You may remember that some time ago, I made a blanket for my then-newborn nephew, whom we shall call Galactus, Eater of Worlds. (Really, he’s a cherubic little thing with a mess of blond curls; he’ll always be Galactus to me.) For that blanket, Ridgely (the colour genius behind Astral Bath Yarns) took my rather stream-of-images-type description and came up yarn that was exactly the colour in my head, a colour that is now in her repeatable colourways under the name Grotto.
Her dyeing technique and those stitch patterns worked so well together, and enough people liked that blanket, that we decided it should become a pattern, and the pattern should be called Born at Sea.
As we’d already seen how the blanket looked in Grotto, we decided to use one of Ridgely’s fabulous greys for the sample, so this version is in Astral Bath Spectra DK in the colour Rhinoceros.
Born at Sea mixes 2-stitch cables and knit and purl stitches for a fabric with lots of tactile and visual interest.
I think this piece would be lovely as a rectangular shawl or an afghan, so I’ve included instructions for those, too. The stitch patterns are charted, and there are tips for further customizing the size and for working the 2-stitch cables without a cable needle. As with all my patterns these days, I’ve included tips for substituting yarn. Here’s what the ‘About the yarn’ section says about Spectra DK:
Astral Bath Spectra DK is a worsted-spun, machine washable merino yarn. Multiple plies and a tight twist make this a round, bouncy yarn with lots of memory and great stitch definition, ideal for the texture and cables in this design. The slight colour variation of this hand dyed yarn adds visual depth to the textured stitches, while its silkiness and density give the fabric a wonderful drape. If substituting yarn for your project, look for a yarn with similar properties, especially one with good stitch definition and not much halo.
This information is particularly helpful in this case, as Astral Bath doesn’t do many shop updates at the moment. Ridgely does take custom orders, though. If you’re a Ravelry member, her custom order information is here, and her list of repeatable colourways is here.
Born at Sea is available for $6 USD as a PDF download through Ravelry. The pattern page is open to members and non-members alike: click here for full information and to buy the pattern.
Photos © Gale Zucker 2016
