What's better than Christmas Holidays? A Wooly Christmas Holiday!
Our KNITmuch blogger, Luigina Baratto, was playing with her yummy yarn and sent me this playful picture. I thought it was only fitting to share it with you and wishing that you have plenty of time to knit during the holidays...
To finish out our week of knitting with Uptown Worsted, we're showing off a finished tea cozy project! Tea cozies are great knitting projects for the home and they make the best knitted gift for friends and family who always have the kettle on!
Uptown Worsted yarn is a 100% acrylic yarn, which is easy to wash and designed to be anti-pilling. Synthetic yarns like this are a good choice for fuss-free projects for home accessories; easy to wash and insulate a lot of warmth. Uptown Worsted yarn is ideal for tea cozy.
In yesterday's post we practiced the stitch pattern used in this project, and today is the final reveal. This is the free Time for Tea cozy pattern, posted on the Cast on Cast off Blog, exploring ribbing - another way to add texture to your knitting projects. To make this project, you'll need just one skein of Uptown Worsted, 4.5mm needles (or your preferred size to get the gauge you want), a pom pom maker, and tapestry needle.
The pattern instructions are easy to follow and relatively simple. The way this is constructed is to make 2 separate, identical pieces, and then sew them together on the sides leaving gaps for the spout and handle. This part you may need to customize a little bit depending on the teapot you're making it for.
The original pattern uses 2 colors of DK weight yarn held double (working with 2 strands of yarn at the same time), but I found 1 strand of worsted weight yarn worked just fine. Also, it's easy to adjust the size of the pattern by adding or removing stitches in multiples of 4. I worked the pattern as-is and came out with a cozy size for my 4-6 cup teapot.
And of course, the final step is to make a pom pom and sew it to the top of the tea cozy. Making the pom pom is always a fun step for me, I don't usually get the chance to make them in most knitting projects I do.
It's only a shame I only have one teapot to cover with a neat project like this! You can find a lot of great cozy patterns out there, such as in this Ravelry pattern search. Even if you have just one skein of yarn to work with you may be surprised what you can make with it. Uptown Worsted yarn is ideal for tea cozy.
We're continuing our tour of Uptown Worsted yarn this week, and break away from the knit and purl texture patterns to try a basic combination of cables and ribbing. If you're new to knitting cables this is a great way to practice them. The cables add some visual interest and the ribbing lets you do some "resting" stitches in between that are a bit easier. Let's knit a classic combination of cables and ribbing perfect for so many different knitted accessories.
The swatches on our blog used this week in our posts all use 4.5mm needles, but you can use a different size if you get good results with them. Tension can be a very personal thing, so you might get the same gauge with a different needle size! And for this swatch, you'll also need to grab your cable needle.
This pattern also uses the instruction C4L, for the cable stitch. C4L is to: transfer 2 sts to cable needle and hold in front. K2. Slip the 2 sts from the cable needle back to the right hand needle and knit these sts.
**Work all stitches as they appear means to work the purl stitches as purls and the knit stitches as knits. This is a common instruction in knitting patterns that have Right Side and Wrong Side rows where the pattern changes all happen on Right Side rows and the Wrong Side ones are worked even.
Repeat these 4 rows until the swatch is the length you desire.
You can use this kind of stitch combination on a variety of accessory projects. It lies flat, so it would make a great scarf, but would be equally attractive on a hat or socks. Or, make it wider and a bit taller and you'd have a nice cozy for your french press coffee maker! Try it out and see what you would like to make with it. If you're new to knitting cables this is a great way to practice them.
This week on KNITmuch we've been trying out a new yarn, Uptown Worsted. It's an anti-pilling acrylic yarn that has a nice versatile springy quality to it, and would be a nice choice for home accessory projects. With this in mind, we're going to practice an interesting stitch pattern needed for knitting a tea cozy with Uptown Worsted yarn and tomorrow, we'll show off the finished cozy. If you have knitted gifts on your list this season, a tea cozy is a versatile choice because it just needs to fit a teapot, no worrying about fitting hands or feet!
