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| Familiar faces & new, it's knittin' time! |
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| Lockdown designs hittin' the needles |
| It's great to be back at shows & Australia's coming winter tells me there's more knitters than ever breaking the pandemic funk. From beginners to advance knitters, anyone with a passion for yarn, colour & the design versatility of hand-knitting, will love what's new in the Signatur line-up. |
| June & July Events |
Craft Alive Newcastle Fri 26th to Sun 28th May.
The Coal Loader Artisan Market Sunday 4th June
Harbourside at Waverton.
Sydney Craft & Quilt Fair Homebush Olympic Park.
Weds 28th June to Sat 1st July
Bendigo Sheep & Wool Show
Fri 14th to Sun 16th July
Handmade Market Canberra
Sat 29th & Sun 30th July. |
| Diamond Tunic and Jumper |
  
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| Shop @ Shopify & be inspired @ sigknit.com |
My new Shopify online store platform is working well and looking stunning, thanks to Meg and my other models. I am keeping my original site sigknit.com as my design archive for hundreds of designs.
Not all designs have been loaded to the new site, so Sigknit.com is still active allowing you to order by card at @ Sigknit.com or click from Sigknit.com to to my Shopify site for card or Paypal.
Patterns are available on sigknit.com by clicking a colourway or the rainbow colour band to first pick a colour so you can then purchase a pattern or kit. |
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Signatur Handknits
Facebook/ Instagram
Email Jane at jane@sigknit.com
signatur-handknits.myshopify.com |
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| Tech Talk - Short Rows |
| Short rows have many & varied applications so let's look at hemlines and accessories using short rows |
 The sloped hemline of the Split Texture Jacket is created with short row shaping.
Short rows are also worked into the back neck of my shawl collars, making the outer edge longer, as below on the Stitched Up Jacket.
Most knitters will learn short rows when turning the heel on their first pair of socks or booties.
On YouTube you'll find a plethora of ways to work short rows!
The Wave Wrap below knitted in Azteca showcases the yarn and the short row technique. The Wave Wrap is popular for its versatile wearing options. Below is a step by step, on the needles explaination of short rows, I use on the wrap. |
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| MORE and MORE on SHORT ROWS |
| The wave scarf (below right) is also knitted with short rows: they create wedges so I've knitted one left facing wedge, then 2 right facing wedges to give a horse-shoe shaped curve to the scarf. |
 Short rows are simply incomplete rows. They have so many uses, and there are so many methods you can choose to achieve similar results.
The images below will step you through short rows. If you want to pick up your needles and have a try, you can use any yarn and any needles. It's garter stitch knit all rows.
Cast on 17sts. Obviously the image below shows I am part-way through the scarf, having already worked several wedges. |
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Above left: So with 17sts cast on work only 15sts for your first short row.
The piece is garter st so knit all rows so the yarn is at the back of the work.
Above centre: Bring the yarn between the needles to the front of the knitting.
Above right: Slip next stitch left to right needle without working the stitch.
Below left: Take yarn back between needles (single unworked stitch on left needle).
Below centre: Turn knitting to wrong side so the single unworked stitch is now on right needle.
Below right: Slip the next stitch left to right needle (same stitch previously slipped).
Take yarn between needles and knit to last stitch. |
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| Zig Zag edge of scarf is created by increasing stitches at the end of the wrongside row - a full row. When we cast the increase stitch off we create the points of the zig zag. |
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Work wrongside row (full row) until 1 stitch remains unworked.
Above left: Pick up the yarn from between the stitches of the previous row. Can you see how large this loop can be pulled, leaving a hole?
Above centre: Knit through the back of the loop for a firm stitch, no hole.
Above right: Increase stitch completed, knit last stitch of row. |
| Short Row in Summary |
 Row 1: K15 left 2sts unworked - we slipped and wrapped the 16th stitch, the 17th stitch was unworked on left needle.
Row 2: Knit to the last stitch, M1 = make 1sts, K1 = 18sts.
Repeat Row 1: K15sts - as we have 18sts this will leave 3sts unworked - wrap and slip the next stitch - so 2sts unworked.
Row 4: As row 2 knit to last stitch M1, K1 = 19sts.
Repeat twice more = 21sts - this means you have worked 4 short rows and 4 increases. |
| Beginning of next short row cast off 4sts (Below left). K11 (instead of 15sts). (below centre). At this point it's really good to look at the stitches over the row. Can you tell which stitches have been wrapped? You'll learn so much simply by looking at the knitting, make fewer mistakes and when you do make a mistake find fixing it so much easier! |
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Repeat short rows and increases. After next 4sts cast off K7 to next wrap stitch.
Complete 3rd cast off 4sts (right centre). Continue row after cast off, K4, the next 11sts have wrap at the base of each slipped stitch.
The slip stitch and the wrap below need to be knitted as one stitch.
Left below: With point of right needle pick up the wrap at base of stitch, then knit the stitch, shown centre. Lift the wrap (brighter stitch on right needle) over knit stitch.
Below right: This has been knitted without knitting the wrap and the stitch so there are holes / elongated stitches.
Above right: You can see how, when the wrap and the stitch are knitted together, there are no holes along each section of the wedge. |
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How do I find Signatur patterns
on the website? Easy as A to Z |
| The easiest way to find which patterns are available is to go to the horizontal navigation bar at the top of signknit.com and select Designs A-Z After you've found what you're looking for and want to order a pattern you must select a colour (the pattern option was added later on the site). You need to pick a colour for single colour designs by clicking on the rainbow. For multi colour designs simply click on a colourway. If you buy a pattern and decide at a later date you want the knitting kit the cost of the pattern is deducted from the price of the knitting kit. The knitting kit includes yarn and buttons. |
| Swing, Swagger, Drape is now a USB stick |
  
Out of print as a book!
NOW on a USB stick!
Simply slide into your computer, see every page of the book, print out just the pattern you need!
Perfectly packaged $25 |
Frida Takes out knitting prize for
Orna in annual Florida show |
| Orna in Florida has sent me some great shots as she progressed through her Frida Khalo Jacket. I designed this as an indulgence for myself, and so many of you have surprised me with the number of knitting kits I've sold. There are obviously plenty of avid Intarsia knitters out there! |
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| Orna is pictured below modelling her 'Frida'. We did add a little extra into the hip so the fit looks fantastic. The sleeve was slightly long but Orna remedied this by running a thread across the shoulders and back neck to ease the garment in across the shoulders. This narrows the shoulder and then, subsequently. shortens the sleeve. |
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| Hope to see you soon! |
| If you'd like to discuss anything in this newsletter - or anything at all, please email Jane. Thanks for your support - Laura, Petra, Philippa, Cathryn, Helen, Margaret, Emily, Jacinta, Kelly and I look forward to seeing you in the knitting circle! |
