More mixing ...

I'm quite proud. I finally managed to knit short row stacks in a rhomboid shape - creating a cowl.

The pattern will follow soon.

Mixed Wave Mitts

Knit yourself an attractive accessory to keep your hands warm this winter. The Mixed Wave Mitts have an intriguing graphical design - while knitted all in garter stitch.

These fingerless gloves have the same basic construction as the Short Wave Mitts that I published a while ago, i.e. a shaped thumb part that is knitted first, followed by a rectanguar main part build from short row sections interspersed with garter stitch rows of a different colour.

I wondered what it would look like, if the short row sections (that added up so nicely to a rectangle) were knitted in a different order – I thought that it might make the mitts more „organic“ … and it worked.

Dansk / Danish: This pattern is also available in Danish (translation by Marianne Holmen) at strikkeglad.dk or as a PDF. Thanks! Mange tak!






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



General Idea

The pattern for Short Wave Mitts  depends on stacking sections of short rows in a very strict (nearly mathematical) order – B5 , B4, B3, B2, B1, F1, F2, F3, F4, F5 – as shown in the drawing.
Here, the sections called B1-B5 are backwards leaning sections and F1-F5 are forwards leaning ones.

Together with two full length garter stitch rows of a different colour the end result will look like this – i.e. a rectangular piece of knitting or the Short Wave Mitts (published a while ago).

However, when changing the order of the sections in a different order they should still add up to a rectangular shape.

So, how does it look if the sections are knitted in a different order,
e.g. B1, F5, B2, F4, B3, F3, B4, F2, B5, F1

 or B4, F1, B2, F4, B5 F3, B1, F5, B3, F2.

Materials

~20 grams of fingering weight yarn in main colour (MC)
~10 grams of  fingering weight yarn in contrast colour 1 (CC1)
~10 grams of fingering weight yarn in contrast colour 2 (CC2)
scrap yarn or stitch holder
4 dpns 3mm
2 dpns 2.5mm
tapestry needle


Non-Standard Abbreviations
Basically, the abbreviations used here are standard knitting abbreviation, e.g. as used by knitty or other magazines (here's a link to their abbreviation list) - except the following:

• w+t: wrap and turn - a method to short rows - see this YouTube video for reference.

Instructions

Part 1 - Thumb Panel

With 3 mm needles CO9 in MC
Row 1 (normal row): sl1 (purlwise) knit to end
Knit row 1 a total of 34 times
Row 35 (increase row): sl1 (purlwise) kfb knit to the last two stitches kfb k
Rows 36 - 44  = Row 1
Row 45 = Row 35 (increase row)
Rows 46 – 54 = Row 1
Rows 55 = Row 35 (increase row)
Rows 56 – Row 61 = Row 1 (you have now 15 sts on your needle)
Row 62: sl1 (purlwise) k5 pm k3 pm k6
Row 63: sl1 k to marker, kfb, k to one sts before marker, kfb, k to end (thumb increase row)
Rows 64 + 65 = Row 1
Row 66 = Row 63 (thumb increase row)
Rows 67 + 68 = Row 1
Row 69 = Row 63 (thumb increase row)
Rows 70 + 71 = Row 1
Row 72 = Row 63 (thumb increase row)
Rows 73 + 74 = Row 1
Row 75 = Row 63 (thumb increase row)
Rows 76 + 77 = Row 1
Row 78 = Row 63 (thumb increase row)
Rows 79 + 80 = Row 1
Row 81 = Row 63 (thumb increase row)
Row 82 = Row 1
Row 83:  sl1 (purlwise) k to marker, put sts between markers on scrap yarn, remove markers, CO2 (using backward loop CO) and k to end (you have now 14 sts on your needle)
Row 84 – 88 = Row 1
Row 89: sl1 k2tog, k to the last 3 sts, ssk, k  (decrease row)
Rows 90 – 94 = Row 1
Row 95: sl1 k2tog, k to the last 3 sts, ssk, k  (decrease row)
Row 96 – 99 = Row 1
Bind off all stitches in Row 100 EXCEPT THE LAST STITCH. DO NOT CUT YARN.
Switch to 2.5mm needles.

