Well hello everyone! Welcome to the final week of the Downton Abbey MKAL! It's funny, when I set out to do this, I didn't realize that PBS was planning to shorten the DA season by combining episodes 6 & 7 to make last week's mega episode and then airing the Christmas special (this week) as the 7th episode. In any case, the season was actually a week shorter than anticipated, but luckily, I planned to wrap up a week "early" so it all works out in the end!

Check out Rachel's finished gauntlets!

That said, I would like to thank you all SO much for joining me in this journey. It's been a blast and I've learned a lot and I hope you all have too. I am already cooking up the next KAL so hopefully you'll join me there as well.

So here is our final bit of knitting for the DAMKAL!

Thumb Gusset (continue working in the round):

Needle 1: Knit as follows-

• Round 1: k to last 5 sts, pm, k1f&b, k3, k1f&b,
• Round 2: k
• Round 3: k to marker, slip marker, k1f&b, knit to last stitch, k1f&b
• Round 4: k

Needle 2: Continue working in Rosebud Lace pattern picking up where you left off, starting with round 9. While you are knitting the thumb gusset, you will continue working this pattern for 12 more rounds ending on row 4 of the pattern.

Needle 3: For this section, you will no longer knit eyelets. At this point you should have a total of 14 eyelets. You will now just knit regular stockinette stitch on this needle until the directions say otherwise.

-Remove provisional cast on and place stitches back on your needles dividing the stitches evenly among the needles and rejoin yarn to resume working in the round. (This is a good opportunity to knit those 4 rounds IFyou missed them at the beginning.)
-Increase to 52 sts if you do not  already have that number on the needles by knitting a round and spacing your increases evenly throughout the row. Use your preferred method of increasing.
-Purl one round
-*k1, k1f&b; repeat from * to end of round. (78 sts now on the needles)
-Rearrange sts on the needles so that you have 26 sts on each needle.

Work Shell Lace Edging pattern as follows:
Shell Lace Edging Pattern

Rnd 1: *k2tog, k9, ssk; repeat from * to end of rnd. (66 sts)
Rnd 2: Knit
Rnd 3: *k2tog, k7, ssk; repeat from * to end of rnd. (54 sts)
Rnd 4: Knit
Rnd 5: *k2tog, yo, (k1, yo) 5 times, ssk; repeat from * to end of round (78 sts)
Rnd 6: Purl

*Repeat rows 1-6 two more times. (A total of 3 repeats)
Bind off and weave in ends. Feel free to block your gauntlet if you'd like. If you do, be sure to pin out the points on your lace edging. 

There you have it folks! The conclusion of the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL. I truly hope you've enjoyed the journey and I can't wait to look through all of the finished gauntlets on the project page!! I will be formatting the KAL pattern over the next couple of weeks into a downloadable PDF complete with photos and charts so stay tuned. I should have that up in about two weeks. I will make sure that it gets a mention in one of our upcoming twice monthly newsletters.

Also, some of you may be curious about our next KAL. Well, we couldn't help but love having a theme based off of a popular series, so starting March 31st, we'll begin our Game of Thrones Mystery KAL complete with it's own custom color of Lorna's Laces! Stay tuned for more info in our Friday, March 1st Newsletter! I hope you'll join me!

With that I bid you farewell, until we meet again.

Happy knitting!
Kristen

Hi everyone and welcome to Week #6 of the Downton Abbey KAL!

By now, you should be pretty sure what will come next. Some of you may have even figured it out already! In any case, this week, I will take you all the way up to the thumb gusset and next week we will finish up the left gauntlet. Here are the directions for week 6:

*You should have just finished up your 4 rows of straight knitting. The next set of directions will be broken down by needle just like the directions in Clue #1.

Divide sts onto needles same as for right gantlet with 14 sts on Needle #1, 25 sts on Needle #2, and 13 sts on Needle 3.

Needle #1: 

Knit every round.

