Biased Brioche Cowl

I like to experiment with my knitting and to combine techniques. This time, I wanted to try out short rows in combination with two color brioche. The result is a comfortable piece with a squishy texture that is perfect for autumn and winter.
This cowl starts with a provisional cast on, is knitted flat and finished with grafting in garter stitch.

The pattern is available for purchase on Ravelry here.
Get a 40% discount on my latest cowl pattern. Discount ends Oct 14, 2018.






Materials

• about 130 grams of fingering weight yarn in main color (MC) – I used Wollmeise Pure – colorway “Ballerina”
• about 60 grams of fingering weight yarn in contrast color (CC) – I used a speckled yarn by Lanartus
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook for provisional CO
• 3.5 mm 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 10 ridges (i.e. 20 rows) gave 5 cm in height, 11 stitches gave 5 cm in width. This was measured on a blocked piece.
The finished cowl measures about 27 cm wide, and measures about 130 cm in circumference.


Skills
To finish this cowl, you need the following skills

• Provisional Cast-On
• Short Rows with Wrap and Turn
• Two Color Brioche
• Grafting in Garter Stitch

Bath Rug

In the beginning of this year one yarn store in Cologne had a closing-down sale. I still had a gift voucher for them. So I went there and - among other stuff - I bought a skein of Hoooked Zpaghetti, and I decided to use it to make a bath mat.
There are quite a few patterns around on how to crochet a bath mat (e.g. this one), but I prefer knitting to crochet and I also really liked the idea of doing something in garter stitch; not only because like the look of it, but also because it really feels nice and squishy under naked feet (something I knew from the time I knitted a t-shirt yarn rug on the basis of the Ten Stitch Blanket by Frankie Brown).
I wanted to knit a rectangular shape, but also do something with short rows, so I first tried something in a different yarn. My first attempt of shaping this mat wasn't quite to my liking - the ratio wasn't quite right, but it worked as a place mat or doily.
Fortunately, the second attempt worked better - and here is the pattern for it. Enjoy!
Of course it can also be a washcloth or a doily, if you do it in another yarn.

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






Materials

• T-shirt yarn - I used one skein of Hoooked Zpaghetti that I had bought at a sale, it weighed a bit more than 650 grams and (according to the lable) was about 100 metres long
• appropriate knitting needles (12mm needles in my case)
• a crochet hook and some bulky-ish scrap yarn for the provisional cast

Techniques

• 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.
• Picking up and knit stitches from the side: Insert the needle into the front leg of the edge stitch from back to front and draw your working yarn through. In case of this pattern you only need to pick up one stitch at a time.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Construction

When knitting this piece you start with a provisional CO (in red t-shirt yarn on the photo). During the first part, the rows are getting shorter (one stitch every two ridges). In part 2, the ridges are getting longer again (two stitches for every ridge). Parts 3 and 4 are parts 2 and 1 backwards. You have then knitted a square and turned your knitting by 180°.
Parts 5 to 8, are a repeat of parts 1 to 4.
After knitting around four corners and the two sides (CO and last row) are grafted in garter stitch.


Yarn "Management"
Since the amount of "yarn" was finite - and I wanted to use up as much as possible - I had to adapt the size. So I weighed the skein before beginning (657 grams) and after finishing part 1 (570 grams).
All parts use up the same amount of yarn, i.e. there are 8 equal parts.
For the first part I had needed 87 grams (657 - 570). 87 grams times 8 would be 696 grams - which would be more than I had.
So I frogged and the next time I started with a shorter CO of 18 stitches. After part 1 I had 576 grams. For the first part I had needed 81 grams (= 657-576). 81 times 8 = 648 grams - which is close enough to the amount of yarn I had and - more importantly - I had enough :)


Instructions

The pattern is written in a way, that you can adapt it to the size you want. To calculate the final size, multiply the width of the CO sts by 2 for the height and by 3 for the width.

Provisionally CO the calculated number of sts with scrap yarn and knit the first row with your working yarn. I did a CO of 18 sts.

Part 1
Ridge 1: k up to last st, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: k to 1 sts before last wrap, w+t, k to end

Ridge 3: k up to last wrap, turn (without wrapping), sl1, k to end

Ridge 4: k up to slipped st of the last row, w+t, k to end

Repeat ridges 2 to 4 until your last row was only 1 st long. If you did a CO of 18 sts (or any other multiple of 3) you will end on a ridge 4. Depending on the number of sts you cast on, you may end on a different ridge.

