Spring Snowfall is finally here! A gorgeous top down, cabled sweater with a yoked construction. Striking cables look great with this five colour fade in DK yarn from Black Elephant Yarns, and would look lovely in a single colour too. There are instructions for nine sizes with two options for body length. It's seamless, worked in the round, with a little short row shaping in the yoke for the perfect fit.

And it's available at a 50% discount with coupon code SNOWFALL50, valid until midnight (GMT) on 23rd September.

I will never get bored of narrow, twisted stitch cables on a background of reverse stocking stitch, they look so good with any yarn. Even funky multicoloured yarns that look fab in the skein, but a bit rainbow-vomit when knitted up look great in this stitch. There are instructions on which row to change colours based on a five colour fade, so no guesswork involved.​

And here's the nitty gritty on construction method, materials, techniques, etc...

Construction
We work from the top down using a yoked construction. The cabled patterns have increases built in which are worked down to the underarm. Short rows are worked at the lower back yoke for an improved fit and extra stitches are cast on at the underarm. We work body stitches down to the hem with options for different body lengths, then work sleeve stitches down to the cuff.
 
Suggested Yarn:  Black Elephant Yarns Winter Fade DK
5 x 115g skeins 100% superwash merino 230m/251 yds
 
Total Meterage (Cropped Version): (575, 625, 640) [855, 900, 945] {1130, 1170, 1210} m
Total Meterage (Full Length Version): (680, 745, 800) [1000, 1060, 1115] {1315, 1375, 1465} m
Total Yardage (Cropped Version): (625, 680, 700) [930, 985, 1030] {1235, 1280, 1320} yds
Total Yardage (Full Length Version): (745, 810, 875) [1095, 1160, 1220] {1440, 1500, 1600} yds
 
Dimensions (Metric):
Chest Circumference: (77.5, 87.5, 97.5) [107.5, 117.5, 127.5] {137.5, 147.5, 157.5} cm
Yoke Depth: (19, 21, 22.5) [24, 25, 26] {27.5, 29, 30} cm
Length Underarm to Hem (Cropped Version): (34, 32.5, 30) [36, 35, 34] {37.5, 36, 35} cm
Length Underarm to Hem (Full Length Version): (40, 39, 37.5) [42.5, 41, 40] {44, 42.5, 42.5} cm
Upper Sleeve Circumference: (26, 29, 31) [35, 37.5, 40] {44, 46, 49} cm
Sleeve Length from Underarm: (44, 42.5, 47.5) [46, 45, 44] {47.5, 46, 45} cm
 
Dimensions (Imperial):
Chest Circumference: (31, 35, 39) [43, 47, 51] {55, 59, 63}”
Yoke Depth: (7½, 8½, 9) [9½, 10, 10½] {11, 11½, 12}”
Length Underarm to Hem (Cropped Version): (13½, 13, 12) [14½, 14, 13½] {15, 14½, 14}”
Length Underarm to Hem (Full Length Version): (16, 15½, 15) [17, 16½, 16] {17½, 17, 17}”
Upper Sleeve Circumference: (10½, 11½, 12½) [14, 15, 16] {17½, 18½, 19½}”
Sleeve Length from Underarm: (17½, 17, 19) [18½, 18, 17½] {19, 18½, 18}”
 
Needles: 4.5 mm/US 7 75 cm/30” circular needle or as required to achieve correct gauge.
 
Gauge: 18 sts and 28 rows = 10 cm/4” in stocking stitch after blocking.
 
Extras: Tapestry needle for weaving in loose ends, cable needle, clip type stitch markers, holder or waste yarn for holding stitches, you may find a row counter useful.
 
Pattern Difficulty: Moderate to fiddly. There are separate instructions for multiple sizes included in many of the lines of the pattern. I’ve tried to make this as clear as possible, but it is a complicated pattern.
 
Skills Required: Work flat and in the round; knit and purl; knit into back loops, cast on and bind off; knitted and purled increases and decreases, including knitting into back loops. Cable knitting including knitting into back loops, pick up and knit (instructions given), work short rows (instructions given).

Two new patterns are in the works, with a little bit of luck these will be released in October and November. Although with a five month old baby at home, delays are to be expected! 

I'm going a bit girly-girly for winter. Brocken Spectre is a super fluffy cardigan with a delicate lace pattern at the shoulders. It's knitted up with a 4ply silk blend and laceweight alpaca held together for an extra cozy, fuzzy, knitted hug. Goldenacre Cardigan is knitted up in a twisted slip stitch rib pattern, designed to look like brioche lace. It's got saddle shoulders for continuous lace from neckline to cuffs and an attached shawl collar for toastiness. Let nobody say I didn't prioritise toastiness. 

