Wölkchen Washcloth

Currently, I seem to be obsessed with intarsia knitting ... but since I do not like to weave in ends (AT ALL), I try to do everything with a maximum of two skeins (or bobbins) of yarn. In the instance of this piece, I wanted to achieve a white cloud shape on blue background. And since the background is above and below as well as left and right of the white cloud, I needed to knit around the center to only have two active skeins.

Yes, I know that it would have been perfectly easy to just knit it in plain intarsia style with three bobbins of yarn (two blue, one white) in a rectangle from bottom to top. But I really (really, really) wanted to achieve this with only two of them (one blue, one white).

Since it is knitted with intarsia technique the WS of the piece looks OK. It is knitted all in garter stitch, which gives it a squishy texture. Of course, this piece can not only be used as a washcloth, but also as a potholder or coaster.

As to the name, Wölkchen is the german word for a small cloud or a puff of a cloud.

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

Materials

• a total of 30 grams of Sports or DK weight yarn in two colors (however, you can use other yarn weights as well)
• 3.5mm needles (or the needles that the yarn calls for)
• scrap yarn and crochet hook for provisional CO
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends 

Techniques & Notation

• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy. That way you don't have to carry long strands on the WS. The picture below shows the RS and WS of the piece.

• Throughout the pattern, the following notation is used:  C1 (k4); C2 (k10, w+t, k10); C1 (k to end) means, knit 4 stitches in C1, change to C2 and knit 10 sts, do a wrap and turn, knit 10 stitches and then change back to C1 and k to end. I.e. color is indicated before the knitting instructions for that yarn. the knitting instructions for that yarn are given in brackets after the color and color changes are indicated by a semicolon.  
• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits.
  Since this washcloth is knit in garter stitch, you don't have to pick up your wraps - except in two rows, i.e. the rows where the wrapping color is different from the color of the wrapped stitch. These rows are indicated in the pattern. Here's a YouTube video that shows how to pick up your wraps (also by Very Pink Knits).
• Note: in some rows the wrap has to be made just at the color change in the row below, e.g. Ridge B11 where you knit 11 sts in C1 and the 12 stitch that is to be wrapped was knitted in C2. In this case, it's advisable to change the color (as if to knit the next stitch in the new color), wrap and turn in the new color, and then to change back. This gives nicer color edges.
• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provisional 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. 

Construction

The washcloth is knitted in 5 parts. It starts with a provisional CO. Then each row is a stitch shorter than the last one, One part ends, when the row is only 1 stitch long - then the next part begins and each row is one stitch longer than the last one until all stitches are knitted and we've sucessfully knitted around a corner. Then the row length is getting shorter again for the next corner. 

After knitting around four corners and the two sides (CO and last row) are grafted in garter stitch.

Instructions

Part A

With scrap yarn provisionally CO 18 sts

Row 0: C2 (k4), C1 (k14)
Ridge A1: C1 (k13); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k13)
Ridge A2: C1 (k12); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k12)

Ridge A3: C1 (k11); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k11)

Ridge A4: C1 (k11); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k11)

Ridge A5: C1 (k11); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k11)

Ridge A6: C1 (k11); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1 (k11)

Ridge A7: C1 (k11, w+t, k11)

Ridge A8: C1 (k10, w+t, k10)

Ridge A9: C1 (k9, w+t, k9)
Ridge A10: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)
Ridge A11: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge A12: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge A13: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge A14: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)
Ridge A15: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge A16: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge A17: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)

Part B
Ridge B1: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)
Ridge B2: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge B3: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge B4: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)

Ridge B5: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge B6: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge B7: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge B8: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)
Ridge B9: C1 (k9, w+t, k9)
Ridge B10: C1 (k10, w+t, k10)
Ridge B11: C1 (k11, w+t, k11)
Rigde B12: C1 (k11); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1 (k11)
Rigde B13: C1 (k10); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k10)
Rigde B14: C1 (k10); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k10)
Rigde B15: C1 (k9); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k9)
Rigde B16: C1 (k9); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k9)
Rigde B17: C1 (k8); C2 (k9, w+t, k9); C1 (k8)

Rigde B18: C1 (k7); C2 (k11, turn, k11); C1 (k7)

Rigde B19: C1 (k5); C2 (k12, w+t, k12); C1 (k5)
Rigde B20: C1 (k4); C2 (k12, w+t, k12); C1 (k4)
Rigde B21: C1 (k4); C2 (k11, w+t, k11); C1 (k4)