Part 2
Ridge 1: k1, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: k up to first wrapped stitch, pick up 1 st (from a slipped stitch), w+t, k to end
Ridge 3: k up to first wrapped stitch, w+t, k to end
If you didn't end part 1 on a ridge 4, you may have to do a ridge 3 before knitting a ridge 2 for the first time.

Repeat ridges 2 and 3 until all stitch on your needle are used.

Part 3
Ridge 1: k to last st, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: k to 1 before last wrap, w+t, k to end
Ridge 3: k to 2 before last wrap, w+t, k to end

Repeat ridge 3 until the last row is only 1 or 2 sts long

Part 4
Ridge 1: k1, w+t, k1
Ridge 2: k up to first wrapped stitch, k2tog, turn (without wrapping), sl1, k to end
Ridge 3: k up to and including k2tog of last ridge, w+t, k to end
Ridge 4: sl1, k up to first wrapped stitch, k1, w+t, k to end

Repeat ridges 2 to 4 until all sts on your needle are used.

Inbetween Ridge: sl1, k to end, turn, sl1 k to end

Part 5
= Part 1

Part 6
= Part 2

 Part 7
= Part 3

Part 8
= Part 4

Finishing:
Put the stitches from the provisional CO on the second needle - cut your yarn, but leave a tail long enough for grafting.
Graft in garter stitch.
If there is a small hole in the middle of the piece, use the end to sew it closed.
Weave in ends

Wriggly Cowl

In my stash there are a lot of leftovers of my former knitting projects - and many of them in fingering weight. So I am always searching for new ideas to use these leftovers in an interesting manner.
So for #scraptember I decided to use up my purple, lilac and similarly colored leftovers to knit this new cowl. It is knitted flat, starting with a provisional CO and finished by grafting.

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






Materials

• about 200 grams of fingering weight yarn - of course you can use other yarn weights as well, I used yarns of similar colors, but it might be interesting to use mixed colors as well
• 3.5 mm knitting needles
• 5 stitch markers
• a removable stitch marker to mark the RS of your piece
• more scrap yarn for provisional CO
• a tapestry needle for grafting and for weaving it the many, many ends

Techniques and Abbreviations

• 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.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.
• Carrying yarn up:  When you're knitting the short row sections at the edges you have to carry up your yarn. This can be done by twisting the unused yarn with the current yarn at the first stitch of the current row - this technique is shown in this YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter.

Since this cowl is made from leftovers, there is a high potential for many ends to weave in. Here are two techniques that may be helpful to avoid this:

• Weave in ends as you go as shown in this YouTube video by So, I make stuff.  
• Frankfurt knot: a way to connect yarn with a strong knot - as shown in this YouTube video by nadelspiel.

Using Your Leftovers
Choose some leftover yarn from your stash - of the same weight (or nearly the same weight) - I used fingering weight yarn of the same part of the color spectrum (violet-ish) plus white for contrast. You always work with 3 skeins at a time, the one row is knitted with the skein 1, the next with skein 2, the next with skein 3, and then you start again with skein 1. Once one strand runs out of yarn, just connect the next one to it.
As with my Skein Hash Cowl, I wanted to be rather consistent color distribution (or as consistent as possible). That's why I seperated some of the leftover skeins into two and used them at different times. This will even increase the numbers of ends to weave in, but I prefered this over a color change that seemed to abrupt.

Pattern "Construction"
It is based on a basic wave or chevron pattern - one row with alternating increases and decreases and the next row k all. To make it a bit more interesting, there are short row sequences over one and a half "chevron repeats". There are markers to indicate the end of one chevron repeat.
There are four place to start the short row sequences: 1) at the beginning of the row (called short row section 1), 2) in the middle between M1 and M2 (called short row section 2), 3) at M3 (called short row section 3) and 4) in the middle between M4 and M5 (called short row section 4). This is shown in the schematic below.

Instructions

With scrap yarn, do a provisional CO of 96 stitches

From now on you will always work with three colors which are used alternatingly. After each row, change to the next color. If you run out of one yarn, just attach another one.
After knitting a few rows, mark RS with a removable stitch marker.

Setup row (WS): k 16, place marker (M5), k16, place marker (M4), k16, place marker (M3), k16 place marker (M2), k16, place marker (M1), k16
The markers indicate the end of one chevron repeat, the short row sections are over one and a half chevron repeats.

Basic Knitting Sequence
Knit a neutral ridge (see "Component Parts" below).
Knit a short row section 2.
Knit a neutral ridge.
Knit a short row section 4.
Knit a neutral ridge.
Knit a short row section 1.
Knit a neutral ridge.
Knit a short row section 3.

