Laceweight, Liberated

I’ve been inspired by Amy‘s recent “Liberate your Laceweight” campaign.

She’s completely right, you know — too long have beautiful lace-weight yarns lingered in people’s stashes, languishing for being “too pretty”, looked over for being “too hard”, left behind while the sockyarn and worsteds get all the fun. No longer, say we! Liberate that laceweight!!

Ahem. Well, yes. Good idea, don’t you think?

As well as that amazing purple silk I just picked up, I’ve had a skein of Handmaiden 2-ply cashmere in the “Mineral” (more like precious metals!) that I bought as a “Christmas present” to myself when I should have been thinking of others / had no power to resist / have had in my stash for about a year now, waiting for the “right” pattern for it to arise, partly afraid to knit it up because it was “too nice”. It is so soft, so fine, and despite having a lovely soft haze there is a sheen and glow to the colours. It’s beautiful, and yet it has been a laceweight stash-prisoner for lo these many months. It’s time to rectify this situation!

Of course, never being one to take the easy road, I decide not to make a lovely “tube” a la Ms. Knitty. While I actually do not want to knit a full-on lace shawl here, I also (for this yarn) have rejected the idea of stockinette in the round. Yet she’s definitely on to something with the idea of a double-thick laceweight fabric: it would be smooth and soft, pretty and warm, fun and simple to knit. How to capture these elements in something other than stockinette?

Ah ha! Another liberation strike, that’s it! Think on poor eye-of-partridge stitch, so pretty and clever, yet consigned to sock heels for eternity. I love the way it’s slightly-raised lattice texture arises from such simple slipped and twisted stitches. It forms a beautiful double-thickness fabric with little work or thought. And when applied to a scarf, worked on mid-gauge needles, is sturdy and soft, simple and decorative. The perfect stitch!

I promise a better photo when there is daylight!

Armed with a super-easy pattern, reasonably-sized needles (3.75mm), and heavenly yarn, this baby’s flying along. Vive la liberte, laceweight!

ED: you can now find the full pattern for this on my blog here!