Knot Knecessarily Known Knitting

Today's post is about how I made a grief blanket. The overall design is modular. I printed and cut out 1-inch squares with the design on them, then moved them around on a table. It was much like designing a quilt block, but using texture rather than color and value. The most common block has a two triangle pattern, with half the block in moss stitch and half the block in welts. The "joining" block is a double-moss stitch, essentially a 2×2 checkerboard. I could have played with other block patterns. Indeed, I generated multiple options. I ended up with three innovations on this project: a refinement of a Mondragon loop block join, a continuous chain selvedge, and an improved way to add a perpendicular border to a chain-stitch edging. The blocks are knit both vertically and horizontally. While normally I would have picked up blocks as for a modular project, the joins in this project are Mondragon loops. Because the welts are narrow str...

This has been a quiet year for reversible knitting. I taught at many shows, but "Introduction to Versa Lace" was rarely on the schedule. I ran an advanced reversible knitting class at South Carolina Knit Inn way back in February. I haven't done anything with that class since running it. I know it needs more work. I'm not sure when or how to polish it. Even if I'm not teaching reversible techniques, that doesn't mean I'm not thinking about them. I've moved from the original versa lace ideas where I could only translate stockinette-based fabrics upward to being able to work some purl stitches reversibly, such as in illusion knitting. I thought it might be fun to have a go at working Fox Paws reversibly. Fox Paws is the popular stunt knit written by Xandy Peters. The pattern is garter-stitch based, but uses stacked increases and stacked decreases to wildly deform the rows of knitting. The resulting patterns can be fantastic as ...

I'm delighted to have several in-person shows on my schedule for the latter part of 2021. One of them is Fall Fling for Kathy's Kreations . I'll be teaching reversible cables and knitting faster. Since it is a weekend-long retreat, there is extra time. I'm developing a module on hat design. I started out with Casquecade (see brown hat, above). This is an easy ribbles hat. This was also my attempt to create a simple but interesting pattern that might sell on Ravelry. Fail! I thought the most popular patterns on Ravelry tended to be easy and quick? I thought they tended to be more conservative in style? I thought this hat would be appealing, especially since it is top-down. Wrong! I admit I do not understand what other people want to knit. The pattern was not a waste of time. The overall approach is a useful template. Cast on with a center-out reversible cast-on at top of hat. Increase using Y-increase or W-increase until hat fits...

One of my most popular classes is Brioche Rosetta Stone . As far as I know, I'm one of the few instructors who shows how to work brioche stitches using the yarn over & slip method as well as the knitting into the stitch below method. I was chatting with other instructors at a STITCHES event . One said she doesn't teach brioche because she can't fix it. For the most part, I can't fix it, either. In class, I tell students to knit a few rows and then pick back up and carry on. Mistakes are common when learning brioche. If you spend all your time trying to fix them, you won't learn the maneuvers. Fixing brioche is one of the most difficult things you can do in knitting. I would rather fix double-knitting than fix brioche. But a number of students have requested video showing how to do it. I had a swatch of brioche on my needles after a virtual presentation for South Carolina Knitting Guild . It seemed like a good time to shoot some video....

I've been aware of the work of Steve Plummer for some time. His illusion knits include not merely simple geometric designs but complicated illusions such as Albert Einstein or Mona Lisa. But the sad thing about illusion knits is they are not reversible. Until now. I am very excited to add an illusion knitting class to my repertoire. And now that I can show you how to work it reversibly, so much the better. In fact, I think this might be easier, as you are always looking at the right side of the work. And the two sides are independent, which means you can work the same pattern on both sides or different patterns. Just be sure both charts are the same size and they both start with the same color. Here is a simple example. One side is a checkerboard. The other side is two large triangles. I'll see if I can make a larger, more impressive sample.

A question was recently posted to the Ravelry double-knitting group . The knitter wanted to work a typical two-color double-knit fabric but did not want to manipulate two colors at once. She wanted to know would it be possible to work the fabric using the slipped-stitch method? While I think it is probably more efficient to work with both colors in one pass, it is possible to work each color individually. Some caveats: You want points at both ends — use double-pointed needles or circular needles. If you like reading your knitting, it is tricky to read that second pass. You might want to set-up each row by inserting stitch markers at each color change. This method is probably slower. On the other hand, if you really can't stand carrying two colors at once or you are getting very different tension with each color, then working one color at a time may be worth it. You might find you better match the tension in both colors. You will still need to move the yarn back and forth between th...

Since I now have some time on my hands, I'm getting back to unfinished objects, half-designed projects, notes for new classes, and the like. I have a backlog of things in the "when I have time" category. There were several items in the basket on the living room table. Among them were handouts, yarn, and a strip of Russian lace pattern samples from when I took Galina Khmeleva's "The Fundamentals of Orenburg Knitted Lace" at Georgia FiberFest in September 2017. What I what to concentrate on today is attaching a lace border. I pulled out the acrylic practice yarn and started swatching. Swatch worked in the Orenburg tradition, with simultaneous edging. In the Orenburg tradition, the edging is worked in a long strip from left to right across the bottom. It essentially becomes the cast-on. The central pattern stitches are picked up from the side of the edging. And the Russians have a clever method for turning the corners and working the edging at both s...