The tea cozy we're making is this lovely free pattern found on the blog Cast On Cast Off. It's a nice textured pattern that won't take you very long at all to memorize (trust me!) but interesting enough that it won't feel like a boring project when it's done. That's always a good combination.
The stitch pattern is a simple mistake-rib stitch that goes as follows:
You're not reading that wrong! The right side and wrong side rows are worked identically. After a few rows you'll see the vertical texture start to take shape.
Choosing between the neutral "latte" beige and the "cherry" pink colors, I had to reach for the cherry pink for the final project. It'll be so bright and cheerful on my teapot on the kitchen counter.
To get ready for your own teapot project, you'll need a ball of Uptown Worsted or similar worsted weight yarn, 4.5mm needles or the needle size you prefer, and don't forget your pompom maker! The finishing touch is the pompom on top. I love making pompoms and don't get enough chances to make them in my other projects.
I hope you'll join us in knitting a tea cozy with Uptown Worsted yarn. If you have knitted gifts on your list this season, a tea cozy is a versatile choice.
Yesterday we introduced Uptown Worsted yarn, and we're testing it out today with a very textured pattern you'll see over the next few days. If you're using a yarn for the first time and aren't sure where to start, knitting a swatch is a great way to get to know the yarn. A swatch tells you how the yarn will behave when it's knit up, how it stands to being washed, and if you've acquired the right gauge. Knitting up a swatch with a textured pattern is an even better way to see the yarn's characteristics and test out its versatility. The basketweave pattern makes a cool swatch.
The basketweave pattern uses a repeating combination of knit and purl stitches. Always keep in mind that if you "just" know how to knit and purl, you can do quite a lot!
To practice this same basketweave stitch, grab a ball of Uptown Worsted, some 4.5mm needles (or your preferred needle size for worsted weight yarn), and work as follows:
Repeat these 8 rows 4 times or until your swatch is the desired length.
This stitch pattern is so versatile! It lays flat, which means it can be used for scarves or blankets, and it's simple enough that you can start to memorize the pattern after you've done a few repeats. It would be great for scarves, blankets, children's sweaters, or home projects like pillow covers or dishcloths. Give it a try! Or, choose your own stitch pattern to swatch. The basketweave pattern makes a cool swatch and it's a great way to get to know new yarn.
If you're a knitter like me, you never pass up the chance to try out new yarns. It's so easy to get stuck in a rut sometimes, and having a new yarn to play with can make all the difference. This week on KNITmuch, we're exploring the new Uptown Worsted yarn from Universal Yarns. This is a worsted weight yarn in 100% acrylic, that is designed to be anti-pilling! If you're a fan of easy-care yarns, this one will be right up your alley.
Reading a yarn label is always good practice if you're not sure where to start with a new yarn. On the Uptown Worsted (which comes in dozens of colors), we can can see it's intended for a gauge of 18 sts and 24 rows over 4 inches in stockinette stitch, so that's definitely telling us it's in the worsted weight range, even if the name of the yarn didn't tell us that already!
If you're out of the habit of reading your garment labels for the laundry symbols, you'll also get some practice with the same symbols on many yarn labels. This one tells us Uptown Worsted is machine washable and may be tumble dried, which is a reassuring piece of information to have if you're planning to knit up some items for the home or small children!
Before you start a new project, or even if you're not sure what project you'll be starting, it's a great idea to knit a swatch to see how the yarn feels and knits up. You can also grab your nearest gauge ruler or tape measure to check your gauge. Sometimes this is different from what the label says. My swatch above does have 18 sts over 4" in stockinette stitch, just like the label says, but I got it with a 4.5mm needle instead of a 5.0mm needle. It never hurts to swatch to be sure!
Overall, this is a soft, springy yarn and it comes in so many colors that it would be easy to find a lot of different project options for it. This week we're going to try a few more swatches with different stitch patterns, and finish off with a fun project for the home. If you're a fan of easy-care yarns, Uptown Worsted will be right up your alley.
