Garter Stitch Has Never Looked so Good

Intro to Showy Decrease Blog Post 1

I’m really excited. Today we are announcing the first of an entire collection of projects using the Showy Decrease.

I don’t knit a lot of garter so it took me longer than it should to discover that the Showy Decrease works even better on garter than it does on stockinette. That’s because the Showy Decrease has a longer row gauge than the squat garter gauge so it really pops up on the knit fabric.

Here’s why you’ll love Showy Garter:

The Showy Decrease lines make garter pretty
Knitting Showy Garter projects is less boring
These are wonderful next step projects for new knitters
There a fantastic way to learn continental style knitting
They make great travel projects, they’re interesting but easy.

Hardly Any Purling

These projects are mostly knit stitch, not 100% knit but on average, only 5% of the stitches are purl stitches. These are the partner stitch in the k2tog Showy Decrease.

That means you can power through this knitting and, if you’re new to knitting, have just enough purls to learn the concept. I like the opportunity for new knitters to gain additional skills, like the purl stitch, slip stitches, k2tog decreases and a variety of increases while they work on their muscle memory. I’m also an avid fan of the continental style of knitting and I’m so glad I converted about ten years ago. I really urge you to try it.

Showy Garter Stripes

Knitting stripes with this technique is particularly stunning, The horizontal lines of the color changes run perpendicular to the Showy Decrease lines which adds a lot of interest. We’ve used a variety of striping patterns in the different projects to inspire you to try your own version.

Free Intro to Showy Garter eBook

Part of the reason I am so excited about this announcement is that there’s so much more than just a few patterns. This 20-page e-book includes pages of tutorials, 4 dish cloth patterns with some striped variations and 3 scarves.

The projects will be announced over the next few weeks on Ravelry and with related blog posts. And I’ll tell you a little secret, there are 3 more Showy Garter e-books in the works that use this idea in different ways. Did I mention I’m excited?

More for LYSs, Teachers and Designers

I have a goal and it’s not a secret at all. I’d like these new ideas to be used by knitters everywhere in kind of the same way that Judy’s Magic Cast On became a standard. That’s why the techniques are always free and why I write so many tutorials. Since these would make such great teaching projects I’ll be adding even more materials; these include a class plan and a quick how-to summary that other designers can use in their patterns. You can expect those in the next month. Send me a note if you’re interested.

Next Up

There is an entire series of blog posts heading your way.

Four dish cloths designs shown in solid colors plus some fun stripes.
The mega chunky and fun Rubicon Scarf
A beautiful asymmetrically striped Zephyr Cove Scarf in a DK weight
A side-to-side Carnelian Bay scarf with starting and stoping Showy lines and pretty ends.

If you go to Ravelry and download the free e-book the dish cloths and the first scarf are already there. I want to write a blog post for each project so I can provide you more detailed information on each.

Estrellita Blanket

Resources

If you are new to the blog and our Nuances you’ll want to get caught up on the Showy Decrease and some of our other Nuances. We’ve organized the blog categories to make this easier and don’t forget to stop by our website for a list of free patterns, like the Estrellita Blanket, that demonstrate these ideas.

I’ll be back very soon (tomorrow) with more!

p.s. Thanks to my friend Nikki for modeling during a break in the snow storm (and our dog Domino too).

27 comments on “Garter Stitch Has Never Looked so Good”

Kathy Pellenz
January 23, 2017

I am very excited about your e-book and your blog. Much of what I see is what I love to make!

Reply
Deb
January 23, 2017

Oh those patterns are very pretty. I love the dishcloths. Dish clothes are going to be my next favorite thing to make.

Reply
Lisa
January 24, 2017

More for LYSs, Teachers and Designers

I would love to know more about this. I am a teacher at my LYS and love teaching students new techniques.

Reply
- Laura Cunitz
  January 24, 2017
  
  Lisa, I’ll be working on this next week. I keep losing power in the snow storms! email me at laura@knittingnuances.com and I can show you a draft. Thanks for stopping by.
  
  Reply
BARBARA K SMITH
January 24, 2017

Your “Free Ravelry” links do not end up with free pattern links……..rather take you to the page showing the pattern, creator, but no pattern ! ???

Reply
- Laura Cunitz
  January 24, 2017
  
  Mmmm, let me figure out what’s up.
  
  Reply
  - Judi Ring
    January 19, 2019
    
    I’m having the same problem. Where are the patterns?
  - Laura Cunitz
    January 19, 2019
    
    There is a link in the post at the bottom to Ravelry. It was going to the dish cloth which is the first pattern in the set. I just reset it to the e-book link in Ravelry. Here it is just to make it easier. https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/sources/showy-garter-intro-ebook/patterns
Maria
January 25, 2017

Hi! I am a knitting teacher In Greece and as I love teaching my students all new techniques I am interested to all of your tutorials. So I would like to know more about this.

Reply
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Neulisti
February 10, 2017

Really nice variations on basic garter stitch. 🙂

Reply
- Laura Cunitz
  February 10, 2017
  
  Thanks! There are so many more on the way!
  
  Reply
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Rebecca's Room
April 24, 2017

Love these dishcloths. Adding them to my project list!

Reply
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Maya
May 23, 2017

Hello!

I’m a new knitter(so lots of questions are going to be asked)
I recently bought a couple of skeins from We Are Knitters, have you ever worked with their yarn?? Do you recommend it?

I love the narrow striped scarf, can’t wait to start my new project!!

-x-
Maya

Reply
- Laura Cunitz
  May 25, 2017
  
  I’m afraid I have not used that yarn yet. Although with my huge stash, I am surprised by that! Enjoy the knitting! Laura
  
  Reply
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