Socks, socks, socks; the Red Edge; all my makes; a last word on bricolage; climate change; social justice; the other Venn; working your ass off on the things that matter…
Bricolage
In this episode, colour helps jump start my capsule wardrobe design process. This one is all about lush, gorgeous, juicy and delicious colour that makes you want to bite into…
Passing a kidney stone: the Attenborough version; sewing patterns and their history; resting comfortably; and a linen shirt. The fruits of my knitting substance diet below. From left, Auto Pilot…
A listener let me know this week that the episode permalinks created by my hosting company, Libsyn, link to the old Cast On website, and not to the show notes…
Bows. Bras. Extremely slow fashion. With added glamour. I watched these classes on Craftsy: Pattern Making Basics: The Skirt Sloper and Fitting Solo, from Measurements to Muslin. (FYI, Craftsy are…
Rats, Riverview, and the Red Edge. Plus, we are all hipsters now. Sorry. There’s a good description of the Iceland Bind Off here. The GIF at the bottom of the…
The dog snored, loudly, through most of this episode. There’s also some intermittent electronic interference because my phone was resting to close to the mic. I can’t really do much…
Envision the work. Collect the materials. Commit to the plan. Make. That’s how you build a palace. That’s how knit happens. The Riverfront Scarf and my Canyonlands WIP Pattern Cutting…
Winter clothes move to off-season storage, and spring clothing moves in; bricolage informs the deconstruction of the Red Edge; and an interview with My Body Model founder, Erica Schmitz. The…
Brenda’s Top Tips for Self-care: French Green Clay This moisturizer from The Ordinary Any pink lipstick can be renamed Your Crazy Grandma, and is much better for it. Find the…
about
I’m a serial maker of podcasts, and many things that are not podcasts. I love playing with yarn, fibre and cloth. I will never accept that furniture in my living room only goes two ways. Almost every night, I dream about houses.
Listen to the Latest
Cast On
Cast On began on Monday, 31 October, 2005, founded on nothing more than the desire to talk about knitting to people who get it. Since then, the podcast has evolved to focus on finding inspiration in the ordinary, using it to kick start the process of making stuff, and finding ways to carve out the creative time and space that allows you to work your ass off on the projects that matter most to you. Like knitting a sweater. Or saving the world.
205 Big love and secret pajamas
byBrenda Dayne
It’s been a week of finishes and new beginnings. Off the needles, I’ve completed a Malabrigo hat and love the color pooling. You don’t hear me say that very often.
I’ve finally finished my Amande socks—though I must say I rather hated working both the nupps and wrapped stitches techniques. Sometimes you have to try things to understand what you decidedly do not enjoy.
My new obsession is Big Love by ANKESTRIK, a top-down cardigan with fascinating construction that I’m knitting in gorgeous Gilliat yarn. The pattern begins with a provisional cast-on at the shawl collar, and I minimised the inevitable ribbing alignment issues by using a Turkish cast-on and knitting across the first row rather than working the ribbing pattern.
For the shoulders, I chose Chinese Waitress cast-on, which creates a lovely firm yet stretchy edge perfect for shoulder seams. The Ravelry community provided essential modifications—working the fronts two inches longer than the back prevents the sleeves from rotating forward due to the unusual construction.
Many knitters went up a size or two for the sleeves, so I did my own spot-checking for sleeve pickup. Remember: Your measurement x gauge (stitches per inch) = Number of stitches you need for your desired size.
This sweater connects to larger work I’m doing on a capsule collection based on my Changing Clothes manifesto. I’ve been thinking more intentionally about getting dressed—not for others’ gazes but for my own comfort in what I call “Secret Pyjamas.” The goal is creating sustainable, perfectly fitting garments made by hand, including finally tackling my Everest of well-fitted trousers.
Behind the scenes, I’ve moved podcast hosting to Substack after twenty years with Libsyn. Yes indeed, I’ve been podcasting since 2005. Where has the time gone?
Music: “Who Knows” by The National Parks
If you’d like to help support the podcast, you can do so via Ko-fi or Patreon, or by spreading the word to a fellow knitter.
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brendadayne.substack.com
Search Results placeholder