Needle #2 (Rosebud Lace Panel, 25 sts wide, OPTIONAL):



Needle #3:

Hi everyone!

Welcome to week #5 of the Downton Abbey Mystery KAL! I hope everyone's projects are coming along ok. From what I've been observing on Ravelry, most of you are doing just fine and have been great about helping everyone out as well. Thank you to all of you for creating such a wonderful and positive community!

Elegant and functional!

I asked in the comments on my last post for folks to weigh in about what to knit next and I've decided to do a little of both. Many folks chose to reverse the pattern on their own and knit two at a time. I decided to address the lacing for the gauntlets as the main topic for this post. After the lacing, I'll include instructions for casting on and getting started on your second gauntlet. Hopefully this will cover both sides of the spectrum!

My gauntlet fully ruched.

So now that you have at least one gauntlet finished, you may be wondering how those eyelets will be used. Well today, we will be knitting a skinny i-cord to run through the eyelets, and tie with a bow to complete the ruched look of the gauntlet. Gathering the side of the gauntlet like this will help to tighten the fit of the gauntlet on your arm and will also create a feminine and ladylike fit as well that is appropriate for the time period in which Downton Abbey takes place.

Knitting this i-cord is quite simple and all you need is either two DPNs in the size you used for your gauntlet, or your circular needle in the size you use, preferably a 24" length or shorter and your gauntlet yarn. The shorter circular length will make it much easier to work your i-cord. If you would prefer, you can use a different yarn for your i-cord to create a fun contrast. Don't feel like you HAVE to use the same yarn as your gauntlet. However, should you choose to use a different yarn, I would recommend using one that is the same weight or lighter than the sport weight yarn you are using.

**Please note, you can't use straight needles to knit your i-cord in the method I am about to show you. It will not work.**

I-cord Instructions (Make 2):

Step 1: Using your US 3 needles, cast on 2 sts

Step 2: Slide your sts to the opposite end of the needle so that the stitch closest to the tip of the needle does NOT have the working yarn attached to it.

Working yarn is on the stitch to the left.

Step 3: Knit those 2 sts pulling the working yarn snugly on that first stitch to close any gap that might occur.

What it looks like when you pull it snug as you knit the first stitch.

Step 4: Slide your sts to the opposite end of the needle again.

Step 5: Knit those 2 sts pulling the working yarn snugly on that first stitch.

Step 6: Repeat Steps 4 & 5 until your i-cord measures 17" long.

The completed i-cord.

Step 7: To finish, knit those 2 sts together, cut your yarn, and run your strand through the loop to tie off. Weave in your ends and run your i-cord through your eyelets as shown in the photo below weaving in and out up one side of eyelets towards the thumb and back down the other so that both tails are on the same end when it's finished.Then cinch up your gauntlets to the desired fit and tie a bow to secure them. Wear while drinking tea out of fancy cups with your pinkey finger in the air!

How to lace up your gauntlet...

For those of you who knit two at a time, this is the end of the KAL for you! Now you can kick back, relax and enjoy the rest of the Downton season! The rest of us will be starting on our second gauntlets!

Beginning of Gauntlet #2:

**This part is the same as gauntlet #1**

Hi everyone!

Hope your week has gone well. Things have been crazy in JBW-land as we gear up for a fun and exciting couple of months. My apologies for not popping into the Ravelry group as much this past week. Hopefully all questions were answered, and of course, feel free to message me directly anytime if you have an urgent question. I am always happy to help! :)

So hopefully by now you've all finished the hand on your right gauntlet and are ready to take out your provisional cast on and find out what fun is in store. Here we go!

-Remove provisional cast on and place stitches back on your needles dividing the stitches evenly among the needles and rejoin yarn to resume working in the round. (This is a good opportunity to knit those 4 rounds IF you missed them at the beginning.)
-Increase to 52 sts if you do not  already have that number on the needles by knitting a round and spacing your increases evenly throughout the row. Use your preferred method of increasing.
-Purl one round
-*k1, k1f&b; repeat from * to end of round. (78 sts now on the needles)
-Rearrange sts on the needles so that you have 26 sts on each needle.

