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Emily Wessel

Hi! I’m Emily Wessel, I design fun-to-knit patterns and helpful technique tutorials. I live in Edinburgh, Scotland with my husband and two kids, where I like to run, knit, learn languages, and hang out with friends. I am co-founder and designer at Tin Can Knits - www.tincanknits.com

23 Comments

  1. Pat Gardner
    April 22, 2021 @ 5:33 pm

    This looks good I think I can knit the gothic knit cowl.

  2. Angela O'Reilly
    March 1, 2021 @ 1:32 am

    I’ve finished a gothic lace scarf, my first lace and I gave myself an added challenge of using a fine slightly fluffy yarn that I bought on a whim last year when I began my knitting journey. Thank you so much for the expert guidance, such clear instructions gave me the confidence to knit lace and it turned out beautifully. Definitely going to knit another in a thicker yarn and I’ve just bought the Lush cardigan and Love Note patterns :)

  3. Julie Beck
    March 20, 2020 @ 5:45 pm

    Hello. I live in Eugene Oregon and working on this pattern. Finding periodically I have to rip a line or two !! But now I don’t know what line I I am on so I cannot proceed. Help!!!

    We would have been in Edinburgh in April to visit St Andrews but flight and travel canceled

    Is there a way if I take a picture of where I am you can tell me what line I am on?

    Frustrated. I really love this pattern snd yarn

    Julie Beck

    • Julie Beck
      March 20, 2020 @ 5:47 pm

      I am working on Gothic Lace
      Forgot to tell you this

  4. JoAnne Sinclair
    September 25, 2018 @ 6:41 pm

    I’m currently doing “Prairie Fire”a lace pattern pullover by Tin Can Knits.
    I’ve done the 18 rows and do have the 21 chart stitchs. But I’m not sure how to carry on. Rows 19-24 are continuous, with an 8 stitch repeat in the centre.
    The first stitch of row 19, says knit 3 togeather. As the lace grows I am including the two stitchs ahead of the stitch block, but it seems to create a hole. Not a smooth increase like the picture in the pattern. Also I’m unsure if After I finish line 24, would I do the 8 stitch repeat twice… I’m nervous as if I get a stitch or so over the pattern won’t work out. I’ll keep playing with it and hopefully the light will go on, but maybe someone knows this pattern and could advise me. Thanks in advance. JoAnne

    • alexaludeman
      September 27, 2018 @ 9:35 am

      For the first stitch of round 19 in the lace chart you are going to knit 3 together, the first stitch of the lace with 2 sts from the surrounding stockinette. The k3tog shouldn’t create a hole though, are you sure you are working that stitch correctly?

  5. Jennifer Sandison
    May 31, 2018 @ 12:58 pm

    I love your pattern and great instructions. I can’t wait to start. Just one thing I don’t understand. Instructions say:

    “Following the Gothic Lace pattern, you can knit either a short cowl (wraps once around), a long cowl (wraps twice around), or a scarf.

    For a cowl, cast on 49 stitches, and for a scarf cast on 41 stitches.”

    I want to make the long cowl (wraps twice around) but I only see one number of stitches for cowl (49) is that for long or short?

    • alexaludeman
      June 2, 2018 @ 7:08 am

      Hi Jennifer – the cowl is knit lengthwise and joined, so the height of the cowl is determined by the number of cast on sts, but the length (long or short) is determined by the number of repeats.

  6. Diane Labelle Bouchard
    March 31, 2017 @ 3:35 pm

    This is great! Thank you so Much!

  7. Linda
    March 25, 2017 @ 6:20 am

    My goodness! These instructions are fantastic. Thank you so much for this.

  8. Stephanie
    January 14, 2017 @ 1:31 pm

    Using a circular needle for this project would ýou knit back and forth, or straight around? If around, how would you treat the stitches? Thanks

    • alexaludeman
      January 16, 2017 @ 11:28 am

      Hi Stephanie – the Gothic Lace cowl is knit back and forth, not in the round.

