DIY knitted lace stitch patterns

Ripple lace stitch patterns are a favorite for summer knits. Try out the new Cotton True Sport  by Fibra Natura and try your hand at a custom ripple lace stitch pattern.

2 different ripple lace patterns in Cotton True

In the above photo you can see some asymmetrical lace patterns that make an interesting swirl and wave in the fabric. There are 2 different patterns, one below and one above the garter stitch line. Both make the waves a bit irregular.

Or do you like symmetry more? You can always try something like this...

Symmetrical Ripple Lace stitch pattern

The most important part of making up your own ripple stitch patterns is to always make the number of increases equal the number of decreases. You can arrange either the increases or the decreases regularly in symmetrical order, or you can freeform it a bit as well. For summer ripple lace, eyelets made with yarn-overs are the most common way to increase. In case you missed yesterday's post, we explored the possibilities for increases there -- the different decreases were covered on Tuesday.

Hand-drawn knitted ripple lace charts

I often chart my own ripple lace patterns on simple math graph paper, no fancy software, no expensive gel pens and parchment paper, either. At this stage I don't worry about gauge or the fact that there are more rows than stitches to an equal distance, say 4" [10m]. The gauge will only become important when the stitch pattern is used in a garment.

If you look at the lower edge of the above photo, you can see that I have 40 stitches divided into 4 sections of 10 stitches each. At the outer edges and the center half-way point, I work paired decreases, and closer to the ¼ and ¾ marks, I work a series of increases, some paired symmetrically, and some not. This is where you can play around and see what you like best. You don't have to work with 40 stitches. A ripple pattern repeat can be built out of any equal number of stitches between the peak points and the valleys.

The next thing to remember is that wrong side rows aren't shown. Typically you simply purl across. If you do have a double wrapped yarn-over, there are several options we looked at yesterday for working into these double yarn-overs on the wrong side rows. So on the chart, we only draw symbols for right-side rows. I use circles for yarn overs, and right or left leaning lines to correspond to the leaning decreases.

Again, the key to balanced ripple lace stitches in your knitting is to add the same amount of increases to the increase sections as you add decreases in the decrease section. If you look at the first three rows of my hand-drawn diagram, you can see that I add six yo stitches to each section. Then, at either end of a pattern repeat, you can see that I also decrease 3 on one side and 3 on the other. These increases and decreases are done all on the same rows.

It is possible however to work the increases and decreases on different rows.

Multiple increases on 1 row are balanced by decreases made in subsequent rows

In the above swatch, you can see 5 eyelets in a row. These are all filled with 2 stitches each. So for this row there's a massive multiple increase of 10 stitches per pattern repeat...and NO decreases.

To return the stitch count to the proper number, on the following 3 right-side rows, I decrease 3 stitches per pattern repeat with a single k2tog on the left side and a sssk (3 sts together through back loop) on the right side. Over these 3 rows, that took care of 9 of the extra 10 stitches that were added in the increase row. So that left 1 more stitch to decrease which was inserted at the edge of the pattern repeat on the next row. If you want to try this ripple stitch, the chart is included below.

Try making a few ripple lace stitch patterns of your own. It's addicting!

 

Chart notes: Ripple Lace Chart

The chart is worked over a multiple of 30 stitches. The right side (RS) rows are the only ones charted. Purl across all wrong side (WS)/ even rows and, when you work in a double yarn-over on the WS row, work p1, sl1kwise in each double yarn over by purling the first wrap, then, with yarn in front, slip the 2nd wrap knitwise. On the next RS row, knit into the back leg of the stitch that you slipped knitwise on the previous row.

Two repeats (60 stitches) of this pattern would make a lovely scarf in sport weight yarn.

Row 1: [K7, yo, k6, k2tog, ssk, k6, yo, k7] twice (60 sts).

Row 3: [K8, yo, k5, k2tog, ssk, k5, yo, k8] twice (60 sts).

Row 5: [K9, yo, k4, k2tog, ssk, k4, yo, k9] twice (60 sts).

Row 7: [K10, yo, k3, k2tog, ssk, k3, yo, k10] twice (60 sts).

Row 9: ([K8, {yo twice, k1} 5 times, k5] twice, k2) twice (100 sts).

Row 11: [Ssk, k20, k3tog, sssk, k20, k2tog] twice (88 sts).

Row 13: [Ssk, k17, k3tog, sssk, k17, k2tog] twice (76 sts).

Row 15: [Ssk, k14, k3tog, sssk, k14, k2tog] twice (64 sts).

Row 17: [Ssk, k28, k2tog] twice (60 sts).

Row 19: [Ssk, k6, yo, k14, yo, k6, k2tog] twice (60 sts).

Row 21: [Ssk, k5, yo, k16, yo, k5, k2tog] twice (60 sts).

Row 23: [Ssk, k4, yo, k18, yo, k4, k2tog] twice (60 sts).

Row 25: [Ssk, k3, yo, k20, yo, k3, k2tog] twice (60 sts).

Row 27: [K2, {k1, yo twice} 5 times, k16, {yo twice, k1} 5 times, k2] twice (100 sts).

