Rainbow Pearls Cowl

I was searching through my stash in order to find something for a new brioche scarf when I found this one beautiful 50 gram skein of Schulana Colorelli - a variegated yarn in a wonderful rainbow palette. I had bought it a few years ago with a view of knitting a pair of fingerless gloves for a friend (who wears bolder colors than I do), but somehow I never got round to knitting them and so the yarn was slumbering peacefully in one of my yarn boxes.

The Rainbow Pearls Cowl is knitted in the round from bottom to top and all in seed stitch. It is comfortably wide around the lower edge and narrows towards the top. It's an easy knitting project that is suitable for beginners. Since it is knitted with needles that are rather big for the yarn weight it has a very soft texture.

As to the name, Perlmuster ("pearl pattern" or "pearl stitch") is the german name for seed stitch.


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






Materials

• 50 grams of Light Fingering weight yarn - I used one skein of Schulana Colorelli (colorway 2) - here's a link to the yarn's Ravelry page.
• 5 mm circular needles (I used 40 cm long ones), but you can use longer ones if you use the Magic Loop method
• a 5 mm crochet hook if you use the crochet CO (or - if you want to do another CO method a 6 mm or 7 mm knitting needle for a stretchy CO).
• two stitch markers - one different from the other
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques and Abbreviations

• Seed stitch: basically you just switch between one knit stitch and one purl stitch, in the next row, you do a purl stitch over the stitch that appears as a knit stitch in the row below and a knit stitch on the top of last row's purl stitch - here's a YouTube video by Studio Knit that shows how to do seed stitch.
• k2tog: knit 2 sts together
• p2tog: purl 2 sts together

I wanted to have very stretchy edges, that meant using CO and BO methods that are quite stretchy. I used the methods listed below. Alternatively, you can use bigger size needles for the CO and BO row.

• Crochet Cast On - a very stretchy CO method, basically you do a single crochet over your knitting needle. Here's a YouTube video by Pleasant Seas that shows the crochet cast on. 
• Stretchy Bind-Off - here's a YouTube video by Very Pink Knits that shows one method to do a stretchy bind-off.

Size and Gauge
In pattern (seed stitch) and blocked 8 stitches gave about 5 cm in width and 13 rounds 5 cm in height.
The finished cowl is 36 cm high and has a circumference of 92 cm on the bottom edge and 70 cm on the top edge.

Construction
The cowl is knitted in the round and all in seed stitch. It is started at the lower edge and decreased towards the top. Since it's seed stitch all decreases have to be done in pairs - in order to stay in pattern.

Instructions

CO141 sts and join in round - be careful not to twist the stitches and place a stitch marker (the "end-of-round marker)
Round 1: p1, * k1, p1 repeat from * until end of round
Round 2: k1, * p1, k1 repeat from * until end of round
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 six more times

Round 15: p2tog, k2tog, * p1, k1 repeat from * 10 times, place 2nd marker (called "moving marker"),  *p1, k1 repeat from * until end of round
Round 16: k1, * p1, k1 repeat from * until end of round
Round 17: p1, * k1, p1 repeat from * until end of round
Round 18: k1, * p1, k1 repeat from * until end of round
Repeat round 13 and 14 twice more (i.e. you've knitted a total of 22 rounds)

Round 23: * p1, k1 repeat from * until you reach the moving marker, remove marker, p2tog, k2tog, * p1, k1 repeat from * 10 times, replace moving marker, *p1, k1 repeat from * until end of round
Round 24: k1, * p1, k1 repeat from * until end of round
Round 25: p1, * k1, p1 repeat from * until end of round
Round 26: k1, * p1, k1 repeat from * until end of round
Repeat round 25 and 26 twice more  (i.e. you've knitted a total of 30 rounds)

Repeat rounds 23 to 30 eight more times, i.e. you've knitted 10 rounds with decreases and a total of 94 rounds.
Round 95 = Round 1
Round 96 = Round 2
Repeat rounds 95 and 96 once more - or until there are about 5 meters of yarn left over.

Bind off loosely in pattern.

Weave in ends and block gently.

Helgoland Mitts

It took me quite a while to get these mitts right. I had the original idea back in March 2014. At that time it just didn't work, but I had an idea what to do in order to actually make it work. However, it took me a while to start them again. I started again late in 2016 - and finished them in January 2017. Then it took me another nine months to write up the pattern ... but here they are.

The Helgoland mitts have a unique construction. They are started at the thumb, and afterwards knitted flat and in garter stitch. One mitt is knitted in one piece which minimizes the number of ends to weave in :)

A Danish version of this pattern has been written by Marianne Holmen from strikkeglad.dk . Mange tak!



