Category Archives: Knitting


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hey wouldja lookit that- i’ve been knitting

First off, I must post a photo of Sam. He’s been complaining that the blog has been Sam-less for too long, so here’s a shot of him that Yannick took the other day.

Now then, on to the knitting.

Don’t ask me where I’ve found time to knit, but almost all of the progress you will see below was knit THIS WEEK. (Technically you would know that as these are updates on projects I showed you last weekend, but I felt like spelling it out ‘cus I’m amazed that I got so much done.) If I didn’t have the previous posts’ photos to compare to I never would have believed it.

This is the progress on the Clown Cardigan. (I call it that because it was original designed for Clown sock yarn, and I’m too lazy to come up with a better name). At the last photo I believe I had only been up to the neckline decreases on the first cardi front, so as you can see I have finished that side and the other cardi front. This was worked on both Tuesday night at the MKG meeting and in the car on Wed when my dad drove me to work ‘cus of the bad snow storm we had (why take a chance and drive when I can get driven and knit??).

 

This is the progress on the entrelac blankie. I LOVE this project! I love everything about it. I doubt you can tell but there are two complete rows (one blue and one white) done since the last photo. I also remembered to take the photo BEFORE starting the next row so I could lie it out flat and take a proper photograph. I worked on this in the car on the way up north on Sunday as my family went up to spend the day with Yannick’s family and his sister’s family, and then again by the fire during the day as a bunch of them went out to ski and snowboard (they live on Mont Blanc ski hill). I don’t ski. I don’t snowboard. I wouldn’t even if I wasn’t pregnant. “Hi, I’m Jennifer and I’m a klutz.” Enough said. So yeah- 2 rows done on Sunday. Woo hoo.

 

This I’m really impressed with. At the last photo I was about 10 rows from the top of the STUVW row (oh, and there are 6 rows of blocks, not 4 as I’d said previously). Now I’ve completed not only that row but the NOPQR row above it! I worked on this on and off in the mornings before leaving for work.

 

Last but not least are some squares for a mitered square baby blanket I’m working on. I completely stole the inspiration, idea and some of the directions from Shelly Kang’s wonderful blankie and Britknitter’s (Dianne) gorgeous blankie. Some of the yarn are my own leftovers and some were graciously given to me for trade or sold to me, or just given. A huge thank you to everyone who gave me their bits and odds and ends of sock yarn or similar weight. (If you’ve got more I’d love to take it off of your hands!) The biggest variation I’ve come up with on Dianne and Shelly’s patterns is that I am going to fill in the edges with triangles to make a complete square once done. I still have tons of that black Sisu sock yarn so I will use that to provide a unified border (I don’t have the patience for an i-cord border like Shelly, gorgeous as it is!). That bunch in the middle are already attached, and the others will be somewhere along the bottom row. I’m just working on placement for a bit because I didn’t realize that they all had that blue and white bit and I don’t want it to look like they were all from the same ball in squares side-by-side, so I’ll have to make up a few others to go in between. In any case, more photos on this as it progresses.

Ok, now I have to leave for work. Have a great day!


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my own provisional or invisible cast on alternative

Sometimes a pattern will call for an invisible cast on. An invisible cast on is when you cast on with your yarn and a waste yarn (usually a smooth yarn like cotton in a contrasting color). The way you twist the yarns as you cast on will result in giving you the “backs” of the stitches to pick up later. This means that if you cast on 40 sts, you will have 40 sts ready with your working yarn to knit up right away, and then later when you unpick the waste yarn you will have 40 more sts waiting for you to slip on a needle and begin knitting in the other direction.

This can also be called a “provisional” cast on, and the directions can call for you to crochet a long chain and knit your first row into the back “bumps” of the chain. When you use this method the crocheted chain holds your first row “live” and you can “unzip” the crochet chain later and put the freed stitches back on the needle to knit in the other direction.

I’ve had to use this many times-
– my favorite toe-up sock pattern has you start with an invisible cast on, knit the toe section, then put the other half of the cast on sts on two more needles so you can start knitting the foot in the round.
– a gift scarf I knit once had you start with an invisible cast on, knit half of the funky cable pattern, bind off, then put the other half of the cast on sts on the needle so you could repeat the scarf for the other side, ensuring that both halves of the scarf were the same and knit in the same direction (instead of casting on at one end, knitting to the other end, then binding off).
– the Samantha baby sweater dress I had knit for my friend’s daughter also has you cast on with an invisible cast on, work a picot edging, then later release the other half of the live cast on sts to hem them up by folding along a turning row and then sewing the hem in place.

It’s that last one that led to my latest ah-ha! unvention. I had decided early on that I was too lazy to sew the bottom hem up later, when I could easily knit it in as I went. Instead of waiting until the piece was done, undoing the waste yarn, threading the long tail on a needle and sewing down each loop of live stitch, I would instead work the hem as directed, but once I’d worked to a point even with the length of the hem (for example 8 hem rows, turning row, 8 body rows) I would release the waste yarn sts to another needle and knit them together with the next body row. This works much as one would do a 3-needle bind off, except you don’t bind off. You just knit a stitch from each needle together.

That worked perfectly, except for one thing: I hate picking out the waste yarn from when you do a typical cast on of this type. Because the only thing done in the waste yarn was to cast on there is only that bottom edge of a contrast, and it is not always easy to find the stitches of your first actual row. I always feel like I’m going to lose a stitch, especially the end ones.