Repeat until the cowl measures the desired length.  Cut yarn but leave a tail long enough for grafting. Put the stitches of the provisional CO on the second needle. Graft in garter stitch.
Weave in (many) ends.

Mixing It Up
I had not only solid yarn, but variegated yarn as well - and when knitting a short row section it looked better (i.e. stood out better) with a solid color. That's why I occasionally included another neutral ridge to avoid knitting a short row sequence knitted with a variegated yarn.

I also like a kind of random effect in my patterns. That's why I didn't cling to the basic sequence but mixed it up. Here you need to make sure, that you knit all of the 4 short row sections before you start knitting the next sequence. (If you knitted e.g. short row sections 4 three times in a row, the cowl would be askew.)

Component Parts

Neutral Ridge

Row 1 (RS): *ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk (now you're at the next marker) repeat from * to end
Row 2 (WS): k all

Short Row Section 1
Row 1 (RS): ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk, ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, (you're in the middle between M1 and M2), w+t,
   (WS) k to end
   (RS) ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk, ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, w+t,
   (WS) k to end
   (RS) *ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk  repeat from * to end
Row 2 (WS): k all

Short Row Section 2
Row 1 (RS): *ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk repeat from * twice more (i.e. you're at M3 now), w+t,
   (WS) k24, w+t
   (RS) kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk, ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk (you're back at M3), w+t,
   (WS) k24, w+t
   (RS) kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk, *ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk repeat from * to end
Row 2 (WS): k all

Short Row Section 3
Row 1 (RS): *ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk repeat from * three times more (you're at M4),  ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, w+t,
   (WS) k24, w+t
   (RS) ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk, ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, w+t,
   (WS) k24, w+t
   (RS): *ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk repeat from * to end
Row 2 (WS): k all

Short Row Section 4
Row 1 (RS): *ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk (now you're at the next marker) repeat from * to end, turn (stranding up the next yarn)
   (WS) k24, w+t,
   (RS) kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk, ssk, ssk, k2, kfb, kfb, kfb, kfb, k2, ssk, ssk , turn (stranding up the next yarn)
   (WS) k24, w+t,
Row 2 (WS): k all

Three New Cowls ... or Current WIPs and Future Patterns

Somehow, I have quite a few unfinished projects or half-finished patterns lying around - they are in various stages of completion. Three of them are for cowls ...

From top to bottom, they are:

• The cowl on the top was an idea to combine short rows and two color brioche, I finished knitting last year, but somehow I didn't write up the pattern. But I do love the cowl, it's soft and squishy since both textures (brioche and garter stitch) are rather thick. Plus I used very soft yarn (dark purple Wollmeise Merino and speckled white Lanartus Superwash). I've nearly finished writing the pattern, so it will be published soon.
• The middle one is a scrap yarn project - like the Skein Hash Cowl there are always three strands of yarn, that are knitted alternatingly. When you run out of one yarn, just attach your next piece of leftovers. It's a basic chevron pattern, but with some short rows thrown in to make it a bit more interesting. As most of my cowls it is knitted flat - started with a provisional CO and finished by grafting. I used leftovers of different shades of purple, violet and lilac plus white for this one.
• The last one (bottom of the picture) is an attempt to do an intarsia pattern with only one strand of the MC yarn - light blue alpaca in this case. It's combined with squares of Lang Sansibar which makes it look like actual tiles. Unfortunately, I ran out of the light blue yarn (I had 1 and a half skeins left over from another project) and I'm currently debating with myself how to finish it. I could a) keep it really short, b) finish it with the same yarn type (alpaca), but in a different color, c) use another light blue yarn, i.e. a really old leftover that is quite similar in color and weight. Trying to buy a new skein is not an option because the yarn is discontinued. 

Since I'm currently on holiday, there is a real chance that I finish
a) the cowls and
b) writing up the patterns

And if anybody has any naming suggestions for the last two, I'd be glad to hear them.

When It All Goes Pear Shaped

In my part of the world it's getting colder and there's a definite feeling of autumn in the air. That's why I wanted to knit something with an "autumn theme". I had just baked a coconut-milk cake with pears, so I decided that a pea rshaped potholder would be a great idea. It took me about 4 attempts to get the shaping right, i.e. the way I liked it.
These pieces can be used as potholders, hotpads, washcloths or coasters. The construction is similar to my Pumpkin Potholders of last year. It's a combination of short rows and intarsia. Since it is a small piece of knitting, it's great to learn a new technique.