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






Materials

• a total of 40 grams of fingering weight yarn in two colors (C1 and C2)- roughly the same amount of each - for the mitts in the photos I used blue variegated yarn as C1 and beige yarn as C2
• 3mm circular knitting needles - I used 80mm circulars (with magic loop for the thumb) 
• one straight 3mm knitting needle to keep half of the remaining stitches after finishing part 2 - alternatively, you can use a (long) stitch holder or scrap yarn
• at least 2 stitch markers (plus optional 8 stitch markers)
• a third needle for three-needle BO
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques and Notation

• Knitted Cast-On: http://youtu.be/-nJKC2xT0Q4 
• Picking up stitches from a gap or ditch: After both three needle bind-offs 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.
• Three-Needle BO: The three needle bind-off is used to attach two pieces of knitting (or to ends of one piece of knitting) to one another - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by planetpurl.
• [X] y times: means knit whatever is written within the brackets y times
• There are also abbreviations for the wave sequences that are repeated throughout the pattern, namely:
• A = ssk, k3, kfb, kfb, k3, ssk
• B = kfb, k3, k2tog, k2tog, k3, kfb 

Gauge and Measurements

In garter stitch 5 ridges (i.e. 10 rows) gave 2 cm in height, and 5 stitches gave 2 cm in width.
The finished mitts are 20 cm high (at their highest point) and measure about 16 cm circumference at the cuff. However, the circumference is adaptable by knitting more or fewer rows in part 3).


General Construction

These fingerless gloves are knitted in one piece - the instructions are written in three parts.
Part 1 - the thumb - is knitted in the round. Part 2 starts with a knitted cast on and is then knitted back and forth - up the shaft,  around the thumb and down the shaft. Around the thumb there will be increases to create a flat circle (or rather upper part of a circle - a general formula to knit a circle can be found here).
Part 2 ends with a bind off at the top and half of the remaining stitches being kept on a stitch marker (or a spare knitting needle). Part 3 - also knitted flat - widens the mitt to fit your hands and ends with a three-needle bind off.
The second mitt is the mirror image of the first one. That's why there are different instructions for the second mitt.


Instructions

First Mitt

Part 1 - Thumb
With C1:
CO18 and join in round
Rounds 1 to 10: *p1 k1 p1 repeat from * to end
Round 11: *p1 k1 p1 mk1 repeat from * to end
Rounds 12 to 14: *p1 k1 repeat from * to end

Illustrations

Part 2
Row 1 (C1, RS): Place marker and with knitted cast on CO36. The piece now looks like a thumb part with a tail (see illustration 1). Now it is knitted back up that "tail", around the thumb and then back down at the underside of the "tail".
Row 2 (C1, WS): k to m, [k1, kfb, k1] 8 times, place marker, pick up 1 sts from the gap between the last stitch and the underside of the knitted CO, then pick up 36 sts from the underside of the knitted CO of row 1 - your piece should now look like in illustration 2.

One row now starts at the bottom of the shaft, leads around the thumb and down the shaft again. The two markers divide one row into 3 parts: the upwards shaft, the part around the thumb, and the downwards shaft.
In the upwards shaft a wave pattern will be knitted, a mirror image of this wave pattern will be knitted in the downwards shaft part, and around the thumb there will be increases in every 2nd row. These markers will be called "divider markers". As you can see on the illustrations, I've also put in stitch markers between the wave sequences on the shaft parts. Strictly speaking, these markers are not necessary, but helpful to keep your stitch count correct - however, they won't be mentioned in the pattern text.

Row 3 (C2, RS): k35, k2tog, k to end
Row 4 (C2, WS): [A] 3 times (you've reached the 1st dividing marker), [kfb, k3] 8 times, (you've reached the 2nd dividing marker), [B] 3 times

Row 5 (C1, RS): k to 1st marker remove marker, k6, replace marker, k to end
Row 6 (C1, WS): [A] 3 times, remove marker, k6, replace marker, [k2, kfb, k2] until there are 2 sts or fewer before the 2nd marker, k to marker, k6, [B] 3 times

Row 7 (C2, RS): k to 1st marker, ssk, k to 2 sts before 2nd marker, k2tog, k to end
Row 8 (C2, WS): [A] 3 times, k to 1st marker, k6, [k4, kbf, k1] until there are 4 sts or fewer before the 2nd marker, k to marker, k6, [B] 3 times

Row 9 (C1, RS): k to 1st marker, ssk, k to 2 sts before 2nd marker, k2tog, k to end
Row 10 (C1, WS): [A] 3 times, k to 2 sts bef 1st marker, ssk, [k3, kbf, k3] until there are 3 sts or fewer before the 2nd marker, k to marker marker, k2tog, k6, [B] 3 times

Row 11 (C2, RS): k to 1st marker, ssk, k to 2 sts before 2nd marker, k2tog, k to end
Row 12 (C2, WS): [A] 3 times, ssk, k3, kfb, [k2, kfb, k5] until there are 2 sts or fewer before 2nd marker, k to marker, k2tog, k3, kfb, [B] 3 times
Your piece should now look similar to illustration 3.

