This capelet is different from most others in that it is knitted in pieces instead of in one piece or in the round. Eight “banana leaves” are knitted separately and then seamed using a technique that uses two knitting needles and a crochet hook. I learned this technique from Maie Landra’s wonderful book, Knits from a Painter’s Palette. I am someone who usually hates seaming, but I find this particular technique to be lots of fun and I love the ridge it creates!

Knitting it in pieces makes it portable, so you can knit it in the car, on the train, in the waiting room or wherever. This also makes it easy to pick up and put down, so you can work on it before your kids go to bed!

After joining the leaves, i-cord ties are created, each ending in pretty, tiny leaves, and the i-cord is applied to the top of the joined-together banana leaves. The tiny leaves that adorn the ties come from a closure found on page 119 of Nicky Epstein’s Knitting Beyond the Edge. (I read a lot of knitting books!)

This pattern showcases a beautiful hand-dyed yarn like Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks that Rock Mediumweight by having the yarn going in different directions. The leaves, the ridged seams that are created by the aforementioned seaming technique and the applied i-cord all use the yarn differently and all come together to let Tina Newton’s brilliant dye artistry shine.