Aaaand, one last look at how stunning these cables are!

Patterns clockwise from top left:
​Bracklinn Crop
Crosshill Cardigan
Loch Katrine Shawl
Corrieshalloch Top
Corran Cami

Patterns clockwise from top left:
Summer Lace Tank
Pollokshaws Cardigan
Sineabhar Shawl
Mabie Forest Shawl
Chance Inn Cardigan

We're having a little mini sale to celebrate Valentine's Day! Our three most heart filled patterns are half price with coupon code VALENTINE24.

Here's a wee description of each of the patterns..... 

Loveheart Crop is a super cute cropped tee with little "double nupps" that look just like hearts. It's a yoked top, but worked from the bottom up (so the hearts aren't upside down!) There are nine sizes to keep things inclusive, and it's the perfect Spring knit in 4ply yarn.

Rather than lace, this time the hearts are stranded colourwork. Fairisle Hearts is a top down, seamless yoked sweater with a classic fairisle design. Just like Loveheart Crop, there are nine sizes to choose from.

Another fairisle design, my Alpinist Hot Water Bottle Cozy is incredibly quick to knit in super chunky yarn. Always a great option for gift knitting, a true heartwarmer!

My new pattern, Crosshill Cardigan, is live! It's a top down, seamless waterfall cardigan designed for miniskeins (but still beautiful in a single colour). The main colour is Mulberino Yak 4ply in navy and the contrast colours are a set of Mulberino Shfades, both from Orchidean Luxury Yarns.  The cardi comes in nine sizes, to fit chests approximately 28-60". It's open at the front so there's a bit of leeway between sizes. 

The cardigan is worked from the top down using a modified raglan construction before splitting for the sleeves and body at the underarm. The body is worked down to the hem before picking up the sleeves stitches and working down to the cuff. We work a series of eight bands of lace from top to bottom, these could be worked in eight different colours, maybe one contrast colour, or the whole cardigan could be worked in a single colour.
 
And what's the inspiration behind the name? Crosshill is the area in Glasgow where my parents stay, and a firm favourite of my daughter. This makes it one of the few places where I’m able to get any knitting done while she’s awake!
​

My End of Year Sale is here! I'm offering a massive 50% discount on all patterns until midnight on 31st December. Use coupon code BOXINGDAY23 for half price knitting patterns!

It's a great time of year to stock up on knitting patterns. Maybe you got some yarn for Christmas and you're not sure what to do with it, or maybe you're looking for something creative to occupy your holiday. The time between Christmas and New Years Eve can feel a little empty, and crafting is a great way to spend some quality time and get away from the consumerism of the season. And coming from Scotland, we're looking ahead to some of the coldest months of the year so it's a great time for making something super cosy to snuggle up in!

Whatever the reason, we've got a huge range of knitting patterns with something for everyone!

And if you're looking for some (free!) knitting with a purpose, you might be interested in signing up for one of my current test knits:

We have two fabulous test knits with spaces open at the moment. Both are top down, totally seamless, available in nine sizes and feature gorgeous gathered lace stitches. Auldhouse is a simple crew neck sweater - slightly oversized and slightly cropped, knitted in chunky yarn. Arnprior is an open fronted cardigan that's incredibly quick to knit in super chunky yarn.

You can sign up to test knit and find out more in my Ravelry Group. If you don't use Ravelry but still want to test knit, get in touch via the "contact" button on my homepage.

The Littletheorem Knits Black Friday Sale is here, with all my patterns 50% off with  so I’m highlighting some of my favourite patterns to tempt you all!

Burrell Sweater is a super simple, oversized cropped sweater that’s maybe the most flattering garment I own. Super comfy, super cozy and looks amazing – your wardrobe needs this!
​
The Burrell Collection is an amazing museum and art gallery in the middle of Pollok Park in Glasgow. Truly a world class museum in an enormous country park – it honestly feels like you’re in the middle of the countryside complete with forest, Highland Cows and a stately house with manicured gardens. And the best part is it’s a minute’s walk from my house, we’re living the dream!

A stunning shawl with an unusual and beautiful stitch pattern, Beinn Ghlas is perfect gifting material too with Christmas just around the corner. This light and airy shawl will definitely become a firm favourite. There’s include instruction for two sizes. The smaller size only uses around half a skein of yarn, making it super quick to knit. The larger size still uses less than a skein of laceweight yarn, but is a little more luxurious to cuddle up in!