Row 13 (C1, RS): k to 1st marker remove marker, k6, replace marker, k to 2nd marker, remove marker, k to end
Row 14 (C1, WS): [A] 3 times, ssk, k3, kfb, k6, replace marker, [k6, kfb, k1] until there are 6 sts or fewer before the 2nd marker, k to marker, k6, k2tog, k3, kfb, [B] 3 times

Row 15 (C2, RS): k all sts
Row 16 (C2, WS): [A] 4 times, [k1, kfb, k8] until there is 1 sts or no stitch left before marker , B [4 times]

Row 17 (C1, RS): k all sts
Row 18 (C1, WS): [A] 4 times, [k3, kfb, k7] until there are 3 sts or fewer left before marker , B [4 times]

Row 19 (C2, RS): k to marker, remove marker, k12, replace marker, k to end
Row 20 (C2, WS), [A] 5 times (you can remove the stitch marker when you reach it), BO all sts to marker, [B] 5 times - if you're using a second 3mm needle you can knit the first part of the round (5*A) with the second needle. Alternatively, you can put these 60 sts on a stitch holder or scrap yarn afterwards after finishing row 20.

Part 3
Row 21 (C1, RS): k all sts
Row 22 (C1, WS): [B] 5 times
Row 23 (C2, RS): k all sts
Row 24 (C2, WS): [B] 5 times
Your piece should now look similar to illustration 4.

Repeat rows 21 to 24 until the mitt fits around your hands. Make sure to finish with a C2 row.

Put the stitches from the stitch holder back on a knitting needle - hold both edges right sides together and do a three needle BO in C2. 

Break yarn and weave in ends.

Second Mitt

In order to have the second mitt mirror the wave pattern of the first mitt, the waves need to be in opposite direction. That means that everytime the pattern for the first mitt states to knit sequence A, it needs to be replaced by B, and vice versa.

So, the first part (thumb) is knitted without any changes.
During the second part, the upwards part (on WS) is always knitted with sequence B and the downwards part with sequence A.
And during the third part, only sequence A is knitted.

Seitenstreifen Socks

During the last couple of months I have experimented a lot with intarsia in the round - mainly to knit socks. However, I had failed on producing a sock with one uninterrupted intarsia stripe from top to bottom: I had trouble with the CO as well as with the heel. So I was quite pleased when I managed to solve these problems and finished these socks.
These socks are knitted from the cuff down with a shadow wrap heel and ergonomically shaped toes. For the color effect intarsia in the round is used. The pattern is written for Magic Loop Method (i.e. for an even distribution of stitches between two sides of a circular needle) - but it can be done with dpns as well (e.g. by using stitch markers).
Just a quick heads up: If you've never knitted socks before, this is probably not the best pattern to start with, because the intarsia work can be quite fiddly.

As to the name, Seitenstreifen is the German word for a curb or emergency lane of a highway - literally it translates to side-strip.

A big thank you to nordling (Ravelry name) who test-knitted the pattern and - in the process - eliminated quite a few of my mistakes. Tack så mycket!

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






Materials

• a total of about 60 to 80 grams of fingering weight yarn - 60 grams of the main color (MC) and 20 grams of the contrast color (CC).
• 2.25 mm or 2 mm circular needles to knit the ribbing - mine was 80 cm long
• 2.5 mm circular needles to knit the rest of the sock - mine was 80 cm long
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Gauge

In stockinette stitch, 17 stitches and 20 rows gave 5 cm.

Techniques and Notation

• Intarsia in the round with yarn-overs before turning: as shown in this YouTube video by Julia farwell-clay. Basically you knit back and forth even though your stitches are arranged in the round - and you have to consider rounds in pairs - one RS row and one WS row. You start with your main color (MC) on the RS, then - as in normal intarsia you change (by twisting the yarns) - to contrast color (CC) and knit your CC part, After finishing this you turn your work, make a yarn-over and do the WS with CC, when you get to the MC part you change back as in normal (flat) intarsia to MC.
  Now with MC you work your way on the WS not only to the start of the round, but further to the point where you ended the CC part. Here you p2tog the last MC stitch with the yarn over in CC. Then you turn - again with a yarn over - and do the RS part to the beginning of the round. That's the two round finished.
  When - during the next pair of rounds - you reach the new yarn over on the RS, you have to do an ssk of the last stitch in CC with the yarn over in MC.
  In this pattern the following notation will be used: "MC [k7]; CC [k23]" means knit 7 sts in MC, change to CC and knit 23 sts in CC, i.e. the color is indicated before the knitting instructions - the instructions are in square brackets and a semicolon indicates a change of color.
• Shadow Wrap Short Rows: as shown in this YouTube video by Lee Meredith. A video by Miriam Felton that shows how to do a heel with shadow wraps can be found here on YouTube. However, the heel knitted here is knitted slightly different because here there are two rounds between the two parts of the heel, i.e. there won't be any triple stitches.
• Magic Loop Method: as shown in this YouTube video by KnitPicks.
• Kitchener Stitch: e.g. as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits 
• When the instructions differ for different sizes, the instructions for sizes 32 - 35 will be given first, then for sizes 36 - 39 as the first number in brackets and for sizes 40 - 43 as the second number in brackets

