Bond Buzz, Issue #37
June 8, 2007
Free from Bond America

Welcome to another issue of Bond Buzz!

Summer is upon us which means lots of us taking to the roads, but with gas prices what they are, many of us may choose to stay home – and, what else – knit!

This year’s fashion looks are all over the place and lots are retro in feel.  I used to have a fabric store in the late 70’s and we sold lots of pre-shirred elasticized fabric for making sun dresses.  We’d just measure off inches at the elasticized end and cut.  Sew the center back seam and, voila, an “instant” sundress.  Well, what’s old is again new and the fabric stores are once again selling virtually the same product.  What’s my point on this?  Take a long knitted skirt and hoist it up to your underarms and you have a super sundress.  And to make it really special, you can embellish it with Fabulous cording and beads.  Even if you make the skirt shorter than the one pictured below, you can then create a tunic and wear it over capri-length leggings – the shape that’s all the rage this summer.  And that’s what the pattern is this Buzz:  a skirt/strapless dress/tunic.

If you don’t know how to do a drop stitch, please refer to the scarf pattern book that came with your machine.  That pattern has every other stitch dropped which creates a very open stockinette stitch.  For this pattern, every 5th stitch is dropped.  Kathy added a bead to every 5th cast-on e-wrap (so the loose stitch created by the drop will have a bead in its center), but doing this is optional.

The lower 14” of the skirt has a drop-stitch pattern that most of you know how to do:  leaving 1 to 3 needles out of work for every few in work).  If you’re familiar with the technique and want to go straight to the pattern, click here.  But if you want to learn more about the technique, here’s how this stitch can be used as a flounce or lacy cuff.

DROP STITCH CUFF

Here’s a quick cuff that’s 5” long.  Note that I changed the pattern slightly so every 4th stitch is dropped:

• Bring forward 58 sts and do a closed-edge cast-on.

• Knit 32 rows. 

• Drop stitch #2, *skip 3 sts, drop 4th st. Rep from * across, ending with 2 sts in st st. NOTE: If you are using your machine without the clamps, DO NOT pull down on the knitting or you could end up with it in your lap. Either affix the clamps or ease the stitch down without pulling on them.K 6 R WY and remove work from machine.
• Remove hem.
• Using claw weights to hold down the knitting, bring forward 36 needles to HP and hang on as many sts, decreasing 8 sts evenly across.
• Knit sleeve starting 3” above the pattern’s finished cuff length.
• Remove work from machine.
• Sew cuff and sleeve seam.

For those of you who are crocheters (and I know there are LOTS of you based on our recent survey), I thought I’d mention the books that we’ve done in partnership with Leisure Arts.  These books use primarily Simply Soft yarn.  Watch for more books as time goes on and we continue to work with Leisure Arts.  Click on each booklet to learn more about it and to purchase at www.shopcaron.com.

And for those of you follow Rwanda Knits, I’ll be heading back to Rwanda on June 15 to meet with the other knitting groups I didn’t see last trip, meet with Rwanda government officials to help secure the tax-free status of the yarn being imported from Turkey and do more knitting training with Rwanda Knits’ teachers.  I also will be going back to the Imbabazi orphanage in Gisenyi to see how the kids have adapted to their new home on the “farm” that Rose Carr left to them.  This is also my vacation and I DO plan to also just have fun!  There’ll surely be some great photos in the July Buzz.  For the updated Rwanda Knits Web site, www.rwandaknits.org.

And thanks again for all of you who made the Rwanda Knits Online Auction such a success!  I hope you can join me for the really big auction late October!

For those of you who are, like me, doting grandmas (that title has yet to be confirmed by Hazel – she may want to call me something totally different), I thought I’d include an updated shot of Hazel, who is now just beginning to crawl – though she prefers “almost” walking.

Happy Knitting!

Cari Clement
Bond America

P.S. As a subscriber to Bond-Buzz, I'd like to invite you to subscribe to the FREE e-mail newsletter—Caron Connections from Caron® International. Just visit the Caron site (http://www.caron.com) and enter your email address. It's that easy. As a subscriber to Caron Connections, you'll receive monthly emails filled with the latest inside scoop on Caron's new fashion yarns and free patterns.