Episode 141 – CaMaRose – Danish Yarns and Designs

In Episode 141 we sit down with Trine Bertelson, the Danish designer and yarn producer behind CaMaRose. Apart from designing knitting patterns for adults and children, Trine is passionate about producing environmentally friendly and ethical yarn alternatives. This episode also includes a fun travel vlog in which Madeleine takes you on a mini tour to some of the most beautiful spots in Copenhagen! We’ve prepared a short tutorial for you, share some finished projects in Bring and Brag and some new projects in Under Construction. Madeleine also shares her thoughts on the psychology behind knitting for your loved ones and what makes a person knit-worthy.

CaMaRose

 

For the past 15 years, Trine has been designing knitting and crochet patterns for children and women while simultaneously developing various yarn ranges to complement her designs.

Over this time, Trine’s interest in and knowledge about animal fibers and their impact on the environment has grown and become like a second passion for her. This has prompted her to develop more sustainable, cruelty-free alternatives to some popular fibre blends.

For example, she has developed an alternative to the very popular silk-mohair blend that many companies produce. Her alternative is made from Tencel, baby alpaca, and a small percentage of merino. It’s called Midnatsol, and it looks and behaves like a silk-mohair blend. During the interview she explains why this is a more sustainable fibre blend. I found this part of the interview particularly interesting.

Trine has also designed a variety of sweet and delicate knitting patterns for children and adults. What’s special is that often she features the same pattern in different garments and accessories, allowing you to create whole sets. So if you fall in love with one pattern, you might be lucky enough to make not only a sweater or cardigan, but also accessories like hats, cowls, and cushions.

Finding CaMaRose

• • Website: www.camarose.dk

• • Ravelry: Trine Bertelsen

• • Instagram: @camarosedk

Patron Discount – CaMaRose

Trine from CaMaRose is kindly offering Fruity Knitting patrons a 25% discount off all patterns in her Ravelry store. CaMaRose offers a variety of sweet and delicate knitting patterns for children and adults as well as homeware accessories like cushions. Thank you, Trine, for this wonderful offer! Fruity Knitting Patrons can find all discount details here.

Bring & Brag

Florence Bag – PetiteKnit

Madeleine has finished her Florence Bag which is a design by PetiteKnit! You knit the lacy fabric on the outside and then sew the lining and zipper to the knitted fabric. Madeleine used the Tynn Line by Sandness Garn, which is a fingering weight yarn and contains 53% cotton, 33% viscose and 14% linen.

You hold three strands together and knit the bag in the round.  It starts off with a few rows of stocking stitch. This is where you attach the zipper later on. And then, you knit a straightforward, repetitive lace pattern.

You can either prepare and sew the lining yourself, or buy it pre-sewn from PetiteKnit’s online shop. Madeleine got the leather band from PetiteKnit but found a great green fabric for the bag at a local store. If you choose to go the DIY route, I’ve included a simple tutorial on how to sew everything, including the lining, using a sewing machine.

Andrea’s Barbroe Blouse – Knitting For Olive

I’ve completed my Barbroe Blouse by Knitting For Olive who we interviewed in Episode 138! It has been quite a journey but now it’s finally finished, and I really love the result. I ended up knitting the smallest size because I think the design comes out on the larger side for each size. The top needs to have some negative ease to make it form fitting. And because it’s made from a light, fingering weight yarn, the Barbroe Blouse is really elegant and dressy!

There‘s a very pretty teardrop opening at the back neck. After you have picked up stitches around the neck edge here (show red arrow) and you’ve continued knitting the lacey shell pattern for a couple of repeats for the neckband, you crochet three little loops for three tiny buttons along the sides.

I fell in love with these sweet little pale blue buttons. They are only 8 mm wide as opposed to the recommend 12 mm wide buttons that the pattern suggests. Therefore, I had to play around a bit to make my crocheted loops small enough to hold the buttons.

Romeo & Juliet – Alan Dart

Here they are together, Romeo & Juliet. Romeo is declaring his undying love and devotion, and Juliet is slightly overwhelmed by the strength of Romeo’s passion. She’s still considering his proposal. Their hands are sewn together, and they stand up independently, but they need a flat, hard surface.

They’re knitted in a DK weight yarn but on 3 mm needles, so the fabric is firm and you don’t see any stuffing showing through.

I really love their poses and what surprises me is that they have real expressions on their faces even though their features have been knitted and then embroidered with only simple lines and stitches.