Row 29: [K18, k2tog, k2, sssk, k3tog, k2, ssk, k18] twice (88 sts).

Row 31: [K15, k2tog, k2, sssk, k3tog, k2, ssk, k15] twice (76 sts).

Row 33: [K12, k2tog, k2, sssk, k3tog, k2, ssk, k12] twice (64 sts).

Row 35: [K11, k2tog, k6, ssk, k11] twice (60 sts).

Repeat rows 1-36 for pattern.

Making multiple increases in knitted lace

Yesterday I wrote about how well this week's yarn Fibra Natura's Cotton True Sport, a lovely, soft, Pima cotton yarn stands up to laundering. The swatch of the ripple stitch pattern below is an example of how it comes out unscathed. For the next few posts, we'll look at ripple stitch patterns and how to work increases, decreases, and even design your own. Then we'll look at what happens when a ripple stitch goes a travelin' (more later).

One aspect of ripple stitch patterns is that to achieve stark contrasts in valleys and peaks, it's necessary to make sudden increases in the zones that become the peaks. There are several ways to make these increases and each have characteristics which different knitters prefer, based on ease to work and appearance.

Cotton True Sport, in a knitted lace in ripple pattern

The first thing to consider when working a multiple increase into an eyelet that is formed with a yarn-over on the previous row or round is how large the eyelet should be. If you want a small, tight eyelet, or one that's close in size to a standard eyelet that has no increases worked into the yarn over, you'll want to continue to use a single yarn over. However, if you're looking for a lacier look, you may want to consider wrapping the needle twice or 3 times when you form the yarn over. This makes a bigger eyelet on the following row when the multiple increases are worked into the yarn over.

This swatch was knit on 3.00mm needles. Cotton True has excellent stitch definition and on these smaller needles, it's possible to keep the lace eyelets neat and consistent in size. I found when I swatched with larger needles my lace became a little unruly and wouldn't hold the blocking. So, your tension and your materials choices are other matters to keep in mind when working multiple increases in your knitting.

Even number of increases

Working an even number of increases actually involves knitting 3, 5, 7, etc loops into one stitch. Confused? Well, if I knit 3 loops into one stitch, one of these loops counts as the stitch itself and the other 2 loops count as the 2 increases -- an even number of increases. The neatest and most common way to work an even number of increases looks like this: (k1, yo, k1) all into the same yarn over stitch from the previous row. This adds 2 stitches to the row stitch count. It's also possible to work (k1, yo, k1, yo, k1) or even (k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1) into one eyelet. These give an increase of 4 or 6 sts, respectively. The more stitches you work into one eyelet, the more rows it takes for these stitches to even out, become less bulky and lie flat. Experimenting with the different options is a good way to see what you like best.

Odd number of increases

If you want to increase by 1 stitch it's simply a matter of working 2 loops into one stitch. The first loop counts as the same stitch being worked into, and the second loop counts as the one increase. There are several ways to work 2 stitches into an eyelet yarn over.

Purl bump in a multiple increase

The most common way to work two stitches into one is to (k1, p1) into the same stitch. This has been the most common increase since times eternal. Well, maybe I exaggerate.

As you can see in the highlighted area of this swatch, the purl stitch creates a little picot bump that juts out into the eyelet. If this is done consistently, it can be quite delicate and cute. But not everyone likes the little picot bumps. So there's an alternative, well actually several.

Twisted stitch in multiple increase

To achieve the look in the highlighted area above, I worked (k into front loop, then k into back loop) of the eyelet yarn-over. This does get rid of the bump in the eyelet, but if you look closely at the top of the circled area, there is a diagonal strand that crosses over the second stitch and this does appear a bit like a bump, at least a raised strand.

So there are 2 other possibilities.

1. When you make the yarn-over on the previous row, make a double wrap. Then when you're working into the double wrap on a purl side you purl into the first strand of the double wrap and then you slip stitch knitwise into the second strand. If you're working in the round, you knit into the first wrap and slip stitch purlwise into the second strand. This technique gets rid of all bumps and leaves a lovely compact eyelet.

2. The other option is to work a purl or knit into the yarn over, to yarn over again (the 2nd increase) and to continue across. This actually creates 2 eyelets that are stacked on a slight angle to each other.

Please try out these different multiple increases. When we look more in depth at some ripple stitch patterns, you'll have a chance to try them out in a pattern.

3 ways to knitting decreases

This week we'll be spending a lot of time looking at ripple stitch patterns. There's always a lot of increasing and decreasing going on in them, so it's a great opportunity to learn 3 of the most common decreases to get rid of one stitch every once in a while. The swatches in this post were knit from Fibra Natura's Cotton True Sport 100% Pima cotton yarn.

Paired decreases in knitting. On the right are both ssk and skp, and on the left, k2tog.

Looking at the above image, you can see that there are paired decreases. This means that 2 stitches are decreased, but the angle or the "lean" causing the decreases is controlled so that they lean towards each other in pairs, or they lean away from each other.

Actually, for this particular ripple stitch pattern, you stop 4 stitches from the center of the ripple "valleys" and you decrease twice leaning to the left, then with the next 4 stitches, you decrease twice leaning to the right. Now let's look at how to make these leaning decreases.