Part 2 - The Short Row Part

Pick up 49 stitches from the right hand side of the mitt by inserting your needle into the front part of the slipped stitch of each row from back to front without using your working yarn.

With MC knit one row (i.e. k5 pm (called m1) k10 pm (called m2) k10 pm (called m3) k10 pm (called m4) k10 pm (called p5) k to end)
Change to CC1: Select a backwards leaning section and knit it (see „The F- and B-sections“ below)
With MC: knit two rows
With CC2: Select a forwards leaning section and knit it (see „The F and B-sections“ below)
With MC: knit two rows (exception: after the last F-section, knit only one row)
Repeat this until you have done all B-sections and all F-sections
– each section should be knitted once! 

The orders I used were B4, F1, B2, F4, B5 F3, B1, F5, B3, F2 (in the blue & grey mitts on top of the title page) and B1, F5, B2, F4, B3, F3, B4, F2, B5, F1 (in the orange & pink mitts shown here).

If you want the mitts to be symmetrical, knit the sections of the second mitt in the reverse order.

Pick up 50 stitches from the other side of the thumb part inserting your needle into the front part of the slipped stitch of each row without using new yarn.

Turn work to right side and start grafting the ends together: Cut the yarn but leave a long enough tail and put the yarn on a tapestry needle.

Set-up stitch:

• front needle: insert purlwise and leave stitch on needle;
• back needle: insert purlwise and leave stitch on needle;

Repeat until you have no stitches left on your needles:

• front needle: insert knitwise needle into first and slide from needles (knit slip), insert needle purlwise into next stitch and leave on needle (purl leave)
• back needle: insert knitwise needle into first and slide from needles (knit slip), insert needle purlwise into next stitch and leave on needle (purl leave)

Thumbs

Put the 17 thumb stitches on two 3mm needles and pick up 5 sts from above thumb gusset without using new yarn.
Row 1 (MC): k till last sts, p2tog
Row 2 (MC): p15 p2tog p4
Row 3 + 5 (MC): k
Row 4 + 6 (MC): p
Row 7 (MC): bind off in knit stitch




The F- and B-Sections

B1

• (RS) k to end
• (WS) k to end
• (RS) k to marker 2 w+t (= wrap and turn)
• (WS) k to end
• (RS) * k to 2 stitches from gap w+t
• (WS) k to end – repeat from * a total of 5 times

B2, B3 and B4 (for B2 X is 2, for B3 X is 3 and for B4 X is 4)

• (RS) k to end
• (WS) k to marker X w+t
• (RS) k8 w+t
• (WS) * k10 w+t
• (RS) k8 w+t – repeat from* for a total of 5 times (WS) k to end

B5

• (RS) k to end
• (WS) k to m5 w+t
• (RS) k to end
• (WS) * k to gap k2 w+t
• (RS) k to end – repeat from * a total of 5 times
• (WS) k to end

F1

• (RS) k to marker 1 w+t
• (WS) k to end
• (RS) * k to gap k2 w+t
• (WS) k to end – repeat from * a total of 5 times
• (RS) k to end
• (WS) k to end

F2, F3 and F4 (for F2 X is 2, for F3 X is 3 and for F4 X is 4)

• (RS) k to marker X w+t
• (WS) * k8 w+t
• (RS) k10 w+t – repeat from * a total of 5 times
• (WS) k8 w+t
• (RS) k to end
• (WS) k to end

F5

• (RS) k to end
• (WS) k to marker 4 w+t
• (RS) * k to end
• (WS) k to two stitches before gap w+t – repeat from * a total of 5 times
• (RS) k to end
• (WS) k to end

Notes and Illustrations on Short Wave Mitts

Since some people had problems regarding different parts of the pattern, the following explanations & illustrations can hopefully clear up some of these.

