Shaping Experiments

I always think that small projects - like potholders, washcloths and phone sleeves - are great for trying out new shapes and ideas. If they work they may lead to bigger design ideas. Last year for example, I had the idea to combine intarsia with short rows - I first tried this on a small piece (Citrus Fruit Potholders) but then also used it for a much bigger piece (Wedges Wrap). Also, the random lace idea started with a small e-book sleeve and led to two bigger scarfs (Random Lace Scarf and Random Bubbles Scarf)
Recently, I've started quite a few of these small projects. Unfortunately, I haven't finished any of them yet. Most (if not all) of them will be frogged, but for me at least they were experiments that I learned from. And I guess there are a couple of ideas that could be made to work.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

• Lotus blossom (upper left-hand corner): I got the idea when I saw a stylized lotus blossom in an ad on the train and  thought that something knitted in that shape might be a lovely washcloth - perfect for a Mother's Day present. Unfortunately, it doesn't look quite the way I imagined it, so I will probably frog this piece and try it again. One of my knitting buddies even suggested that I might pursue the general idea further and make this into a shawl. 
• Red pepper/tomato (upper right hand corner): In the past, I've knitted quite a few food-themed potholders (e.g. egg or avocado- and pumpkin-shaped). So I wanted to add color to my potholder collection with something in red - and decided on a red pepper. My first attempt was a bit too narrow and the second one (in the photo above) a bit too wide and too irregular. (For naturally grown stuff small irregularities look good, but it's difficult to get it right :). This piece will definitely be frogged, but I will try this again soon.
• A slice of Emmental cheese (lower left-hand corner) - even though it's barely recognizable: When I asked on social media which other foodstuffs would be good themes for knitted potholders, one of my knitting buddies suggested cheese - including that this might include holes. The crumply yellow piece in the photo is my first attempt - and I'm not sure whether this is a worthwhile idea ...
• Spiral or snail shell (lower right hand corner): To get into the mood for summer, I wanted something with a certain "beachy" feeling, i.e. shaped as a conch that you might find on the each. So I tried to knit this spiral ... I do like how it works as a piece of knitting (and it could also be written as a lovely algorithm, but you need a nerdy kind of mind to appreciate that :). I hope that I manage to do this in two colors; it would complement my Seashell Coasters nicely.

Circular Needle Storage Solution

When you have a lot of circular needles there is always the question on how to store them. Some people prefer them stored neatly in a box, but I always liked them be hanging down from somewhere which - supposedly - is better for the cables. However, for me this usually leads to a certain entanglement of cables ... plus I always have to search hard for the needle size I'm looking for.
So when I glimpsed a gorgeous solution while watching this video by Roxanne Richardson (her circular needle storage can be seen at minute 32:30), I wanted something similar for myself.
Unfortunately, I'm not much of a seamstress - and I am really bad at handling my sewing machine. But this weekend, I finally sat down to do it.
Here's a (really short) tutorial on how to do something similar. Please note that I'm completely new to sewing (any experienced seamstress would have cried out laughing if they saw me handling my fabric and use the sewing machine). So there are probably quite a few things that could be done better. Plus you can see that my seams are far from looking professional.

The piece has two compartments for each needle size. A long one (made from the light green fabric) and on top of it a shorter one in red fabric (sewn on top of the green one) and attached by the crosswise seams. The shorter compartment can be used for needles that are shorter than 40 cm (e.g. Addi Socks Wonders or CrasyTrios).




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Materials

• fabric: I used one light greeen piece that was 2x20 cm wide and 2x50 cm high (both plus seam allowance) and another red piece that was 2x10 cm wide and 60 cm high (also plus seam allowance). In fact I wanted a "recycling" project, so I used old T-shirts.
• 9 buttons 
• a paint marker (to mark the buttons with the needle sizes)
• needle and thread to attach the buttons (or glue ...)
• a dowel and a cord 
• a sewing machine and a pressing iron