Work Shell Lace Edging pattern as follows:

Shell Lace Edging Pattern

Rnd 1: *k2tog, k9, ssk; repeat from * to end of rnd. (66 sts)
Rnd 2: Knit
Rnd 3: *k2tog, k7, ssk; repeat from * to end of rnd. (54 sts)
Rnd 4: Knit
Rnd 5: *k2tog, yo, (k1, yo) 5 times, ssk; repeat from * to end of round (78 sts)
Rnd 6: Purl

*Repeat rows 1-6 two more times. (A total of 3 repeats)

Bind off and weave in ends. Feel free to block your gauntlet if you'd like. If you do, be sure to pin out the points on your lace edging. Otherwise, you can also wait to block both gauntlets together at the end. I'm the impatient sort when it comes to things like this, so I definitely blocked my first glove before the second. But that's just me. It's entirely knitter's choice. :)


Also, the photos show my right gauntlet when it was blocking since I can now show you what it looks like. Hopefully you all have some similar results. :)

Ok, so this is it for week 4! I hope you all have a fantastic week coming up and happy knitting to you all!

Kristen

Hi everyone! Welcome to week three! I am going to keep this week's post pretty brief because this week's clue has a less knitting than the prior weeks. I'm sure this will work out perfectly giving you plenty of time to brew some tea and enjoy the rest of your day. I hope you are all enjoying the holiday weekend. Wait, what IS a weekend? Right? :)

Jumping right in, here are links to the first two clues if you are just joining our KAL:

Clue #1

Clue #2

We've just finished the thumb gusset and put those stitches on a holder. You also joined the hand and worked rows 5-8 of the Rosebud Lace pattern one last time.

Finishing the Hand:

-K 5 more rounds
-Try on your gauntlet and measure how close you are to your ideal hand length. This part is customizable. If you only need 3/4" or less to be at your ideal length, move on to the garter stitch portion. If you need more than 3/4", knit a few more rows first.
-Work in Garter Stitch (knit a round, purl a round) for 10 more rounds or approximately 3/4".
-Bind-off and weave in ends.

Finishing the Thumb:

-Using your DPNs and beginning with the right side (lace side) of the gauntlet facing you, place your thumb stitches back on the needles in the following order: 5 on the first needle (needle 1), 6 on the second needle (needle 2), 5 on the third needle (needle3).
-Re-join your yarn at the last stitch on needle 3 and knit 1 round, picking up 2 sts along the opening between the thumb (on needles 1 and 3) and the rest of the hand to close up the gap.

*Note* If your thumb seems significantly smaller than the thumb opening after picking up these stitches, decrease the number of stitches on the thumb when you knit the next round by knitting these two picked up stitches together with the stitches on the right or left of them. (K2tog the first two sts of Needle 1 and K2tog the last two sts of needle 2.) Or, if you think you need more then that, decrease by however many stitches you think you need evenly throughout the row. I will leave this up to knitter's choice. However, you must pick these stitches up in order to seamlessly close up the thumb gap, but once you've done that, it's very easy to decrease back down to a size that works for you.

-Knit 4 rounds.
-Knit 6 rounds in garter stitch (knit one round, purl one round)
-Bind off and weave in your ends.

Thus endeth Clue #3!

Next week we get to find out what that provisional cast on was all about! :)

Happy knitting!
Kristen

PS. If you are interested in knitting this same Rosebud Lace pattern but as a pair of socks, fellow Ravelrer patchworkgandalf has written up a simple sock pattern incorporating the lace pattern and wanted to offer it to you all for free. You can find it as a Ravelry Download here. She hasn't yet fully tested the pattern but is working on it! :)

Wow, what a week! It sounds like most of you got off to a good start with your gauntlets which is so awesome to hear! Episode one of Season 3 of DA was equally awesome but I won't talk shop here in case some of you haven't watched yet. I will say, that The Secrets of Highclere Castle special on PBS (about the castle where Downton is filmed) was also really cool. If you haven't watched that yet, I highly encourage you to do so. The history geek in me really enjoyed it.