How to pick up stitches from the thumb part

How to graft/do the kitchener stitch

Cut the yarn but leave a long enough tail (I usually take about 5 to 6 times the length of the seam). Put the yarn on a tapestry needle.
For setting up insert tapestry needle purlwise into the first stitch - first on the front needle, then on the back needle.
* Now insert the needle knitwise into the first stitch on the front needle and slip the stitch, then insert it purlwise in the next stitch but leave that on the needle. Do the same on the back needle - then repeat from * until there are no more stitches on your needles.

If my explanation is too wordy, I found a video that shows it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAEIogIli6o


On the stacking of garter stitch ridges - or where to start wrapping and turning
During the first half of the pattern the slope of the MC row goes downwards - that's why I call the CC sections "downwards sections" - the ones in the second half are therefore called "upwards sections".
Each section lies between two markers: left and right. For the downwards sections, the first w+t is at the beginning (right) marker - because you start on your way back (WS). For the upwards sections, the first w+t is on left marker (RS). That means that during the downwards sections you knit the first row till the end and start the “short row movements” in the second row, whereas in the upwards section you first do the short rows and only afterwards complete the CC row.
In the following sketch the blue line is the direction of the CC knitting of the first upwards section and the fifth (last) downwards section.

Is it possible, to do it differently and start the upwards section at the right marker - then the stacks of garter ridges should look like this. The difference in the completed mitt should be minimal - the shaping of the section and the lines made by the MC would be the same, only the stacks of garter stitch rows will look differently.

 

Mixed Waves

These mitts are a variation of my short wave mitts - the wavy sections are knitted in a different order.

Yet Another Short-Row Scarf

There are quite a number scarf patterns available on Ravelry, that use wedges of short rows. However, I was too lazy to search through them - so I just started knitting.

Here's what I came up with - an easy scarf pattern.






This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.


Techniques:

• w+t = wrap and turn, e.g. shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4GxFvi4KD0
• how to pick up the wraps is shown here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-xaz41JTkLc

I used one skein (200 grams) of (probably) super bulky yarn and 8mm needles.

CO21 sts
Row 1: k
Row 2: k to 3 sts before end of row w+t
Row 3: k to end
Row 4: k to 3 sts before gap w+t (where gap is the last w+t)
Row 5: k to end
Repeat rows 4 and 5 until there are only 3 stitches per row
Row 14: knit all picking up the wrapped stitches
You have now completed the first wedge.

The picture shows how the wedges add up to a scarf. Since one wedge consists of 13 rows (i.e. an odd number of rows), each wedge starts at the opposite edge of the previous one.

Repeat rows 2 to 14 until you reach the desired length.
Bind off in the row 14 of last wedge picking up the wrapped stitches.

This pattern is listed on allfreeknitting.com as Unicorn Horn Scarf.

Short-Wave Mitts

These gloves are knitted in two parts - first the "thumb part" is knitted upwards, then stitches are picked up from the side and the rest of the glove is made - it is sewn to the thumb piece with a kitchener stitch. The „wavy“ pattern is achieved by short rows – contrasted with two full garter stitch rows.

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




Other versions

• Modifications to knit a one-colour version can be found at the end of this post.
• Modifications for a version in DK weight yarn can be found in this post.
• BarbAnn Pappas has rewritten the pattern to use german short rows: it's called Deco Mitts and can be found on Ravelry.