Rigde B22: C1 (k4); C2 (k10, w+t, k10); C1 (k4)

Rigde B23: C1 (k5); C2 (k8, w+t, k8); C1 (k5)
Rigde B24: C1 (k5); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k5)
Rigde B25: C1 (k6); C2 (k5, w+t, k5); C1 (k6)
Rigde B26: C1 (k7); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k7)

Rigde B27: C1 (k8); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1 (k8)

Ridge B28: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)
Ridge B29: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge B30: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge B31: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge B32: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)
Ridge B33: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge B34: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge B35: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)

Part C

Ridge C1: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)
Ridge C2: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge C3: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge C4: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)

Ridge C5: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge C6: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge C7: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge C8: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)

Rigde C9: C1 (k8); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1 (k8)
Rigde C10: C1 (k8); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k8)

Rigde C11: C1 (k8); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k8)

Rigde C12: C1 (k9); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k9)
Rigde C13: C1 (k10); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k10)
Rigde C14: C1 (k11); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k11)
Rigde C15: C1 (k10); C2 (k5, w+t, k5); C1 (k10)
Rigde C16: C1 (k9); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k9)
Rigde C17: C1 (k9); C2 (k8, w+t, k8); C1 (k9)
Rigde C18: C1 (k9); C2 (k9, turn, k9); C1 (k9)

Rigde C19: C1 (k8); C2 (k9, w+t, k9); C1 (k8)

Rigde C20: C1 (k8); C2 (k8, w+t, k8); C1 (k8)

Rigde C21: C1 (k7); C2 (k8, w+t, k8); C1 (k7)
Rigde C22: C1 (k7); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k7)

Rigde C23: C1 (k7); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k7)

Rigde C24: C1 (k7); C2 (k5, w+t, k5); C1 (k7)
Rigde C25: C1 (k7); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k7)
Rigde C26: C1 (k8); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k8)

Rigde C27: C1 (k8); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1 (k8)

Ridge C28: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)
Ridge C29: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge C30: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge C31: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge C32: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)
Ridge C33: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge C34: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge C35: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)

Part D

Ridge D1: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)
Ridge D2: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge D3: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge D4: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)

Ridge D5: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge D6: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge D7: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge D8: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)

Rigde D9: C1 (k7); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k7)
Rigde D10: C1 (k6); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k6)
Rigde D11: C1 (k5); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k5)

Rigde D12: C1 (k5); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k5)

Rigde D13: C1 (k4); C2 (k9, w+t, k9); C1 (k4)

Rigde D14: C1 (k4); C2 (k10, w+t, k10); C1 (k4)

Rigde D15: C1 (k3); C2 (k12, w+t, k12); C1 (k3)

Rigde D16: C1 (k3); C2 (k13, w+t, k13); C1 (k3)

Rigde D17: C1 (k3); C2 (k14, w+t, k14); C1 (k3)

Rigde D18: C1 (k4); C2 (k14, turn, k14); C1 (k4)

Rigde D19: C1 (k5); C2 (k12, w+t, k12); C1 (k5)

Rigde D20: C1 (k7); C2 (k9, w+t, k9); C1 (k7)

Rigde D21: C1 (k8); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k8)
Rigde D22: C1 (k8); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k8)

Rigde D23: C1 (k9); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k9)

Rigde D24: C1 (k9); C2 (k3, w+t, k3); C1 (k9)

Rigde D25: C1 (k10); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1 (k10)

Ridge D26: C1 (k10, w+t, k10)
Ridge D27: C1 (k9, w+t, k9)
Ridge D28: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)
Ridge D29: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge D30: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge D31: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge D32: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)
Ridge D33: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge D34: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge D35: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)

Part E

Ridge E1: C1 (k1, w+t, k1)
Ridge E2: C1 (k2, w+t, k2)
Ridge E3: C1 (k3, w+t, k3)
Ridge E4: C1 (k4, w+t, k4)

Ridge E5: C1 (k5, w+t, k5)
Ridge E6: C1 (k6, w+t, k6)
Ridge E7: C1 (k7, w+t, k7)
Ridge E8: C1 (k8, w+t, k8)
Ridge E9: C1 (k9, w+t, k9)
Ridge E10: C1 (k10, w+t, k10)

Rigde E11: C1 (k9); C2 (k2, w+t, k2); C1 (k9)
Rigde E12: C1 (k7); C2 (k5, w+t, k5); C1 (k7)
Rigde E13: C1 (k6); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k6)

Rigde E14: C1 (k6); C2 (k8, w+t, k8); C1 (k6)

Rigde E15: C1 (k6); C2 (k9, w+t, k9); C1 (k6)

Rigde E16: C1 (k8); C2 (k8, w+t, k8); C1 (k8)
Rigde E17: C1 (k11); C2 (k6, w+t, k6); C1 (k11)

Graft in garter stitch: 14 sts in C1 (blue) and 4 sts in C2 (white)

Finishing

After grafting there is still a small hole in the middle of the piece - you can sew this closed with your yarn tail. Sew in ends afterwards.

