20 August

Defiant design celebrates 50 years

Posted in color theory, design

unikko-tin-woolresize

This year Marimekko is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Unikko floral pattern. In 1964, Marimekko’s founder Armi Ratia announced that Marimekko would never print a floral pattern saying that flowers should only bloom in nature. In protest, designer Maija Isola created an entire collection of floral patterns – one of these was Unikko (poppy). The design was bold and resonated with the 60s flower power revolution.

I visited the Marimekko store in Chapel Street Melbourne last week to see the Unikko design first-hand. I came away with this small tin printed with the Unikko design which I am now using to keep teabags. My two-year old son Leo spotted it as soon as he walked into the kitchen. It’s striking design and use of color got me thinking about color theory and design.

The colors used for this particular Unikko pattern use the split-complement color theory. This theory calls for the key hue (color) to be combined with the two hues that lie adjacent to its opposite hue. The Unikko design demonstrates this well in it use of blue-violet as the key hue together with yellow and orange – being the colors either side of yellow-orange on the color wheel. I got my color wheel out to check and the result can been seen in the picture below.

color-wheel-unikkoresize

Faber Birren’s seminal text “Creative Color” explains the theory of the split-complement and makes a few suggestions when using complementary colors that we also see at play in the Unikko design. In particular, he notes that cool hues such as blue and violet make ideal backgrounds. Warm colors, such as red and orange are more advancing and make better feature hues than background hues.

Inspired by this story of courage in design and the beautiful use of color on my much admired tea tin, I have gathered some colors in my collection of 2ply merino yarn and will start a new design this week. I will keep you posted on progress. Time for a tea break…

19 August

Casting off video tutorial

Posted in knitting, video

The second most commonly forgotten knitting technique is how to cast off. Check out my new casting off (or bind off for our North American customers) video tutorial. See my recent post on casting on if you need a quick refresher on how to cast on.

17 August

I still love Ravelry

Posted in crochet, knitting

Whilst Ravelry has been around for 7 years, it popularity has not waned. The constant stream of new offerings on this vibrant online community of knitters and crocheters makes it a must for the avid knitting or crocheter. Apart from providing a great, free, organising tool for all your knitting and crochet projects, Ravelry provides access to thousands of patterns by independent designers, links to local craft groups, shops, fellow crafters and much much more.

For those of you who are already members check out my designs page at Ravelry by clicking on the link below.

ravelry-designer-1

16 August

Casting on video tutorial

Posted in knitting, video

The most commonly forgotten knitting technique is how to cast on. The second most common is how to cast off. I have just finished production of the knitting cast on video tutorial. This is the most basic cast on technique as it is almost the same as working the knit stitch apart from the little twist at the end.. Watch the short video below to see how it is done. Now to start production of the cast off video tutorial. I hope you are all having a good weekend. Pat

15 August

Chilly Kyneton

Posted in knitting, Kyneton

The days are now full of sunshine in Kyneton but the mornings are still chilly. The frosty mornings have seen me revisit a trusty old wrist warmer pattern I designed a few years. I have knitted these in grey and pink before but thought this lovely tangerine colour in the Marta’s Yarns Metro DK range would be a cheerful addition to my collection of mitts. These also look great worn with the palm section on the top of your hand and inside out too.

I am currently re-writing the pattern so that the wristwarmers can be knitted either in the round or on straight needles. In the meantime the circular pattern is available for purchase as a Raverly download.

Honeycomb-wrist-in-deep-coral

14 August

Intarsia knitting in garter tutorial

Posted in knitting, video

I have just finished a new video tutorial demonstrating the intarsia knitting technique in garter stitch. Intarsia is often worked in stocking stitch but there is a little trick when working on the wrong side of a garter stitch project. Watch the video to see how it is done…

This technique was used in the Tangram Square Blanket design and can be used to make shapes covering larger areas in any knitting project. Enjoy.

13 August

Slip knot video tutorial

Posted in crochet, knitting, video

Video production is in full swing and I will be uploading a new video almost every day now until the collection is complete. The pdf patterns for sale on this website will all contain links to these tutorials so that, if in doubt, you can click on the link and see how the particular stitch is made.

This slip knot tutorial belongs in both the knitting and crochet sections as a slip knot is generally need to start knitting or crochet projects. Don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter below and my Youtube channel knitwithpat to keep updated on new designs and craft tutorials.