A freelance violinist/violist, Lisa Doherty stays busy playing at weddings, concerts, church services and theaters – she’s even worked with some touring Broadway shows! But music isn’t Lisa’s only passion. She spends her “down time” knitting and crocheting. In fact, she’s spun her yarn obsession into a side business, selling designs on Ravelry.
Wiggle is a beautiful, boomerang-shaped scarf featuring freeform lace. Not familiar with the technique? This is the perfect pattern to learn on, because Lisa provides different combinations of increases and decreases that you can mix within each lace section. The sample is knit in Berroco Fuji, but there are also instructions for using DK and fingering weight yarns. The pattern provides so many choices, your project is sure to be truly unique!
How did you come up with this design?
My favorite type of knitting and crocheting is freeform. It’s very appealing to me to make up something as I go along, and I love the interesting effects you can get with freeform techniques. I teach classes at two yarn shops in the area, and it is most satisfying for me to teach my original designs. My recent fascination with boomerang style scarves and a request from a friend to teach freeform knitted lace resulted in this new pattern. The design allows the knitter to experiment with freeform lace in a structured piece.
Is there a story behind the name?
The name “Wiggle” is silly, but I chose it because of the short edges of the scarf. On one edge, the way that the increases are spaced causes that edge to be uneven. On the other short edge, an optional bind off with small, finger-like appendages creates another irregular edge. Both seem to wiggle!
How did you choose the yarn?
Choosing yarn for the samples was fun. Since I’m teaching classes for this project, I needed to choose yarns stocked in my local yarn shops. At Cozy, in Durham, we carry a number of Berroco yarns. It was tough to choose between Fuji and Indigo for Wiggle, but I ended up choosing Fuji because of that beautiful dark blue. I wouldn’t rule out making another Wiggle for myself in the Indigo, though. It’s a lovely yarn!
What’s your favorite thing about knitting/crochet?
There are many things to love about knitting and crocheting, but one of my favorites is the social component. I have many friends who knit, but I also love that I can go into any yarn shop in any city that I’m visiting, and feel comfortable and conversational with yarny people. It’s a great way to connect with people.
Do you have a cool design you want to share? Or did you recently finish a project with Berroco yarn? You can email Ashley: apalumbo@berroco.com or post it to the Berroco Lovers forum in Ravelry.
Thanks for this lovely post, Ashley! I’m excited to be featured in your blog.