Become a Fruity Knitting Patron

Madeleine and I put our best efforts into making each 90-minute episode informative and entertaining. Fruity Knitting is our full-time work, and to keep it sustainable for us, we rely on viewers like yourself to support the show financially as a Fruity Knitting patron.

If you like what we do, then please visit our Patreon page, where you can choose to become a Hebridean, a Merino, or a Shetland patron. You’ll even enjoy some extra benefits like discounts and live events, sometimes with a special guest who we’ve previously had on the show and sometimes with just the two of us for a knit-and-chat session!

Our next Knit & Chat Session is this Sunday, 3 March! Shetland patrons can find all the event details here.

Under Construction

Knitting for Your Loved Ones

For quite some time now, Madeleine has wanted to knit a sweater for her best friend, Antonia. They’ve been best friends for over 13 years! So, Madeleine considers her a very knit-worthy person, which she elaborates on during this segment.

Antonia and Madeleine have different tastes in fashion. Madeleine adores strong and bright colors, Antonia gravitates towards softer, more neutral colors like white, beige, black, maybe an olive green. Madeleine loves busy patterns with complicated lace and cables. Antonia finds simple, minimalistic, stocking stitch sweaters a lot more elegant.

In the end, they came to a very happy agreement: Antonia picked the Dusty Rose by Knitting For Olive – a colour that Madeleine would otherwise not work with as it doesn’t suit her skin tone. And then they looked at some more simple designs.

First, Madeleine thought of the v-neck Olive Cardigan by Knitting For Olive. The lace pattern looks like leaves and is very beautiful. It’s oversized and drapey. Then she thought of Caidree who designed the Good Grandpa Cardigan (Ep. 133).

 

She’s also designed a simple v-neck sweater called Tenane Sweater.

Finally, they came across the Jenny Jacket by PetiteKnit, which Madeleine thought would perfectly match Antonia’s style. This cardigan does have an all-over lace pattern on it, but it’s still simple. And, indeed, Antonia chose this design immediately!

Lola Sweater – EweKnit

I’m working on a new design – the Lola sweater by EweKnit who we interviewed in Episode 140. It’s a mid-season sweater, and for this I am using the Knitting for Olive Merino yarn together with their silk-mohair, both in the colour Poppy Blue.

You can make the design cropped like the pink version or longer like the creamy version, and I think it will look great with both jeans and dresses or skirts.

It’s knitted top down in the round and features short rows at the beginning to lift the back neck for a more comfortable fit. The short rows are all down within the lace pattern, which looks really great.

What we are wearing

Andrea is wearing Summer Smock tee by CaMaRose during the interview and her Barbroe Blouse on the couch. Madeleine is wearing her Lovage by Marie Wallin on the couch.

Credits

• • J. S. Bach, The Well Tempered Klavier, Prelude No. 3 in C-sharp major, BWV 848, performed by Kimiko

• • Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Summertime, from the album Pure Ella, ℗ 1957 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc., Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

• • Marche pour la cérémonie des Turcs by Jean-Baptiste Lully, performed by Le Concert des Nations from the album “Tous les matins du monde”, ℗ 2001 Aliavox, Provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises

• • Juliette Waltz from the Opera Romeo et Juliette by Gounod, performed by MIT Symphony Orchestra and MIT Concert Choir, used under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0

• • Take a little time to smile by Peggy Lee, from the album “Miss Wonderful”, ℗ 1956 The Verve Music Group, a Division of UMG Recordings, Inc., Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group

• • The Pushbike Song by The Mixtures, from the album “In the Summertime”, ℗ 1970 Fable Records. Under exclusive license to Southern Cross Music Pty Limited., Provided to YouTube by IIP-DDS

• • Princess Caroline Matilda of Great Britain (1751-1775), Queen of Denmark, painted by Francis Cotes (1766), Uploaded by Wikipedia user Júpiter y Juno

• • Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, Count of Monpezat, RE, SKmd (Frederik André Henrik Christian), the heir apparent to the throne of Denmark – from the European Wind Energy Association offshore event “EWEA Offshore 2015” in Copenhagen, Denmark, March 2015, Photo: Mogens Engelund

• • Queen Margrethe of Denmark, 14.5.2012, Photo by Johannes Jansson, downloaded from commons.wikimedia.org , Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 Denmark

• • Portrait of Johann Friedrich Struensee (1737-1772), Copy by Hans Hanen (1769-1828) of original by Jens Juel (1745-1802) from the Rosenborg Castle collection in Copenhagen. Uploaded by Wikipedia user Ecummenic, source: http://www.rosenborgslot.dk/v1/person.asp?PersonID=33&countryID=2&PersonTypeID=2