Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

In early summer I was knitting projects quickly. It seem that knitting is much faster than pattern-writing, photography, videography, and all the other elements that go into self-publishing a pattern. For the Mach Wave cowl, I decided to use some stash yarn. I had purchased Wool2dye4 Tweed Worsted in a "learn to dye with Kool-Aid" kit at The Whole Nine Yarns. This yarn has three plies, two of which are wool and the third is superwash wool. The third ply takes dye differently from the other two, creating the tweedy effect. I did quite a bit of outdoor dyeing back in June. That first burst of scorching summer weather triggered the impulse to execute the dye projects that had languished through the cooler months. Although I have a big pile of Kool-Aid packets in my dyestuff stash, for this project I used Jaquard acid dyes. Before applying the dye, I decided I wanted the skein to become a center-out möbius. I divided the yarn into 11 lengths, placing a pin at each division. (...

Feather and fan is a classic knitting stitch pattern. Anything that is a classic is so for a reason. Casablanca -- possibly the best dialogue in the history of cinema. Where the Wild Things Are -- a great visual description of childhood imagination. Macaroni and cheese -- comfort food that fills your belly and reminds you of home. The Feminine Mystique -- articulation of the "problem that has no name," which is really the universal human search for purpose in life. A little black dress or a string of pearls -- unfussy, modern fashion, subtly complimentary of feminine sexual beauty without being vulgar. Feather and fan is a classic for several reasons. Firstly, the stitch pattern gives you a lot of result for little work. Most variants of the pattern have action on every-other right side row -- i.e. every fourth row. That means three easy rows of knit all or purl all. The clustering of increases and decreases bends the fabric to create a wonderful wavy edge. If you are...

As I mentioned yesterday, I've used Cat Bordhi's center-out möbius cast-on but adapted it for lace. Start with the plain möbius cast-on. The trick is to change the numbers and only cast-on the knits and decreases but not the yarn overs. Then on the first round of the möbius, I added the yarn-over part. For example, my feather and fan pattern is: (k1, yo) ×4, k1, ssk ×3, dd, k2tog ×3, (k1, yo) ×4. The pattern multiple is 16 stitches. Each crest is 9 stitches (9 knits with 8 yarn-overs between them) and each trough is 7 stitches (three left-leaning decreases, a center double decrease, and three right-leaning decreases). If I get rid of the yarn-overs, I have 9 knits + 7 decreases = 16 stitches. Therefore, I should cast on 16 plain stitches for every pattern multiple. I don't need any extra +1 stitch for balancing the pattern since a möbius is in the round. However, to align pattern crests and troughs I need to cast on an extra half multiple. In the pattern I cast on 88 ...

I'm teaching a workshop later this summer on stash busting. I was sorting through my ideas for what techniques to put in the class; and it occurred to me a möbius would be suitable. But I wanted to teach it first before I commit to it. I decided the easiest way to do that would be to design a pattern and put it on the schedule at the shop. Thus, the Sonic Boom Cowl. You may not realize at first glance, but a möbius is a great shape for stash busting. If you use a center-out cast-on -- such as the one devised by Cat Bordhi -- the yarn will automatically produce mirrored stripes. This works with any skein of reasonably long-print yarn and would be perfect for a magic ball. In addition to the stripes, a möbius can be knit until you run out of yarn. Visually it is wonderful. Practically, it is a shape that permits maximum fabric with minimum waste. Stripes are also great for stash busting. One of the best is feather and fan pattern. Typically, there are three or five plain rows/ro...