General Construction
The Socks are knitted from the cuff down, i.e. you start from the ribbing at the top and finish with the toes.
Even though it is a sock and knitted in the round, there is a change of direction after every row. That's because it is knitted in intarsia where one round is knitted from the outside of the sock and the next from the inside. This means that at one point in the round you change the color just as in normal (flat knitted) intarsia knit, i.e. where you twist your two strands of yarn (called color changing point or CCP in the pattern) and at another point you attach the colors while you're turning by knitting together the last stitch of the current round with a yarn-over you did in the round below (called turning point or TP in the pattern). The Color Change Point needs to be on the back of the sock.
The picture below shows how the stitches are distributed on the front and back needle. Here, the first number indicates the number of stitches for socks in sizes 32 - 35, the first number in brackets for sizes 36 - 39 and the second number in brackets for sizes 40 - 43. It also shows two other significant points of your rounds, i.e. the two half points, where you switch from one side of the needle to the next - called half_CC on the CC side and half_MC on the MC side.

Stitch Distribution and Abbreviations

The color changing point never moves, i.e. every stitch is knitted in the same color as the stitch in the row below.


Instructions

Left Sock

Ribbing

With 2.25mm needles CO 14 in CC and CO 42 (46, 50) in MC. To make the CO loose enough for socks, I usually CO with both needles. Your piece should look like in photo 1. Turn your work, do NOT JOIN in round, yet.
Set-up row: MC [* k2, p2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to CCP , k2]; CC [* p2, k2 repeat from * until 2 sts from end, p2] - now your piece should look like in photo 2.

Starting on the end with the CC stitches, divide your stitches into three parts as follows: 7-28-21 (7-30-23, 7-32-25)  (see photo 3). The first and third part will be the front of the sock, the second part the back. Join in round.

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, * k2, p2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to CCP, k2], MC [ * p2, k2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to TP, p1, p2togtbl], turn work  - please note: with the p2togtbl you join the last stitch knitted with MC with the yo in CC you did at the beginning of the round.
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo,  * k2, p2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to CCP, k2], CC [ * p2, k2 repeat from * until 2 sts left to TP, p1, p2tog], turn work -  again, with the p2tog you join the last knitted stitch of your round - in CC - with the yarn over in MC you did at the beginning of the round
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 four more times.

Illustrations - Left Sock

Shaft

Change to 2.5mm needles
Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 14 more times (or until the shaft is as long as you want it to be).


Heel

When knitting a short row heel, I usually increase the back "half" by two or three stitches to get a heel that is slightly wider. That's what is done during the first 6 rounds of the heel and this means that all the increases are on the side that contains the back stitches.

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles, mk1, k to CCP], MC [k up to half_MC, mk1 and afterwards change sides, k to 1 bef TP, ssk], turn
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP), CC [p to 1 bef TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rows 1 and 2 once more.
There are now four more stitches on the back part of the sock than on the front.

Now the short-row heel (with shadow wraps) is knitted only with the stitches of the back part. And since the working yarn is currently on the front part, you need to knit to the beginning of the back part first.

First Part
Row 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles - now you can start with the short row heel (the complete round will be finished later (#)], CC [k to CCP]; MC [k to 1 bef half_MC. knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 2 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap st, p to CCP); CC [p to 1 bef half_CC, purl into the mother stitch (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 3 (outside): CC [slip shadow wrap, k to CCP]; MC [k to 1 bef last shadow wrap, knit into the mother stitch of the next st, turn]
Row 4 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to CCP]; CC [p to 1 bef last shadow wrap, purl into the mother stitch of next st, turn]
Repeat rows 3 and 4 seven more times. Now all of your CC stitches have been shadow wrapped. The last bit will be knitted only in MC

Row 5 (outside): MC [slip shadow wrap, k to 1 bef last shadow wrap knit into the mother stitch of the next st, turn]
Row 6 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to 1 bef last shadow wrap, purl into the mother stitch of next st, turn]
Repeat rows 5 and 6 once (twice, three times) more