Left-leaning decreases

In the above photo, you can see near the left edge several left-leaning decreases. There are 4 common decreases that all end up leaning to the left. Well, 2, but some are variations of the others.

A cast-off decrease is used the least because it adds a bit of bulk to the fabric and to the 2 stitches being used to make the decrease. To knit a cast-off decrease you knit 2 stitches and pass the second one on the right-hand needle over the first. It's not pictured above, but try it. You may like the extra texture that's added to the fabric.

To lessen that bulk, a more common decrease is commonly referred to as the skp decrease. This means that you slip one stitch, you knit the next stitch and you pass the slipped stitch over the knit one. This is sometimes abbreviated, sl 1, k1, psso.

A third left-leaning decrease is the ssk. This stands for slip each of next 2 sts knitwise, return to left-hand needle, knit together through the back loops. This stitch lies flatter than the skp decreases.

When knitting with cotton, like I did with these swatches, the stitch definition is usually quite crisp and every decrease is visible. Designers often take advantage of this and work decreases in to fabric to create movement of lines or to take the viewer's eye on a journey along the fabric. When you want to achieve a more discrete ssk, another variation is to do the following: Slip the first stitch knitwise, slip the 2nd stitch purlwise, and then knit 2 together through the back loops as usual. It's very subtle, but this variation is slightly flatter.

This sample shows left leaning and right leaning decreases as well as a few double decreases.

I knitted the above swatch with Red Port Cotton True Sport by Fibra Natura (see more about this pima cotton yarn in yesterday's post). It's a lovely yarn that gives great stitch definition. It's easy to see the 2 triangular points that are formed by paired decreases that are flanked on each side by eyelets made with yarn overs.

To make the right leaning decrease, the standard method is to simply knit 2 stitches together through the front loops. This is the most common decrease. A variation on the right-leaning decrease is to do the following: Pass the 2nd stitch on the left-hand needle over the first and then knit the first stitch. This creates a bit of a raised decrease, so it's more visible and creates a unique look.

Double decreases

You may have noticed in the swatch with the red yarn that some of the decreases eat up 2 stitches instead of the usual 1. There are actually many different ways to decrease 2 stitches at a time. We'll look at these in a future post.

Cotton True Sport. Port Red at the top, beige on the left, and white on the right.

Painless knitting with the very soft Cotton True Sport yarn

I have had the chance for the past month to knit with Cotton True Sport yarn by Fibra Natura. And wow! Cotton yarns have come a long way baby!

Cotton True Sport

When I started knitting 40 years ago, there wasn't much in the way of cotton yarns to knit with. There was cotton thread for doilies, but not much else, at least, not available to me. Then in my early 20s I tried knitting with the heavier cotton yarns and they were okay, but my hands would hurt after a few hours and I didn't like the texture of the finished knits. They were usually too hard or stiff. Then I came across some mercerized cotton. It was shiny and smooth and well, not too soft, but I really liked the shiny finish. And it was DK weight, so it had some heft...but the finished garment was much too heavy and it sagged with its own weight.

Skip ahead to a few years ago and the arrival of Pima cotton in the hand-knitting yarns market. Now we're talking! Pima cotton is a very welcome arrival to hand-knitting. The latin name for this cotton is Gossypium Barbadense. It's also known by several other names: ELS (or extra long staple) cotton or Sea Island cotton. Varieties of this species are also grown and processed in Egypt, India, China and Russia. The name Pima cotton comes from the indigenous tribe Pima from the Arizona area. According to Wikipedia, this tribe helped cultivate this cotton on experimental farms in the early 1900s.

What is staple?

Staple is fiber. Cotton (as well as other fibers) produces fibers that vary in length. The type that is used to make absorbent cotton balls for make-up removal has very short fibers. It's not Pima. The staple of Pima cotton is very long (for cotton) and can measure between 1½ʺ and 2½ʺ [3 - 5cm]. The longer the staple, the better, at least for hand knitting yarns. This allows the yarn manufacturers to spin the cotton strands with a little less twist than with short staple cotton, which in turn makes the yarn softer.

When the Pima cotton is ginned (combed so the fibers come apart from the seeds) after it's been harvested off the cotton plant, it comes in a variety of colors ranging from a taupe, to a champagne yellow. The fibers also have different degrees of natural sheen to them. Highly trained cotton classers—did you know that was a job?—inspect the fibers and grade them on a scale of 1 to 6 which includes criteria involving the staple length, the lightness of the color, and the amount of sheen, or reflectance, as it's called. No, that's not in the dictionary, but I love new words that are made up to serve a technical purpose like this one.

When mills make yarn, they take the Pima cotton in its natural state or a bleached version and spin it in several plies if they want a structured yarn, or in just a few plies if they want it to be pillowy soft. Cotton True is a plied yarn with structure.

Closeup of Cotton True Sport 's seven pairs of plies and the fineness of its cotton staple.