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






Materials

• about 30 grams of Aran weight yarn in two colors - the main color (MC) for the body of the pear and a contrast color (CC) for the contour and the stem
• 4 mm knitting needles
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Size and Gauge
The finished piece measures 14 cm at the widest point, 21 cm at the highest point (without the stem)
I counted about 9 stitches for 5 cm in width and about 10 ridges for 5 cm in height.

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 - see picture below.

• Throughout the pattern, the following notation will be used: "CC (k2); MC (k13, t+p, k12); CC(k2)"   means "knit 2 sts with CC; change to MC and knit 13, do a turn an pull, knit 12 stitches with MC; change back to CC and knit the 2 stitches - i.e. before the brackets the yarn is defined and the instructions are given inside the brackets.
• Please note that for this pattern the last 2 stitches in CC of a row (when they are reached after using the MC - which only happens a few times) are knitted with the tail of that was left over by the long tail CO. That way,  it is not necessary to use a 2nd skein or bobbin in CC - and it also avoids two more ends to weave in :) See photo below. Here, e.g. CCtail (k2, turn, sl1, k1) means "with the tail of CC knit 2 stitches, turn, sl1 and k1". In order to avoid a second skein or bobbin (and two more ends to weave in). You're asked to leave a tail of your CO and knit with it. See photo below.

• Knitted Cast-On: See this Youtube-video by Very Pink Knits - used to craft the pumpkin's stem. 
• kfb: knit front & back - an increase
• ssk: slip slip knit - a left leaning decrease

Instructions

With CC and a long tail CO cast on 56 sts but leave a tail that is about 1m long. This tail called is CCtail and will be used to knit a few stitches at the bottom of the pear).
Knit 1 row in CC

[1] RS CC (sl1, k1), MC (k52, w+t,
   WS k36, w+t
[2] RS k1, ssk, k25, ssk, ssk, k2, w+t,
   WS k45, w+t
[3] RS k1, ssk, k13, ssk, k8, ssk, k11, ssk, k2, w+t,
   WS k37, w+t
[4] RS k1, ssk, k11, ssk, k13, ssk, ssk, k2, w+t,
   WS k18, w+t
[5] RS k1, ssk, k16, ssk, k2, w+t,
   WS k35, w+t
[6] RS k1, ssk, k13, ssk, k12, ssk, k2 w+t,
   WS k24, w+t
[7] RS k12, ssk, k7, ssk, k3) CCtail (k2, turn,
    WS sl1, k1), MC (k34), CC (k2)
[8] RS CC (sl1, k1), MC (k1, ssk, k16, ssk, k8, w+t,
   WS k27, w+t
[9] RS k1, ssk, k26, w+t,
   WS k27, w+t
[10] RS k1, ssk, k15, ssk, k8, w+t,
   WS k27), CC (k2, CO 8 with knitted cast on)
[11] RS CC(k3, kfb, k1, kfb, k2 ktbl, k1), MC (k22, w+t,
   WS k8, w+t
[12] RS k15, CCtail (k2, turn
   WS sl1, k1), MC (k29), CC (k16, kfb, k5)
[13] RS CC (BO11, k2), MC (k19, kfb, k2, w+t,
   WS k16, w+t
[14] RS k17, kfb, k2, w+t,
   WS k24, w+t
[15] RS k1, kfb, k18, k1, w+t,
   WS k17, w+t
[16] RS k2, kfb, k13, kfb, k3, w+t,
   WS k31, w+t

[17] RS k1, kfb, k8, kfb, k13, kfb, k2, w+t,
   WS k32), CC (k2)
[18] RS CC (sl1, k1), MC (k2, kfb, k12, kfb, k10, kfb, k1, w+t,
   WS k16, w+t
[19] RS k2, kfb, k14, kfb, k1, w+t,
   WS k33, w+t
[20] RS k1, kfb, k14, kfb, k16, kfb, k7), CCtail (k2, turn
   WS sl1, k1), MC (k45, w+t
[21] RS k2, kfb, k32, kfb, w+t,
   WS k19, w+t
[22] RS k2, kfb, k17, kfb, kfb, w+t,
   WS k39, w+t
[23] RS k1, kfb, k41, w+t,
   WS k50), CC (k2)
[24] RS CC (sl1, k all
   WS sl1, k all
Bind off in CC.

Once you've finished your pear there will be a small indentation at the bottom of the pear. This can be sewn closed with the tail end of your yarn before weaving in the end.

Socks with Mini-Cables ...