Chart
When I designed this piece I worked from a piece of squared paper with the cloud drawn on. So, if you too, prefer to work from a chart, here's one. The numbers in front of the ridge indicate the number of stitches per color - the blue number for the C1 stitches and the black number for the C2 stitches. To make the counting a bit easier, there are dotted pink lines after every 5 stitches.

Wölkchen Washcloth Chart - click on picture to enlarge or here for a PDF of the chart (link update 03.10.21)

This post was featured at Link and Share Wednesday Link Party No. 203 at Oombawka Design. Thank you!

Pencil Holders - Knitter's Version

I like my stuff to state - loud and clear - that I am a knitter. That's why I sometimes decorate items in my home with pieces of my knitting. This was also the case with these pencil holders. In true recycling fashion I used old tin cans as basis - I painted them, knitted a few small pieces using old yarn leftovers to fit them and glued the knitting to the cans. The first ones were knitted in random lace style which creates an organic look.
I really love how they turned out. The finished pieces look very stylish on your desk ... and of course they can be used to hold some of your knitting equipment as well :)

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



Materials

• old tin cans or old glass jars
• acryllic paint
• yarn (leftovers?)
• knitting needles appropriate for the yarn
• craft glue

Techniques ...
... if you like the random lace look of the purple containers

• Random Lace: a tutorial on how to knit these random lace pieces can be found in this blogpost about an ebook sleeve. 
• 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 lace: Joni Coniglio has written several brilliant post on grafting in general and also on grafting lace - this one and this one.
  I guess this project is perfect to try the stitches (or formulas) because it doesn't really matter if you get one of them wrong - as long as you keep your number of stitches (it is RANDOM lace, after all).

Alternatively, you can just knit your piece with your preferred CO and BO and in any stitch pattern you like (e.g. plain garter stitch) and sew the edges together.

How-To

• Clean containers and remove labels (this blogpost by The Creek Line House explains how to do this without residue).
• Paint them with acryllic paint in your favorite color - I painted two coats on the outside and one on the inside.
• Measure your containers (height and circumference) and knit a piece that fits these measurements. I did plain garter stitch stripes (the tins painted white) and a few random lace pieces (the tins painted purple). I have written a tutorial on how to knit random lace a few years ago - you can find it here.
• If you've knitted a lace piece (random or otherwise), be sure to block it to size. It will look much nicer than before. I you've knitted a different stitch pattern, you may skip the blocking part - I did not block the garter stitch pieces.
• If you haven't grafted your piece, sew ends together to form a tube, pull it over your container and glue the knitted piece to your container. Let the glue dry and you're done.

She sells seashells on the sea shore - Seashell Coasters

Over where I live it's recently been quite hot and I was in the mood for a little project with a summery, beachy holiday feeling. That's why I tried to knit a few coasters in a seashell shape. It took me a while to get the shape right, but I'm quite happy with them. They are lovely to put under a cool drink in summer. Furthermore, as a very small piece they are great to practice new knitting techniques - in this case short rows and intarsia.

Actually, the inspiration for the tongue twister "She sells seashells on the sea shore" in the title was a person: Mary Anning, an English fossil collector in the 19th century who found and correctly identified quite a few Jurassic fossils, but never received much credit in her lifetime.

An adaption of this pattern for loom knitting has been written by SparkiLady (Ravelry-Name) - it is available here.

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





Materials/Size

• per coaster I used less than 10 grams of DK weight cotton, but other yarn weights will work as well
• I used 3mm dpns
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

With the yarn I used, the coasters were about 11 cm high and 17 cm wide (at their widest point).

Techniques & Notation

• Long-Tail Cast On: As shown in this YouTube video by Studio Knit
• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy.
  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 6 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.