Picking Up the Shadow Wraps
While you knit the next two rounds make sure to knit/purl all double stitches that result from shadow wraps as one stitch.
Round 1 (outside): MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn - please note the last 7 sts (i.e. the stitch on the front part of the needles) are completing the round that was started with row 1 of the first part of the heel (#)

Second part
Row 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles - now you can start with the short row heel (the complete round will be finished later], CC [k to CCP]; MC [k12 (k13, k14) half_MC. knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 2 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p10, purl into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 3 (outside): MC [slip shadow wrap, k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 4 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to last shadow wrap and purl it, purl into mother of next st turn]
Repeat rows 3 and 4 or until the last stitch on the inside row is the stitch next to CCP.

Row 5 (outside): MC [slip shadow wrap, k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 6 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to last shadow wrap and purl it]; CC [purl into mother of next st turn]
Row 7 (outside): CC [slip shadow wrap]; MC [k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 8 (inside): MC [slip shadow wrap, p to CCP]; CC [purl to last shadow wrap and purl it, purl into mother of next st turn]
Row 9 (outside): CC [slip shadow wrap, k to CCP]; MC [k to last shadow wrap and knit it, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn]
Row 10 (inside): MC [p to CCP]; CC [purl to last shadow wrap and purl it, purl into mother of next st turn]
Repeat rows 9 and 10 until the last shadow wrap is the stitch next to  half_MC (outside) and half_CC (inside).

Picking Up the Shadow Wraps
While knitting the next two rounds make sure to knit/purl all double stitches that result from shadow wraps as one stitch.
Round 1 (outside): CC [k to CCP]; MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn - please note the last 7 sts are completing the round that was started with row 1 of the second part of the heel

Now the increases that were made when beginning to knit the heel need to be decreased again.
Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to half_CC and change to other side of needles, ssk, k to CCP], MC [k up to 2 sts bef half_MC, k2tog and afterwards change sides, k to 1 bef TP, ssk], turn
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 1 bef TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rows 1 and 2 once more.
Now you're back to the original stitch number.

Foot

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn - just as for the ribbing, the ssk combines the last st of the current row, with the yo from the beginning of the row
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 until the foot (measured from the tip of the heel) measures 5 cm less than the desired length.

Toes

The picture below shows in which row the decreases are made on which side of the sock. For the first sock, it shows the front view - the back view is its mirror image. (For the second sock, it shows the back view).
That means that you knit the standard rounds (as in the foot part) with decreases around half_CC and half_MC when indicated.

Toe Decreases

Here are these 19 rounds spelled out - to mark the difference of normal rounds, the toe decreases are printed in boldface.

Round 1 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 2 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Round 3 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 4 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn

Round 5 (outside): CC [yo, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 6 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn

Round 7 (outside): CC [yo, k to 2 sts before half_CC, ssk, k2tog, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 8 (inside): MC [yo, p to 2 sts before half_MC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
Round 9 (outside): CC [yo, k to 2 sts before half_CC, ssk, k2tog, k to CCP], MC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
Round 10 (inside): MC [yo, p to CCP], CC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl], turn
Round 11 (outside): CC/MC [k2tog]; MC [k to 1 bef CCP], MC/CC [ssk], turn

Now all CC sts have been decreased. The last rounds are MC only, this means all following rounds are all knitted from the outside and in MC - the points where you switch from one part of the needle to the other will be called half and end.

Round 12: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 13: k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 14: k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 15: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 16: k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 17: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 18: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk
Round 19: k2tog, k to 2 bef half, ssk, k2tog, k to 2 bef end, ssk

Now you have 8 (10, 12) sts on each needle.
Cut yarn and graft toes in kitchener stitch.

Weave in ends and block.

Right Sock
The right sock is a mirror image of the left one. Here's what you should do differently:

• CO in opposite sequence, i.e. CO 40 (46, 50) in MC and then CO 14 in CC.
• Basically, for the whole of the right sock, the colors are reversed, i.e. everytime the pattern for the left sock says MC it's CC for the right sock and vice versa.
• When knitting the heel, the last CC shadow wrap of the 1st part of the heel will appear on an outside row (as opposed to an inside row for the left socks), this means also that the first shadow wrap of the 2nd part of the heel will appear on an outside row.
• When knitting the toe a similar effect occurs: I.e. the first two rows of the toe read as follows:
  Round 1 (outside): MC [yo, k to CCP], CC [k to last st before TP, ssk], turn
  Round 2 (inside): CC [yo, p to CCP], MC [p to 2 sts before half_CC, p2tog, p2togtbl, p to last st before TP, p2tog], turn
  and Rows 10 and 11 (the last rows with CC) read as follows:
  Round 10 (inside): CC [yo, p2tog, p2togtbl], MC [p to 1 bef TP, p2tog], turn
  Round 11 (outside): MC [yo, k to 1 bef CCP], MC/CC [ssk], CC [k2tog (last st in CC together with yo], turn
  The schematic "Toe Decreases" shows the back view of the 2nd sock - the front part is its mirror image.