The last part of the pattern is the bind-off. The interesting thing about a pattern that doubles is that each new increase round and plain round uses about as much yarn as the whole pattern up to that point. Let's say you start at the very center with one pair. Cast-on: 1 pair. Set-up round:1 pair. At this point, you have worked 2 pairs total. 1st round: increase to 2 pairs. The increase round contained as many stitches as the previous 2 rounds. 2nd round: plain round of 2 pairs. At this point, you have worked 4 more pairs, so 6 pairs total in the project. 3rd round: increase to 4 pairs. The third round uses as much yarn as rounds 1 & 2. 4th round: plain round of 4 pairs. At this point, you have worked 8 more pairs. Add to the previous 6 pairs, and you have worked 14 pairs total. 5th round: increase to 8 pairs. The fifth round uses as much yarn as rounds 3 & 4. 6th round: plain round of 8 pairs. At this point, you have worked 16 more pairs. Add to t...

The pattern for Exponent alternates plain rounds of 1×1 ribbing with rounds of Y-increases. The Y-increase is a knitting heresy. Normally, you can't knit into the same stitch twice. If you try it, you will discover that all you do is add a wrap, making the stitch taller but not making more stitches. Versa lace is ribbing based. Instead of having a single stitch, you have a pair of stitches. This means you can work knit 1, purl 1, then back up and work knit 1, purl 1 in the same stitches again. As you can see in the detail photograph, the effect looks like two stitches coming out of one. And they are bilaterally symmetrical, meaning there is no left-leaning or right-leaning version of this. I have not yet put in the time exploring, but I suspect there may be some crochet maneuvers that can be mimicked in knitting using this technique.

Well, 2018 really got away from me. This pattern, Exponent, was written for Christmas in July 2017 . In fact, I wrote about it in two different posts in July 2017 . I had a couple sample mini-skeins from festival goodie bags. It is fun to get yarn, but what are you going to do with only 10 yards? I worked Exponent as a hair accessory by starting with an encasement cast-on. But you could also start with a reversible pinhole cast-on and make a shower poof or a flower or a cat toy. It might be interesting to work this with a novelty yarn such as jelly yarn or wire. Or you could work it in Pantone's color of the year (living coral) and make a knitted coral. Here is the basic version of the pattern: encasement cast-on around the hair elastic work a round of 1×1 ribbing work a round of Y-increases in every stitch pair repeat the plain round and the increase round until about half the yarn remains bind off Part of why it took so long to post the pattern was that I wanted to ...

In the Kennesaw Kudzu pattern, each multiple of pattern is worked back and forth and decreased to a point. This shaping creates the pretty leaf edging. But it does raise questions of how to deal with those final two stitches and where to hide the tail when you are out at land's end? To graft that final knit-purl pair, start with “wrong” side facing: plunge a blunt tapestry needle into the base of the final stitch 
leaving needle in place, pull tail up and out poke eye of tapestry needle from purl side to knit side of penultimate stitch 
thread tail in eye of tapestry needle 
pull needle to bring tail through penultimate stitch and to re-complete final stitch. I prefer to duplicate stitch ends. In this case, I don't have any horizontal fabric that I can use for duplicate stitch. Plan B is hiding the ends vertically. Identify a knit wale and thread the tail down through a vertical column of stitch legs. This isn't my favorite way to deal with an end, but it will...

The Kennesaw Kudzu socks and hat both start with a center-out cast-on. This is a combination of Gwen Bortner's encasement pick-up and a typical center-out cast-on. Wrap the tail counterclockwise in a circle twice.
 Knit into the center of the circle.
 Yarn over.
 One pair completed.
 Repeat as many times as needed.
 Pull tail gently but firmly to close hole. In addition to the hat and the toe-up socks, this cast-on would be useful to work a circular shawl in reversible lace.

On the Alacrity mitts, I knit myself into a spot a didn't expect. I cast-on. I worked in the round. I introduced the thumb gusset using a bridge. I decreased away most of the thumb gusset. And then I got to the bottom of the gusset and realized I needed to work a reversible 5 into 1 decrease to keep everything in pattern. Yes, this is a reversible centered quadruple decrease. Park the five knits on one needle and the five purls on another needle. Use a crochet hook to enter the obverse stitches in order 3-2-4-1-5. Yes, you will need to park stitch #1 and remove stitches from the needle as you work. Using the hook, pull a stitch up through the whole stack. Place the stitch on the right needle. Turn the work. Repeat on the reverse. Turn the work back. Not fast, but it can be done.

As I continue to explore reversible lace, there are more and more techniques to develop. I've already posted how to work left-leaning and right-leaning decreases. The obvious corollary is how to work double decreases. I need to explain there are different types of reversibility. For example, if the obverse is this: /O/O The reverse could be this: O\O\ or this: /O/O The first example is mirrored reversibility, but the second example is identical reversibility. In a centered double-decrease, there are also two possible configurations. The stitches start out on the needle as left - center - right. The final stacks could be either: center                    center right           or         left  left                 ...