Ok, so on to the reason you are all here--Clue # 2 of Lady Violet's Dinner Gauntlets! This week's clue should prove to be much easier than last week's since you are already familiar with the lace and eyelet patterns. I have absolutely loved seeing all of the WIPs on Ravelry in the Downton KAL Photo Gallery Thread by the way! It's amazing how differently the Sportmate in the Downton color can knit up depending on gauge and where you begin your skein. So many cool versions of the pattern! Not only that, but I love seeing how these gauntlets are shaping up in different yarns too!

Clue #2:

*If you are just getting started, please see my blog post for Clue #1 before reading this post.

By now, you should have knit four rounds in stockinette and then two full repeats of the lace panel and you should have eight sets of eyelets on needle 1. This is a total of 36 rounds.

Here is what you do next:

**Remember, you are working all needles' directions in the round at the same time. The directions are broken down by needle.

Needle 1: Continue working eyelet pattern for 24 more rows ending with a total of 14 eyelets. (If you have one more or one less, don't fret. Just go with it. The number of eyelets isn't super important as long as it's close.)

Needle 2: Work one more repeat of the lace section and then work rounds 1-8 of the lace section again.

Needle 3: K every round

Once you've completed this portion, congrats! You are done with the arm of the gauntlet. Next we will begin the thumb gusset. For those who aren't familiar with this term or have never knit fingerless gloves before, a thumb gusset is the part where you increase the number of stitches on your needles where the thumb will be. It's a method of shaping.

Thumb Gusset:

Needle 1: For this section, you will no longer knit eyelets. At this point you should have a total of 14 eyelets. You will now just knit regular stockinette stitch on needle 1 until the directions say otherwise.

Needle 2: Continue working in Rosebud Lace pattern picking up where you left off, starting with round 9. While you are knitting the thumb gusset, you will continue working this pattern for 12 more rounds ending on row 4 of the pattern.

Needle 3: Knit as follows-

• Round 1: k1f&b, k3, k1f&b, place marker, k to end of round.
• Round 2: k
• Round 3: k1f&b, k to last st before marker, k1f&b, slip marker, k to end of round.
• Round 4: k

Photo via Pinterest, source unknown

Well folks, the day has finally come! I don't think I've been this excited for something since my wedding day two years ago. Seriously. That's how much I love Downton. Many of you guessed from my hints that my favorite character is Lady Violet, the Dowager Countess and from the sound of it, I am not alone. She really does add such a lively element to the show, which is why I couldn't help but design this KAL project around her. 

The photo above features the accessory that inspired this KAL. In Season One, Lady Violet wears black, ruched, lacy fingerless gloves (though they were probably called gauntlets in 1912) to dinner and I couldn't help but be inspired to knit something similar but a tad more practical for modern times. Adorned with a Rosebud Lace pattern (inspired by her award wining roses) and some other pretty details that will be revealed as the KAL progresses, these gauntlets would surely please the Dowager Countess to no end. So without further adieu, I give you Clue # 1 for Lady Violet’s Dinner Gauntlets! 

If you are just now jumping in and have managed to miss my first blog post, be sure to go back and read that before reading this one. 

Alright, lets get this prim and proper dinner party started. Shall we?

Yep, I drew on my arm with permanent marker.

Well folks, this brings us to the end of Episode # 1 and Clue #1. This was a pretty big clue as I needed to set you up wit info for the entire project so this will probably be the longest post and set of directions in the KAL. Of course, if you have any questions or anything seems unclear, please feel free to private message me on Ravelry or post it to the Ravelry group! We are all there to help you!

I hope you all enjoy the first episode tonight and look forward to discussion on Monday! 

