Last week KnitPicks released Witchlace, and I was barely able to create the Ravelry page and the page on my blog.  So I wanted to spend a little bit of time talking about Witchlace, why I love it, and why I think you should make it.

Witchlace is part of the KnitPicks Serenity Collection, which I’m tempted to make two or three things out of myself.  It’s worked side to side, much like Newport – and in fact, they were conceived as ideas close together.  Like Newport, Witchlace uses short rows for shaping, as the majority of the sweater is worked side to side.  Once the front, back and sleeves are done, the yoke is picked up and worked in distinctive broomstick crochet.

I LOVED working with Galileo.  It’s a beautiful, beautiful yarn and has an amazing hand.  It also lends itself well to crochet, and it comes in very vibrant and jewl-toned colors.  I would design something else in this yarn in a heartbeat – I’ve actually got a few ideas I think would work out well.

In a way, Witchlace was also heavily influenced by the design I made for Tangled Magazine: Sunburst Shawl.  Like the motifs in Sunburst, the broomstick lace in Witchlace is worked in the round – making the distinctive yoke pattern.

I have so much more to tell you about designing this pattern, but I’ll save it for my Post Mortem of Witchlace in a few days.