Materials

• ~25g of fingering weight yarn in main colour (MC)
• ~20g of fingering weight yarn in contrast colour (CC)
• scrap yarn or stitch holder
• 4 dpns 3mm
• 2 dpns 2.5mm
• tapestry needle

Part 1 – Thumb part

With 3 mm needles CO11 in MC

Row 1 (normal row): sl1 (purlwise) knit to end
Knit row 1 a total of 45 times
Row 46 (increase row): sl1 (purlwise) kfb knit to the last two stitches kfb k
Rows 47 - 53 = Row 1
Row 54 = Row 46 (increase row)
Rows 55 – 63 = Row 1
Rows 64 = Row 46 (increase row)
Rows 65 – Row 69 = Row 1 (you have now 17 sts on your needles)
Row 70: sl1 (purlwise) k6 pm k3 pm k7
Row 71 and all odd-numbered rows till Row 84: sl1 k to marker, kfb, k to one sts before marker, kfb, k to end
Row 72 and all even-numbered rows till Row 83: sl1 knit to end
Row 85: sl1 (purlwise) k to marker, put sts between markers on scrap yarn, remove markers, CO2 (using backward loop CO) and k to end
Rows 86 – 89 = Row 1
Row 90 (decrease row): sl1 k2tog, k to the last 3 sts, ssk, k
Rows 91 – 94 = Row 1
Row 95 = Row 90 (decrease row)
Rows 96 – 98 = Row 1
Bind off all stitches in Row 99 EXCEPT THE LAST STITCH. DO NOT CUT YARN.


Some explanations of the wave pattern (part 2) beforehand

• During the first half of the pattern the slope of the MC row goes downwards - that's why I call the CC sections "downwards sections" (or „down“ for short) - the ones in the second half are therefore called "upwards sections".
• Each section lies between two markers: left and right. For the downwards sections, the first w+t is at the beginning (right) marker - because you start on your way back (WS). For the upwards sections, the first w+t is on left marker (RS). That means that during the downwards sections you knit the first row till the end and start the “short row movements” in the second row, whereas in the upwards section you first do the short rows and only afterwards complete the CC row.
• In this pattern one section consists of 7 garter stitch ridges. 
• Further explanations and some diagrams can be found in this post.

Part 2

Put last sts on 2.5 mm needle. Pick up 49 sts from side inserting your needle into the front part of the slipped stitch of each row from back to front without using your working yarn – you have now 50 sts on your needle.

Start knitting at the last stitch of the thumb part. From now on use 2.5mm needles

Row 1 (MC): sl1 k4 pm (called m1) k10 pm (called m2) k10 pm (called m3) k10 pm (called m4) k10 pm     (called p5) k to end   
Row 2 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section down #1)   
Row 3 (CC): sl1 k to end
Row 4 (CC): sl1 k to m4 w+t
Row 5 (CC): k to end
Row 6 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 14 (CC): sl1 k to 2 sts before gap w+t
    (i.e. „gap“ signifies the last stitch before the last w+t, i.e. knit 2 sts less than the last short row)
Row 7 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 15 (CC): k to end
Row 16 (CC): sl1 k to end

Rows 17 + 18 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section down #2)
Row 19 (CC): sl1 k to end
Row 20 (CC): sl1 k to m3 w+t
Row 21 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 31 (CC): k10 w+t
Row 22 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 30 (CC): k8 w+t
Row 32 (CC) k to end

Rows 33 + 34 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section down #3)
Row 35 (CC): sl1 k to end
Row 36 (CC): sl1 k to m2 w+t
Row 37 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 47(CC): k10 w+t
Row 38 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 46 (CC): k8 w+t
Row 48 (CC) k to end

Rows 49 + 50 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section down #4)
Row 51 (CC): sl1 k to end
Row 52 (CC): sl1 k to m1 w+t
Row 53 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 63 (CC): k10 w+t
Row 54 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 62 (CC): k8 w+t
Row 64 (CC) k to end


(section down #5)
While knitting this section, catch the MC strand at a couple of points when you carry it across the top of the mitt to keep it from getting pulled to tightly)
Rows 65 + 66 (MC): sl1 k to end
Row 67 (CC): sl1 k to end
Row 68 (CC): sl1 k to end
Row 69 (CC): sl1 k to m1 w+t
Row 70 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 80 (CC): k to end
Row 71 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 79 (CC): sl1 k to gap k2 w+t    
    (i.e. knit 2 sts more than in the last short row)

