Akna's Caponcho...

...a new handknit design

I designed a warm capelet/poncho with a touch of folklore

but with a contemporary feel.

Wear this colourful caponcho whenever you want to feel like a Nordic Goddess.

The photos were taken on a cold and grey afternoon

in the dunes of De Haan aan Zee - Belgium

with a big thankyou to my lovely daughter Ingrid Anna for modeling

what would I do without her !

Ingrid Anna is wearing a dress designed by:

AZIRA - ethical clothes for free, confident women.

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The knitting pattern

is available as an automatic pdf download

pattern with written and charted instructions

4,90 euros

It is knitted seamlessly from the bottom up, in the round.

Materials:

DROPS Andes Garnstudio, Super Bulky 65% Wool, 35% Alpaca

circular needles size 8mm and 9mm

4 colours: Light grey, Medium grey, red and powder pink

a few knitting tips:

Weaving the yarn while you knit the stranded colourwork section

For a tidy look in the back of the work I suggest the technique of stranded weaving to avoid floats on the back . The results will look so much better.  With a little practice, you can master this technique and it will become indispensable in working with colour patterns. It looks difficult at first but once you get the hang of it you will never ever knit stranded colourwork or Fair Isle the old way.

I know I won’t ! I'm using this technique for several years now and I just love it !

I found a tutorial where everything is explained, so much better than I ever could.

Here it is:

Why Weave?

"Traditional stranded fair isle has you carry the unused yarn in the back of the work until it is time to knit with it again.  It works smoothly for section where colors change every few stitches, but does not carry well across floats.  A float is a section of knitting where one color is carried along the back for an extended period of time.  

     Most knitters agree that it is safe to carry (strand) your yarn behind the work for up to 5 stitches.  Many traditional patterns put a tiny stitch (called a peerie) into long expanses of a MC to prevent stranding for more than 5 stitches.

     This method of weaving lets you lock the unused color into the one you are using so there is no loose strands hanging behind your work.  It also allows you to work more than 5 stitches between color changes, and helps prevent bunching and tightening of the fair isle work."

Read more:

http://deepspaceknit.blogspot.be/2007/11/tutorial-woven-fair-isle.html

and here’s a video on how to do short rows, the turn and wrap method

http://vimeo.com/6524735

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