Even though Cotton True Sport is a well-structured yarn, it is very soft! It consists of 7 strands of 2 plies spun with an S-twist. The 7 strands are also spun with an S-twist, but the yarn is set so that it's balanced and doesn't cause bias in the fabric when you knit it. An advantage to this yarn's structure is that it's soft and lofty, but it doesn't shed or let out little ends that bloom and eventually pill.

Cotton True Sport comes in 21 colors and can be knit with several needle sizes. All of the swatches you'll see in this week's posts were knit on a KnitPicks 3mm needle. There's no US equivalent, but the closest would be a US 3 [3.25mm]. It would be possible to knit with size 2, 5, or 6 US [2.75mm, 3.75mm or 4mm] needles as well. The gauge of course will be different, but the fabrics will have different characteristics that will suit many different knit items.

Each ball of Cotton True has 197yds [180m] and weighs 50g. The washing instructions are wash in warm water (by machine or hand) and lay flat to dry. I'm going to let you know what I tried though.

Cotton True Sport Color 114 Sandstone

I threw my swatch in a hot load with other whites and then it went into the dryer, too. I forgot to tell my son, who switched loads, to take it out. I'm pleased to say that no harm was done. It didn't shrink at all either stitch-wise or row-wise. It also didn't bloom at all. I'm saving pictures of the washed swatch for a future post later this week, when we will look at ripple stitch patterns and asymmetrical lace patterns, so you'll be able to see for yourself.

The trick to knitting a waste yarn provisional cast on

We all get into our own groove when it comes to knitting habits. I learned the knitted cast on, then learned the cable cast on one day when watching my mother begin a project. I used that cast on for years, and when I learned the long tail cast on, it became my habit for years.

Today's cast on, the waste yarn provisional cast on, however, changed my knitting life. I no longer shy away from casting on hundreds of stitches for a full-width afghan. It's also useful for casting on any project where you're going to knit in the opposite direction such as a hat with a lining or a stole worked in two panels from the center to the ends.

I recently showed the ladies at my local knitting guild this technique, and I expect that some of them will use it.

With 40 years of knitting behind me, I tend to choose a cast on for a project that's going to complement it in some way. I still use long tail and other cast ons, but when I have a project that needs a lot of stitches, I use the waste yarn provisional cast on.

To best convey this information to you, I prepared a video. It's my first attempt at video making; I hope you enjoy it.

Waste yarn provisional cast on Vimeo

An 8 minute video showing the steps to make a provisional cast on for knitting using waste yarn

via: vimeo.com

Knit a stronger splice join when starting a new ball of yarn

Joining in a new strand of yarn can be done in several ways.

The best way to hide a yarn join is to do it at the end of the row on garments so they can be worked into a seam. But, not every garment has a seam, and not every yarn join can be worked into a seam on a garment that does have seams.

We can change yarns in the middle of a row of knitting, simply dropping the old yarn and adding the new yarn. In intarsia work, we have no choice but to do this, and in yesterday’s post I blogged about how to do it so as to prevent a gap in the fabric and weave the ends in almost invisibly.

My favorite way of avoiding a bulky yarn join in knitting, is to stagger the join by making a splice join.

Why do I like this join so much? Well, it’s an economical use of yarn – you don’t have to leave an extra yard or two of yarn at the end of a row. You can stretch it out to the last possible few inches. The splice join staggers the yarn over a number of stitches, so there's a continuous strand right through the join, which makes it strong. And, because the yarn ends have been untwisted, the plies are already situated to weave off in different directions as we did yesterday, which, as I demonstrated, gives further strength to the join.

Yes, there's a downside in that there are extra ends to weave in, but if we are investing time and money to make a garment, isn’t it worth the time and effort to make your yarn joins as strong as possible?

Here's how I do a splice join:

I work the first ball of yarn until there is about a foot of yarn 6-8" [15-20cm] of yarn trailing from my hand for a 2 or 4 ply yarn. For a three ply yarn, I leave at least 12" [30cm] length.

For a 2 or 4 ply join, I separate the yarn into two sections, and treat them the same way as for the 3 ply join, but using fewer of the steps.

For 3 ply yarn, untwist the yarn coming out of the knitting into three plies and trim them down so that one is the full 12" length [30cm], one is about 8" [20cm] and one is about 4" [10cm]. Do the same with the new yarn from the ball.

The old and new yarns untwisted and trimmed for splicing. The arrows show the different sections, which will be referenced in the text, below.

For 3 and 4 ply yarn, I untwist the yarn into plies and trim them down so that one is the full 12" length [30cm], and trim the other plies to 3- 4" [8-10cm] less. So, for the three ply example in the photo, the plies have been trimmed to about 8" and 4" [20cm and 10cm].

Then I overlap the ends so that single ply part of the new yarn overlaps all plies of the old yarn and a part of the next section (which in the photo has two plies of yarn). I add a little twist to the length, then knit a few stitches with the old yarn and the extra ply (section 1 of the photo above). If I need to hold the twist in place, I use a paperclip, clothespin, or a small bag clip.

Seven stitches knitted with 4 strands of yarn. The strand coming out of the knitting on the right is ready to weave in. For the photo, I left the strands untwisted so you can see that the next several stitches will be knit with 3 plies of yarn; two from the old and one with the new.