... or "It Is Important to Choose the Right Yarn"

I wanted to knit a pair of socks with some sock yarn (slightly variegated) that I had bought a few years ago. My pattern "requirements" were simply that I wanted an easy pattern, but not too boring. So I decided on a pattern of mini cables - C2B cables to be precise.
When I had knitted a few of the pattern repeats I noticed that the cabling was barely visible :/ Nevertheless, I finished because ... well ... I wanted a sock that fitted me and I didn't mind too much about the pattern. But I learned (again) that it is quite important to choose a yarn that fits the stitch pattern you're using. The yarn that I used was a bit too wild in color (and probably too dark), so that the stitch pattern didn't really show.
But anyway, I've got a new pair of socks - knitted toe up with an afterthought heel.
Below (in section "Stitch Pattern) you find a photo of the same pattern knitted in yarn with a solid color.

This is NOT a complete knitting pattern, but just a sketch or rather a stitch pattern (over 8 stitches and 12 rows) that can be used for socks. It only works for socks with a number of stitches that is a multiple of 8.
For socks there are many general instructions and tutorials around, I have linked to some in the Techniques section of this post.


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




Materials

• about 60 to 80 grams of fingering weight yarn
• 2.5 mm needles, e.g. dpns
• a tapestry needle (for grafting and weaving in ends)
• scrap yarn (for afterthought heel)

Techniques

• Judy's Magic Cast-On is 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.
• C2B cables without a cable needle - as shown in this video by Purl Avenue 
• Afterthought heel: A great overview how to do an afterthought heel can be found here at dummies.com. Knit Purl Hunter has a series of three YouTube videos where the steps to knit an afterthought heel are shown.
  - placing the scrap yarn
  - removing the scrap yarn
  - knitting the heel.
• And knitting an afterthought heel includes kitchener stitch: e.g. as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits (even though she uses it to graft the toe of a cuff-down sock :) 
• 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. For the heel as knitted here, make a mark at 5 cm from the end of the heel.
  If you want to knit a pair for someone else and cannot get a template, here are standard shoe size templates.  

Stitch Pattern
The stitch pattern consists of a repeat of 8 stitches and 12 rounds.
Round 1: * p1 C2B p1 k2 p1 repeat from *
Round 2 and all even rounds: * p1 k2 p1 repeat from *
Round 3 = Round 1
Round 5 = Round 1
Round 7: * p1 k2 p1 C2B  p1 repeat from *
Round 9 = Round 7
Round 11 = Round 7
Below you can find a chart as well as a photo of this stitch pattern in a solid color yarn.

Instructions

Toe

With the magic CO cast on 2x10 stitches

To get a rounded toe, my usual toe is:

• 4 x increases in every row
• 2 x increases in every 2nd row
• 2 x increases in every 3rd row
• then increases every 4th row ... until wide enough

This means:

Round 1: Knit all - while placing stitch markers after 10 sts and at the end of the round - alternatively divide the stitches on your needles in such a way that you know exacly where one half of your stitches are.

Round 2 (increase round): * k1, kfb, k to one before marker, kfb, k1, slip marker repeat from *

Rounds 3 to 5 = increase rounds

Round 6 (neutral round): k all 

Round 7 = increase round
Round 8 = neutral round
Round 9 = increase round
Rounds 10 to 11 = neutral round
Round 12 = increase round
Rounds 13 to 14 = neutral round
Round 15 = increase round
Rounds 16 to 18 = neutral round
Round 19 = increase round
Repeat rounds 16 to 19 until the sock is wide enough and your stitch count is a multiple of 8.

Remove the marker that marks the middle of the round, but leave the one that marks the beginning of the round.

Foot
Knit the front part in pattern (I knitted 3.5 repeats - in width) and the back (sole) part in plain stockinette.

Continue until the piece is long enough to start the heel.

Heel Preparation
Slip the front stitches and knit the stitches of the sole with scrap yarn.

Cuff
Like foot, but with pattern on front and back

Ribbing
Knit 9 rows of p1k2p1-ribbing (i.e. k2p2 ribbing with an offset of 1 purl stitch) and bind off in pattern.

Finish heel.

Weave in ends.
Make two.

Dreieck - Triangular Garter Stitch Coasters

I seem to have lost my knitting mojo ... somehow all ideas for bigger items (such as scarfs) don't work the way I'd like. Plus, it's quite hot over here - too hot for holding a bigger project. So I decided to knit small geometric shapes from cotton yarn.
I started with an oblong rectangle ... and here's a free knitting pattern for an equilateral triangle - constructed with short rows and all in garter stitch.
The finished pieces can be used as coasters, doily or potholders.
As to the name, "Dreieck" is the German word for triangle.

Eine deutsche Version dieser Anleitung findet sich hier.
There is also a german version of this pattern - available here.