With the holidays happening in just a couple weeks everyone is giving and receiving gifts. I thought this is the perfect opportunity to share a practice I use when I give someone a hand knit gift. A lot of non-knitters are hesitant to wash things that have been hand knit for fear of ruining them
At the other end of the spectrum, the garment has already been washed and accidentally felted and shrunk down to fit a doll.
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Let go of the romantic notion that recipients are going to take great care in caring for their hand knit gift.
The first tip is knowing your giftee. There are those who carefully hand wash their favorite knits and take a great deal of time and care to ensure their clothing survives as long as possible, but every person has their own habits. If you know your favorite cousin isn't going to carefully hand wash a garment, opt for a machine washable yarn. Superwash or a synthetic fiber like acrylic or nylon. As beautiful as some blends can be, you don’t want to put time, effort, blood, sweat and tears into a project to have it felted after the first wash. It's only going to make your recipient feel guilty and you wishing you had known what was coming.
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My second tip would be to communicate clearly what the washing instructions would be for these garments. There are a few different ways you can do this, the first is by simply verbalizing it. After your gift has been opened and the joy of a hand knit garment has receded, just say “oh by the way, to wash this…” Easy peasy. Just make sure you’re giving these instructions to the right person. I wouldn’t want to tell my father how to wash the hand knit socks I gave him, when I know my mom will be the one actually washing them.
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If you’re worried these instructions will be forgotten, or simply want to provide a backup, you can slip some written or printed washing instructions into the gift bag or box. Perhaps fasten them to the garment with a safety pin to ensure they’re not lost in the chaos of Christmas paper that so often happens.
You could also provide a sample size packet of wool wash if the garment requires a rinse free detergent and place the instructions with the wool wash. If you want to get fancy about it, I’ve heard of people creating their own labels to be sewn into garments, a hand wash and a machine wash instructional label. Sewn along an edge or on the inside of a garment, just like anything store bought.
Hopefully all the hand knit gifts out there survive the holidays and the first wash after with the 2.5 tips on sharing washing instructions for knits. May you have the opportunity to teach non-knitters about the art of washing their garments and keeping the love alive. As knitters we put our heart and soul into what we make, to wrap our friends and family in our love. The couple extra steps in washing will be well worth the effort.
There are several patterns available for the Branson yarn which highlights this thicker weight of yarn. Let's go over these scarf, throw pillow and sweater patterns and see what it's like knitting with Branson yarn.
The Mirrored Cables Scarf is the first project that drew my attention because a scarf is one of the most universally acceptable gifts I have ever knit. Some people don’t like wearing hats or mittens in the winter, but scarves seem to always be welcome. This scarf in particular has cabled edges and a triangle stitch pattern in the middle. At first I was a little put off because there was no chart to go with the pattern, but once you start knitting the design is very intuitive. You're able to see where you change your stitches within the pattern.
If you're the type of person who's very attached to charts, I would suggest making your own! You're definitely able to do this with a bit of graph paper, or if you have excel on your computer. With excel, just shorten the column width so the cells are square and place X’s in the boxes for purl stitches and leave the knit stitches blank.You would have to use your own symbols for cable left and right though. It would be your own creation, but if it helps you knit something this lovely, I would say it is worth it.
The next project that caught my eye is the color work in the Drawing Room Pillow. I really love color work and find it very therapeutic, so I'm a bit biased towards this pattern. It's knit in two pieces, three edges are sewn together, it’s stuffed and the last edge is sewed up! Purling in Fair Isle is a slightly more advanced technique and you have to keep an eye on what you're doing; when you purl your way back, you are reading the chart upside-down. I find it useful to actually turn the chart upside-down so I have a more realistic viewing angle to concentrate on my knitting.
Give it a whirl!