How-To

1. Cut out a piece of fabric that is twice as long and twice as wide as you want your finished piece to be (plus seam allowance). One of my construction goal was to avoid seams along the side of the piece (because I thought that the needles my be caught in that seam each time you put it in). That's why I chose to use a piece of fabric that was twice the intended width. I wanted a needle holder that was 50 cm high and 20 cm wide - so I cut out a rectangle that was 100 long and 40 cm wide (plus about 1 cm at each edge) - light green on the photos.
2. Fold the piece in half lengthwise (right sides together) and sew it along the long seam. (Now you have a long tube that has intended width). Place the piece with the seam right in the middle and press the seam flat. Turn it right sides out. Now the side with the seam will be the "wrong" side or inside.
3. Fold the piece along the shorter side (right sides together) and sew along the short edge. Press the seam and turn it right sides out. Press.
4. Cut out a piece of fabric that is twice as wide as the strip in contrast color and about 10 cm longer than the intended height of the finished piece. In my case this was piece of red fabric 20 cm wide and 60 cm long.
5. Fold that piece in half lenghwise (right sides together) and sew along the long edge.  Place the piece with the seam right in the middle and press the seam flat. Turn it right sides out. Now you have another (narrower) tube of fabric.
6. Lay the smaller piece on top of the bigger one, with 5 cm overhanging on each side. Pin in place. I chose to place it a bit off the center.  
7. Fold the overhanging 5 cm back and handstitch in place - on the top and the bottom.
8. Now sew a few seams right across the piece - I used a thread in a contrasting color and started with the first about 1.5mm from the top and continued with a distance of 2.5cm, increasing to 3cm towards the lower end. That way, I did 16 crosswise seams, which gave me 16 compartments - plus one at the top to place a dowel for the hanging "mechanism".
9. Sew buttons on and mark them with the needle sizes. (Actually, I only noticed too late that the space of the compartments was to small to sew the buttons, so I glued them to the fabric.)
10. Draw a cord throught the compartment at the top. and place a dowel inside for stability ... and it's ready to hang.

I do like the finished piece even though it looks far from professional.
But it a) does the job and b) was made with materials I had at home :)
If I ever do something similar again, I will ...

• ... use sturdier and non-stretchy fabric - if you are a sewing newbie (like me), stretchy fabric is a nightmare
• ... use interfacing or something similar to stiffen the piece
• ... sew on the buttons before sewing the crossways seams - and use smaller buttons :)
• .... sew neater seams, of course ...

Egg or Avocado

Currently I really love playing around with yarn trying to knit coasters or potholder in the shape of foodstuffs. These are quick and fun projects that get you a sense of achievement and leave you with cheerful piece for your kitchen.
These egg-shaped pieces are knitted flat and all in garter stitch. They use a combination of intarsia and short rows, which means that they look good(-ish) on WS as well. The pieces can be used as potholders or coasters.

Here's a pattern the to knit a coaster in shape of a hard-boiled egg (written and as a chart) and the chart for the avocado coaster as well as a few explanations on how to knit it.


This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.






Materials

• about 20 grams of DK weight cotton yarn (for the egg coaster in white and yellow, for the avocado coaster in brown, light green and dark green)
• 3.5mm needles
• scrap yarn and crochet hook for provisional CO
• tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques and Notation

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.
• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy. That way you don't have to carry long strands on the WS. The picture below shows the RS and WS of the piece.
• Throughout the written pattern, the following notation is used:  C1 (k4), C2 (k10, w+t, k10), C1 (k to end) means, knit 4 stitches in C1, change to C2 and knit 10 sts, do a wrap and turn, knit 10 stitches and then change back to C1 and k to end. I.e. color is indicated before the knitting instructions for that yarn and the knitting instructions for that yarn are given in brackets after the color.
  The use of intarsia technique means that the piece looks good on not only on RS but on WS as well (see picture below).
  
  
  

Size
One coaster / potholder is about 18 cm high and 14 cm wide.


Charts
Below you find the charts for both the egg and the avocado coaster.
Each row stands for one ridge (i.e. two rows of garter stitch), and each square for one stitch of this ridge. Each color stands for one color of coaster.
During the first half of the piece, the chart must be read from bottom to top - knitting section A three times, then sections B, C and D once each. For the second half of the piece, the chart needs to be read from top to bottom starting with section E, F and G (which need to be knitted once each) and continuing with section H that's knitted three times. The piece is finished by grafting in garter stitch.
The pink dotted lines are just counting aids. They are placed after every 5th stitch - starting from the end of a row.

Egg Chart - click to enlarge

Avocado Chart - click to enlarge

Instructions for the Egg-Shaped Coaster

C1 = white
C2 = yellow

Important: if a stitch is knitted in one color on RS, it will always be knitted in the same color on WS. The WS stitch might be an increase or decrease, but the color will not change.

Provisionally CO 13 sts
Setup Row: C2 (k8); C1 (k5)

Section A
Ridge 1: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k5)
Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k5)
Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k2, w+t, k3)
Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (w+t); C1 (k5)
Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k5)
Ridge 6: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7); C1 (k5)

Repeat section A twice more, i.e. you have knitted section A a total of three times.