  9. Stephanie
    January 13, 2017 @ 5:33 pm

    I have wanted to learn to knit lace for many, many years. I am so very thankful for your wondérful instructions. They were so clear and easy to understand. I made a four repeat cowl for my granddaughter and I’m starting a scarf with two extra repeats because I’m using a finer yarn. Whēn I was making the cowl I ripped completely four or five times. Once was after over a foot was complete. The design is beautiful. Thank you ver much.

  10. Sandie Knight
    April 28, 2016 @ 6:01 am

    Wonderful tutorial. Quite complete and easy to follow. I immediately shared with a friend who is wanting to learn lace…

  11. Beverley
    April 14, 2016 @ 7:03 am

    Can I knit this cowl as a complete circle without the buttons? Would I have to change any of the pattern, such as increasing the number of stiches?

    • alexaludeman
      April 15, 2016 @ 10:21 am

      Hi Beverly – to make the Gothic lace cowl without the buttons you could just sew the ends together when you are done and skip the crochet buttonholes, or you could use a provisional cast on and graft the ends together when it was complete.

      • Beverley
        April 17, 2016 @ 10:36 pm

        Thanks for the information. I really want to try knitting lace on a small scale project. I like the idea of a provisional cast on and grafting, which I haven’t tried before, so here’s the opportunity. If I can’t get the yarn suggested in the pattern, in general what can I substitute, and how many yards would I need for the pattern?

      • alexaludeman
        April 18, 2016 @ 12:05 pm

        All that info is in the pattern ;-)

  12. cherie
    December 7, 2015 @ 2:00 pm

    Lovely pattern! Thanks for the button loop technique..I intend to use it on all of the buttoned scarves I knit. Buttons really add to the ways it can be worn!

  13. Priscilla Dow
    July 21, 2014 @ 3:56 pm

    http://tashaknits.blogspot.com/2014/01/janury-estonian-lace-shawl-pattern.html
    Is this chart correct ? When I follow it, it gets increasingly crooked.
    What am I missing

    • alexaludeman
      July 22, 2014 @ 10:46 pm

      It’s hard to say without seeing your knitting or having worked the pattern myself. It looks like it should work…

      • Mira Schoening
        December 10, 2015 @ 11:29 am

        Thank you for the wonderful introduction to lace. Now, if only you would do a tutorial on how to rip back/repair when you notice your stitch count is off…..I can find such tutorials for stockinette, rib, and garter on you tube but I missed some yo’s on one row about 16 inches into your gothic lace pattern and now I need to rip back to correct matters but I am having a hard time figuring out how to put a needle/line through the right live stitches in a lace pattern to make the save….should I work the saving line or needle in from the purl side? or the right side? Should I have added the missing yo’s from the purl side to even up my count and moved on from there?

        I started to go back stitch by stitch but that did not work well for me; and now I need to frog back a little further than I did before. I don’t want to lose all my inches of OK knitting so how can I work my way out of this problem? Also, would you recommend I start setting a life line at the beginning of each pattern repeat, every 12 lines/rows?

        Your lace pattern tutorials would really be complemented with an example of how to mess up then fix up this lace pattern, I think, because alas, some of us do those things even on simple patterns; and we do want to learn how to fix things but may lack the patience/optimism/time before Christmas or whatever, to make a completely new start on an admittedly very good pattern when we recognize we have, for whatever fleeting reason, goofed up two thirds of the way through the project.

        Thanks for everything, Mira Schoening, Seattle ajaxschoening@gmail.com

      • alexaludeman
        December 10, 2015 @ 1:56 pm

        Hi Mira – thanks for your helpful notes! It is hard to make tutorials about fixing mistakes in knitting because there are so many small mistakes that are easy to make. They tend to be on a bit of a ‘case by case’ basis.
        The only way I am personally able to rip back lace is to use a life line (very helpful) or to rip back to the row before the mistake. When I rip back I make sure to put the sts back on the needles one at a time for the last row. As soon as the yarn leaves the stitch it goes right on my needle. One concern there is twisting the stitch but I find that is easily remedied on the next row by either working the stitch through the back loop (therefore ‘untwisting’ it) or by simply taking the st off the needle and re-placing it the correct way.