Web-Letter, Issue 123 – Helping Haiti — Sprout Tank As we look to help, in any small way, the victims of the devastation in Haiti, we are offering this week’s pattern for sale on Patternfish with 100% of the proceeds going to Haitian relief efforts. This popular sweater knit in Sprout, from the Johns Bay pattern booklet, will knit up quickly—cast on now and have a new top waiting to be worn when the weather turns warmer. Creative Director
The Story: For me, some designs begin with an idea to use a stitch pattern or new technique and from there I need to find the yarn that works best to bring that to life. However, I more often take inspiration from the yarn itself—the way that it knits up, which stitch patterns really seem to work for it, and what type of garment the fiber is best suited for. Sprout is an organic cotton yarn with a wonderful texture that knits up at a bulky gauge. The organic cotton definitely got me thinking about warm weather and summer garments. After swatching, I found the texture of the yarn when knit in stockinette stitch to be just lovely and a simple yarn over pattern really stood out against it. The ease and speed of knitting swatches in this bulky gauge yarn prompted me to design something that would be simple and sleeveless, a project that could be very quick to knit. The Yarn: Sprout 100% organic cotton Sprout is a soft, cushy, chunky 100% organic yarn with a slightly nubby texture. One of its best features is that it stays lofty, unlike many worsted-plus weight cotton yarns that tend to be heavy and dense once knitted.  Sprout is spun from Tanguis cotton. This stout hardy cotton plant was developed in the early 1900’s. Tanguis is named after its developer, Fermin Tanguis. The plant’s ubiquitous presence and dependability have earned it the title “white gold” from the farmers who plant and harvest it. Sprout is available in a bright-and-lively 19-color palette and it’s machine washable. Add to this the wonderful soft texture, strength, and the light yet quick-to-knit gauge and it is easy to see why Sprout makes a great choice for spring and summer garments. The Stitches: The Sprout Center Detail Tank featured in today’s Webletter is worked in a background of Stockinette stitch with yarn over and Reverse Stockinette stitch details in the center. The waist shaping takes place in the center of the garment and is worked into the yarn over and Reverse Stockinette Stitch panel on the front. This panel, with the shaping, uses single decreases, double decreases, and yarn overs, for more information on these technigues, follow the links below. Right and Left Slanting SINGLE decreases Right and Left Slanting DOUBLE decreases Yarn overs	The Pattern: Purchase the Sprout Center Detail Tank pattern. 100% of all proceeds (including Patternfish's portion) will be donated to Haiti relief.
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Help Haiti with the designers on Ravelry: There is a vast collection of patterns on Ravelry. Many of the designers and companies who offer their patterns for sale through Ravelry are donating a portion or all of the proceeds from their sales toward helping Haiti recover from devastating earthquakes. Here is a collection of designs, knit in Classic Elite's yarns, which will donate to Haiti.
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