Section B
Ridge 1: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (k6, w+t, k6), C1 (k5)
Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (k2, w+t, k2), C1 (k5)
Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k2, w+t, k3)
Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (w+t), C1 (k5)
Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (k4, w+t, k4), C1 (k1, kfb, k3)
Ridge 6: C1 (sl1, k6), C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7), C1 (k6)

Section C
Ridge 1: C1 (sl1, k5), C2 (k6, w+t, k6), C1 (k6)
Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k5), C2 (k2, w+t, k2), C1 (k2, kfb, k3)
Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k4, w+t, k5)
Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k6), C2 (w+t), C1 (k4, kfb, k3)
Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k7), C2 (k4, w+t, k4), C1 (k5, kfb, k3)
Ridge 6: C1: (sl1, k9), C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7), C1 (k10)

Section D
Ridge 1: C1 (sl1, k9); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k6, kfb, k3)
Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k10); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k11)

Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k8, w+t, k5, kfb, k3)

Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k5, w+t, k6)

Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k3, w+t, k1, kfb, k2)

Ridge 6: C1 (sl1, k8, w+t, k9)

Ridge 7: C1 (sl1, k12), C2 (w+t), C1 (k9, kfb, k3)

Ridge 8: C1 (sl1, k12), C2 (k4, w+t, k4), C1 (k13)

Ridge 9: C1 (sl1, k12), C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7), C1 (k13)

Now you've finished half of your piece - from now on you basically will be knitting the same sequence backwards.

Section E (i.e. section D backwards)
Ridge 1: C1 (sl1, k12), C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7), C1 (k13)

Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k12), C2 (k4, w+t, k4), C1 (k13)

Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k12), C2 (w+t), C1 (k8, ssk, k3)

Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k8, w+t, k9)

Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k3, w+t, ssk, k2)

Ridge 6: C1 (sl1, k5, w+t, k6)

Ridge 7: C1 (sl1, k8, w+t, k4, ssk, k3)

Ridge 8: C1 (sl1, k10); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k11)
Ridge 9: C1 (sl1, k9); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k5, ssk, k3)

Section F (i.e. secion C backwards)
Ridge 1: C1: (sl1, k9), C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7), C1 (k10)

Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k7), C2 (k4, w+t, k4), C1 (k4, ssk, k3)
Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k6), C2 (w+t), C1 (k3, ssk, k3)
Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k4, w+t, k5)
Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k5), C2 (k2, w+t, k2), C1 (k1, ssk, k3)

Ridge 6: C1 (sl1, k5), C2 (k6, w+t, k6), C1 (k6)

Section G (i.e. section B backwards)
Ridge 1: C1 (sl1, k6), C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7), C1 (k6)
Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (k4, w+t, k4), C1 (ssk, k3)
Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (w+t), C1 (k5)
Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k2, w+t, k3)
Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (k2, w+t, k2), C1 (k5)
Ridge 6: C1 (sl1, k4), C2 (k6, w+t, k6), C1 (k5)

Section H (i.e. section A backwards)
Ridge 1: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k8, TURN, sl1, k7); C1 (k5)

Ridge 2: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k5)

Ridge 3: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (w+t); C1 (k5)

Ridge 4: C1 (sl1, k2, w+t, k3)
Ridge 5: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k5)
Ridge 6: C1 (sl1, k4); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k5)

Repeat section H twice more, i.e. you knit section H a total of three times.

Put the stitches from the provisional CO on the second needle - cut your yarn.
Graft in garter stitch - 5 stitches in C1 and 8 stitches in C2.
Use the C2 tail to close the hole in the middle of the piece.

Differences for the Avocado-Shaped Coaster
For the avocado the you'll use three colors instead of one, i.e. C1 = dark green, C2 = light green and C3 = brown.
The total number of stitches of each ridge in each section is the same as for the egg pattern. The first two stitches of each ridge are knitted in C1, and the last 5 stitches (counted from the end of a complete row) are knitted in C3, of course they may not be reached when the short row is turned earlier. The stitches inbetween are knitted in light green - all increases and decreases are done in the light green part of the piece, this means that if a stitch is knitted in one color on RS, it will always be knitted in the same color on WS. The WS stitch might be an increase or decrease, but the color will not change.

Egg and avocado with other food-themed potholders - pumpkin and orange

Snowflake Mitts

When I recently posted an old picture of my Bat Mitts on social media, a friend commented and asked for something similar - in turquoise. And since I don't like to repeat myself, I wanted to design something new - plus I only found turquoise yarn in Sports weight, so I had to use this.
I like fingerless gloves that are knitted in one piece - so that you only have to weave in 2 ends per glove. That's why I think it's a good idea to start fingerless gloves at the thumb ... there are already a few patterns like this available on my blog (e.g. Circle Mitts or Zimtsterne Mitts). However, these mitts are the first ones that I knitted in Sports weight yarn.
The pattern is written for one size only, but there are explanations on how to adjust the pattern to your size.