This blogpost was featured at Sum of their Stories' Handmade Monday Link Party No. 59. Thank you!

Sum of their Stories

Mixed Wave Cowl in Danish

Marianne Holmen from strikkeglad.dk has written a Danish translation of the Mixed Wave Cowl pattern. Thank you very much or rather "mange tak"!
Here is a link to the Danish version of this pattern on strikkeglad.dk.
The original (English) version can be found here.

A list of all translated versions of my patterns can be found in this blogpost.



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

Pumpkin Potholders

Autumn is coming ... outside it's getting rainy and cold. So, to get into a comforting, cozy autumn feeling, I decided to knit up a couple of autumn-themed potholders - and I decided that pumpkins would do nicely.
As with most of my potholder patterns, it is knitted all in garter stitch to give it a certain thickness and squishiness. The shaping is done with a combination of in-/decreases and short rows.

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






Size and Gauge
The finished pieces are about 19 cm wide and 15 cm high (without the stem).
I counted about 4 to 5 stitches to 2 cm in width and 8 rows (4 garter stitch ridges) to 2 cm in height.


Materials

• about 20 grams of Sports or DK weight cotton yarn (20 grams in main color (MC, orange in the photos) and 5 grams of contrast coor (CC, black in the pictures)
• 3.75 mm or 4 mm knitting needles
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques and Abbreviations

• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits.
• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy. This technique will be used only a few times in this pattern. But it helps to make sure that the WS looks OK as well.

• Knitted Cast-On: See this Youtube-video by Very Pink Knits - used to craft the pumpkin's stem.
• Stretchy Bind-Off: See this YouTube-video by Knitting Pipeline. This BO gives a bit more substance to the BO row - but another BO will do as well.
• kfb: knit front & back - an increase
• ssk: slip slip knit - a left leaning decrease
• k2tog: knit 2 sts together - a right leaning decrease

Construction

The picture on the right shows that the pumpkin is knitted sideways.
It starts with a rather long cast on. The shaping of the first half is done with short rows and a few decreases. In the middle of the piece a knitted CO is used to craft the stem - its shaping is done with repeated increases before the stem stitches are bound off again.
The second half is roughly the same than the first half but knitted in the opposite direction and with increases instead of decreases.

Instructions

With CC: CO54

R1 (WS): k54 (i.e. k all sts) in CC

With MC:
R2 (RS): sl2 sts,  k50, w+t - keep on working with MC until indicated
R3 (WS): k48, w+t

R4 (RS): k6, ssk, k29, k2tog, k6, w+t
R5 (WS): k37, w+t
R6 (RS): k4, ssk, k23, k2tog, k4, w+t
R7 (WS): k38, w+t

R8 (RS): k6, ssk, ssk, k16, k2tog, k2tog, k6, w+t
R9 (WS): k30, w+t
R10 (RS): k6, ssk, ssk, k8, k2tog, k2tog, k6. w+t
R11 (WS): k22, w+t
R12 (RS): k6, ssk, k4, k2tog, k6, w+t
R13 (WS): k to last 2 sts, sl2

With CC:
R14 (RS): k40 (i.e. k all)
R15 (WS): k40 (i.e. k all)

With MC:
R16 (RS): sl2,  k36, w+t - keep on working with MC until indicated
R17 (WS): k34, w+t
R18 (RS): k10, ssk, ssk, k4, k2tog, k2tog, k10, w+t
R19 (WS): k26, w+t
R20 (RS): k4, ssk, k12, k2tog, k4, w+t
R21 (WS): k20, w+t
R22 (RS): k4, ssk, k6, k2tog, k4, w+t
R23 (WS): k14, w+t
R24 (RS): k12, w+t
R25 (WS): k20, w+t
R26 (RS): k27, w+t
R27 (WS): k to last 2 sts, sl2

With CC:
R28 (RS): k32 (i.e. k all)
R29 (WS): k32 (i.e. k all)

R30 (RS): k2, change to MC and keep on working with MC until indicated. k28, w+t
R31 (WS): k26, w+t
R32 (RS): k24,  w+t
R33 (WS): k22, w+t
R34 (RS): k20,  w+t
R35 (WS): k18, w+t
R36 (RS): k16,  w+t
R37 (WS): k14, w+t
R38 (RS): k12,  w+t
R39 (WS): k10, w+t
R40 (RS): k8,  w+t

