Field Guide No. 8: Merry Making

In Field Guide No. 8: Merry Making, Designer Thea Coleman took to heart the idea of designs that can be made quickly, easily, with enough variation that they never get old, and in lots of sizes.

You’ll see in these designs all Thea’s signatures: a crazy cable, graphic colorwork, juicy texture.

If you’re the organized, plan-ahead type, consider this Field Guide your prospectus for building a bountiful pile of hats, mitts, cowls, and coasters in time for holiday gift-giving.

If you’d rather wait until the stakes are higher and time is short, know that you have this Field Guide at the ready, full of quick gifts for all. Even with the best planning in the world, there’s some thing festive—or necessary—about dashing off a cute hat in the nick of time.

In MDK Field Guide No. 8 you’ll find:

• Appleseed Mitts: These decorative, becuffed mitts, are fun to make, with an addictive little purl twist stitch.
• Appleseed Coasters: When you want to knit something small, yet useful and fun, swatch up a set of Appleseed Coasters. All the fun of that purl twist stitch, in a little rug to slide under your coffee cup.
• Slip-Stitch Cap: It's hard to believe how quickly this hat knits up. Partly because of the chunky yarn (big stitches mean fast knitting). But it’s also a fact that slip-stitch colorwork, in which only one color of yarn is worked at a time, actually speeds up your knitting.
• Stranded Diamond Hat: If you want to whip up a quick hat, but you’re fancy and want to do some real stranded colorwork. Then this is the hat for you. With a clean, graphic, and vaguely nordic two-color motif and a pom pom.Because everyone loves pom poms.
• Chalice Cowl: The fun-to-knit chalice-shaped cable is the star here. Its unusual, figurative form is deep and chewy, and stands out against the thick garter-stitch background. Because it is worked on the bias (brilliant choice!) this cowl holds its shape while gently cupping the head and neck. And it’s reversible, so no matter how quickly the cowl is slipped over the head or, in the longer versions, twisted into a double thickness, it still looks good.
• As well as stories, tips, and beautiful photos.

Part of the Field Guide Collection by MDK