New Pattern - Nadi Coat

Introducing the Nadi Coat!

This beauty is knit from the bottom up in one piece to the armholes. The back and fronts are divided and knit separately to the shoulders. The front and back neck stitches continue to be worked into a hood, which is shaped at the top using short rows.

I really love this way of shaping hoods—I'll never shape a hood any other way, ever again.

The center stitches are worked in short rows while decreasing the outer stitches. It provides for a nice roomey hood with the perfect shape!

The sleeves are knit flat, and sewn into the armholes. There's a cute li'l cable detail at the top of the cap that matches the one at the center back—just smaller.

The front has a single row of toggle buttons at the chest, and is open at the bottom. The button band is knit at the same time as the body, so there is no need to pick up any stitches. The wooden toggle buttons that I used are from JHB.

Read more about Nadi
 

The sweater is knit using 9 (10, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14) hanks of Cheyenne, by Mountain Meadow Wools. To read more about this fantastic, eco-friendly yarn, check out the review!

Tundra

Like all my designs, Tundra began as a vision, then began manifesting itself into a sketch and swatch before becoming a sweater. I knew I wanted texture, something cozy, quick- and fun-to knit—something with a hood!


For this design, yarn choice came first. When I think "cozy", Quince & Co.'s Osprey yarn quickly comes to mind. Read more about the Eco-friendliness of Osprey.

Next I picked up a book of stitch patterns and began flipping through it, while thinking to myself, "cozy, warm, and fun-to-knit" over and over. The all-over star pattern,worked on the body of the sweater, has such an overwhelming presence of texture that when I saw it in the book I just had to see how it knit up! So, I swatched a bit of the star pattern in Osprey, and fell in love. There was the cozy, cushy fabric I'd been looking for! Not to mention, the thickness creates excellent warmth!

I continued to flip through the stitch patterns in search of a complimentary edging for the star pattern. I tried a few different edgings, and thought the basket pattern offered the nicest edge. The slipped stitch made it more interesting to knit than the others I'd tried. I swatched the two patterns together and had a match I enjoyed!
Then, just for fun, and to see an alternative option, I tried the basket pattern again with a little white accent. I submit both options to Quince & Co to let them decide which version they preferred.I enjoyed knitting and writing the pattern for this sweater quite a bit. It worked up SO fast, and Osprey is such a beautiful yarn to work with. The biggest challenge I faced with this design was maintaining the star pattern while increasing and decreasing. After a little trial and error, I came upon the perfect solution. Of course, it's all written out in detail in the pattern!

Photos by Carrie Bostick Hoge.

Find this design on Ravelry.

Petrel

This Petrel shawl is named after the species of bird. Petrel birds are a small web-footed, seawater birds, returning to land only to breed.

The word "petrel" comes from the Latin name for St. Peter, who was said to have walked on water. It refers to the habit of the bird species to hover just above the ocean waves. During a storm, because the birds can't actually *walk* on water, they need to remain in the air day and night, enduring the rough weather over the ocean until the storm passes.

There is a fossil record for Petrel birds assumed to extend back about 60 million years showing that the species has survived through many eras of history, and is still going strong today.

May this shawl, with its wings spread across your back, bring you the strength, perseverance and longevity of the Petrel bird.

Spring designs & Mudita

As you may or may not know, I'm in the process of writing a book. Therefore, everything else in my life has seemed to slow down. But fret not! There is a small spring Caterpillar Knits collection in the works! Each of these spring patterns will be published one at a time, as they're finished.

To start off the collection, here is Mudita (pronounced moo-DEE-ta)

Mudita is knit in Pakucho's worsted weight organic cotton yarn. This yarn fits into six, yes SIX of the seven Caterpillar categories. It's a super-eco-friendly yarn. The only one it isn't list in is "animal friendly". But that's because it's vegan, and there are no animals involved! Read more about Pakucho.

A free pattern for Earth Day.

Berroco and Caterpillar Knits have worked together to bring you a beautiful FREE pattern—Gaia—in celebration of our Earth.

It's knit in Berroco's Remix yarn—a great, inexpensive, earth-friendly yarn made from recycled fabrics. The yarn is not re-dyed, all the color comes from the recycled fabrics. I just love that!

Kukui

The Kukui sweater was named after the Aleurites Moluccana tree, also known as the Candlenut Tree. This tree, native to Hawaii, grows the kukui nut.

In Hawaii, kukui is a symbol of enlightenment, protection and peace. It was said that Kamapuaʻa, the hog-man fertility demi-god, could transform into a kukui tree. There is a legend told of a woman who, despite her best efforts to please her husband, was routinely beaten. Finally, the husband beat her to death and buried her under a kukui tree. Being a kind and just woman, she was given new life, and the husband was eventually killed.

View more information about this sweater.