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






Materials

• yarn - for the small one I used about 8 grams, for the bigger one 13 grams of Schachenmayr yarn (Catania Color, if I remember correctly)
• appropriate knitting needles (I used 2.5 mm needles)
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook for the provisional cast on
• tapestry needle for grafting and to weave in ends

Techniques

• 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.
• Picking up and knit stitches from the side: Insert the needle into the front leg of the edge stitch from back to front and draw your working yarn through. In case of this pattern you only need to pick up one stitch at a time.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Construction

When knitting this piece you start with a provisional CO. During the first part, the rows are getting shorter (1 stitch every 2nd rigde) - and getting longer again during part 2 (also by 1 stitch every 2nd row). This is repeated three times - and then the piece is finished by grafting in garter stitch.


Size
The pattern is written in a way that it can be adapted to different sizes. The length of your cast on is about one forth of the height of the triagle.

For the smaller one, I did a CO of 10 sts - its height is about 13 cm, each side measures about 16 cm.
For the bigger one, I CO 13 sts, its height measures a bit more than 16 cm and each side 19 cm.


Instructions

Do a provisional CO of the calculated number of stitches (e.g. 10 sts) and knit the first row.

Part 1
Ridge 1: k up to last st, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: k up to last wrapped st, turn (without wrapping), sl1, k to end
Ridge 3: k up to 1 st before the last wrapped stitch, w+t, k to end
Repeat ridges 2 and 3 until the last knitted row consists of 1 st and the w+t.

Part 2
Ridge 1: k1, w+t, k1
Ridge 2: k up to and including first wrap, pick up one st from the side, turn (without wrapping), ssk, k to end
Ridge 3: k up to and including ssk from last row, w+t, k to end
Repeat ridges 2 and 3 until you've wrapped the last st of the row.

Inbetween Ridge: k to end, turn, sl1, k to end

Part 3 = Part 1
Part 4 = Part 2

Inbetween Ridge: k to end, turn, sl1, k to end

Part 5 = Part 1
Part 6 = Part 2

Finishing
Put the stitches from the provisional CO on the second needle - cut your yarn, but leave a tail long enough for grafting.
Graft in garter stitch.
If there is a small hole in the middle of the piece, use the end to sew it closed.
Weave in ends.

Dreieck - Kraus rechts gestrickter Untersetzer

Derzeit habe ich das Gefühl, dass alle meine "größeren" Strick-Ideen (z.B. für Schals oder Tücher) nicht wirklich funktionieren - außerdem ist es derzeit sowieso zu heiß, um ein großes Teil beim Stricken auf dem Schoß liegen zu haben. Daher habe ich angefangen, kleinere geometrische Formen zu stricken (mit Baumwolle, weil es in diesem Wetter angenehmer ist :)
Angefangen habe ich mit einem sehr länglichen Rechteck (hier die Anleitung dazu auf Englisch). Und hier jetzt die Anleitung für ein gleichseitiges Dreieck - komplett kraus rechts gestrickt. Das Projekt ist eine interessante kleine Übung, wie verkürzte Reihen dazu verwendet werden können, um Formen zu stricken.
Das fertige Stück kann als Untersetzer, Topflappen o.ä. verwendet werden.

Dieses Werk von Knitting and so on ist lizenziert unter einer Creative Commons Namensnennung - Nicht-kommerziell - Weitergabe unter gleichen Bedingungen 4.0 International Lizenz.



Die englische Version dieser Anleitung findet sich hier.
An english Version of this pattern is available here.




Material

• Garn - ich habe Catania Color von Schachenmayr verwendet (wahrscheinlich, finde leider die Banderole nicht mehr), für den kleineren Untersetzer habe ich ca. 8 gr benötigt, für den größeren 13 gr 
• Stricknadeln - ich habe 2.5 mm Nadeln verwendet
• einen Garnrest und eine Häkelnadel für den provisorischen Maschenanschlag 
• eine Nähnadel für den Maschenstich und um Enden zu vernähen 

