Author: Lesley Robinson

I am so excited to introduce Midnight Madness to all of you!!!

Midnight Madness is an oversized cape with a dramatic brioche triangle motif, surrounded by two-color garter stitch stripes and two-color brioche borders. Knit this fun brioche project all summer, and be ready for autumn with a new garment / accessory to add to your wardrobe!

This is my newest pattern with KNIT in COLOR, and has been a serious dream of mine since Andrea and I started our collaboration last summer!! Heather from House of A La Mode created this exclusive color way, Strawberry Rhubarb, especially for this design! You can find lots of her other gorgeous color ways in Stunning Singles at Happy Knits, or in Dreamy DK at Do Ewe Knit?!!

Also, be sure to take advantage of my BIG MOVING SALE!! Starting today, receive a 35% discount on Midnight Madness, and ALL Knit Graffiti patterns and e-books using coupon code MOVING! This sale will be going on for the next two weeks as we pack up our family and move to Texas, ending on June 21, 2016 at midnight Eastern!

Happy briocheing, friends!!

Summer is almost here and for some reason that gets me even MORE excited about shawls :: knitting shawls, and, of course, wearing shawls!  Being from Michigan, for most of the year, my hand-knits are covered up by big, bulky coats.  Come spring and summer, showing off hand knit shawls in bright colors is the best!  So, may I introduce to you, Zing Zip!!  This is such a wonderful shawl for the spring and summer transition months.  Yes, it uses the brioche stitch, but in combination with the Hedgehog Fibres Skinny Singles, it is a breezy, lightweight shawl, perfect for warmer weather!

Now for some fun details: Zing Zip is a long, shallow triangle shawl with two-color garter and brioche steps and a garter accent border, all finished with a simple eyelet bind off. This was an exciting collaboration with Do Ewe Knit?, and was created as an exclusive design for them for the 2016 NJ Wool Walk! It was a lot of fun and such a great opportunity to work with Karen from Do Ewe Knit? and pick out colors together.  Her yarn shop has QUITE the selection of Hedgehog Fibres yarn, so it was a bit difficult choosing only three colors!  In the end, we decided on a special Potluck color way for the Main Color, Ink for the Contrast Color, and Highlighter for the Accent Color band.  Perfect!!  I highly recommend using this gorgeous yarn for the pattern, Beata has so many addictive and breath-taking color ways for all palettes. If you haven’t already seen it, you MUST check out her Instagram gallery, full of color, inspiration, and most importantly, YARN!

With a generous size and less than 775 yards / 709 meters of yarn used TOTAL, this fun and surprisingly quick knit is sure to entice even the brioche-wary! It is knit from one corner to the other using simple brioche increases and decreases. Interest and texture are added to the fabric with two-color garter steps, which are staggered as the shawl takes shape. The accent border is added by picking up stitches along the shawl edge, then finished off with short row shaping and an eyelet bind off. See the pattern page on Ravelry for all of the details and more photos!

Also, be sure to check out all of my brilliant test knitters’ shawls, as they used all kinds of cool and intriguing color combinations! Go grab yourself a copy of the pattern on Ravelry HERE before Wednesday, May 18th at midnight Eastern time, and receive a 20% discount using coupon code ZINGZIP !

Happy briocheing, friends!

Check out this tiny little brioche pattern!!  Have you been itching to try two-color brioche, but want to start with something small?  This is the project for YOU!  Grab some of your favorite DK leftovers and create something fancy for your home! Deco Mug Mat :: my newest knitting pattern for a decorative mug mat with a dramatic brioche motif, surrounded by two-color garter stitch stripes and two-color brioche borders.  Taking less than 75 yards of DK weight yarn TOTAL, this is the perfect stash-busting project for all those beautiful yarny bits you have lying around that you can’t stop looking at!

