Maggie's Rags: Handknit Designs by Margaret Radcliffe

Handknit Designs by Margaret Radcliffe

A small gallery of published and unpublished designs by Margaret Radcliffe that are not available as patterns from Maggie's Rags. These include submissions to contests, one-of-a-kind gifts for friends and family and garments for Margaret to wear herself. Click on the picure for a larger image.

		Dragon Skin: Knit on size 3 needles from silver Cascade Silk, hand dyed by Tess Designer Yarns. Scalloped bottom border on body and sleeves results naturally from the overlapping scales of the dragon skin pattern stitch. Borders are a simple garter stitch that prevents curling and stabilizes the neckline, but does not detract from the more complicated texture of the body. (2000)
		Tiger Eye Socks: This was a submission to Knitter's Magazine for their Sock Contest. It received an honorable mention and was published in Socks, Socks, Socks. They are knit from the toe up, so that the Tiger Eye lace pattern is rightside up on the sock. The back of the leg is in a mock cable and the top is finished off with tiny garter stitch triangles.
		Snowflake Sweater: This was a submision to Knitter's Magazine for their Kid's Contest. It was published in Kids, Kids, Kids. The shape is based on the traditional Icelandic circular yoked sweater, but the color patterns have been replaced with lace. The ribbing is openwork to complement the lace yoke and border patterns.
		Mom's Socks: Cotton socks knit for my mother from leftovers. Cotton, because she sometimes had problems with allergies to wool. Loose in the ankles, because she sometimes had problems with circulation. The "rules" were to vary the colors and textures as much as possible, and the two socks could NOT be exactly the same. Ends were dealt with by pulling them to the outside and braiding. The beginning of round is positioned at the outside of the ankle so the braids make a tassled decoration.
		Mom's Socks Revisited: More cotton socks for my mother, after she had a cerebral hemorrhage in April 2000. At times of stress, I find that I knit wild, bright colored socks. They are oversized, with loose ankles so that they would be easy to pull on. I had hoped she could wear them when she was in rehabilitation. Unfortunately, she didn't recover to that point. Once again, I worked based on "rules." They were knit from the toe up. The color patterns needed to be small (4-stitch repeats) and only two colors per row. Again, the two socks couldn't match exactly. The garter stitch cuff, above the stockinette ankle of the socks, automatically folds to the outside. Ends were woven in, except at the cuff, where they are made into long braided tassles.
		Karen's Vest: Karen Bauer has been organizing a regional spinning retreat known as the "Spinners' Gathering" for 10 years. In honor of a major birthday in her life and of the 10-year anniversary of the retreat, the spinners each contributed one ball of handspun yarn (plus a few commercial novelty yarns). Working from the yarn supplied, I designed and knit this vest. The project involved a certain amount of subterfuge. At the retreat in October 2002, one spinner distracted Karen, another acted as lookout, and I sneaked into her room to measure one of her sweaters. This was the only way to insure both secrecy and a good fit. The finished vest was presented at the retreat in April 2003.
		No Gauge Hats: Hats knit without patterns, based on the concepts I teach in the workshop Fantastic No Gauge Hats. These are all knit from the top down, which allows you to let the hat "grow" until it is big enough to fit the head for which it is intended, then to add any embellishments, brims, etc. that you want.
		No Gauge Bags: Bags knit without patterns, based on the concepts I teach in the workshop Fantastic No Gauge Bags. Like the hats, these are knit from a starting point (the point of a flap or the center bottom, for example), grow until they are big enough, and then can be finished off in any number of ways. One of these bags is available in the pattern Pineapple Evening Bag and Stole.
		No Gauge Scarves & Shawls: Scarves and Shawls knit without patterns, based on the concepts I teach in the workshop Fantastic No Gauge Scaves and Shawls. Like the hats and bags, these are knit from a starting point, grow until they are big enough, and then can be finished off in a number of ways and embellished. One of these, the Making Tracks Shawl, is available as a pattern from Maggie's Rags. We expect to publish at least two more of these in the future.
	Questions or suggestions? Contact us All text and images copyright © 2003 Margaret K.K. Radcliffe