At this point, I drop the strand of yarn that is shortest, and knit several stitches with the remaining plies (in this case, three - see section 2 of the photo).

The next sections (3 and 4) have two plies coming from each of the knitting, and the new ball. Again, I bring them together and add twist. I knit several stitches with all four plies, then I drop the strand that is shortest in length and knit several more stitches.

The start of Section 3: the next approaching loose strand of the new yarn (shown over the needles) is from Section 2. It'll be dropped,and the knitting will continue with four strands of yarn for several stitches, then the strand in the center of the upper section of the photo will be dropped, and several stitches will be knit with the remaining three strands (section 4).

Only Section 5 remains. The last short strand from the ball yarn will be left at this point (the strand just above the right needle in the photo below), leaving me with all three plies from the new ball, and the last ply from the yarn from the old ball. I could drop both this strand and the last strand of yarn from the old ball, but if I want the maximum strength in my join, I'll twist that strand with the new yarn, and work several stitches with four plies. Then, I’ll drop the last free strand, and continue on with the new yarn.

The strand on the right, just above the knitting is the last strand from the ball yarn. The strand leading toward the top of the page is the remaining strand from the old ball of yarn. It will continue on for several stitches, then be dropped, and the work will continue with the three strands of yarn coming from the top right corner of the photo.

Sections 1, 3, and 5 ended up being knitted with four strands of yarn, and sections 2 and 4 had the three plies, like the yarn coming off the ball. But, by working only a few stitches with 4, then a few with 3, and a few with 4 and so on, we have spread out the extra thickness over a bunch of stitches, which helps to make it less glaring to the eye. At the same time, we've created a join that has yarn from both the old and new ball running right through the join, making our join strong.

This is particularly effective when you want to join yarn in fine knitting, such as the lace shawl in the photographs. And, because the strands are already woven in over a span of several stitches, it takes a minimal amount of weaving in to reinforce those ends.

The next time you're working a project, try incorporating splice joins. I think you'll see their benefits!

Taking weaving in ends in knitting from home made to couture

One of the great joys in my knitting life is knowing I have finished a project to the best of my ability. Some knitters dislike sewing up and weaving in ends, but I embrace them as part of the process.

Over the years, I have gone to great lengths to get my yarn ends woven in as undetectably as possible. I even weave in the ends on almost all of my project samples. The practice of weaving in ends can elevate the quality of your knitting project from 'home made' to 'couture' level.

Different yarns weave in differently, and, depending on the thickness of the yarn, ends should be treated in different ways. It's easier to hide a woven-in end on sock yarn, for example, than it is on chunky yarn. When working with a thicker yarn, the ends can be woven in more invisibly by splitting the yarn plies into two or three sections, and weaving the ends off in different directions. This adds strength to the fabric, and it is a useful technique for items such as afghans, socks, and baby blankets that will receive a lot of tugging. When the yarn is sent off in more than one direction, the chances of any end coming loose are substantially reduced.

First, let’s look at a bad example of woven-in ends. The sample below is the blue and gold sample from my June 3 post. In the center circle of the sample, I had two gold ends to weave in. I did not separate the yarn into sections, and got a bulky result, visible on both sides of the work. There are six ends woven-in in the blue areas surrounding the gold circle, and they're almost invisible -- I can only detect one in the photo.

The lumpy-bumpy woven in ends can be clearly seen in the center of this sample.

To do a nearly invisible join, I thread the needle with the full strand of yarn on the back of the work. Then, I turn the work over to the right side -- I want to make sure that the stitch is not distorted on the front of the work, and that it gets anchored in a way that won't result in a hole or a gap. With a knitting needle tip, I'll coax the stitch to match the others, and then take the excess thread to the back (normally it's an excess, because the stitches tend to stretch out during the knitting).

The photo on the left shows the excess drawn to the middle stitch after the excess yarn has been pulled in. This excess will be taken to the stitch to the left and "tamed" into place. The result is the three even stitches shown in the right photo.

With all 4 strands, I anchor the yarn on the back of the work, following the path of the yarn. Sometimes, I'll do this once or twice more until I get the yarn end to a spot where I can weave in different directions.

Weaving in the full strand of yarn to anchor it to the back of the work.

At this point, I untwist the yarn. If it’s a two ply yarn, I end up with two singles. A single ply, or singles, can be quite weak, and I often need to add twist back into the strand to give it enough strength to weave it into the fabric. If it’s a three ply yarn, I usually split it into one section with two plies, and one section with a single ply. In this case, I’m working with Red Heart Super Saver, which is a four ply yarn, so I have untwisted the yarn into two sections, each with two plies of the yarn in it.

The strand of gold yarn has been divided into two strands with two plies in each.

Each section gets the same treatment, just in different directions. I thread one section into the sewing needle and begin to follow the path of the knitted stitches.

The sewn yarn is following the path of the knitted stitches.

When I'm about halfway through the length, I'll go back over one of the stitches, wrapping the yarn end right around a stitch. Then, I continue as before, taking the end along the same path as the knitted stitches.

For the second section, I thread it, then I carry it away for a distance of a few rows. By doing this, I avoid having a lumpy area where the ends cross over each other.

