My first lace: Field of Flowers
This light and airy summer accessory produces professional results using a few simple stitches and is suitable for the beginner lace knitter. It is based on a Shetland pattern, but the unusual gauge and beads give it a modern twist. It is designed to smarten up a summer outfit, but it could just as easily be made for the evening in a darker colour, or even could be made into a stole. Rather than try to calculate repeats, just cast on double the number of stitches and knit each row twice, end to end.
You will need: straight needles, 6mm. Bamboo needles work best, and it doesn't matter if the needles are 5mm or even 7mm or 8mm. It also helps if you have a set a few sizes larger to cast on and off, as theseneed tobeloose. 1 skein of kidsilk haze. White works well for a summery accessory, but you could go dark for a night out, or bright for the adventurous. A few contrasting seed beads (optional). You will only need around 30 beads, or fewer, depending on your gauge. Special abbreviations: PB = move a bead from the yarn up to touch the next stitch on the right hand needle. Bring the yarn from behind the work, between the needles, to the front. Slip the first stitch from the left hand needle to the right hand needle. Move the yarn again between the needles to the back of the work. The bead should now be sitting on a horizontal thread in front of the work, on a slipped stitch. The next row, knit as normal. If you are worried about this instruction, simple, you can just omit the beads.
Instructions:
Using a fine needle, thread the beads onto the yarn. The beads should thread over the yarn as you work, and be ready when you need them. Cast on 31 stitches, very, very loosely. Larger needles are ideal for this. It doesn't really matter if you cast on too loosely, so long as you cast off very loosely as well, as the cast on and cast off make a tiny ruffle at each end of the scarf. Pattern repeats: Rows: 1-3, Knit Row 4: {K7, k2 tog, yfwd, k1, yfwd, k 2 tog} twice, knit 7. Row 5: Knit Row 6: {K6, k2tog, yfwd, kl, pb, kl, yfwd, k2tog} twice, k6. Row 7: knit Row 8: As row 4 Row 9:knit Row 10: knit Row 11: knit Row 12: K13, k2tog, yfwd, k1, yfwd, k2tog, k13 Row 13: knit Row 14: k12, k2 tog, kl, pb, k1, k2tog, k12 Row 15: knit Row 16: as row 12
These 16 rows form the complete pattern. Continue in pattern until you have used nearly the whole skein. Complete the scarf by repeating rows 1-11, then casting off very, very loosely. You should only have two ends, but block the scarf before you thread them through, as otherwise you will risk pulling it tight and ruining the look of the scarf. You can use larger needles to create a ruffle. Now, enjoy! Please feel free to use this pattern for whatever purpose you want, but please do post your pictures on Ravelry!