Rows 81+ 82 (MC): sl1 k to end


(section up #1
While knitting this section, catch the MC strand at a couple of points when you carry it across the top of the mitt to keep it from getting pulled to tightly)
Row 83 (CC): sl1 k to m2 w+t
Row 84 (CC): k to end
Row 85 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 93 (CC): sl1 k to 2 sts before gap w+t
    (i.e. knit 2 sts less than in the last short row)
Row 86 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 94 (CC): k to end
Rows 95 + 96 (CC): sl1 k to end

Rows 97 + 98 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section up #2)
Row 99 (CC): sl1 k to m3 w+t
Row 100 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 110 (CC): k10 w+t
Row 101 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 109 (CC): k8 w+t
Row 111 (CC): k to end
Row 112 (CC): sl1 k to end

Rows 113 + 114 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section up #3)
Row 115 (CC): sl1 k to m4 w+t
Row 116 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 126 (CC): k10 w+t
Row 117 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 125 (CC): k8 w+t
Row 127 (CC): k to end
Row 128 (CC): sl1 k to end

Rows 129 + 130 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section up #4)
Row 131 (CC): sl1 k to m5 w+t
Row 132 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 142 (CC): k10 w+t
Row 133 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 141 (CC): k8 w+t
Row 143 (CC): k to end
Row 144 (CC): sl1 k to end

Rows 145 + 146 (MC): sl1 k to end

(section up #5)
Row 147 (CC): sl1 k to end
Row 148 (CC): sl1 k to m5 w+t
Row 149 and all odd-numbered rows until and including Row 159 (CC): k to end
Row 150 and all even-numbered rows until and including Row 158 (CC): sl1 k to gap k2 w+t
    (i.e. knit 2 sts more than in the last short row)
Row 160 (CC): sl1 k to end

Row 161 (MC): sl1 k to end removing markers

Cut the yarn but leave a long enough tail (I usually take about 5 to 6 times the length of the seam). Put the yarn on a tapestry needle.
Pick up 50 stitches from the other side of the thumb part inserting your needle into the front part of the slipped stitch of each row without using new yarn. Turn work to wrong side and start grafting the ends together.

If you have done grafting kitchener stitch before:
Set-up stitch:     front: purl leave
        back: purl leave
Following stitches:     front: knit slip – purl leave
            back: knit slip – purl leave

If you have never done kitchener stitch before – here's a longer explanation:
For setting up, insert tapestry needle purlwise into the first stitch - first on the front needle, then on the back needle. * Now insert the needle knitwise into the first stitch on the front needle and slip the stitch, then insert it purlwise in the next stitch but leave that on the needle. Do the same on the back needle - then repeat from * until there are no more stitches on your needles.
If my explanation is too wordy, I found a video that shows it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAEIogIli6o

Thumb

Put the 17 thumb stitches on two 3mm needles and pick up 5 sts from above thumb gusset without using new yarn.
Row 1 (MC): k till last sts, p2tog
Row 2 (MC): p15 p2tog p4
Row 3 + 5 (MC): k
Row 4 + 6 (MC): p
Row 7 (MC): bind off in knit stitch

Weave in ends.


Modifications for a one-colour version:

• instead of using a second colour to contrast the “waves”, do stockinette stitch inbetween (i.e. knit one row, purl one row)
• end with “normal” kitchener stitch (front: knit slip, purl leave - back: purl slip, knit leave)

Waveform

Finally an idea that I managed to put into a finished form ... the prototype for a pattern that I'm going to call "Waveform Fingerless Gloves".

The pattern will be published soon.

Ten-Stitch Bath Rug

I knitted a rug for my new bathroom out of t-shirt yarn. I love how it feels under my feet. The pattern is called "Ten Stitch Blanket" by Frankie Brown.