If you want to make the Drawing Room Pillow, but are concerned about not being able to purl Fair Isle, another tip is to simply use a Turkish Cast On or Judy’s Magic Cast On. Cast on twice the amount of stitches you need for one panel and knit the pillow in the round. When you get to the top you can bind off, stuff it and seam up the top, or stuff it then use a three needle bind off or Kitchener stitch. Judging from my undying love of Kitchener stitch, I’ll bet you can guess what I would use.
Last, but not least, is the Boxing Day Cardigan. I left this project last on my list because sweaters scare some knitters. It's seen as a gigantic undertaking and may come across as slightly daunting. I thoroughly enjoy knitting sweaters because I have the biggest sense of accomplishment when I'm finished.
This cable pattern will go very quickly as well. It's not very complicated and if you use pattern markers to remember where your cables are, you'll fly through it in no time.
This sweater is done in pieces and seamed up at the very end. This just means you can enjoy the small victories of completing small pieces and the big finished project victory when you’re completely finished and everything seamed together. With the Branson yarn categorized as a bulky weight, it won't take very long to complete it.
All these patterns look very cozy with Branson yarn; the thickness of the yarn gives a plush softness that can't be faked. The sweater and pillow would be perfect to curl up with on the couch and read a book, while the scarf is the ideal accessory for the very cold weather on it’s way. Knit fast, and let Branson keep you warm.
This timely giveaway includes 3 balls of Matthew yarn from the Downton Abbey Yarn Collection, plus a set of smooth bamboo knitting needles!
Premier yarns has created a new series of yarns for hand knitting and crocheting in colors reflective of the period and characters featured in the popular and widely acclaimed Downton Abbey television series. For a review and patterns using Matthew yarn see our Downton Abbey Yarn Collection post and visit hakidd.com to download more free Downton Abbey patterns.
75% Acrylic, 21% Wool, 4% Viscose.
3.5oz/100g, 230yds/210m
#4 Medium Weight
Hand wash cold, lay flat to dry.
Crochet gauge, I-9 (5.5mm) hook: 13 sc & 15 rows = 4” (10.2cm)
Knit gauge in st st, US 8 (5mm) needles: 16 sts & 24 rows = 4” (10.2cm)
To enter this contest, log in below through Facebook or with your email, then follow the instructions. You’ll be required to comment on any one of our KNITmuch blog posts, except this one. We do this to encourage you to explore the awesome content on our blog.
Branson is the next yarn in the line up; a thicker yarn that comes in quite a few manly colours. In the show, Branson and Lady Sybil are married, so it seemed very fitting that these two yarns should be under the spot light together this week. Branson is classified as a bulky yarn. It’s going to work up quickly and be very lush once complete. That 'cushiony', soft bounce always makes your garment drape beautifully. This weight is a really solid go-to yarn for a lot of projects, it can handle anything from blankets to winter accessories to sweaters. Branson, Downton Abbey Inspired Yarn, is a most versatile yarn.
The colors Branson comes in are very rich deep hues that complement a winter wardrobe and most men would not be able to find objectionable. Any of the men I have knit for have always had a list of criteria for the colors I used. Nothing too bright, nothing brown, nothing too dark, nothing heathered, no tweed-y colors. The dark green and blue are my favorites, but the Claret Red is beautiful as well. I mean… not beautiful! It’s a solid, rugged color. This yarn comes in enough colors and neutrals to make color work an attractive option as well as any stitch patterns. In a true solid color there's no variation in tone to obscure any cables or small details. This can be reliably knit up into a wide range of patterns. Tomorrow we're going to talk about recommendations.
The fibre composition is 80% acrylic and 20% wool, this means it's also machine washable! Branson yarn is a triple star: it’s got the warmth of wool, the washability of a synthetic and knits up quickly.
All of these factors make it an exemplary stashable yarn; you can just pick it up and go without having to worry about the pattern and yarn clashing. It knits up really beautifully, great stitch definition and it's very soft on the hands.
