New Pattern: Woodland Trails
Woodland Trails was made available to the general public on Ravelry on Wednesday. I originally designed it specifically for Cascade’s Lana Bambu yarn for My Sister Knits, but I knit a second one from Elegant Ewe from Done Roving as it knits up sooo quickly (approx 3-6 hours for the average knitter).
I knew the pattern was going to be pretty flexible and friendly to many yarns. Thanks to a bundle of terrific test knitters it was possible to truly see how versatile it is. It looks great in ombre striping yarns similar to the original Lana Bambu such as Trendsetter’s Tonalita (some other options would be Noro, Boku, Patons Soy Wool Stripes and Karaoke yarns). I love the classic look of those knit in luscious solids such as Bijou Spun and Malabrigo Worsted. Though I have to confess that being a spinner myself the two handspun ones in the gallery hold a special place in my heart!
You really should go peruse the gallery of projects on Ravelry as there are tons of yarn ideas, but also some great modifications for those who want to make the project for one use instead of all three as I did with mine.
The pattern is presented in both line-by-line written instructions as well as charted. The pattern is quite intuitive and easy to knit, even if the result doesn’t appear to be so. Many of the test knitters agreed. It is one that is easy to read from the rounds already knit once you’ve gotten through a repeat. It is also *very* easy to modify it to accommodate yardage restrictions or adjust it to fit more firmly (if wanting to wear it only as a hat) or more loosely (for the cowl or wimple) or to make it longer to be certain of generous wimple coverage. Connie found with her yarn she had an 8″ length at 100 yds, 16″ length at 200 and 19″ length at 250 yds. Your mileage may vary, but that will give you an idea of what is possible if you are wishing to length the pattern. All had a circumference of approximately 21″.
The fact that it is pretty easily a one skein project and can be knit so quickly I’m thinking there will be several more in my future. Mom already ordered one for herself for Christmas.