I gave the direction to use a bridge to create a thumb gusset. As this is an unusual maneuver, I thought I should explain. In a top-down mitt, you cast-on in the round and work a tube. At some point, you may want to create a thumb gusset without breaking the yarn. You can do that by casting on more stitches, joining them back to the main tube, then continuing in the round. For reversible lace, I use a waste yarn tab to mimic the tubular cast-on and bind-off I've used elsewhere in the project. Knit across the tab, turn, yarn over and slip one purlwise with yarn in front for the first pair, then work alternating knit 1 in the running thread, slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front across the tab. After that, turn and work 1×1 ribbing across the tab. Now that the tab is established, join to the body of the mitt using a crochet hook to work the last knit-purl pair on the body a second time. This produces a secure join that won't gap. At that point, I can return to working...

I've already stated that for reversible lace, I like the tubular Italian cast-on. I have discovered, however, that it is not the easiest cast-on to work in the round. It is very easy to introduce an unintentional twist! Could there be an easier way? This alternative is not as fast and requires waste yarn. However, I think it is easier to work. And it creates the same tubular structure as Italian cast-on. Cast-on auxiliary yarn using whatever cast-on you like and casting on one stitch for each knit-purl pair you want for your project. In other words, cast on half as many stitches as you intend to have. Work several rows back and forth to create the auxiliary yarn tab. You can work in garter or stockinette, as you prefer. Since the tab is what keeps the work from twisting, please don't skimp on it. I would work at least five rows, maybe more. I like to work one row of a separate thin and slippery waste yarn. That way I can reuse the auxiliary yarn tab in another project ...

I think reversible lace looks especially nice with one-color Italian cast-on, incorporated i-cord selvedges, and tubular bind-off. It is a little tricky to transition between the cast-on and the i-cord and between the i-cord and the bind-off. Some of the maneuvers demonstrated in the videos might also work for transitioning between other cast-ons and bind-offs. If you are using an even-number of stitches in the i-cord, then you can cast-on with knit-purl pairs when working Italian cast-on. For odd-numbers of stitches in the i-cord, you'll need to start with a purl rather than a knit. Notice, too, you can use a cable needle to rotate stitches to make them more knit-like or purl-like, as you need. When transitioning to a tubular bind-off, work the same maneuvers you did to transition into the i-cord, but work those steps in reverse. A tubular bind-off to match Italian cast-on takes two "rows": Row 1: alternate knit 1, slip 1 purlwise with yarn in front. The knits wi...

One difference between beginning knitters and intermediate or advanced knitters is that novice knitters tend to only know only one or two cast-ons. A good cast-on can make an edge look professional, well-crafted. A poor match between cast-on and fabric can make a project look amateurish, even if the knitter has correctly executed the directions. For 1×1 ribbing — and, therefore, reversible lace — I like the look of one-color Italian cast-on. When worked in two colors, the cast-on can be used for double-knitting. It also works well for brioche knitting. Notice that the maneuvers are essentially the same as knits and purls. Stitches are cast-on in knit-purl (or purl-knit) pairs, which is why this cast-on does not work well for plain stockinette. To cast-on a knit stitch: duck the right needle front to back underneath the front yarn, wrap the back yarn as you would when making a knit stitch Continental style, bring the yarn forward as if pulling up a knit stitch. To cast-on a ...

Yesterday's post was about the holes in knitted lace. Today's post is about the partners of those holes  — decreases. If you just keep making yarn-overs in your work, the work will widen. If you want the fabric to stay the same width throughout, then the yarn-over holes/increases need to be balanced/offset with decreases. A "basic" lace pattern typically has the decreases and the yarn-overs on the same row. A really basic lace pattern has action only on right-side rows. Thus, the same number of stitches are on the needle at the end of every row, whether right-side or wrong-side. A more advanced lace pattern may have action on both right-side and wrong-side rows. Or it may have rows with non-balanced yarn-overs. Or it may have both. The decreases that balance the yarn-overs do not have to be on the same row with their yarn-overs. Many beautiful lace patterns with rippling or scalloped edges are created using this method. But, these patterns can be trickier to work be...

Knitted lace is knit fabric with holes in it on purpose. The easiest way to make a stable hole in knitting — cutting the fabric would be an un stable hole — is to make a yarn-over. Yarn-overs and holes in general tend to be reversible by their very nature. Sweet! When working reversible lace on 1×1 ribbing, you'll need to substitute a yarn-over with a double yarn-over. The notation for that can be yo2 or yo 2 or even (yo)×2. Whatever way it is written, it means wrap the yarn not once but twice around the needle. Alternatively, you can just wrap very loosely if you prefer to wrap only once. When you come to the yarn-over hole on the next row or round, you'll need to create two stitches from it rather than one. Since the base fabric for reversible lace is 1×1 ribbing, work knit 1, purl 1 into the yarn-over hole. Interestingly, it is knit 1, purl 1 whether you are working back and forth or in the round. If you have a lace pattern that uses dramatic increases, such as k1-y...