmermann and "Mummy" as a grandmother with baby Thomas

Knitting in trade: After graduation, I went to LA to work at Lanz (Lanz of Saltzburg, which my parents’s good friend from Germany, Kurt Scharff, brought to America; photo on p 145 of Knitting Around) for a time, then ski-bummed with my sister at Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine. Somewhere in that period, and before I met my husband Chris, I knitted a sweater for a Milwaukee artist Bob Cody, with whom I swapped the sweater for one of his abstract paintings in blues and greens. I remember that Chris and I had it hanging in our house in New Hope, PA early in our marriage but somewhere during our moves, it vanished, like memories.

Knitting Bond with EZ: What strikes me most about my knitting life is how it seemed to evolve effortlessly and organically. Knitting was always a bond between me and mother. While I attended art school in Europe I became friends with an Icelandic student, and spent a two week school holiday with Hanna and her family in Reykjavik, where I “discovered” Unspun Icelandic and became besotted by it. I knitted myself a sweater while in Iceland, and sent a large batch back to my mum in WI. Her reaction to this unique fiber was identical to my own, and she began to import it. For the next six decades, we were the only source for this wool in America. Below, she is showing wheels of Unspun Icelandic to my new in-laws during my wedding reception! Chris and I first lived in Manhattan, and I was commissioned to knit a number of sweaters for other musicians (Gary Burton, Stan Getz, and a tie for Gene Cherico). When we moved to New Hope PA, I opened a wool shop and began to sell designs to magazines and wool companies.

Knit On with Confidence!

Meg

 

 

 

EZ's Hidden I-Cord Buttonholes

Dear Knitter,

This topic has been on my To-Be-Video’d list for a while. My grandson Eli just happened to be home and filmed it for me.

In Elizabeth Zimmermann’s youth I-cord was produced using a wooden spool with 3 bent nails around the top; it was called Idiot Cord. Later she figured out how to produce I-cord on a pair of needles and she began to invent new I-cord techniques left-and-right. (It was she who shortened Idiot Cord to I-cord; finding the original term “rather rude”. The new term has been universally accepted.)

In her long list of unique applications were 3 marvelous buttonholes, described in her book, Knitting Workshop, including Hidden, Looped, and Tab.

I used her Hidden I-Cord Buttonholes on my Norwegian Blue Cardigan (Wool Gathering Issue 111), shown below, and I demonstrate two versions of it in the video. First I show applying them to raw sts - then (at about 2:30) I show applying them to picked up sts from an existing piece of I-cord.

To pick up sts, simply choose a half-stitch from the finished layer of Cord, and hook your needle under the strand (do not veer out of line). I usually pick up about 20-30 sts at a time, then work the Applied Cord onto them until I get to where I want a buttonhole.

Note: Choose your buttons for the project before you knit the buttonholes in order to adjust for size. On the Norwegian Blue Cardigan, I used very small silver buttons, and worked only 2-rounds of cord for the holes.

You’ll also notice that I employ mirror-imaged Latvian Braid on the new WG design; for a demo of that technique, see my Blog #18.

Good Knitting!

Meg Swansen

In the video above, Cully discusses his new design from Wool Gathering issue #110, the Fluted Shawl (Note: Cully is wearing the Saddle-Shoulder Aran Cardigan.) Below, Meg discusses choosing motifs and reversible patterns for lace knitting, as she did for the blue version of the Fluted Shawl.

Dear Knitter,

When choosing a lace motif for a flat-knitted shawl, I like it to be reversible so I can just throw it on without having to determine a “right” side.

   However, many flat lace patterns are stocking-stitch based, in order to make the design more visible. When you alter a “purl-back” row to a reversible “knit-back” row, the thicker garter stitch texture may obliterate the motif. This is an occasion when I first knit a swatch. 

   While cruising through Barbara Walker’s Treasury of Knitting Patterns the other day (searching for a suitable lace to employ for Cully’s newest half-circle Fluted Shawl design in Wool Gathering #110), I found a list I had tucked into the book decades ago: Reversible Pattern Stitches in Barbara G. Walker’s Treasuries, compiled by Mary Lee Herrick. Mary writes, "The list is based on Barbara’s comments in her 1st and 2nd Treasuries only, so I imagine there are plenty more in the 3rd and 4th books. 47 of them are the same on both sides; 50 of them are different on each side - but, in Barbara’s words 'the reverse side is also interesting.'"  An image of the list of reversible pattern stitches is at the bottom of the blog below Meg's signature.

Above: Barbara Walker's Treasury Set

   I was looking for a relatively simple design; possibly even a ‘background lace’ like those used by Maryanne Kinzel and Herbert Niebling behind their splendid flowers and leaves. The one I ended up with may be one of the simplest lace patterns in existence: it is a repeat of one row with a total of four stitches! and it is the same on both sides: Feather Faggot (page 85 in the 1st Treasury).

   For wraps, half-shawls, and Möbius scarves I have turned many different lace designs into reversible ones by dint of knitting back on every-other-row. For example, I used BGW’s Little Leaf Stripe (page 196 of 1st Treasury) for a Möbius Scarf, and altered rows 1 and 3 by knitting back instead of purling. I used Walker’s Little Parachute (page 157 of the Third Treasury: Charted Knitting Designs) in Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Pie Are Square Shawl, and knitted back on rows 2, 4, and 6.  

     

   When knitting circular shawls like EZ’s Pi Shawl; lace ponchos (the Mañanita), or a lace tunic (my Roseleaves Tunic from A Gathering of Lace) you are knitting in the round, so may insert a stunning Kinzel or Niebling design on a stocking stitch background, without a thought of purling. In these instances, the wearer will pay attention to wearing the garment "right side" out.

 

 

     

Roseleaves Tunics from the book A Gathering of Lace, out of print, but check online for used copies. The lace tunic design will be available again in Meg's new book, upcoming in late Fall 2024.

Good Knitting,

Meg

 

Reversible Stitch Patterns from First Treasury and Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns books: