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Alices Cheshire Cat stole

by Carrie Griffin
Alice might have
been a skilled knitter, but in Wonderland nothing is guaranteed to end up as it first began. This simple lace stole needs only an increase here, a decrease there, and suddenly the knitting is carrying on quite beyond ones control. The waving columns of eyelets and the curves of the edges, so straight at first, remind Alice of the languid flicking of the Cheshire Cats tail.

You will need


Blue Moon Fiber Arts Silk Thread (1,140m/1,250yds per 100g/3.5oz). The stole as knitted requires approximately 775m/850yds. 1 set 2.75mm/US #2 needles, straight or circular Single 5mm/US #8 needle for bind-off If beading the stole: 170 size 6/0 seed beads for the main pattern 24 Swarovski Black diamond 6mm bicone crystals for edges 0.75mm crochet hook (1.5mm hook would do for the 6/0 seed beads)

Rating
PG mild peril Lace, beading, swearing over silk

Finished measurements
Approximately 178cm x 53cm (70" x 21")

Gauge (after blocking by immersion)


28 stitches/36 rows over 10cm/4" in stocking stitch, on size 2.75mm needles. One repeat of chart A is approximately 9 cm/3.5" tall and 53 cm/21" wide (averaged)

Cheshire Cat stole


Pattern note

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Published by Purlescence; Carrie Griffin 2007

Cheshire Cat is a beaded lace stole, knit in one piece. Double decreases surrounded by eyelets create columns that begin as parallel lines on the edging. Later the columns gently twist back and forth in the main body around a motif reminiscent of a cats eye. The final edging is a repeat of the beginning as the columns again straighten. Should you desire to bead the stole, there are border beads at each vertical edge where the columns reach their endpoints, and a bead at the centre of each lace motif.

Note on beading
To attach a bead, thread the bead onto the crochet hook. Remove the target stitch from the left needle using the crochet hook. Slide the bead over the top of the hook and onto the stitch. Replace the target stitch back on the left needle.

Notes on working with silk


A I highly recommend you use wood, bamboo, or plastic/plastic-coated needles. Silk is extremely slippery and it is difficult to keep the tension consistent on slick metal needles. Bamboo allowed me much greater control in tensioning and helped to prevent the stitches from falling off the needles, especially during decreases. B If your silk is in the form of a hank, wind it onto a cone or cylinder, and pull the yarn from the outside in, instead of from the centre. For such a slippery fibre, it tangles very easily when rubbing against itself. C Keep an emery board and some non-oily hand cream nearby. The fibres in silk yarn are so thin they will catch on tiny skin irregularities. Pbead Attach a bead to the stitch on the left needle. Purl the beaded stitch. sk2p Slip a stitch as if to knit, k2tog, pass the slipped stitch over. m1 Lift the bar from from the row below onto the left needle (it will look like a tight yarn over). Knit this stitch through the back loop.

Instructions
Cast on 127 stitches loosely with size 2.75mm needles using the knitted cast-on method. Beaded edge (If not beading, skip this part and proceed to Begin edging.) 1. Knit all stitches across cast-on row. 2. k7, p1, *Pbead, p9* 11 times, Pbead, p1, k7.

Special written symbols


Kbead If beading: attach a bead to the stitch on the left needle. Knit the beaded stitch. If not beading: knit this stitch as usual.
Chart A Row 1: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k7* 11 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 Row 2: k7, purl to 7st before end of the row, k7

k on RS, p on WS p on RS, k on WS

sl1, k2tog, psso yarn over

Chart A

32 31 29 27 25 23 21 19 17 15 13 11 9 7 5 3

30

Chart B

28

26

24

Cheshire Cat stole

22

20

18

16

14

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12

10

1 yarn over sl1, k2tog, psso m1 Ignore blank squares.