Taking the second half of the untwisted yarn to a place where it can be woven in. Note the end of the first strand on the right.

Again, I take the yarn end on a journey that duplicates the path of the knitted stitches, anchoring it over one stitch at about the half way point. When finished, I have two skinny ends to trim off.

The finished weaving, showing the two ends ready to be trimmed off.

Practice weaving in ends whenever you get the chance; it will make a huge difference in the quality of your knits, whether they are hand or machine knit.

Knit a Canadian flag - free pattern

Today's the day you can cast on for your Canadian flag. During our first week of having fun with flags, we traced out a maple leaf from a computer image of the flag, and yesterday, we did a sample knit of the chart.

From it, we made discoveries about how a chart made using pre-printed knitter's graph sometimes requires adjustment when it is translated into knitting that has a different gauge.

Today, I present the final chart, and some rudimentary instructions so you can make your own symbol of your patriotism, and your craft!

Before I do, though, I want to make a couple of notes about the border: I chose moss stitch because I found in my last series of posts that moss stitch pulls in less than seed stitch and it complements stocking stitch well. I chose gold, because, when a Canadian flag is fringed, the fringe is usually gold in color.  

Finally, for the keen observers, the first border row across the top of the flag is worked in gold, without the knits and purls over the red and white stitches. Why? Because it will make a smooth transition between the flag and the border. If I hadn't planned for this, the first row of moss stitch would have gold stitches with red and white bumps showing on the front of the flag.

The knitted flag with a purchased flag to show that the width to height ratios are similar. While it looks like Zoey is "standing on guard for thee", you will note that her food bowl is in the upper right corner; she is "standing" in wait of something else.

The pattern

materials

Red Heart Super Saver worsted yarn, 1 skein each red (R), white (W), and gold (G).

8 US [5mm] knitting needles, straight or circular

 

gauge

17 sts and 24.5 rows to 4" [10cm]

 

instructions

With G, cast on 117 sts. Follow the chart, below. I've given you the first ten rows of the chart in text as well, to get you to the point of establishing the color blocks.

 

Row 1: *k1, p1; rep from * to last st, k1.

Row 2: *p1, k1; rep from * to last st, p1.

Row 3: *p1, k1; rep from * to last st, p1.

Row 4: *k1, p1; rep from * to last st, k1.

Repeat Rows 1-4.

Row 9: with G, (k1, p1) 3 times, join R and k 26, join W and k 53, join a second strand of R and k 26, join a second strand of G and (p1, k1) 3 times.

Row 10: with G (p1, k1) 3 times, p26 R, p53 W, p26 R, with G, (k1, p1) 3 times.

Continue on from Row 11 of the chart, adding and removing colors as needed.

The chart

The chart for the Canadian flag. Right side rows show with numbers on the right side of the chart. Left side rows numbers appear on the left side of the chart. To work the chart, read each row from right to left to the center stitch, then work back from left to right, beginning with the second stitch from the left.

Have a happy Canada Day!

Tomorrow's post is going to examine weaving in all those ends that will be created from making this pattern.

Celebrate Canada - knit a Canadian flag

In my last series of posts, I designed a flag and took you through the steps to use technology to chart a graphic design. Naturally, while I was doing this, I researched a lot of different flags, and found a diagram for the Canadian flag.

Since I am Canadian, I decided to continue my charting experiments, and in the process, knit a piece to show my patriotism. Today, I'm going to talk about the challenges I encountered, and tomorrow I'll provide the finished pattern so you can, if you're quick, knit your own patriotic piece for the long weekend ahead.

In my post from Day 4 in May, I taped knitter's graph paper to my computer screen and traced out a maple leaf from a Canadian flag.

Knitter's graph paper was taped over the computer screen over the right half of the image. The design was then lightly traced using a pen that wouldn't bleed through the paper.

After I traced the maple leaf, I figured out where the borders of of the flag and the red stripes should be placed, and I "blocked in" the maple leaf using a pink erasable highlighter.

The tracing from the computer screen, with the squares "blocked in" to the squares that represent knitting stitches.

The experiment

The knitter's graph paper has a gauge of 40 stitches and 50 rows to 4" [10cm]. The tension on my knitting (I'm still working with Red Heart Super Saver yarn from my last series), is 17 sts and 24½ rows to 4" [10cm].

In terms of ratio, the knitter's graph paper is 4:5 (8:10), and my knitting tension is 8.5:12.25, which is slightly different from that of the graph paper. 

For the first sample, I knit the chart exactly as it is set, to see what happens. My theory is that the maple leaf will be too short for its width. The question is, by how much?

The knitted maple leaf from the chart above. Does this look squished to you?

Yes it is squished: while it looks good, this maple leaf is vertically challenged. 

On the graph paper, the length of the maple leaf is 105 percent of its width (5" wide by 5¾ʺ high [12.5 x 13cm]. 

The knitting measures 8¾ʺ wide by 9¼ʺ high [22.5 x 22cm] which means the height of the knitted maple leaf is only 99% of its width. To figure out how tall the maple leaf should be, we need to multiply the height times 1.05 (the percent difference between width and height). 8.75 x 1.05 tells us that our maple leaf should be 9.7" [23.5cm] high and that it is a scant inch too short.

