Friday, 12 June 2015

"The Missing Link"; A Raglan Modification for the Baby February Sweater.

I'm happy to finally launch my pattern "The Missing Link"; A raglan Sleeve Modification for the Baby February Sweater. - The mysterious piece of the pattern which fits! 


- Baby February with Raglan sleeve style modification 


Have you ever wondered about how your baby February sleeves sit at an awkward angle? Well, wonder no more – here is the “missing link” and the path to neatly sitting sleeves!
I have long had a fascination for this pattern and keep returning to it. The ‘February Sweater’ was originally designed by the legendary Elizabeth Zimmermann and can be found in her book, ‘Knitter’s Almanac”. This little sleeve modification fits like it was always meant to be there. It allows the sleeves to sit well and eliminates the “stress spot” at the ‘sleeve divides’ by creating a small ‘raglan’ for easy stitch additions to sleeve and body. 

 This little February Sweater is available for purchase from my Etsy shop; Franiej82 on Etsy.
It is made using my favourite yarn 'du jour' - DROPS Cotton Merino.
Cotton merino is 52% wool, 48% cotton - a delicate yarn for all seasons!

DROPS Cotton Merino is spun from high quality merino wool and the softest, finest cotton. Together, these two popular fibres create a superb combination of properties in terms of softness, fullness and elasticity, resulting in very comfortable garments where the stitches are clearly defined, and the result is neat and even. The yarn is soft on the skin, which makes it especially suitable for children and baby clothing.

Thursday, 4 June 2015

Twisted Cowl in NORO PDF Knitting Pattern Relaunch for 2015

One of my first ever patterns, the Twisted Cowl in Noro has had a bit of a revamp and relaunch in my Etsy Shop franiej82. Twisted Cowl in Noro PDF


This cowl is one of the first things I ever made with Noro and it got so much wear. It just adds a 'pop' of colour to anything you're wearing on those chilly Winter days. This lacy pattern is based on the Gull Pattern knitting stitch by Elizabeth Zimmermann.

I'd love to see any finished items on my Ravelry pattern page: Franie-jay on Ravelry. You can purchase the pattern for $2 from my Etsy shop or you can scroll through the projects on Rav and get it for free in my project pattern notes. 
Cheers Fran.

Friday, 10 April 2015

Liam's Ripple Blanket

Liam's Ripple blanket is finally complete - it has been an epic journey. The blanket was inspired by colours of the Australian landscape. It is made using Bendigo Woollen Mills "LUXURY" 8ply 100% wool and is wonderfully soft.

Details can be found here on Ravelry: Liam's Ripple Blanket - the edging.







Details of the blanket and the 'Neat Ripple Pattern' by Lucy of Attic24 can be found here:- Neat Ripple pattern details.

Tuesday, 29 October 2013

Fran's Tiramisu

I’ve had the crochet bug recently for some reason and decided to make a classic ‘Tiramisu’ baby blanket by Alicia Paulson. This pattern has been around for a while and is pretty as well as easy to make. You can find the pattern here: - Tiramisu Baby Blanket   Over 2200 of these have been made and can be seen on Ravelry!

I decided to use the easy washing Panda Magnum Soft 8ply which is affordable and has a slight sheen and softness to it – perfect for a baby blanket.
 I used an 8mm crochet hook which gave me a similar gauge seeing as I was substituting yarn from the one used in the pattern. The original pattern calls for organic cotton which would be lovely as well.
I used double sided satin polyester ribbon in a Peacock blue to thread thru the pretty scalloped edging.  I threaded the ribbon thru using a large wool needle which I threaded with the ribbon and then back thru itself so it wouldn’t unthread and wove the ribbon thru the spaces made by double crochets.
This was a relaxing and easy project to make. You can see more details about my Tiramisu here:- Franie-Jay's Tiramisu on Ravelry.


I took this photo of a pelican while sitting and relaxing by the river, I then played with it in PicMonkey.
I added an overlay in PicMonkey.
Finally, a pair of pelicans and a different water overlay from PicMonkey.
Hope you have a great day. Cheers from Fran.

Sunday, 4 August 2013

Appaloosa Cowl – A hand-knit cowl pattern.

Knit this pretty cowl in Malabrigo Arroyo or suitable sport weight/5ply yarn. I designed this simple lacey cowl which features moss stitch and gull stitch.



Pattern available on Etsy. Boho Beach Baby shop

Thursday, 1 August 2013

“It’s Hip to be Square” Baby Blanket

It’s finally finished! After sitting around for the longest time and waiting for the last little crocheted flower to be sewn on – it’s done! I couldn’t be happier.
The “It’s Hip to be Square” baby blanket is made up of a series of moss stitch and garter stitch knitted panels joined with crochet chains to granny squares. The granny squares each feature their own little crochet flower. It has a brightly coloured granny border and is edged with a double frill. I’ll be writing a pattern soon.
Front
Back
The blanket is 100% wool. I’ve mainly used Shepherd ‘Colour 4 Me’ 8ply and some Cleckheaton Country Kids 8ply.
 It measures 78cm square or approx 30.5 inches square. Originally I had intended it to be bigger with more granny squares but just wanted to finish it in the end. I’d use a lighter acrylic yarn next if I design a bigger one this one weighs in at about 500 grams in total. Designing another larger one in acrylic or polyester is on my to-do list.
Detail Granny-squares and Flowers

Thursday, 28 February 2013

Sneak Peek!


Here is a sneak peek at something coming soon. I have had this sitting around as a ufo for so long!

Here is a Miss Ming, looking gorgeous as usual.
And finally a photo of Mooloolaba beach on New Years Day – it is now completely washed away by all the storms and wind we’ve been having lately.
Cheers from Fran.