When I reconnected with the pleasure of knitting two years ago, I was first drawn to dropped stitch patterns. I knit up doll clothes just for the fun of testing out the stitches! I hadn’t applied them to larger items, but when a friend requested a stole for the winter, I found the perfect stitch in The Art of Knitting, published by the Butterick Publishing Co in 1897. The book recommended using the stitch for “shawls, stripes, spreads, afghans,” and I immediately began playing with it. I paired the dropped stitch pattern with purse stitch, an old, simple, yet effective lace faggot, and Fayfay was born. Using just one skein of Kidsilk Haze, it’s quick to knit and sure to please.
Gauge
Not Applicable
Sizes and Measurements
One Size
Shown: 150cm X 75 cm after blocking
Materials
- Rowan Kidsilk Haze [70% super kid mohair / 30% silk, 229yd / 209m per 25g skein]; Any color; 1 skein.
- One pair of needle in desired size, and a bigger sized needle for casting-on and binding-off loosely. (I used US 7 / 4.5 mm needle for the knitting and US 9 / 5.5 mm needle for casting-on and binding-off.)
Directions
(Popknits uses knittinghelp.com's standard abbreviations)
Special Stitch Instructions
Purse Stitch:
Multiple of 2 plus 2
Row 1 and every row: K1, *yo, p2tog; repeat from * to last st, k1.
Alternatively, you can work k2tog instead of p2tog.
Openwork Cross Stitch:
Multiple of 6
Row 1: Knit
Row 2: *K1, wrap yarn around the needle for 3 times (yo x 3), repeat from * to end of row
Row 3: *Sl 6 sts to right hand needle and let extra loops drop, so you’ll get six elongated stitches, then insert your left needle from the 3rd stitch to 1st stitch on the right, bring the three stitches over the 4th to 6th stitches and let them stay on the left needle, sl the 4th to 6th stitches on the left, knit the 4th to 6th then knit the 1st to 3rd stitches; repeat from * to end of row.
Row 4: Knit
The Scarf/Stole
Cast on 48 stitch using large needles or very loosely.
Start purse stitch.
Work 27 rows.
*Work openwork cross stitch, work 9 rows of purse stitch; repeat from * for 8 times more. Work openwork cross stitch pattern once more.
Work purse stitch for 27 rows or until desired length.
Bind off loosely or using large needles.
About the Author
Lia learned how to knit when she was 13 but knitting only became a serious hobby of hers after October 2006. She started to knit for her Blythe dolls at first, wanting to create a beautiful wardrobe for them. She quickly built up a stash and had to start knitting for herself so as to use up yarns she had bought. She now knits when she is traveling, whether on buses, trains, or flights. She has an MFA in Theatre Directing and a PhD in Theatre Studies. She sometimes knits while seeing a performance. Lia lives in London, is ambling on Ravelry, and has a blog at http://ambling.wordpress.com/.
Credits
Photos by Lia W Liang and T. J. Wang
Model: Lia W Liang
From Flickr
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Errata
There are no reported errors in this pattern. Found something? Please Contact Us.
License
Fayfay by
Lia W. Liang is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.
Based on a work at
http://www.popknits.com/index.php/patterns/page/fayfay/.