As to the name, in the early stages of knitting them, the pattern looked a bit like a snowflake to me. If you look at illustration 1 below, you might see it, too.



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Materials

• about 45 grams of Sports weight yarn
• 3.25mm circular needles
• a third needle of about the same size for the three-needle BO
• 6 stitch markers
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques and Abbreviations

• Three-Needle Bind-Off: https://youtu.be/Ph93jWSzTa0
• Short Rows in the Round (and t+ky) I learned short rows in the round with this helpful video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCgycxLce94; however, I ended up doing the pick-ups differently.
  - "Wrapping" of the StitchesBasically, when you're on the RS, you do wrap the working yarn around the next stitch (from front to back) and then turn your work, i.e. the "normal" wrap and turn (w+t).
  When you are on the WS you slip the last stitch, turn your work with the yarn in front, wrap the yarn around the RIGHT needle and knit the slipped stitch. That creates a sort of double-stitch - one half of it has to be knitted together with the stitch in front when you're picking up the stitches. In the pattern, throughout the pattern I will call this stitch, t+ky (short for "turn and knit w/yarn-over").
  - Picking-up When encountering a w+t, I turned the wrapped stitch on the needle, picked up the wrap from the front and knitted the stitch and the wrap together through the back of the loop.
  When reaching the stitch BEFORE the “double-stitch”, I turned this stitch and knitted it together with the yo through the back of the loop. 
• Picking up stitches from a gap or ditch: After the three needle bind-off there is one left over stitch which tends to have a distance to the stitches next to it. To avoid holes, I usually pick up one stitch from the gap and decrease over the new stitch in the following row (see also this YouTube video where it is shown on the example of a thumb gusset). In my experience (or the way I knit :) it's even better to pick up two stitches and knit decreases over them in the following two rows.
• mk1p: make one purl stitch; https://youtu.be/7WLQ9qXa88k (YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter - you can use one the first two method shown there)
• Stretchy Bind-Off: see this YouTube-video by Knitting Pipeline.

Gauge and Measurements
The finished mitts - as knitted by me - measure about 18 cm in height (at the highest point) and 14 cm at the lowest point. The circumference at the wrist is about 16 cm.
In stockinette stitch 13 sts gve 5 cm in width, and 20 rows gave 5 cm height.

General Construction

These mitts are knitted in four parts. Part 1 - the thumb - is knitted in the round. Part 2 - the first part of the palm - is also knitted in the round, at its end there is a small ribbing knitted on top to make sure that the BO at the upper edge doesn't curl in. Part 3 is knitted flat. In order to keep the upper edge straight(-ish) there are a few decreases at the beginning and end of some rows. This part ends with a three-needle BO. Part 4 - the cuff - starts with a few short rows to even out the height differences. It is knitted in the round and ends with a few rounds of ribbing.

Instructions

Part 1
CO18 sts and join in round
Rounds 1 to 9: * p1, k1, p1 repeat from * to end
Round 10: * p1, k1, p1, mk1p repeat from * to end
Rounds 11 to 13: * p1, k1, p2 repeat from * to end
Round 14: * p1, place marker, k1, p2 repeat from * to end - by the end of the round you have placed 6 markers

Part 2
Round 1: * k to marker, yo, slip marker, k1, yo repeat from * to end
Round 2 to 4: k all
Repeat 1 to 4 twice more - your piece should look similar to illustration 1
Round 13 = Round 1
Round 14 = Round 2
From now on the small k1p1-ribbing will be added to the pattern - between the 5th and 6th marker.
Round 15: * k to marker, slip marker, repeat from * three more times - now there are two markers left to the end of the round - k to marker, slip marker,  # k1, p1 repeat from # to 1 bef marker, k1, slip marker, k to end
Round 16 = Round 15
Round 17: * k to marker, yo, slip marker, k1, yo repeat from * three more times - now there are two markers left to the end of the round - k to marker, yo, slip marker,  k1, yo, # k1, p1 repeat from # to 1 bef marker, k1, yo, slip marker, k1, yo, k to end

Round 18: * k to marker, slip marker, repeat from * three more times - now there are two markers left to the end of the round - k to 1 bef, marker, p1, slip marker,  # k1, p1 repeat from # to marker, k1, slip marker, p1, k to end

Round 19 = Round 18
Round 20: * k to marker, slip marker, repeat from * three more times - now there are two markers left to the end of the round - k to 1 bef, marker, BO17 sts in p1k1 pattern (removing the last marker) - you are now one stitch beyond the last marker - k to end, DON'T TURN!