So I came up with an easier idea. In my case I’m going to show you how to use it to knit in a hem, but you can skip the hem part and just use the technique to have your stitches ready to knit your ribbing or hem later if you’re not sure what you want to do yet, or to knit in the other direction (like a scarf or shawl).


I still cast on with waste yarn, only this time I knit a row or so. Enough to give you a row of knit stitches that you can see easily.


Then switch to your pattern yarn and work as you like until the point where you want to knit in the hem. (In this example, I think I’d knit 5 rows, purled a row as a turning row, then knit 5 more rows).

Many times I have been in the middle of a project when I notice an error that can’t be corrected by dropping down just a few stitches. In these cases, instead of just ripping back I sometimes like to insert the needle into the knitting first, then rip. This way I can’t rip too far, and all the sts end up sitting there on the needle for me. This works the same way.

Insert a second (slightly smaller) needle into one half of each of the sts in the first row of your pattern yarn. Make sure you have done this for all the sts (if your row has 32 sts make sure you pick up half each of 32 sts).

Cut the waste yarn in a few random spots in the first row. Make sure to not cut the pattern yarn!


This shows the cut end starting to be unpicked from the knitting.


Use a needle or the points of your scissors to help you pick out the first row of waste yarn.


This leaves the pattern yarn sitting there on your needle, all the stitches looking pretty and ready to knit! This gives you the same result as the traditional invisible cast on, without the fiddly cast on itself and the trial-and-error I always experience when picking out the waste yarn.

And that’s all there is to it! Now the cast on row is ready to do whatever you want. Again, in my case I have done it after some extra hem rows because I will be turning the hem and knitting it in, but you could easily have done this just at the beginning of your regular knitting pattern and then the stitches would be ready to knit your ribbings, lengthen your garment, knit in the other direction, graft something, or do whatever you like!

I’m going to continue the directions for how to knit in the hem for those of you who would like to try this.


Then, to knit in the hem as I did, all you need to do is fold it up and knit a stitch from each needle together. Once that’s done, you just keep knitting your pattern as usual.


This shows the front of the hemmed piece after the hem was knit in and I’d knit about 5 more rows. The turned edge is nice and flat because of the turning row (you can also use a picot edge or anything you like). The bottom is thicker and doubled with a nice, sturdy hem that will not unravel, and the two sides are open so you can insert an elastic if you like. If not then the sides will close when you seam the piece, or you can just seam them shut later.


This shows the back. You can see the stockinette section at the bottom which is the folded hem, and then the reverse stockinette section which is the back of the right-side stockinette part. It’s neat and simple!

This method can be used in any instance where an invisible or provisional cast on is required.

I really got this idea because I have no problem picking up one side of each stitch when ripping back, and that helps me often. I thought, “wouldn’t that be easier than picking out a cast on row and trying to find the sts?” For me, this was much easier, I didn’t need directions on how to cast on, nor a crochet hook. Quick, simple and painless. Hope this helps someone like it did me!


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The Vegas Scarf (AKA The Knitting Game)

Update: see end of post for information about a downloadable pattern pdf

A knitting game, you ask? Is such a thing possible?

“Yes!” I say.

This game evolved from a challenge I was given in my knitting class to knit a “random” scarf- we had to select a bunch of varying yarns in colors we liked and work them in knit and purl rows to form a scarf. It was to be an exercise in the textures you can achieve with those two little stitches.

Ahem. I can’t do “random”.  I needed to come up with a way to be random with as much control as possible…and the Knitting Game was born.

It’s so easy to play along! All you need is 6 balls of yarn, 1 die, 1 coin, and a long circular knitting needle that is a bit larger than the average thickness of your chosen yarns. I used a 9 US/5.5mm but if you are using mostly aran weight and thicker, you might want to choose something bigger.

On a piece of paper, assign each of the 6 skeins to a number 1 through 6.

Also assign the “heads” and “tails” of the coin to knit and purl (not necessarily in that order).

You also need to decide how long to make the scarf. I wanted mine about 6′ long including a 4″ fringe at each end, so I cast on enough sts to be about 5′ long.

Now the fun part!

Step 1: Roll the die to get a number.  Cast on with the yarn that matches that number.  Cut yarn, leaving a 4″ tail.

Step 2: Roll the die to get a number.  Toss the coin to get “heads” or “tails”, and depending on what you designated “heads” or “tails” to be, it tells you to knit or purl that row.

Follow the directions of fate across the row using the yarn that matched the number you rolled on the die.  Make sure to start with a 4″ tail left loose, and cut the yarn at the end of the row, leaving a 4″ tail.

The 4” of loose yarn at the beginning and end of the row will become your fringe.

Step 3: Repeat step 2 until the scarf reaches your desired width.

Step 4: Once the scarf is the width you would like, roll the die to get a number and bind off with the yarn matching the number you rolled.  Don’t forget to leave a 4″ tail when you cut the yarn.

Knot the yarn ends together in groups of 2-5 strands to secure, and trim if necessary.

Voila! A completely random scarf that fulfills any need for control while leaving things totally up to chance! The coolest part is that no two scarves will ever be alike! 😀

Update!

This pattern is on Ravelry here.

This pattern is provided free above, but if you’d prefer an easy-to-print PDF version, I have made it available here for a very small fee. The PDF includes the full instructions in an easy to read layout with full color images.

This pattern was also published in the 2006 Knitting Pattern-A-Day calendar and has been featured in an assortment of guild newsletters as well as been used to run knitting classes/workshops. Future newsletter/class/workshop permissions are granted provided the pattern copies are purchased through me and all credit is given to me as the creator/designer.

*Updated January 2020