Techniken

• Provisorischer Maschenanschlag mit Häkelnadel - erläutert in diesem YouTube-Video von nadelspiel * Stricken & Häkeln mit eliZZZa
• Verkürzte Reihen mit Wickelmasche - gezeigt in diesem YouTube Video von Maschenfein Berlin für glatt rechts. In dieser Anleitung verwendet ich die englische Abkürzung w+t (wrap and turn, zu deutsch: wickeln und wenden).
• Maschen vom Seitenrand aufnehmen - gezeigt in diesem YouTube Video von Sylvie Rasch - CraSy creative things - im Video nimmt sie die Maschen aus einem Knötchenrand auf, in dieser Anleitung nimmt man die Maschen von einem Kettrand auf, was das Einstechen in die Masche etwas einfacher macht, aber sonst gleich ist.
• ssk: zwei Maschen nach links geneigt zusammenstricken (siehe dieses Video von Drops)
• Maschenstich in Kraus-Rechts-Gestrick - hier ist ein deutsches YouTube-Video von Mausbrot, das diese Technik zeigt. In diesem (englischen) Video von knittinghelp.com (in besserer Bildqualität) wird dieselbe Technik gezeigt. Eine sehr gute (deutsche) Erläuterung findet sich in diesem Blogpost von Lanade.

Konstruktion

Du beginnst mit einem provisorischen Maschenanschlag. Während du den ersten Teil strickst, werden die Reihen kürzer - und zwar um eine Masche alle zwei Rippen. Im Teil 2 werden die Reihen wieder länger - auch um jeweils eine Masche alle zwei Reihen.
Dies wird insgesamt dreimal gestrickt - und dann mit einem Maschenstich beendet.


Größe
Die Anleitung ist so geschrieben, dass du sie auf eine beliebige Größe anpassen kannst.
Dabei entspricht die Länge des provisorischen Maschenanschlages in etwa einem Viertel der Höhe des Dreiecks (von Unterkante bis zur gegenüberliegenden Spitze).
Ich habe für den kleineren Untersetzer 10 Maschen angeschlagen (Höhe etwa 13 cm, Kantenlänge ca. 16 cm). Für den größeren waren es 13 Maschen (Höhe etwas mehr als 16 cm und Kantenlänge etwa 19 cm).



Anleitung

Provisorischen Maschenanschlag der gewünschten Maschenzahl (z.B. 10 M) und allererste Reihe in Arbeitsgarn stricken.

Teil 1
Rippe 1: re. M. bis vor die letzte Masche, w+t, re. M. bis zum Ende
Rippe 2: re. M. bis vor die Wickelmasche, wenden (ohne zu wickeln), erste M. wie zum links stricken abheben, re. M. bis zum Ende
Rippe 3: re. M. bis zu einer Masche vor der Wickelmasche, w+t, re. M. bis zum Ende
Rippen 2 und 3 sooft wiederholen bis die letzte Reihe nur aus einer gestrickten Masche und einer Wickelmasche besteht.

Teil 2
Rippe 1: 1 re. M. w+t, 1 re. M.
Ridge 2: re. M. bis zu erster Wickelmasche, diese Wickelmasche abstricken, eine Masche aus der Seite aufnehmen (aus abgehobenen Randmasche), wenden (ohne zu wickeln), ssk, re. M. bis zum Ende
Ridge 3: re. M. bis zum ssk der letzten Rippe, diese ssk-Masche abstricken, w+t, k re. M. bis zum Ende
Rippen 2 und 3 sooft wiederholen, bis die letzte Masche der Reihe gewickelt wird.

Zwischenrippe: re. M. bis zum Ende, wenden, erste M. wie zum links stricken abheben, re. M. bis zum Ende

Teil 3 = Teil 1
Teil 4 = Teil 2

Zwischenrippe: re. M. bis zum Ende, wenden, erste M. wie zum links stricken abheben, re. M. bis zum Ende

Teil 5 = Teil 1
Teil 6 = Teil 2

Ende
Die Maschen vom provisorischen Maschenanschlag auf die zweite Nadel nehmen. Garn abschneiden, aber so viel dran lassen, dass es für den Maschenstich über eine Reihe ausreicht.
Die beiden Seiten mit Maschenstich (in Kraus-Rechts) verbinden.
Falls sich in der Mitte des Dreiecks ein kleines Loch befindet, dieses mit dem Garnende zunähen. Die beiden Endfäden vernähen.
Fertig!

Rechteck - Rectangular Garter Stitch Doily

Currently, it's really hot in my part of the world ... so hot, in fact, that I really don't feel like knitting, especially not something like scarfs, cowls, fingerless gloves or other things that I usually like.
One of the few yarns that can be knitted comfortably in high summer is cotton ... and a project that is sufficently "summery" is a doily or coaster. For this one, I tried to do a bit of shaping to get  rectangle. This was actually a test knit for a bath rug I wanted to make out of t-shirt yarn, but I didn't like the shaping for that purpose. However, the piece can be used as a doily, a placemat, a washcloth or a potholder.

"Rechteck" is the german word for rectangle.



