When I was a child, I remember I used to sneak into my parents’ bedroom to steal my mother’s edition of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales. They’d been given to her to improve her German, but I don’t think she read them all that much. I did. I’d sit on the floor of the bedroom and read ALL OF THEM. Especially the really bloody ones. I loved those. I love them to this day, so any design inspired by fairy tales is going to be added to my Ravelry queue. This one, “Fables”, has been on there for years, I couldn’t bear to delete it even though it wasn’t available for download a couple of months.

I usually don’t follow the yarn recommendations in patterns. It’s hard to track down the yarn for English patterns here in Germany, that’s why I substitute them. Also, I don’t always like the colours used in the original and/or have my own ideas. In the case of “Fables” however, I loved the romantic dusky pink so much I wanted the identical colour! Luckily, it’s made from Garnstudio DROPS Alpaca which I can easily acquire here.

It’s a neat little pattern. I love the turned collar edge, and the i-cord edging! It took me a while to get used to knitting the i-cord at the beginning and end of the rows, but I think the end results looks so much more finished then a normal edging. It isn’t a cape, by the way, even though it looks like one! The sleeves flare out in a way that suggests they’re part of the body.

I found the instructions a little bit confusing at times. For example, I wish the pattern had started with something like “using the 3.5 circulars, …”, or that it was at least somehow indicated at the beginning that you need the smallers needles only for the button loop. This is a small knitpick, but it would’ve saved me a couple of minutes of confused rereading and searching. I also don’t really understand why the pattern uses lifted increases. Apparently this technique is supposed to be nearly invisible, but either I did it wrong or that just isn’t true because you can very clearly see the increases in a way you wouldn’t see with the M1 or KFB techniques.

The end result is so romantic! My style has changed to a much more casual and pragmatic approach over the years since I found this pattern, but I think it will add a little fairy-tale touch to my outfits during the dreary winter days!

PATTERN OVERVIEW

Pattern: Fable by Jennifer Lang, size 37-40

Yarn: Garnstudio DROPS Alpaca (Sport, 100% Alpaca), 3800 Old Pink

Photography: Philip