Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

It has taken me awhile to shoot video and post this technique, partly because this is one of my "unventions." I haven't seen this technique documented elsewhere. Rather, I derived it. It allows you to bind off at both the beginning and the end of a row of knitting without one side being taller than the other. In the top photograph, you can see the left corner and right corner don't match. The left corner has one more row of stitches, making the stripe thicker. In the bottom photograph, both corners match. Yes, this is a very picky detail that typically makes little difference. But for those it does annoy, this technique will delight. I usually teach this in my "Refined Baby Surprise Jacket" class as well as "Unventions" and "Looping Back" classes. The directions: Bind off at the beginning of the row, as per the instructions. Work across in pattern, stopping with what you need to bind off plus one stitch remaining at the end of

Yesterday was the first birthday for Mei Lun and Mei Huan. Those of you who know me or read this blog at least a little are, therefore, unsurprised that I spent yesterday at the zoo. The panda exhibit was crowded, as you might expect. With all the crowds and glare on the glass, I didn't get great pictures. But I did see a little of the birthday girls' shenanigans. Who would expect it would be possible to wrestle in a tree? Mei Huan demonstrates it is also possible to do yoga in a tree. Mei Lun demonstrates how a panda can drape decoratively in a tree. One of the docents -- Anne, I think -- was talking to some of the guests about the various animal Wild Encounters or VIP Pass experiences that can be purchased at the zoo. These are available at a variety of price points. One of the least expensive of the animal encounters is the Aldabra Tortoise Wild Encounter, at only $35, and even a little less for ZooAtlanta members. (In contrast, meeting a tiger will set you

On the Common Crowd Cap, the dangles are i-cords that grow organically from the top. They transition seamlessly from the ribbing, as a tree grows out of the ground. As you can see in the video, all it takes is a simple turn of the needle.

In yesterday's video, you saw how to create the stitches. Today's video will show you how to work them off in pattern for either 1x1 or 2x2 ribbing. You can extrapolate from that for syncopated rib. If you recall my post a few years ago about something I called scalloped cast-on, the 2x2 rib in the video is scalloped cast-on.

As I stated yesterday, the Common Crowd Cap uses invisible cast on. Today's video will show you how to get stitches cast on to your needle. Tomorrow's video will show you how to work them off in pattern. Basically, you regard the spare circular needle as if it were a wire and create yarn overs by ducking back and forth underneath the wire.  If you have worked Cat Bordhi's Möbius cast-on, you may recognize the resemblance.

This is one of those posts I should have done months ago. Then again, I believe I've mentioned catching up as a current theme in my life? Last year, the STITCHES teachers were asked if we would be willing to contribute original hat patterns to Halos of Hope. I don't wear hats much, but the shaping of them isn't difficult, so I said, "Sure!" Pam Haschke, the founder of Halos of Hope, asked us, "What would you want to wear if you had lost your hair to chemotherapy?" My answer is that I'd probably just want to fit in. Hence the name of my pattern, the Common Crowd Cap. The goal is just to keep fitting in with the common crowd. The pattern is for sale on the Halos of Hope website, along with much better pictures than the ones I took. Halos of Hope often has a booth at STITCHES events. If you happen to be attending, you can see my hat as well as a lot of much more inventive designs in person. I made two versions. One has dangles, because I find dan