There are a lot of ply’s to this yarn and when I started to cast on, the tail end of my long tailed cast on tried to untwist, but I had the tail on the right side so I could just let the twisting energy dissipate through the tail. All those ply’s will create a dead air space within the fiber and make it very, very warm, if you knit it tightly, the wind wouldn’t even be able to fight it’s way through.
Branson is a solid, reliable yarn and exactly what I look for in a go-to fiber. The lush warmth and versatility the blend and colors offer. With only a few more weeks till the holidays and a couple more months of cold after that, I feel like Branson would be a welcome guest in any home. Stay tuned tomorrow, we have a couple of free patterns to try with the Branson, Downton Abbey inspired yarn.
Yesterday we looked at the benefits of knitting with Lady Sybil yarn. Making a swatch with Lady Sybil yarn is important, as it is with every new yarn you come across.
The acrylic in this blend ensures the fabric wouldn’t stretch once you’ve knit your garment. Pure mohair has a tendency to lengthen with exposure to time and gravity, but the synthetic aspects will help this yarn keep its shape. If there's any wiggle room in respect to the garment changing shape it would have to be in the blocking process.
As with any garment you’re knitting, I would highly suggest making a swatch first and washing it, this is the only sure-fire way to see how the yarn is going to react to getting wet. I'm also a great fan of blocking all knitted work. It polishes everything up nicely and makes your tension look very close to perfect!
Here's the perfect project for the season knit up with Lady Sybil yarn. 4 adjectives inspired by this yarn: soft, airy, light and warm.
Another great project recommendation is a shawl. Whenever I see lighter weight yarns I think of shawls. Even though I have knit relatively few. The way the color is set in the yarn, a really interesting stitch pattern would look really lovely in Lady Sybil. If you were looking for an opportunity to try out a new stitch pattern, check out our September posts on exploring a week-long of stitch patterns with Glenna Harris on KNITmuch.
While the yarn does have a halo, it wouldn’t diminish an intricate lace pattern or obscure any interesting stitches.
If you don’t mind the hand washing process you can always go for bigger game and attempt a sweater. With Lady Sybil, anything worn close to the skin will be a treat; the fluffy softness of the yarn will keep you warm without forfeiting the fashionable aspects of hand knit garments.
This week we have the second installment of the thrilling Downton Abbey Yarn Collection by Premier Yarns, new this year! It’s actually a husband and wife character theme, Lady Sybil and Branson. Ladies always first, so we'll start with the benefits of knitting with Lady Sybil yarn.
Lady Sybil yarn is a fine weight two ply yarn made with 80% acrylic 20% mohair 10% polyamide. I was really surprised to see mohair as part of the fiber content for this yarn. Most of the mohair I’ve seen is a strand of mohair on its own, looking incredibly fluffy, or part of an art yarn. Not to say these are the only kind of yarn with mohair, but it isn't very common to see it mixed into an acrylic and polyamide blend.
The addition of mohair makes this yarn so very soft, but it doesn’t have that feeling like you might accidentally tear the strand apart if you put too much tension on it. The synthetic fibers add the durability you can feel as you knit with it. A layer of delicate softness with an underlying strength; as any lady must have.
This fiber composition is hand wash only, which is not really surprising considering the mohair. If you've ever knit with a single strand of mohair, you'll know the fine fibers stick together while simply knitting with it. If you tried to put that in a washer, it would felt. Mind you this yarn has only 20% mohair so it doesn't stick together while knitting with it. It's just as easy to frog it as knit it the first time. Trust me, I tested it. I may or may not have let my attention wander while knitting my first swatch.
The polyamide creates an angora effect, so there's a slight halo around this yarn as it's knit up. This makes your garment look incredibly cozy, even if the yarn is a lighter weight. Many people are put off by light weight yarn, but knitting with a lighter weight yarn is very rewarding. Garments generally have a more flattering fit and you can create finer details with finer yarn.
Lady Sybil is a very refined yarn, just like it's name-sake, great for making fine detail garments. It will really bring out the patterns it is knit into. Tomorrow we'll go over some types of garments that would be best suited for Lady Sybil. There are even a few quick ones that could be completed before the holiday season. Stay tuned.