Row 23: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k3, yo, k3, yo, k3, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k3, yo, k3, yo, k3, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (131 stitches) Row 25: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, Kbead, k1, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k3* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, Kbead, k1, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 Row 27: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (129 stitches) Row 29: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k4, yo, ssk, k3, yo, sk2p, yo, k5* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k4, yo, ssk, k3, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 Row 31: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k3, m1, k1* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (127 stitches)

k on RS, p on WS p on RS, k on WS

K1bead k1 through back loop

ssk k2tog

Published by Purlescence; Carrie Griffin 2007

Row 1: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k7* 12 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (127 stitches) Row 2 and all WS rows: k7, p to 7st before end of the row, k7. Row 3: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k2, yo, ssk, k1, m1, k1* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (125 stitches) Row 5: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1tbl, yo, ssk, k2* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 Row 7: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k3, yo, k3, yo, k3* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (123 stitches) Row 9: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k3, yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1, Kbead, k1, yo, ssk, k2* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k3, yo, sk2p, yo, k7

Row 11: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k1, m1, k1, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (125 stitches) Row 13: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k4, yo, ssk, k3* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k5, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 Row 15: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k3, m1, k1, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k3, m1, k1, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (127 stitches) Row 17: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k7* 11 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 Row 19: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k2, yo, ssk, k1, m1, k1, yo, sk2p, yo, ssk, k3, k2tog* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k1, m1, k2, yo, ssk, k1, m1, k1, yo, sk2p, yo, k7 (129 stitches) Row 21: k7, *yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, Ktbl, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k5* 5 times, yo, sk2p, yo, k2, k2tog, yo, k1tbl, yo, ssk, k2, yo, sk2p, yo, k7

Cheshire Cat stole


Begin edging Repeat rows 1 and 2 of Chart A (page 2) 14 times (28 rows total, not including beaded row or edging).

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Published by Purlescence; Carrie Griffin 2007

Main section
Repeat rows 1-32 of Chart B (page 3) 15 times or until you are within 15cm/6" of desired length. Work rows 1-16 of Chart B once. Final edging Repeat rows 1 and 2 of Chart A 14 times (28 rows total after the main section). Beaded edge bind-off (If not beading, proceed to Bind-off.) Next row (RS): k8, *Kbead, k9* 11 times, Kbead, k8. Next row (WS): bind off using 5mm loosely as follows: *p2tog, sl st back to left needle*, repeat until only 1st is left from the last p2tog. Cut yarn, leaving a tail of at least 15cm/6" to weave in, and draw it through the stitch. Bind-off Using 5mm needle, bind off all stitches loosely using a decrease bind-off as follows: *k2tog, slip stitch back to left needle*, repeat until only 1 stitch is left from the last k2tog. Cut yarn, leaving at least a 15cm/6" tail to weave in, and draw it through the stitch. Finishing Block, then weave in all ends (do this after blocking, or the ends will pull out). silk dyes are not colourfast in water and require dry cleaning in this case you may wish to just spritz the stole with a light mist of water). While the ends are easily pinned out, the waving edges are more of a problem. I did not pin any of the vertical edges, instead using my fingers to stretch out the stole to into curves at each point where the stole is widest. Wet silk lace stretches easily and remains stretched. You may wish to have a spray bottle handy to spritz any sections that become dry, as damp silk dries quickly in a warm room. Its extremely helpful to block on a surface with regular vertical guidelines, so you can set the width of each curve to about the same as all the other curves just by referring to the lines.

About the designer


Carrie Griffin does indeed have a cat, but the cat refuses to pose for any pictures, let alone with a lace stole. Carrie lives in Portland, Oregon with her tyrannical cat and understanding husband and enough silk yarn to spark a silkmoth vendetta against her. She learned to knit 2 years ago. She enjoys yarn, gardens, Mai Tais, reading, and fresh berries when she can get them.

Notes on blocking
I chose to block this stole by fully immersing it in water then wrapping the stole in a towel and squeezing out the excess water. I had no problems with the silk thread breaking, although I handled the wet stole very gently and did not stretch it. Be sure to verify that the yarn you are using can be washed in water (some

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