We know that the tension has 24½ rows to 4" [10cm], so six rows is just less than 1" [2.5]cm. Therefore, to bring our maple leaf to scale, we need to incorporate six rows into the chart. What is the best way to do this? Let's look at the chart to see:

This is the Canadian flag chart reproduced in a knitting charting program exactly as it was in the original graph.

Optimally, we need to add 3 rows in each of the top and bottom half of the design. I don't really want to break up that lovely diagonal line in the lower half, but, if I must, I want it to be done as evenly as possible. 

To do this mathematically, take the number of rows you need to add (6) and divide it into the total number of rows you need to expand to (50). The answer is 8 with a remainder of two. Starting at the top of the chart, count down 5 rows. Why five? Because if you count down 8, you will only get to add 5 rows -- you need to split the first multiple of 8 and the remainder (2) into two sections. Half of 8 is 4, plus 1 (half of 2) makes 5. 

Then, insert one row after every eighth row down the remainder of the chart.

Using the math above, the yellow lines in the maple leaf (and the white lines in the red and gold sections) show where rows will be added for the next knit.

The only change I would make to the chart above, would be to move the added row 36 down to between rows 34 and 35 (and make the same as row 34).

Note that adding these rows interrupts the pattern of the moss stitch border. Tomorrow, we'll fix that and offer a .pdf of the finished chart for you to knit.

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More sampling with Super Saver yarn

What a fun week! We started by thinking about the overall size and layout for our flag afghan. In Tuesday's post, we considered why Red Heart Super Saver yarn is a good choice for such a project, and made a swatch to obtain our base tension. Wednesday's post had us use this information to refine our numbers and get the information to make a simple, striped flag. Yesterday, technology helped us create knitter’s graph paper and chart our design. Today we'll “block in” our chart, complete a second round of sampling, and talk a little bit more about borders.

Testing the Chart

I photocopied a section of the tracing of the vergina sun to “block in” my chart. With an erasable highlighter, I colored in the design of the sun’s rays on the graph paper. When the tracing lines intersected a square, I had to decide whether the square should be the gold or red. The guideline is when the line takes up more than 50% of its area in one color, make the square that color. It gets tricky when it’s a close call – you need to use judgment and experimentation.

I picked up my needles (US 8 [5mm]) and my Red Heart Super Saver. As mentioned on Tuesday, swatching is a chance to try border stitch patterns. In this case, I opted for seed stitch. I used a “semi intarsia” technique with separate bobbins for the contrast color (gold) and carrying the background color (red) across the back. To my dismay, my center circle came up into an oval, and my stitches looked distorted!

The pulling in of the work across the circle is obvious, and the background yarn peeks through the gold of the design areas.

Analysis: when I measured my tension over the red areas, it was fine, but, when I measured across the circle in the center of the sun, I had two more stitches and three fewer rows to 4" [10cm]. Two stitches over 4" may not sound like much, but, over 48", that is the equivalent of casting on 24 stitches too few. At this rate, my afghan could become over 5" narrower in places!

A "tug test" of my sample told me that part of the problem stemmed from having too much tension when carrying the background yarn across the back of the work. In addition, this stranding gave the gold areas of my design an odd-looking texture. I don't usually "weave" my resting yarn over and under the stitches on the back of the work, as many knitters do; I usually twist the yarn every few stitches. I could see that wherever I raised the background yarn, it pulled the gold stitch in. Wherever I lowered the background yarn, the gold stitch bulged out, and the red yarn "peeked through” on the right side of the work. This sample offered two valuable lessons.

Detail of the center circle, showing the stitch distortion.

So, I began again. This time, I photocopied a larger area of the chart. I only tweaked it in one place to adjust the spacing of the horizontal ray in the center of the design. This time, I used a marker to block in the diagram, and I chose blue for the background – if I’m going to be making an entire afghan in red, the change was bound to do me good.

The blue sample's chart. The dotted lines across the top and down the left, show where the pattern gets worked in the opposite direction. The small numbers in the chart are the number of stitches across each area. This saves counting squares, and, because the chart will be worked back down again, it is a real time saver. For this chart, I used orange numbers for the sun and blue or black numbers for the background.

This time I did a proper intarsia technique using separate bobbins for each block of color. I also tried a different stitch for the borders, as I wasn’t thrilled with the way the seed stitch borders fanned out at the bottom and top, and pinched in along the sides of the red sample.

I cast on, again with 8 US [5mm] needles, worked six rows of moss stitch and proceeded to work the chart with a five stitch border of moss stitch on each side. A few rows past the center circle, I stopped to measure and voila – my circle was within ⅛" [3mm] of round. It’s hard to get much closer than that in knitting! I was also pleased with the way the sun’s rays looked. True, I have many, many more ends to weave in, but the results are worth it.

About eight ends had been woven in before I remembered to take this photo of the back of the blue sample.