This week has been all about adding texture to your knits. We’ve explored rosettes, which are petite versions of bobbles. We’ve tried wrapping stitches and twisting stitches and crossing stitches as well. We’ve even bound off stitches in the middle of the row, only to pick them up on the way back. Today we're going to learn how to knit the eyelash stitch, which is actually a variation on the tuck stitch.
As you can see in the photo below, the eyelash stitch gets its name quite literally from the appearance it has in the finished fabric. A panel of eyelash stitches would be a fun design element to place along the edge of a V-neck sweater, or as the cuffs or waist band, too. It can be easily incorporated into a scarf or cowl or the cuff of a sock.
The eyelash stitch shows up the best on a background of reverse stockinette. So for your practice swatch, you’ll need a panel of an odd number of stitches to make the motif. The central 7 stitches will be where you will knit the eyelash stitch, so you may want to set them apart with stitch markers.
Work 5 rows in plain reverse stockinette stitch. The first row of the motif is the 6th row which is a wrong-side row. Work to the center 7 sts, knit 3, yarn over, ssk, knit 2, and continue the rest of the row. Then work 4 more rows plain.
The next right-side row is where all the fun happens. Here's where we work the tuck stitch. Work to the center 7 sts, purl 2 sts, insert the right needle into the eyelet 4 rows below and bring up a loop of yarn quite loosely. The loop should be pulled up past the height of the current row. See the photo for an idea of what it should look like. If the loop is too tight the fabric will pucker.
Then, purl 2 sts, repeat the tuck stitch and pull up the loop to the same height as the other. Then purl 2 sts and repeat the tuck stitch once more; purl 1, and continue across.
If you study the right-side of the work you’ll see 2 sts between each tuck stitch loop (green arrows) and from the wrong side the strands down to the eyelet appear to be a half-stitch off, but there are still 2 stitches between the gaps (pink arrows)
Now working across the wrong side of the fabric, come to the center 7 stitches, [k1, purl the loop and the next st together], repeat between [ ] twice more, and then knit the last of the 7 sts, and continue across.
Work 3 more rows plain and you're ready to make another eyelash stitch.
And that’s all there is to this cute stitch motif. I hope you enjoy knitting the eyelash stitch. The next time I design something, I’m going to try this with a yarn dyed in a long colorway to see if the eyelashes contrast well against the stitches behind them.
In early lessons, most knitters are shown how to avoid twisting stitches. We work hard at figuring out which is the front leg and which is the back leg of the stitch. If we are pickers (or continental knitters) and we work our purls so that the first leg of a stitch is at the back on the knit side, we have to knit into the back leg so that our stitches don’t twist. Combination knitters are really good at figuring this out! If we are throwers (or we knit English), then our first stitch legs are usually also the front legs and we need to knit into the back leg to twist the stitch. It all becomes a muddle of legs and fronts and backs and nexts and behinds, but somehow, with practice, we come out on top, breathing easily, and with our stitches all aligned just so, all this without our nickers in a knot!
But today we are going to break all the rules and we're going to deliberately twist stitches to add texture to our knitting.
Why would anyone want to twist knit stitches on purpose? If you look at this photo, you can see that the lines of stitches that zig-zag back and forth to create these diamonds really pop to the forefront of the panel of reverse stockinette. Twisted stitches are responsible for these well-defined mini-braids travelling through the swatch.
Let’s look at the steps you should take if you want to twist your stitches on purpose, and then we’ll look at how to cross twisted stitches.
For the tightest of braids, you'll want to twist the stitches on both the knit side and the purl side. Work the stitches to the one that needs to be twisted. Now look how the stitch lays on the left needle, does the strand of yarn that's at the front of the work lean to the left? If so, you’ll need to knit into the back strand, or leg, to twist the stitch, as pictured below. If the front strand of the next st lays leaning right, then you can knit into the front leg.