Part 3
Row 1 (RS): * k to marker, yo, slip marker, k1, yo, repeat from * three more times, k to end
Row 2 (WS): p2togtbl, p9, w+t,
     (RS) k to end, turn,
     (WS) p2togtbl, p to last 2 sts, p2tog, turn
     (RS) k10, w+t, p to last 2 sts, p2tog
Row 3 (RS): k all
Row 4 (WS): p2togtbl, p5, w+t,
     (RS) k to end, turn,
     (WS) p2togtbl, p to last 2 sts, p2tog, turn
     (RS) k7, w+t, p to last 2 sts, p2tog
Row 5 (RS): * k to marker, yo, slip marker, k1, yo, repeat from * three more times, k to end
Row 6 (WS): p2togtbl, p7, w+t,
     (RS) k to end, turn,
     (WS) p2togtbl, p to last 2 sts, p2tog, turn
     (RS) k6, w+t, p to last 2 sts, p2tog
Row 7 (RS): k all - now your piece will look similar to illustration 2.
Fold the piece right sides together and do a three-needle BO of 14 sts - see illustration 3. Turn the piece back right sides out. Now it will look similar to illustration 4.

Illustrations

Part 4
In order to get an even lower edge, you will have to insert a few short rows. This will create a sort of triangle to even out height differences.
Make sure the stitch that's leftover from the three-needle BO is on your left hand needle. Place a marker to mark the end of round.
Set up round: sl1 (i.e. the "BO leftover" stitch), pick up one or two stitches from the gap (to avoid holes), k to end, pick up one or two stitches from gap.
Short row sequence: k1, k2tog, w+t, p3, p2tog, p2 w+t, k2, you're back at the end of round-marker
    k1, k2tog, k3, w+t, p4, p2tog, p3, w+t, k3, you're back at the end of round-marker
    k6, w+t, p5, p5, w+t, k4, you're back at the end of round-marker
Round 1: k1, k2tog, * k to marker, yo, slip marker, k1, yo repeat once from *, k to last 2 sts, ssk,
Round 2: k all, k7, w+t, p13, w+t, k6
Round 3: k all,  k1, k2tog, k6, w+t, p7, p2tog, p6, w+t, k to end of round marker
Round 4: k all
Round 5 = Round 1
Round 6: k7, w+t, p13, w+t, k6 (you're at the end-of-round marker), k one round
Round 7: k1, k2tog, k to last 2 sts, ssk - count your stitches.
If you have an odd number of stitches knit Round 8-odd. For and even number, knit Round 8-even
Round 8-odd: k8, w+t, p7, p2tog, p6, w+t, k to end-of-round marker, k one round
Round 8-even: k8, w+t, p13, w+t, k7 (you're at the end-of-round marker), k one round

End with 7 rows of k1p1-ribbing. Bind off in pattern.

Make two.
Weave in ends and block gently.

How to Adapt for Different Hand Sizes
The obvious way to adapt this pattern to different hand sizes is change the number of repeats in parts 2, 3 and 4, but this requires other adaptations as well.

• If you change the number of repeats in part 2 the mitts will get wider and the upper edge will be higher. This will lead to a change of the stitches of the upper edge BO at the end of this part. Basically, I'd bind of from the stitch of the yo before the first marker to the stitch of the yo after the second marker. You also might want to start the p1k1-ribbing at the upper edge accordingly - it doesn't need to be higher than 5 or 6 rows (including the BO row).
• If you increase the repeats (row 1 to row 4) of part 3 the mitts will get wider without raising the upper edge. This can be done only a few times since - with the decreases at the upper edge, the yo-k1-yo sequences will get closer to the upper edge. This means that you have to adjust the length(s) of the short rows (rows 2 and 4) will have to be adapted; they must be short enough to not come to the yo-k1-yo-sequence. This will also lead to an adjustment of the number of stitches you need to BO with the three-needle BO. You also need to make sure, that the last row of your part 3, is a row 3 or row 7, i.e. one more row is necessary before you need to do the lace pattern.
• If you want to lengthen the shaft of the mitts, you can do not need to insert more short rows because you've already evened out the height. But you need to do a lace row every 4th row and to decrease around the end-of-round marker in the next two rounds to even out the increases.