The moss stitch border worked out well, too. In the full afghan I will make it about double its size (12 rows and 10 or 11 stitches on each side). When I placed my full-size chart over the knitting, the stitches are perfect, and the knitting is only out one row to the graph over 7" [18cm]. I will tweak this as I knit the blanket.

The finished blue sample. The moss stitch border suits the stocking stitch well, and the placement of the chart shows how closely the knitting worked up to it.

Working from a full-size chart is going to be cumbersome. Technology can help here, too, by

1. Taking the full-size chart to a copy shop and reducing it.
2. Using charting software to transfer the chart into a smaller size.
3. Photographing the chart with a tablet or camera and printing out an enlargement of the photo.
4. Using a spreadsheet to create a smaller chart then outlining and coloring in cells.

Now that my testing has proven itself, I can happily cast on all 204 stitches and begin my old Macedonian flag.

I hope you have enjoyed Fun with Flags. If you design your own piece using this week’s blogs, please write and tell me about your adventures. On June 20, I'll be talking more about charting motifs and working with Super Saver yarn by Red Heart.  

Charting for flags and Super Saver yarn

In today’s chapter of Fun with Flags we use technology to help us chart the design for our old Macedonian flag, and do more swatching to ensure our design will execute properly.

The information given in today’s post can be used for more than just flags - You can use this method to commemorate your trip to Paris by creating an afghan of an outline of the Eiffel tower. You can extend the legacy of a favorite stuffed toy by knitting its image into a blanket. You can even use this method to recreate digital designs, or a photo of a special flower from your garden. Red Heart's Super Saver yarn has enough colors to recreate many images in knitting.

Red Heart Super Saver yarn comes in bold flag colors.

I’m going to show you how you can use technology to create a complex chart. Or, at least, how I did it.

Create Graph Paper

Using my base tension of 17 sts and 24.5 rows to 4” [10cm], I created my own knitter’s graph paper using my spreadsheet software. I calculated the decimal equivalent of one stitch in inches, and the decimal equivalent of one row in inches, then I set the size of my cells to that dimension. Next, I drew lines around the cells. My software won’t accept three decimal places, so I have to round off the numbers. Again, accuracy here is important: rounding up or down even five thousandths of an inch will make a difference of about one full inch over the entire piece.

For that reason, I often re-do my calculations in metric, to make sure the cells are as close to the actual size of the tension swatch as possible. I took the care to measure the tension swatch accurately, it makes sense for the graph paper to be accurate, too.

This screen capture from QuattroPro shows the row and column settings to create graph paper to chart a knitting design in the same size as the knitting.

Knitting graph paper can be found on-line from various sources, however, the products I found didn’t match my tension closely enough. The papers I found had 20sts and 32 rows to 4” [10cm], and 32sts and 40 rows to 4” [10cm].

Once the graph paper was set to the correct dimensions, I printed several sheets of paper and trimmed the margins off of two sides. Then, I taped them together on the back of the pages. When I do this, I lay the sheets face up, matching the lines, hold them in place temporarily with sticky notes, then turn the pages over and apply tape on the back. This way, I can draw in all areas of the chart.

I wanted to chart my vergina sun to its actual size. Because the design is symmetrical, I only needed to chart just over a ¼ of the sun.

The thin black line shows approximately the area where I taped my knitter's graph paper to the wall.

Other symmetrical motifs, such as the maple leaf in the Canadian flag, would need to have one half of the motif charted – you would knit to the center of the chart, then repeat the other half of the row by reading the chart in the opposite direction.

I set my computer projector on a table then hooked the projector to my laptop and brought up the picture of the vergina sun. I wanted my sun to be 34" across, so I adjusted the image on the computer and the projector until the image of the sun on the wall measured 17" from the center to each tip. This step was important to ensure that the design’s dimensions are true, and in this case, symmetrical. Using painter’s tape, I taped the graph paper to the wall, positioning it over just more than half of the projected image.

The lower half of the vergina sun projected onto the wall, with the graph paper taped on the right side. In the foreground, the image is reflecting off the top of the projector on the left, and the image is on the laptop screen on the right.

Next, I traced out the center and points using my low-tech pencil.

Not everyone has a computer projector – they're expensive to buy. You can rent one, or a really good friend may loan you theirs. An alternative to using a projector is to trace the image from a computer monitor:

Bring up the image on the monitor (you can even hook up your laptop to the TV and project the image onto it), lay the graph paper over it and tape it to the frame of the monitor (don’t apply tape to the screen itself). Next, lightly trace the design onto the graph paper. Be sure to use a soft pencil or a pen/marker that won’t bleed through the paper. You can always go over the tracing once the paper has been removed.

Knitter's graph paper, 22sts and 32 rows to ¼, taped over the right side of the maple leaf of the Canadian flag. The top part has been traced using a pen and ruler, but dots on the lower section can be connected once the paper is removed to minimize any risk of damage.

In the lower areas of the maple leaf in the photo, I put a dot at the peak and valley of the leaf. Then, when the paper was removed from the computer screen, I used a ruler and pen to make solid lines. This would be a good technique to use for the stars in the American flag.

We now have fairly firm numbers and a chart outline for our project. It’s time to double check our work. Tomorrow: more sampling with Super Saver yarn.