• Short Rows (t+p): Short rows are one of my favorite knitting techniques because they not only allow you to shape your knitting but also to created interesting graphical pattern. There are several techniques for short rows – and it’s a matter of taste which one you prefer. I’ve recently learned a technique called German short rows: when you turn, bring yarn to the front and pull it back so that a sort of double-stitch is created, then knit back as usual - when you have to knit the double-stitch, be careful to knit it as one stitch (see also this YouTube video); this method has the advantage the no picking up of stitches is necessary. In the pattern, this stitch will be called t+p (turn and pull).
  When the pattern says, t+p it means that the stitch you just knitted should be pulled, i.e. you don't have to knit another stitch to t+p.
• Throughout the pattern, the following notation will be used: "CC (k2); MC (k13, t+p, k12); CC(k2) 13, w+t, k13)"   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 
• 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.

Instructions

CO21 in CC with long tail CO, but leave a tail of at least 80 cm - this tail will be used to knit the CC edge stitches on this side of the piece.
Setup Row: k all sts
Ridge 1: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k17); CCtail (k2, turn, sl1, k1); MC (k17); CC (k2)
Ridge 2: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k12, t+p, k11); CC (k2)
Ridge 3: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k8, t+p, k7); CC (k2)
Ridge 4: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k1, kfb, k1 t+p, k3); CC (k2)
Ridge 5: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k7, t+p, k6); CC (k2)
Ridge 6: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k11, t+p, k10); CC (k2)
Ridge 7: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k15, t+p, k14); CC (k2)
Ridge 8: CC (sl1, k21, turn, sl1, k21)
Ridge 9: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k18); CCtail (k2, turn, sl1, k1); MC (k18); CC (k2)
Ridge 10: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k13, t+p, k12); CC (k2)
Ridge 11: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k9, t+p, k8); CC (k2)
Ridge 12: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k1, kfb, k2, t+p, k4); CC (k2)
Ridge 13: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k8, t+p, k7); CC (k2)
Ridge 14: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k12, t+p, k11); CC (k2)
Ridge 15: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k16, t+p, k15); CC (k2)
Ridge 16: CC (sl1, k22, turn, sl1, k22)
Ridge 17: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k19); CCtail (k2, turn, sl1, k1); MC (k19); CC (k2)
Ridge 18: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k1, kfb, k10, t+p, k12); CC (k2)
Ridge 19: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k11, t+p, k10); CC (k2)
Ridge 20: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k7, t+p, k6); CC (k2)
Ridge 21: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k5, t+p, k4); CC (k2)
Ridge 22: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k9, t+p, k8); CC (k2)
Ridge 23: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k12, t+p, k11); CC (k2)
Ridge 24: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k1, ssk, k12, t+p, k13); CC (k2)
Ridge 25: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k19); CCtail (k2, turn, sl1, k1); MC (k19); CC (k2)
Ridge 26: CC (sl1, k22, turn, sl1, k22)
Ridge 27: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k16, t+p, k15); CC (k2)
Ridge 28: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k12, t+p, k11); CC (k2)
Ridge 29: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k8, t+p, k7); CC (k2)
Ridge 30: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k1, ssk, k3, t+p, k4); CC (k2)
Ridge 31: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k9, t+p, k8); CC (k2)
Ridge 32: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k13, t+p, k12); CC (k2)
Ridge 33: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k18); CCtail (k2, turn, sl1, k1); MC (k18); CC (k2)
Ridge 34: CC (sl1, k21, turn, sl1, k21)
Ridge 35: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k15, t+p, k14); CC (k2)
Ridge 36: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k11, t+p, k10); CC (k2)
Ridge 37: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k7, t+p, k6); CC (k2)
Ridge 38: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k1, ssk, k2, t+p, k3); CC (k2)
Ridge 39: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k8, t+p, k7); CC (k2)
Ridge 40: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k12, t+p, k11); CC (k2)
Ridge 41: CC (sl1, k1); MC (k17); CCtail (k2, turn, sl1, k1); MC (k17); CC (k2)
Ridge 42: CC (sl1, k to end, turn; bind off)

Chart

If you prefer to work from a chart, here's one. The numbers in front of the ridge indicate the number of stitches per color - the green number for the CC stitches and the black number for the MC stitches.
The pink dotted line are only there to help you counting. They have a distance of 5 stitches and start at the end of the row - after the last two CC color end stitches.

The cake in this picture is a chocolate babka - I used this recipe (in German)

This post was featured at the Tuesday PINspiration Link Party, at the Brag about it link party 28-17, and at the Sew it, Craft it Cook it Link Party #13. Thank you!