Episode 144 is especially educational! Our featured interview guest is Melanie Scharlé, a highly skilled knitter, crocheter, and sewer whom we recently interviewed during the Swiss Yarn Festival. Melanie is German but lives in Basel, Switzerland, and she is the creator of the magazine ‘The Valiant Tailoress’. Madeleine and I have been doing a lot of knitting which we’re very keen to show you. We have some great Patron discounts, and we’ll also give you an update on our Pura Vida Knitting retreats!
The Valiant Tailoress - Sewing, Knitting & Crochet At One Stroke
The Valient Tailoress Magazine combines knitting, crochet, and sewing patterns to inspire its readers to create not just individual pieces but complete outfits for themselves. The first issue came out in 2021 and the theme was “Forest.” The magazine’s first half includes an editorial showcasing coordinated designs, while the second half provides the patterns for all the individual items in each outfit. An additional envelope contains sewing pattern sheets. The magazine also features interviews with renowned designers, emerging yarn producers, and a cultural article about traditional pompom hats from Germany’s Black Forest.
Melanie is in the process of creating a second edition of The Valiant Tailoresse! This edition’s theme is Venice, Italy, and here is one of the stunning designs, inspired by the Bridge of Sighs, over which Giacomo Casanova was led after being sentenced.
When you knit the sleeve, most of it is a simple rectangle until you have to decrease right around the armholes. This beautiful bell shape is achieved entirely by smocking using a dark red yarn for contrast.
Melanie also gives us a short demonstration on how to smock using yarn and an embroidery needle.
Quite by coincidence, smocking has become the theme for this episode. Both Madeleine and I are working on projects that use smocking but with different techniques. Smocking is an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can be stretched. It was commonly used on cuffs, bodices, and necklines before elastic was invented. Interestingly, it was developed in England during the Middle Ages and was mainly worn by laborers. Smocking was a practical way to make garments form-fitting and flexible. Garments were simply cut and smocking was used to give them shape. The name comes from the word “smock,” which is a laborer’s work shirt.
Finding The Valiant Tailoresse
- Website: www.valiant-tailoress.com
- Instagram: valiant_tailoress
- Ravelry: The Valiant Tailoress, Issue 1
Patron Discounts
The Valiant Tailoress
Melanie is offering Fruity Knitting Patrons a 20% discount off everything in her online store. This includes the very comprehensive magazine The Valiant Tailoress and her tutorials on smocking and slipped stitches. In part two of the interview, we go into a lot of detail about the wonderful possibilities you have after learning these two great knitting techniques. So a huge thank you to Melanie for this very generous Patron discount. Fruity Knitting Patrons can find all discount details here.
CaMaRose
We interviewed Trine Bertelson from CaMaRose back in Ep. 141, and during our interview, I wore one of Trine’s designs. It was a cardigan, but I decided to wear it back the front. You can see me wearing it here. Trine was a bit afraid that people would ask for the pattern and as she predicted, that happened. So now Trine has made a new pattern and has named it Andrea’s Summer Smock. Trine is kindly making this pattern available for free exclusively to Fruity Knitting Patrons for one month! Fruity Knitting Patrons can find all details here.
Our Pura Vida Knitting Retreats in Costa Rica - February 2025
In the last episode, we announced our Pura Vida Knitting Retreats, which we’re hosting together with the Canadian knitwear designer Claudia Quintanilla. I interviewed Claudia back in Episode 140. Earlier this year in February, Claudia and I travelled to Costa Rica to choose a location for the retreat. The Nature Resort and Spa was the very last place we looked at and it stood out way above everything else we’d seen.
Claudia is creating a special Pura Vida Knitting Retreat design for summer to match the Costa Rican vibe. We’re keeping the design a surprise for now. As our guest, you will receive the pattern, as well as the yarn to knit it. In another of our workshops, called Embellishing your knits, you’ll learn to add a touch of elegance to your designs by using ribbons, applique, beads, and embroidery. The techniques you’ll learn in this workshop are used in Claudia’s upcoming book, which will be released later this year in September by Laine Publishing. All knitting participants will receive a signed copy of the book as well.