​Bracklinn is a super cosy sweater with cute button details at the side of the body. I knit this when my wee one was just a newborn for breastfeeding, but this is perfect winter wear for anyone. Who doesn’t love buttons?
​ 
Inspired by my Bracklinn Crop, it’s the same lace design and yoked construction, but in a chunkier yarn. It’s top down, totally seamless and available in nine sizes. After we work the beautiful lace yoke, we work the front and the back of the body separately down to the hem – with buttonholes on the front panel and buttons on the back. We then work the sleeves down to the cuffs. We also include instructions for a buttonless version if preferred.

​Maybe the cutest hoodie of all time? Hoodiesaurus is a simple garter stitch hoodie with a twist – spines! I designed this for my baby daughter but I think the appeal is universal so I graded it for adult sizes too. Instructions are given for 17 sizes from newborn to 150 cm/60” chest. I've included instructions for optional waist and sleeve shaping, and for two sizes of buttonhole if you don’t like toggles.

​Strathclyde is a gorgeous, extra long cardigan with a cosy double moss stitch shawl front and an intricate cabled design – can you believe it's already a year since this was released? Slipped, twisted stitches in the cables are designed to look great in handdyed yarn. It’s a top down, totally seamless cardigan with ¾ length sleeves. Both written instructions and charts are given for all the cable patterns, and it has instructions for 8 sizes to fit a 75 – 150 cm/30 – 60” bust.
This is the sister pattern to our Strathearn Cardigan. Strathearn is a beautiful part of Scotland that we visited often before the pandemic hit. I knit the bulk of this cardigan during lockdown so the name is for somewhere a bit closer to home – Strathclyde.

​Tentsmuir Sweater is a super simple oversized cropped sweater that’s maybe the most flattering garment I own. Super comfy, super cozy and looks amazing – your wardrobe needs this!
 
Tentsmuir is a beautiful pine forest near where I grew up - we always try to go back for a visit every autumn when it’s looking its best. It’s always filled with the most amazing mushrooms, and it feels like you’re in a forest from a fairy tale! The name seemed totally fitting for this deep green sweater – the yarn colourway is even called “Pines”.

​Liathach Cowl, a stunning mohair silk cowl with an unusual and beautiful stitch pattern. This light and delicate cowl will definitely become a firm favourite. This shawl is a full 40 cm x 150 cm/16” x 60” but uses less than 50g of yarn, making this super quick to knit – perfect for gifting with Christmas just around the corner!
 
Liathach means “the grey one” and is an imposing mountain in the North of Scotland with spectacular spire -like pinnacles. We climbed it on a foggy day and it was like scaling the outside of a cathedral surrounded by mist, unable to see the ground. An unforgettable day and an inspiration for this airy grey cowl.

The Indie Design Gift-A-Long is here!

If you haven't taken part before, the gift-a-long is basically a giant knit along/crochet along on Ravelry in the run up to the festive season. It begins today with a sale on over 4500 independently designed knitting/crochet patterns from 250 designers. Use coupon code giftalong20 from today until 30th Nov - you can find which patterns are eligible here.

It's more than just a sale though, you can post your projects on the forums to be in with a chance to win prizes - as well as getting your fix of knitting chat! That carries on until the end of December.

Normally I try to knit quite a few things getting ready for Christmas (last year I made a whole batch of bunbuns as gifts) but this year things are a bit different with a newborn. She's not keen on napping unless I'm cuddling her, so not much knitting is on the cards. However I am going to try to make myself a pair of handwarmers - my hands have been getting chilly pushing the pram! I'm going to try to knit these gorgeous Ridgeview Mitts by Kerriknits Designs. I have some super bright coral yarn that would be perfect!

I need to mention though that this is all based on Ravelry and unfortunately they still have not fixed their accessibility issues. For those of you who can't access Ravelry at the moment, not to worry! There's an alternative which starts up tomorrow, I'll be posting more info then!!

We’ve just released our Glen Shiel Cardigan knitting pattern! It’s classic cardigan with a pretty lace pattern and a cosy shawl front. The lace pattern is simple and straightforward, and it knits up fast with DK yarn and larger needles. This is a perfect winter warmer – one you’ll want to snuggle up in every day! Available in eight sizes to fit bust from 30 – 60”.
 
