the chance collection

chance (accident, random, haphazard: call it as you like) plays an important role in every life – at least in mine! - so here’s an attempt to translate this concept into knitting: a group of patterns that are dedicated to eagerly curious knitters who, like me, get bored easily and know that knitting is not just made of needles and yarn. therefore chance, in various ways, is used to relieve knitting from the contingency of the pattern’s detailed directions, transforming these pieces in random (and rather subversive) acts of knitting.

beyond basic instructions for fully customizable outcomes, each of these patterns is accompanied by some inspiration from movies, art, books and music to watch, read and listen to along the way - if you happen to knit one of them you’re invited to publish your project on Ravelry adding also your personal sources of inspiration!

note: the patterns of this collection are not based on conventional line-by-line instruction, thus for a satisfactory knitting experience it is essential to carefully read all the instructions in order to fully understand the whole process prior to start knitting.


spits&pearls

mostly inspired by a Vladimir Mayakovsky’s poem about a disenchanted sky, this piece is functionally a cowl available in two versions, and unlike the others pieces of the collection it has almost traditional instructions. both versions feature a welted structure - used also in another pattern of the collection, le onde del destino - which is a simplified version of the traditional picked up tuck.

the chance role here is played by the yarn: a speckled type is used to produce a totally accidental starry sky, while a semi-solid dark blue serves as a background to randomly placed beads of different shape and size: an unusual effect for me for rather uncommonly shaped pieces - but when it comes to randomness the sky is irresistible.

yarn:
fingering yarn with a good body and drape.

used for the samples:
Ovis et cetera Igneae - 60% Wool/20% Ramie/20% Silk - 100g = 425 m/465 yds - speckled version: shade Shibori Dark Dye (100gr total) - beaded version: shade Geode (85gr total)

needles:
size 3 mm/US 2 1/2 and size 3.5 mm/US4 80 cm/32” circulars

gauge:
22 sts & 46 rows in garter st for 10cm/4” with bigger needles

notions:
6 (speckled version) or 4 (beaded version) 10 mm/3/8” buttons
beaded version: a variable amount of beads of different measure and shape
1 removable marker

size:
two versions - see diagram for approximate measures

skill level:
intermediate / watchful