I will also be giving a workshop on some of the techniques that have been total game changers on my knitting journey. I haven’t yet decided on the exact program, but it could include things like how to cut up your knitting and graft it back together again to fix mistakes, how to catch the floats and weave in the ends as you knit (even on the purl side of colorwork), or how to cable without a cable needle. It will be fun!
You can join the retreat together with your knitting friend and even share a room. We’ve also had quite a few knitters sign up together with their non-knitting partner. Your partner can join us for all meals and our non-knitting activities, including a Jungle Tour, Gala Dinner with Live Music and an optional Latin Dance Class!
While we’re busy with our knitting workshops, your partners can hang out together if they want to and go off on their own adventures. There are many other activities in the surrounding area and we’re happy to help organize some for them. These include visiting a chocolate and coffee plantation, fishing or kayaking on the open sea or amongst the mangroves, sailing along the coastline and exploring the nearby national parks.
Join one of 4 Pura Vida Knitting Retreats in February 2025
- Website: artisan-retreats.com
- Register here.
- Our Knitting Workshops
- FAQ
Under Construction - Smocking
Smocking my April Cardigan by Petite Knit
I had not considered smocking my knitting until I interviewed Melanie Scharlé. I just happened to have the perfect project on my needles for some spontaneous smocking. These past few months have been especially busy for Madeleine and I, preparing and filming interviews at the Swiss Yarn Festival, organizing our Retreats in Costa Rica and, of course, producing this podcast. Knowing that I wouldn’t have the mental capacity for anything complex, I chose the simplest design I could find to work on during this highly stressful period.
This is the April Cardigan by PetiteKnit. It has a V-neckline and is worked top down and it’s a very practical choice because I’m in need of a light and versatile springtime cardigan. Melanie has awe-inspiring crafting skills, and when she talked about adding smocking to your garment as an afterthought, I immediately thought of my very simple plain cardigan as the perfect canvas to play around with.
During this episode, I give a little demonstration of how to do smocking on a double rib. This includes how to mark the stitches before sewing them together and how to avoid tightening your ribbing if you’re only smocking for decorative purposes as I am.
Madeleine's Jenny Jacket by Petite Knit
Madeleine is still working on her Jenny Jacket by Petite Knit, which she is making for her best friend, Antonia.
While my smocking was a spontaneous decision, Madeleine’s cardigan is an all-over smocked pattern, also by Petite Knit. But, although our end-results might look similar, the techniques are very different.
The all over pattern is also called a smocking stich but it’s done as you are knitting the fabric. This is basically an all-over double rib but every few rows you repeatedly gather 6 stitches together and wrap them. Because she didn’t know much about smocking, Madeleine looked it up in “The Principles of Knitting” written by June Hemmons Hiat. I interviewed June back in Episode 68.
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We rely entirely on our viewers for financial support to keep producing this show. If you would like to be one of those viewers who enables this show to continue, you can do so by visiting our Patreon page and signing up as a Fruity Knitting patron. You can choose between three levels of support: Hebredians, Merinos and Shetlands.
We also try to provide some extra benefits to our patrons like discounts and live events as a thank you. So, once you’ve signed up, you will receive updates on these benefits in your home feed. You can also browse the different collections directly on our Patreon page.
What we are wearing
Andrea is wearing her Maeron by Moonstruck Knits on the couch and her Barbroe Blouse by Knitting For Olive during the interview. Madeleine is wearing Andrea’s Celestial by Martin Storey on the couch 😉
Credits
- J. S. Bach, The Well Tempered Klavier, Prelude No. 3 in C-Sharp major, BWV 848, performed by Kimiko Ishizaka, Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
- Arabesque no. 1, L.66, Claude Debussy, performed by Simone Renzi, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial
- Keel-billed Toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) in Costa Rica, Ttschleuder, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
2 thoughts on “Episode 144 – Combining Knitting, Crochet & Sewing – The Valiant Tailoress”
I loved the Red bolero in episode 144 shown with you wearing it when you were interviewing Melanie Scharle about slip, smocking stitches & Welt stitches. Not sure where I can get that pattern. I live in NZ and have looked on Ravelry
but no luck. Absolutely love Fruity Knitting, it’s the highlight of my day when the next “ episode” comes out. Andrew would be so proud of “his girls”.
Regards
Margaret
I’m interested in the slip stitch techniques shown at the end of episode 144. I didn’t see any reference to the designer in the show notes.