When you approach the stitch on the wrong side of the work you’ll need to purl into the back strand as pictured below.
That’s it! That’s the twisted stitch. If you’d like to only twist on the knit side and just purl the wrong side as usual, you’ll get another interesting look. Give that a whirl and see what you think.
The next step to making this lovely bobble and braid pattern is learning to both twist and cross stitches at the same time. The easiest way is to twist the stitches as you’ve already tried above, and to use a cable needle to assist with the crossed stitches, but it's possible to do this without a cable needle.
When you want to cross the stitches so the front braid leans left you work up to the 2 stitches that will be crossed. Then you follow the 5 steps pictured above:
When you want to cross the stitches so that the front braid leans to the right, you work up to the 2 stitches that will be crossed. In this pattern the first one will be a purl stitch. Then proceed as follows (not pictured):
So know you will be able to complete the braid and bobble swatch pictured at the top of this post. The chart and text instructions are available below including the instructions to make a scarf.
I just thought of one last thing to suggest for you to try next time you work on a project with 1x1 ribbing. On the right side of the work, twist only the knit stitches, but not the purls, and on the wrong side of the work, twist only the purl stitches and not the knit. You’ll really like how the right side of the ribbing looks and it gives the ribbing a little extra springiness.
I hope you’ve enjoyed exploring these knit textures over the last few posts. Tomorrow we'll see one last texture technique called the eyelash stitch. It’s a spin-off of the tuck stitch. Until then, I hope you enjoy knitting twisted stitches and crossing them as well.
Bobble and braid pattern stitch
Abbreviations
Please check above for those accompanying diagram.
1/1/1 LPtwC: With cable needle slip next st and hold at front of work; with 2nd cable needle, slip next st and hold at back of work, k1 twisted, purl st off back cable needle, k1 twisted off front cable needle.
Make bobble (mb): See blog post from 3 days ago.
Worked over a multiple of 22 stitches plus three (not including selvedge stitches).
Row 1: K3, *p3, k3, LtwC, p3, RtwC, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 2: P3, *k2, [k1, p1] twice, k1, p1 twisted, k3, p1 twisted, [k1, p1] twice, k3, p3; rep from * across.
Row 3: K3, *p3, k3, p1, LtwC, p1, RtwC, p1, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 4: P3, *k3, [p1, k1] twice, k1, p1 twised, k1, p1 twisted, k2, [p1, k1] twice, k2, p3; rep from * across.
Row 5: K3, *p3, k3, p2, 1/1/1 LPtwC, p2, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 6: Rep Row 4.
Row 7: K3, *p3, k3, p1, RtwC, mb, LtwC, p1, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 8: Rep Row 2.
Row 9: K3, *p3, k3, p1, LtwC, p1, RtwC, p1, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 10: Rep Row 4.
Row 11: K3, *p3, k3, p2, 1/1/1 LPtwC, p2, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across
Row 12: Rep Row 4.
Row 13: K3, *p3, k3, p1, RtwC, p1, LtwC, p1, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 14: Rep Row 2.
Row 15: K3, *p3, k3, RtwC, p3, LtwC, k3, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 16: P3, *k2, [k1, p1] twice, p1 twisted, k5, p1 twisted, [p1, k1] twice, k2, p3.
Rep Rows 1–16 for pattern.
One more holiday gift pattern: Bobble & Braid Scarf
Materials
200g / 440yds approx. of worsted weight yarn
Size US8 [5mm] 32" circular needle. (size US9 [5.5mm] circular needle for cast-on and bind-off)
2 cable needles
Gauge
In Bobble and Braid st pattern 22sts = 10cm. Exact gauge isn’t essential for this pattern.
Scarf
With larger needle, long-tail cast on 267 sts, change to smaller needle.
Row 1: K3, *p3, k4, p5, k4, p3, k3; rep from * across.
Row 2: P3, *k3, p1, k1, p2, k5, p2, k1, p1, k3, p3; rep from * across.
Rows 3 & 4: Rep Rows 1 & 2.