This cardigan is worked in one piece from the hem up to the underarms, then stitches are divided and we work the two fronts and the back separately, then we rejoin fronts and back with a three needle bind off at the shoulder. Pick up stitches round the armhole for sleeves which are worked flat and seamed, and to finish off pick up stitches round the front of the cardigan for a shawl collar. Shown in size 85-90 cm/34-36” on a model with 34” bust.

Here's the nitty gritty details:
Yarn: Wool and the Gang Sugar Baby Alpaca (100% Baby Alpaca 116 m/127 yds per 50g) DK weight
Colourway: Margaux Red
Meterage 850 (950, 1125, 1290, 1500, 1690, 1930, 2150) m
Yardage 935 (1045, 1240, 1420, 1650, 1860, 2130, 2365) yds
 
Dimensions (Metric)
To fit bust: 75-80 (85-90, 95-100, 105-110, 115-120, 125-130, 135-140, 145-150) cm
Across Back: 40 (45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75) cm
Length Armpit to hem:46 (46, 49, 49, 52, 52, 55, 55) cm
Upper Arm Circumference: 30 (35, 35, 40, 40, 45, 45, 50) cm
Sleeve Length 48 (48, 51, 51, 54, 54, 57, 57) cm
 
Dimensions: (Imperial)
To fit bust: 30-32 (34-36, 38-40, 42-44, 46-48, 50-52, 54-56, 58-60)”
Across Back: 16 (18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30)”
Length Armpit to hem:18.5 (18.5, 19.75, 19.75, 22, 22, 23.25, 23.25)”
Upper Arm Circumference: 12 (14, 14, 16, 16, 18, 18, 20)”
Sleeve Length 19 (19, 20, 20, 21.5, 21.5, 23, 23)”
 
Needles: 5 mm/US 8, 100 cm/40” circular needle, set of 5 mm/US 8 DPNs or spare 5 mm/US 8 circular needle
 
Gauge: 16 sts and 26 rows = 4”/10 cm in main lace pattern after blocking.
 
Extras: Tapestry needle for weaving in loose ends, holder or waste yarn for holding live stitches.
 
It’s available on Etsy, Ravelry and here on our website.

We’ve also got a fab test knitting opportunity!

Dip in the Lily Pond is a pretty hat pattern in an unusual stitch pattern. A versatile knit with a wide range of sizes from newborn to adult large, and three colourwork options letting you create beautiful and unique hats for every occasion. Perfect for using mini skeins or leftover odds and ends of sock yarn too! The pattern uses dipped stitches which look just like waterlilies, hence the name of this pattern.
 
To find out more, visit our group on Ravelry. If you’d like to test knit but you’re avoiding Ravelry due to their ongoing issues with accessibility, please get in touch via email. Go to our homepage and click “contact” at the bottom of the screen.
 
For current test knitters, here’s the tutorial video:

We've just released our latest pattern - Bracklinn Crop! It's a super cute cropped tee worked from the top down with an "easier than it looks" lace pattern. Designed for mini-skein sets or leftover sock yarn - with detailed instructions on using more/fewer colours.

It's available in nine sizes too, to fit busts from 28" - 62", and it's been thoroughly tech edited and test knitted.

It's available here on our website and also on Etsy and Ravelry - use coupon code BRACKLINN50 for a 50% discount until midnight (GMT) on Wednesday 5th Aug.

We've got a few new test knits on the go at the moment too! One's sweet and simple children’s sweater with zigzag colourwork detailing. Worked from the top down using a yoked construction, this straightforward knit is totally seamless. Available in 9 sizes to fit newborns to 11 year olds:

The next is a worsted weight version of our classic winter warmer, Courie In. It's got a slightly unusual construction. Sleeves are knitted first from cuff to centre back, then both sleeves are joined with a three needle bind off. Stitches are picked up at the bottom edge from underarm to underarm and worked down to the hem to form the back. Then stitches are picked up round the front to form the garter stitch wrap front. There's instructions for nine sizes to fit busts from 26” to 60”/65 to 150 cm, and I'm looking for two testers per size ideally.

Apart from all this knitting I've been trying to chill out and enjoy month seven of pregnancy! Not always easy when your back's aching and you can't sleep due to a baby practicing for future dance-offs in the womb! Here's a bump pic, again modelling my new design Worsted Courie In!

The weather here in Glasgow's been pretty poor, even by Scottish standards! But still managed a bit of time out in the garden, there's quite a lot of veg still growing and the sweet peas are thriving!