Now, you'll start to knit the stem
R41 (WS): k20, change to CC, k2 and CO 7 sts with knitted CO
R42 (RS): still with CC: k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k4, change to MC: k27, w+t
R43 (WS): still with MC: k27; change to CC: k5, kfb, kfb. kfb, kfb, k3
R44 (RS): with CC: BO14 sts; there should be 2 sts left in CC, k2 (i.e. knit these 2 sts in CC); change to MC and keep on working with MC until indicated: k18, w+t

After finishing the stem, knit the 2nd half of the pumpkin 
R45 (WS): k8, w+t
R46 (RS): k10, w+t
R47 (WS): k12, w+t
R48 (RS): k14, w+t
R49 (WS): k16, w+t
R50 (RS): k18, w+t
R51 (WS): k20, w+t
R52 (RS): k22, w+t
R53 (WS): k24, w+t
R54 (RS): k25, w+t
R55 (WS): k to last 2 sts, change to CC: k2

With CC
R56 (RS): k32 (i.e. k all)
R57 (WS): k32 (i.e. k all)

With MC
R58 (RS): k28, w+t
R59 (WS): k27, w+t
R60 (RS): k20, w+t
R61 (WS): k12, w+t
R62 (RS): k2, kfb, k6, kfb, k4, w+t
R63 (WS): k19, w+t
R64 (RS): k2, kfb, k12, kfb, k4, w+t
R65 (WS): k24, w+t
R66 (RS): k8, kfb, kfb, k6, kfb, kfb, k7, w+t
R67 (WS): k32, w+t
R68 (RS): k33, w+t
R69 (WS): k to last 2 sts, sl2

With CC:
R70 (RS): k40, (i.e. k all)
R71 (WS): k40, (i.e. k all)

With MC
R72 (RS): sl2, k36, w+t
R73 (WS): k34, w+t
R74 (RS): k12, kfb, kfb, k6, kfb, kfb, k6, w+t
R75 (WS): k26, w+t
R76 (RS): k4, kfb, kfb, k16, kfb, kfb, k4, w+t
R77 (WS): k34, w+t
R78 (RS): k4, kfb, kfb, k24, kfb, kfb, k4, w+t
R79 (WS): k42, w+t
R80 (RS): k2, kfb, k36, kfb, k3, w+t
R81 (WS): k46, w+t
R82 (RS): k42, w+t
R83 (WS): k to last 2 sts, sl2

With CC:
R84 (RS): k54 (i.e. k all)
R85 (WS): BO loosely

Weave in ends.

This post was featured on Oombawka Design's Wednesday Link Party #213 and on the Linky Ladies Link Party #118. Thank you!

Skew Symmtery Cowl

This spring I experimented a lot with a combination of intarsia technique and short rows - on smaller projects such as washcloths and potholders (such as I ♥ Intarsia Washcloth) and on a bigger scarf (Wedges Wrap). I did like the resulting patterns so I wanted to try it out on a cowl as well - and this time with an interesting black and white contrast.
So, if you like bold geometric patterns, this cowl is for you. It is knitted all in garter stitch with two skeins or bobbins of each color.
As to the name: This Wikipedia page explains the concept of a skew symmetric matrix.

This pattern is available for purchase 

• via Ravelry 
• via Loveknitting and
• via Payhip.

The pattern contains a written description, a chart, some schematics and some explanations on techniques.







Materials

• about 200 grams of Sports weight yarn in two colors: 100 grams of color 1 (divided into two skeins or bobbins) and 100 grams of color 2 (also divided into two skeins or bobbins)
• 4mm knitting needles - I used circulars, but straight needles will do as well
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Gauge and Size
In garter stitch 9 ridges (i.e. 18 rows) gave 5 cm in height – and 9 stitches gave 5 cm in width.
The finished cowl is 29 cm wide and measures 124 cm in circumference.


Necessary Skills
To complete this cowl you need the following knitting skills (besides basic garter stitch):

• Intarsia
• Short rows with wrap and turn
• Picking up stitches from a side edge

This blogpost was featured at Oombawka Design's Wednesday Link Party. Thank you!

Battenberg Socks with Ergonomically Shaped Toes

I'm still in the middle of sockmania - meaning that currently, I don't have many other knitting ideas, but as long as I'm knitting anything, I'm fine. This time I wanted to try out a different toe shape. I.e. a different sock for the left and the right foot. And to make it a bit more interesting, I included a little intarsia pattern as well.

The chart and the exact description is given for socks knitted with 60 stitches in the round (i.e. for sizes 36 to 39). But there will be instructions on how to change it for smaller and bigger sizes as well.

As to the name: The line-up of the rectangles reminded me a little of the pattern in a Battenberg cake.