  

Japanese Pattern Books

... seen in Paris - quite appropriate ;-)

Tarn Scrunchy

If there's anything I should have lying around, it's scrunchies. Unfortunately, I seem to "distribute" them all over the place, so that I usually don't find any of them. That's why I buy more and more of them - only to discover later that there were some in the pocket of a winter coat or in a bag that I hadn't used for ages.
By chance I found on ravelry a pattern for one ... before, it had never occured to me that this could be a knitting or crochet project.

So, this weekend I went to the supermarket and bought cheap hair rubber bands.

First I tried with thin cotton yarn - and it looked just fine. Then I thought that this might be something to use my tarn for. (How to make tarn: here.)

It took me several times, to get it right. Since tarn is quite thick, it was necessary to use it in a way that the scrunchy wouldn't get to heavy. For example, loops of chain stitches were just to thick and unelastic.

This work by Knitting and so on is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.


Here's how I did it ...

Material:

• less then 1 t-shirt's worth of tarn
• one elastic hair band
• 5mm crochet hook

Instructions:

1. to start do a slip stitch and fix yarn to hair band with another slip stitch
2. wrap yarn twice around your index finger, insert hook into these loops, yarn over and pull through, but leave the loops on your finger (you have now 2 loops on your hook)
3. again wrap yarn twice around your index finger insert hook into these loops, yarn over and pull through, but leave the loops on your finger (you have now 3 loops on your hook)
4. yarn over and pull yarn through all three loops on your hook
5. slip stitch around the elastic hair band and remove the loops from your index finger
6. repeat steps 2 to 5 round
7. join with slip stitch and weave in ends

Yoga Socks, Yoga Socks and Yoga Socks

My current favorite kind of project: yoga socks - this is a really simple pattern, or rather a quick "how to".




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



Materials

• about 25-30 grams of fingering weight yarn
• two 4mm needles (for cast on)
• 3mm dpns
• tapestry needle (to bind off and to weave in ends)

Special Techniques

• The "Elizabeth Zimmermann's sewn bind off" technique that I used is described in this knitty-article.

Instructions

• CO60 with 4mm needles and join in round
• change to 3mm needles (using bigger needles for CO will make the cast-on stretchier)
• knit 34 rounds of "p1 k3 p1"-ribbing (this is basically "p2 k3"-ribbing, but by starting with p1 k3, the opening will start end end in the middle of a purl channel)
• in 35th round: BO30 and finish round in ribbing-pattern
• in 36th round: CO30 (knitted cast-on) and finish round in ribbing pattern
• knit 33 more rows of "p1 k3 p1"-ribbing
• BO using sewn bind off technique - also very stretchy
  (list of BO techniques: http://knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/FEATsum06TT.html)

 

Variations - also in fingering weight sock yarn

• CO64 with 3.5mm needles and then change to 2.5mm needles and knit "p2 k2"-ribbing
  
  and/or
  
  
• Knit 36 rounds for the ankle part - and only 25 rounds for the foot part

This pattern is part of the "Knitting in the Round: 10 Knit Sock Patterns and Knitted Slipper Patterns Free eBook" on allfreeknitting.com.

Waves

Ever since I saw some "swing knitting" projects on ravelry, I wanted to make something like that myself. I managed to start something similar yesterday. It's basically constructed of short rows ...
Though I am pleased with the result, it doesn't look quite as "organical" as I would have liked it. Furthermore, I made a few mistakes so that the pattern is not really regular. But for a prototype (and something I have figured out without a written pattern), it's OK.

Links to swing knitting or related techniques:

• http://www.swing-knitting.com/
• http://www.strickrausch.de/; Ms Kluge from Strickrausch has also published a sequence of videos explaining her technique - however, these videos are in German: here's the link to her video channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/StrickRausch
• Swing knitting on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/knitting-the-swing---swing-knitting