Sandra's Designing Blog

This is an exclusive area of my web site where you can find out more about my knitted designs, what inspires me, how I work and what I like (and don't like) to design. 
 
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Category: Sideways top

  1. Sideways top update & new filter

    Posted on

    Hello !!            Sideways Top Update

    After a bit of thinking time, I’ve picked my sideways-knit top back up — and it’s finally taking shape! I’ve seamed the shoulders and side seams and tried it on, and I’m delighted to say it fits perfectly. That’s always such a satisfying moment when a design starts to look just how you imagined.

    Now I’m tackling the tangle of yarn strands hanging from the bottom edge. It’s very much a process of trial and error (and I’m so glad I don’t have to document this one for a pattern!). I decided the piece needed an i-cord edge — partly to hide those strands, but mostly to give a clean, finished look.

    I picked up stitches along the bottom using one of my yarn colours and worked a few rows in stocking stitch. On every alternate stitch, I used some of the hanging strand yarn, hoping this would help secure them. Then I knitted one more row in a single colour and knotted the strands together two at a time to keep everything snug.

    Now I’ve started a 5-stitch i-cord cast off and have woven the remaining strands through the i-cord itself. I’m not yet sure whether to trim them off neatly or leave them as a fringe — that’s a decision for next time!

    Here’s how it’s looking so far — a peek at both the right side and the wrong side, where you can see the new i-cord edge and those mischievous yarn tangles.
    The right side — you can see how the i-cord edging gives a lovely clean finish along the bottom.
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    The wrong side tells the real story — those strands and knotted yarns waiting to be neatly woven into  the i-cord.

    It’s amazing how ideas evolve once you start experimenting — sometimes the best design decisions come from simply playing with the process.
     

    New on the Website

    I’ve been working on something useful behind the scenes—a little tool to make browsing my patterns even easier! You can now filter designs by technique, whether you’re in the mood for stranded knitting, brioche, mosaic, or something else entirely. You’ll find the filter right on my home page and at the bottom of every pattern page. Just pick your favourite technique and browse away to your heart’s content.
    Head to my homepage, scroll down and give the new filter a go!”  
    TFT Designs |The Feminine Touch Designs | UK Knitting designer Sandra Nesbitt

  2. I've scored a hat trick!

    Posted on

    I’ve Scored a Hat Trick!

    I’m thrilled to share some exciting news—three of my knitting designs are featured in this month’s The Knitter magazine (Issue 220)! If you’re in the UK and a fan of my work, do grab a copy while it’s on the shelves.

    And if you’re not in the UK, don’t worry—you won’t miss out. I’ll be self-publishing these patterns over the next 6–12 months, so keep an eye out.

    To celebrate this little hat trick, I’m offering 30% off any of my patterns (not just hats!) in my Ravelry store for the next three days. Just use coupon code HAT-TRICK at checkout. (Offer ends midnight 6th October UK time).

    👉Ravelry: Store: The Feminine Touch Designs
     

    Sideways Top Update

    Well… there isn’t one! I’m firmly in “thinking mode.” I’m playing with the idea of incorporating all those dangling threads into the bottom border somehow, and I keep coming back to the thought of an i-cord cast-off everywhere. Sometimes designs need as much space to breathe in the imagination as they do on the needles.