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






Materials

• yarn (for the grey piece I used about 60 grams of DK weight cotton yarn)
• appropriate knitting needles
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook for the provisional cast on
• tapestry needle for grafting and to weave in ends

Techniques

• 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.
• Picking up and knit stitches from the side: Insert the needle into the front leg of the edge stitch from back to front and draw your working yarn through. In case of this pattern you only need to pick up one stitch at a time.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.

Construction
When knitting this piece you start with a provisional CO. During the first part, the rows are getting shorter (one stitch every two ridges). In part 2, the ridges are getting longer again (two stitches for every ridge). Parts 3 and 4 are parts 2 and 1 backwards. You have then knitted a square and turned your knitting by 180°.
Parts 5 to 8, are a repeat of parts 1 to 4.
After knitting around four corners and the two sides (CO and last row) are grafted in garter stitch.

The pattern is written in a way, that you can adapt it to the size you want. To calculate the final size, multiply the width of the sts you cast on by 2 for the height and by 4 for the width.

Instructions

Provisionally CO the calculated number of sts with scrap yarn and knit the first row with your working yarn. I did 22 sts for the grey piece and 18 sts for the purple one.

Part 1
Ridge 1: sl1, k up to last st, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: sl1, k up to last wrap, turn (without wrapping), sl1, k to end
Ridge 3: sl1, k to 1 sts before last wrap, w+t, k to end
Repeat ridge 2 and 3 until your last row was only 1 st long.

Part 2
Ridge 1: sl1, w+t, k to end
Ridge 2: sl1, k1, pick up 1 st (from a slipped stitch), w+t, k to end
Ridge 3: sl1, k up to last wrapped stitch, k1, pick up 1 st, w+t, k to end
Repeat ridge 3 until all stitch on your needle are used.
You should by then have knitted as many ridges in part 2 as the number of stitches that you cast on in the beginning of part 1 - and your stitch count should be twice the number of your CO.

Part 3
Ridge 1: sl1, k to end, turn, sl1, k to end
Ridge 2: sl1, k up to last st, w+t, k to end
Ridge 3: sl1, k to 2 bef last wrap, w+t, k to end
Repeat ridge 3 until the last row is only 1 or 2 sts long

Part 4
Ridge 1: sl1, w+t, k1
Ridge 2: sl1, k2tog, turn, sl1, k to end
Ridge 3: sl1, k up to and including k2tog of last ridge, w+t, k to end
Ridge 4: sl1, k up to last wrap, k2tog, turn, k to end
Repeat ridges 3 and 4 until all sts on your needle are used.

Inbetween Ridge: sl1, k to end, turn, sl1 k to end

Part 5
= Part 1

Part 6
= Part 2

 Part 7
= Part 3

Part 8
= Part 4

Finishing:
Put the stitches from the provisional CO on the second needle - cut your yarn, but leave a tail long enough for grafting.
Graft in garter stitch.
If there is a small hole in the middle of the piece, use the end to sew it closed.
Weave in ends

It's more comfortable to rest my arms on a piece of knitted cotton than right on my desk - especially in hot weather

Negative Spaces Scarf

I like experimenting with my knitting. At the same time I think limitations lead to (more) creative solutions and designs. One of my preferred limitations is that I do not like to cut my yarn before I've completely finished a knitted piece. So when I saw a picture of knitted “holes” somewhere on the internet, I resolved to find a way to do this without cutting yarn.
This scarf is knitted in garter stitch only, but with square shaped holes. Once you've mastered how to do the square holes, it's good TV or travel knitting.

This pattern contains a photo tutorial on how to knit the square holes without cutting the yarn, instructions on how to knit a small swatch to get the hang of the technique and of course the instructions to knit this scarf.

The PDF is 6 pages long and available for purchase

• on Ravelry,
• on Loveknitting, 
• on Payhip, and
• on Gumroad.

Materials

• about 300 grams of lace weight yarn  – I used Wollmeise Lace – colorway “Pfefferminz Prinz”
• 3.25 mm knitting needles - I used circulars, but straight needles will do as well
• a removable stitch marker to mark the RS (scrap yarn or a safety pin works as well)
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Gauge and Size
In garter stitch 10 ridges (i.e. 20 rows) gave 5 cm in height, 11 stitches gave 5 cm in width. This was measured on a unblocked piece.
The finished scarf measures about 42 cm in width and about 200 cm in length (blocked).


Necessary Skills
Besides plain garter stitch you need the following skills to complete this project:

• Backwards Loop CO
• k2togtbl - knitting two stitches together through the back loop