Next 48 rows: Work Rows 1–16 of Bobble and Braid motif 3 times.
Next 4 rows: Rep rows 1 & 2. With larger needle, bind off loosely in pattern.
For many knitters, binding off, or casting off (as most Commonwealth country knitters call it), is one of the favorite parts of the project. Not all of us love binding off itself though, particularly when it seems to pucker the top edge, or cause it to flare, because one’s tension has to be “just so”. But we do like binding off because it signals that we're almost done the project! What would you think about binding off mid row though?
So a while back, I was thinking about how to incorporate crochet in my knitting—I like to do some “lateral thinking,” it really helps my design process—and the result was these horizontal ridges across the fabric. Generally speaking, one doesn’t see horizontal chains across the middle of knit fabric. Diagonals yes, easily achieved with decreases or crossed stitches, and vertical chains are simply flanked by purl stitches, or slipped or twisted to make them stand out a bit more.
How does a mid-row bind off connect at all to crochet?
If you know any crochet stitches, the half double stitch (or half treble in UK terms) consists of an extra yarn over added to the stitch which helps create a horizontal chain across the fabric (see half-double crochet photo above).
To achieve this in knit fabric, the technique is quite similar. To make the chain ridge appear on the right side of the fabric, the mid row bind off is worked on the wrong side.
The first stage is to wrap the yarn around the needle ending with the yarn forward. Then the next stitch is purled. And finally the yarn over and the previous stitch are passed over the just purled stitch.
I was thoroughly pleased to discover that my mid row bind off is actually a purl-side version of Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.
The next problem I needed to solve with the mid row bind off was to figure out how to get the stitches back on the needles. I fiddled around with several different approaches, but settled with picking up stitches in the extra strands formed by those yarn overs worked in the bind off.
To pick up and knit stitches in these strands, you need to look over the bound-off stitches as if you were looking over a banister. Then just under the ridge on the wrong side you’ll see a horizontal strand in which to insert the right needle, transfer the strand to the left needle and knit.
My first design with the mid row bind off was the short-row shawl pattern published in the 2015 edition of Noro Lace, (see short row shawl photo). I worked the bind off across the different sections of the shawl to enhance the boundaries between the lace panels and the stockinette sections.
I’ve continued to play around with the mid row bind off to see what other textured knit fabric would result. The stair-step pattern is pictured above and a lacy version is below. The stair-step pattern is created by working stacked mid row bind offs and every other column is offset by half the number of rows between motifs. This would be a fun texture for a cowl or even a sweater. The lacy versions involve yarn overs and picking up some of the extra strands in the back of the bound off stitches.
The chart below is for the stair-step textured knit. If you use a yarn that helps textured stitches stand out you'll be the happiest, so fuzzy yarns are out. This swatch is worked in Bernat’s Canadiana in Aran and its sheen and twist help the mid-row bind off stitches pop.
These are the text instructions for the same start-step textured knit (refer to the stitch key above for an explanation of the abbreviations).
Cast on a multiple of 3 sts.
Row 1: Knit.
Row 2: P1, [p3, sspbo 3 times] across to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 3: [K2, s1, pkxstr 3 times] across to last 3 sts, k3.
Row 4: Purl.
Row 5: K8, [s1, k5] across to last st, k1.
Row 6: P7, [sspbo 3 times, p3] across to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 7: K3, [k2, s1, pkxstr 3 times] across to last 6 sts, k6.
Row 8: Purl
Row 9: [K5, s1] across to last 9 sts, k9.
Rep Rows 2–9 for pattern.
The lace motif is a bit “raw” yet. Once I've had time to polish it up a bit, I'll be writing a shawl pattern with it, but I need to come up with a better name for it than the “Mid-row Bind-off Lace Shawl”. Maybe “Cat paws”?
In tomorrow’s blog post, we'll explore how to knit the wrapped stitch and the knot stitch. Both stitches that will add lovely texture to your knitting, in a different way than how we achieved texture with the mid-row bind off.