Once again, this is NOT a complete knitting pattern, but a rough sketch how to knit these socks.


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




Materials

• about 50 to 60 grams of fingering weight yarn - about 50 grams of the main color (MC, light violet in the photos) and 10 grams of the contrast color (CC, white in the photos)
• 2.5 mm knitting needles - I used long circulars with the magic loop method which is useful if you want to divide your stitches into two halves
• a stitch marker to mark where the intarsia pattern starts
• scrap yarn for the afterthought heel
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Toe up sock knitting: as explained on dummies.com or in this video by Girly Knits. This includes starting with Judy's Magic Cast On, a technique that gives you live stitches on both sides of your needle - it is generally used for toe-up socks (e.g. in this pattern), but it can be used for other purposes as well. Here's a written description (from Knitty) and here's a YouTube-video by Cat Bordhi and another YouTube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Cutting a sock template of your feet: To make the finished piece fit your feet, it is useful to measure your feet and to cut out a card template. Here's a blogpost at knitbettersocks.blogspot.com that explains the idea.  If you want to knit a pair for someone else and cannot get a template, here are standard shoe size templates.  
• Afterthought heel: Here's a tutorial in three videos by Knit Purl Hunter. Alternatively, you can do any kind of short row heel.
• Intarsia in the round:  as shown in this YouTube video by Julia farwell-clay.
  I used the method from this video. Basically you knit back and forth even though your stitches are arranged in the round - and you have to consider rounds in pairs - one RS row and one WS row. You start with your main color (MC) on the RS, then - as in normal intarsia you change (by twisting the yarns) - to contrast color (CC) and knit your CC part, After finishing this you turn your work, make a yarn-over and do the WS with CC, when you get to the MC part you change back as in normal (flat) intarsia to MC.
  Now with MC you work your way on the WS not only to the start of the round, but further to the point where you ended the CC part. Here you p2tog the last MC stitch with the yarn over in CC. Then you turn - again with a yarn over - and do the RS part to the beginning of the round. That's the two round finished.
  When - during the next pair of rounds - you reach the new yarn over on the RS, you have to do an ssk of the last stitch in CC with the yarn over in MC.

Instructions

Toe

Do a magic CO of 10 sts - while knitting the first round, put a marker at the half and the end of the round.

Knit the to according to the chart below. The chart shows on half of one of each foot, the second half is the mirror of the first half. The numbers in the middle indicate the row number.

Toe increases - click to enlarge

If you knit according to this chart, you'll end up with 60 stitches (good for socks in sizes 36 to 39). For socks in smaller sizes (e.g. 32 to 35) you'll need to end up with 56 stitches. Here I'd suggest you start with a magic CO of 9 stitches and leave out one increase on the outer side (e.g. in row 14). That way you have 2 fewer stitches on each half which means a total of four fewer stitches.
Similarly, for socks in bigger sizes (e.g. 40 to 43), I'd suggest a magic CO of 11 stitches and one increase more on the outer side, e.g. in row 16. 

Foot

Once you've finished the toe, you can start with the intarsia pattern. It consists of rectangles that are 4 stitches wide and 4 stitches high - stacked in a Battenberg pattern.

Pattern for left foot

For the left sock, place a stitch marker to mark the start the intarsia pattern on the outer side 4 stitches away from the edge of the outer half on the front.

Rounds 1 and 2
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 3 and 4 = Rounds 1 and 2

Rounds 5 and 6
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, k4, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 7 and 8 = Rounds 5 and 6


Pattern for right foot

For the right sock. place the intarsia block mirrored to the first sock, and for that you need to place the stitch marker 12 stitches away from the outer edge of the front of the sock (i.e. 4 sts away from edge plus 8 stitch width or intarsia pattern. The pattern is also mirrored to the other sock.

Rounds 1 and 2
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, k4, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 3 and 4 = Rounds 1 and 2

Rounds 5 and 6
- RS, MC: k to stitch marker, change to CC
- RS, CC: k 4 sts, turn work
- WS, CC: yo, p4, change to MC
- WS, MC: p to the beginning of the round, and - without turning, go on purling to 1 sts before the yo in CC, p2tog (i.e. you purl together the last stitch in MC and the yo in CC - connecting the two), turn work
- RS, MC: yo, k to beginning of round
Rounds 7 and 8 = Rounds 5 and 6

The chart below shows the color pattern for both socks.

Intarsia pattern - click to enlarge

Repeat rounds 1 to 8 until the sock is as long as you'd like it to be - don't forget to insert scrap yarn for an afterthought heel when the foot part of your sock is long enough.

Finish a sock with a few rounds of k2-p2-ribbing.

Insert an afterthought heel.

Weave in ends.