I can’t even tell you how fun this was for me to create. This design actually started out as an experimental swatch for a much larger design (a giant brioche cape, coming in June) and gave me quite the surprise! It ended up having a very Art Deco look, resembling the top of the Chrysler Building in New York! I knew this had to become something on it’s own.  So, Pink Madness was born!  I know, I know, you were expecting me to talk more about the Deco Mug Mat.  But it actually led to the design of that super fun scarf pattern (which I will be teaching at my local yarn shop Woven Art, starting tomorrow!!).

Anyway, enough about Pink Madness.  Now for the yarn I used for my mug mat samples. All of the mug mats were knit using Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool Worsted as the Main Color (Main Side shown in photo above), and then I used bright speckled yarn for the Contrast Colors! Mat #1 (far left), which was my original swatch sample, uses a combination of Midnight Lake and House of A La Mode Dreamy DK in color Strawberry Rhubarb.  Such a dreamy contrast. Mat #2 (center) uses White Shepherd’s Wool and Hedgehog Fibres Tulp (one of my all-time favorite pinks) with a small stripe of Where’s My Bike. Mat #3 (far right) uses Roasted Pumpkin Shepherd’s Wool and Republic of Wool DK in color Tiny Dancer Speckle. Dive through your stash for the perfect color combination to brighten up your home!!

Deco Mug Mat is a fun and quick project, you can find the pattern on Ravelry, here.

Happy briocheing, friends!!

Sizzle Pop!!  Satisfy all of your brioche cravings with this square shawl, knit using fingering weight yarn and the two color brioche stitch. Grab four skeins of your favorite yarn: speckles, variegated, solid, hand-dyed – whatever you have in your stash that you’ve been itching to use, and cast on a shawl that you will be showing off all spring long!

I have been dreaming of this shawl since I first started designing Pop Fizzle last summer. I love folding my shawl in half along the center spline and wearing it as a triangle shape (shown in the above right photo)!  With a wingspan of 53″, it makes a lovely shawl to keep you warm in the winter, or to throw over your tshirt in the spring.  The pattern can also be easily modified for a larger or smaller shawl, so if you want a longer wingspan, add extra pattern repeats!

This is a very special collaboration for KNIT in COLOR, using custom colorways developed and created together with Michele from Republic of Wool and Maria from Fern Fiber. “Love Dust” by Republic of Wool was used for the Main Color to really make this pattern POP, and “Grape Ice Cream” by Fern Fiber (which is naturally dyed using cochineal and indigo to achieve the gorgeous amethyst purple) for the Contrast Color.  These two yarns together created the perfect combination for the pattern and I couldn’t be happier with the result!

Join in on the Sizzle Pop Knit-A-Long, starting March 8, 2016!!  See my Ravelry group for all the information and knit this super fun shawl with others in a positive environment!!

This is the third and final pattern in the POP! brioche series! Purchase the POP! e-book and receive three patterns :: Sizzle Pop, Pop Fizzle, and Pop Twizzle, for $12!

Purchase Sizzle Pop on its own and receive a 25% discount using coupon code SIZZLE ! This introductory offer will end on March 2, 2016 at midnight Eastern.

Happy briocheing, friends!

Looking for a simple hat pattern that your entire family will love?!  Try my newest knitting pattern, Whittle hat, part of the Woodworker series e-book!  I created this hat design with simplicity in mind.  The large ribbing adds extra stretch and slouch, for ultimate comfort.  New to cable knitting?  These cables are super easy to make, and the pattern is both written and charted. I’ve also included a link to a helpful video tutorial explaining cable construction!

I just love the crown shaping on this hat.  It gives an almost 3-D effect, and is also very simple.  This hat comes in 4 sizes from baby to adult large, with room for customizing, so you’re sure to find something that will fit everyone in your family. My samples are all knit using Stonehedge Fiber Mill Shepherd’s Wool Worsted in different colors, which is made here in Michigan.  It is the softest wool, both of my sons love wearing the red hat inside the house all day!

You can find this pattern on Ravelry, here. Be sure to grab your copy of the pattern today, and receive a 25% discount using coupon code WHITTLE !  This introductory offer ends at midnight Eastern tonight.  Or grab the entire Woodworker series e-book for $8!  Thank you and happy knitting!!