Introducing Wanderer.
A new design in cashmere.
Say hello to your new all-season staple, Wanderer. I designed Wanderer in the midst of Covid in anticipation of a return to - well, wandering. Thankfully, the time to wander has come.
My original intent was to wear this piece as a true wrap, tossed over the shoulder. As my piece grew, I happened to drape the ends to the front of my body (as shown in the photo above-thank you, my dear friend Janet, for modeling!) and discovered the beauty of the mirrored lace edges when worn that way. Just as beautiful is the drape in the back (see photo below). This discovery changed the length of the design and opened up a whole set of ways to wear Wanderer.
A versatile cashmere garment
How can you wear Wanderer? Let me count the ways. . .
•faux sweater style
•faux sweater turned around - wear the beautiful mirrored zig zags at your back
•true wrap - toss one end over the shoulder - pin it or not
•Asymmetrically - pin at the shoulder with your favorite shawl pin or vintage broach and wear as a poncho
•Draped around your back and over your elbows. How elegant are you?!
•And because Wanderer isn't seamed, lay it over you as the perfect lightweight blanket. Airplane, anyone? I especially took advantage of this use while knitting Wanderer - and still do while knitting other projects and watching tv.
A new knitter making Wanderer
Wanderer is the pattern that made my sister-in-law Linda take the dive to 1) work with our cashmere fingering weight yarn, 2) work with Size 2 knitting needles, and 3) challenge herself to grow her knitting skills. Linda sent me a photo late last winter showing off her newly knit hats and her brand new knitting skills. She's been learning via YouTube. Linda has pined for our Norah Gaughan Sandwaves poncho but when she saw Wanderer, she felt she could begin with it, recognizing that it's simply knit in stockinette stitch with a bit of lace. We're hoping to document Linda's journey as a new knitter making a finer-gauged knit. In the meantime, Linda is working on a swatch of stockinette to get gauge and become familiar with the yarn. When I see Linda early August, we'll work on another swatch to include the lace zig zags.
Make Wanderer for yourself
Wanderer is offered in 3 sizes. Wonder what size fits you? Take a towel or two and pin them to the finished dimensions in the pattern. Try on your towel wrap to find your ideal width/length measurements. Want the wrap a bit narrower? Remove some stitches between the lace sections. Wider? Add stitches in the same section. Shorter? Remove a lace repeat. Longer? Add one or two. With pattern gauge and size B, I was able to get 3 full lace repeats out of 1 skein of our fingering weight yarn. That gives you an idea of how many skeins you might need should you land on your own dimensions for the wrap.
Get your Wander Kit and if you're not a part of our community already, join us. We'd love to share our yarn, patterns, work in Kyrgyzstan, and knitting community news with you! Just click and fill in the 'Join now' button at the bottom of each page.
Until next time, find joy in knitting with our yarn! - warmly, Amy