Karen Templer‘s new book, Seasonless, was officially released last Saturday, and we are delighted to have Germantown so prominently featured!
The concept of the book is both unique and timeless: it features 5 patterns, each with 4 stitch pattern variations, plus multiple shaping and finishing options, all in 1 gauge.
I took a moment last week to swatch in a few different yarns: Camper held doubled, Andorra held doubled (remember this?), and Germantown.
Book Gauges:
19 sts x 25 rows = 4″ in St st
19 sts x 32* rows = 4″ in Mosaic st
19 sts x 32*rows = 4″ in Textured st
*the book has the mosaic and texture patterns over 26 rows/3.25″ and 28 rows/3.5″ respectively, due to the number of rows in the patterns. This isn’t quite how my brain works, so I took a moment to do the math to calculate it over 4″.
Stockinette
Swatch 1: Germantown (cream) US 6 (4 mm)
Gauge (after blocking): 19 sts and 27 rows = 4″ (10 cm)
Swatch 2: Andorra (doubled; sage) US 6 (4 mm)
Gauge (after blocking): 19 sts and 27 rows = 4″ (10 cm)
Swatch 3: Camper (doubled; stone heather and oatmeal heather) US 7 (4.5 mm)
Gauge (after blocking): 18 sts and 26 rows = 4″ (10 cm)
Swatch 4: Camper (doubled; driftwood heather and oatmeal heather) US 8 (5 mm)
Gauge (after blocking): 17 sts and 24 rows = 4″ (10 cm)
Thoughts: It made sense to start with Stockinette since that forms the “base” of all of the patterns, and is easily translated into the stripe. I really love the Camper doubled (hello, marl!), so I’m tempted to swatch again on US 6 just to be sure it works. Maybe in lieu of yet another square, I should work up a stockinette pair of the Swatch Mitts as that is the (quite ingenious) point of the design.
I was able to achieve gauge with the Germantown and Andorra on US 6, but my row gauge is off – 27 in lieu of the required 25. This isn’t a big deal since I always count rows, so I’m confident I could make any of the patterns work in stockinette or stripes.
Mosaic Band
Swatch 1: Germantown (cream and tan) US 6 (4 mm)
Gauge (after blocking): 19 sts and 32 rows = 4″ (10 cm)
Thoughts: Matching row and stitch gauge? Be still my heart. The gorgeous stitch definition of Germantown makes the mosaic pattern really shine, even in a subtle color combo like the cream and tan I used in my swatch. The mosaic stitch, understandably, pulls in slightly as compared to the stockinette, so if I were to knit one of the pieces from the book with this pattern, I would pay attention to my tension to make sure the fabrics are the same gauge.
Textured Band
Swatch 1: Germantown (cream) US 6 (4 mm)
Gauge (after blocking): 18 sts and 28 rows = 4″ (1o cm)
Swatch 2: Andorra (doubled; sage) US 7 (4.5 mm)
Gauge (after blocking): 18 sts and 26 rows = 4″ (10 cm)
Thoughts: I worked the Andorra texture swatch prior to the working the stockinette on US 6, so I know if I went down to a US 6 for the texture, my gauge would be spot on as well. I enjoy the softness and halo of the Andorra doubled (thanks, mohair!) and think it would be an amazing cozy vest. As with the mosaic, the stellar stitch definition of Germantown looks amazing in the texture pattern, and everyone in the office is determined to have a finished cardigan by the end of the winter.
What will you make from Seasonless?