Happy knitting!
Kristen

PS. If you would like to print this page, the easiest and best way to do it is to copy all of the text and paste it into a word document. Then, print the word document. Easy peasy. :) The PDF of the pattern will be available once the KAL is over.

All I can say is WOW! Your response to the Downton Abby KAL is astounding!  We all, especially Kristen, are thrilled by how much interest there is from all of you!  I'm so looking forward to starting my mystery project too. I adore mysteries so this will be lots of fun!!!  Like many of you I don't have TV so I've watched season one of Downton Abbey online and will be purchasing season two this weekend so I can be ready to start watching season three next week!

With the KAL in mind, I thought today that I would talk a little about needles and needle sizing to help you get your gauge and be all set to start knitting on Sunday.

 I don't know how many of you know but US needle sizes can vary in actual metric size depending on the brand and country of the manufacturer.  Now that the knitting and crochet world has become so international, in a large part due to Ravelry.com, you can't always assume the pattern you are about to knit, lists needles in your country's size scale. The surest way to know if you are using the correct needle for a pattern is to look at what the metric size is of the needle called for in the pattern and compare it to the metric size of the needle you're intending to use.  A great example of this discrepancy can be seen in comparing US size 2 needles.

Addi Turbo US 2 needle measures 3.0 millimeters (mm) in diameter
Clover US 2 is 2.75 mm
Crystal Palace US 2 is 2.75 mm
Knitter's Pride US 2 is 2.75

So the question to answer by looking at your pattern is: do you need a 2.75 mm needle or a 3 mm needle?  If you need a 2.75mm and want an Addi needle you will need to buy the needle that they label as 2.75.  If you need a 3.0mm needle and want a brand other than Addi you will need to buy a US 2.5 (3mm).

Of course not all sizes are different, other sizes that can cause a problem are:
US 6 can be 4.0 mm or 4.25 mm especially if they are older needles. Most brands except Crystal Palace are now 4.0 mm
US 17 is usually 12.0 mm but in Clover needles a US 17 measures 12.75 mm
US 19 is usually 15.0 mm but in Crystal Palace needle a it measures 15.6 mm

And be aware that the needle gauges made by each of the companies reflects these size differences!

I understand from our IT people that they are working to improve the search engine for needles on our website to show both US & metric sizes.  In the meantime, here's a quick reference chart that I hope helps.

US Size	Metric (mm)	Addi US Size	Clover Exceptions	Crystal Palace Exceptions
000	1.5	0
00	1.75	0
0	2	0
1	2.25
1 1/2	2.5	1
2	2.75
2 1/2	3	2
3	3.25	3
4	3.5	4
5	3.75	5
6	4	6		4.25mm
7	4.5	7
8	5	8
9	5.5	9
10	6	10
10.5	6.5	10.5
	7	10.75
11	8	11
13	9	13
15	10	15
17	12	17	12.75 mm
19	15	19		15.6 mm
	20	36
50	25

		If you usually get gauge and are having trouble, then double checking your needle size is a good first step in figuring out what may be going wrong. Another good thing to pay attention to is how slippery your needle is and how tightly or loosely you normally knit.  I find that having tight knitters switch to slippery needles like the nickle plated Addi Turbos help them to loosen up.  Conversely, if someone habitually knits too loosely then switching to wooden or bamboo needles helps them to tighten up their stitches. Don't be afraid to change you needles size up or down to get gauge, this is what you're supposed to do.  The pattern gauge is what you need to get and it doesn't matter what size needle you use to achieve it if you're using the correct weight of yarn.  It can matter if you are substituting yarns but that is another subject for another day. For a thorough explanation of gauge please see the video I did with Diane Soucy!
		How to Measure Your Gauge Correctly and the video Jeanne did How to Adjust Your Needle Size to Get Gauge . I hope these suggestions help and if you still find you have questions or need help I will be happy to help, just drop an email to askTerry@jimmybeanswool.com. And I'm John Bates (see Kristen's blog for the link to find out which Downton character you are) Happy Mystery Knitting! Terry