Separated at birth? The elegance of the drop stitch

OK, these are not sibling patterns, more like close cousins.

Up first is the bias knit drop stitch scarf, the Clapotis, designer Kate Gilbert, published in Knitty Fall 2004.

The Clapotis is a famous pattern; it’s a rite of passage, completion of a clapotis is a requirement for acceptance into any knitting fraternity in North America.There are many, many gorgeous versions, click here for the Flickr Clapotis! pool.

Next we have the imaginatively named #13 Drop stitch Scarf designed by Laura Bryant in Vogue Knitting Spring/Summer 2009. Very beautiful and elegant. In contrast to the Clapotis it’s a straight-grained knit. Number 13 stars in its very own video here.

Image from http://store.vogueknitting.com/p-1430-drop-stitch-scarf.aspx

I think of the Clapotis as an incredibly flexible pattern, accommodating wide range of yarn weights and colors, and the Number 13 being particularly suited for skinny multicolored yarns.

Yarnbombing

Swatch central

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Decorating public places with crocheted or knitted items is not an activity I could ever see myself getting engaged in. The most I could contribute would be some ribbon yarn from the stash, or perhaps a donation to the legal defense fund. But ….. the vitality, generosity and attitude of these women is quite infectious and leaves me feeling irrepressibly happy and optimistic.