Jolly Waves Cowl

With an eye-catching design and beautiful colors this cowl will keep your spirits up this winter. The gorgeous graphical effect is achieved by the combination of short rows with a feather and fan pattern.

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






Materials

• about 220 grams of DK weight yarn in 3 colors, 100 grams of the main colors each (beige and maroon in the photos - called MC1 and MC2) and 20 grams of the contrast color (off-white in the photos - called CC) - this will yield a double length cowl, i.e. about 125 cm in circumference.
• 3.75 mm knitting needles (straight or circular)
• 6 stitch markers (2 stitch markers to mark the edges and 4 markers to mark the ends of the short rows - these 4 markers will be called M1 to M4)

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): The technique is shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits. For this cowl, I didn't pick up the wraps because with garter stitch the wraps hardly show.
• Grafting Garter Stitch: Shown in this YouTube video by New Stitch a Day. If you want to know all about grafting, please read the brilliant "Grafting Myths" series on Joni Coniglio's blog on knittingdaily.com.
• Carrying yarn up:  If you want to avoid cutting your yarn with every color change (and subsequently to have to weave in too many ends), you will carry up the yarn on the side of your work - this technique is shown in this YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter.

Short Row Sections

The pattern consists of different short row sections that are divided by a garter stitch ridge in the neutral color.

There are four types of section - as shown in the picture above.

• Right Narrow Section
• Left Narrow Section
• Right Wide Section and
• Left Wide Section.

The diagram below shows how the short rows stack up for each section type. Both the photo and the diagram show the RS of the cowl.

Basically, you knit 4 narrow sections (right-left-right-left) and 4 wide sections (also right-left-right-left) with a rigde in a neutral color inbetween. All "right"-sections (i.e. right narrow and right wide section) are knitted in color 1 (MC1), all "left"-sections (i.e. left narrow and left wide section) are knitted in color 2 (MC2) - and all contrast ridges are knitted with the contrast color CC.


Instructions

Provisionally CO 66 stitches and knit one row with CC - leaving a tail long enough to graft these 66 stitches in the end and placing the markers as follows: k3 pm (edge marker) k12 pm (=M1) k12 pm (=M2) k12 pm (=M3) k12 pm (=M4) k12 pm (edge marker) k3

Knit a right narrow section as follows:
With MC1
R1 (RS): k all stitches
R2 (WS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R3, R4 (RS, WS): k up to M1, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R5, R6 (RS, WS): k up to M2, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R7, R8 (RS, WS): k up to M3, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R9, R10 (RS, WS): k up to M4, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif

Knit a contrast ridge as follows
With CC
R1 (RS): k all stitches
R2 (WS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif

Knit a left narow section as follows
With MC2
R1 (RS): k all stitches
R2, R3 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb (you're now at M1), w+t, k all stitches
R4, R5 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M2, w+t, k all stitches
R6, R7 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M3, w+t, k all stitches
R8, R9 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M4, w+t, k all stitches
R10 (WS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif

Knit a contrast ridge.
Knit a right narrow section.
Knit a contrast ridge.
Knit a left narrow section.
Knit a contrast ridge.

Knit a right wide section as follows
With MC1
R1 (RS): k all stitches
R2 (WS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R3, R4 (RS, WS): k up to M1, k6, w+t, ssk ssk kfb kfb, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R5, R6 (RS, WS): k up to M1, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R7, R8 (RS, WS): k up to M2, k6, w+t,  ssk ssk kfb kfb, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R9, R10 (RS, WS): k up to M2, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R11, R12 (RS, WS): k up to M3, k6, w+t, ssk ssk kfb kfb,* kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R13, R14 (RS, WS): k up to M3, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R15, R16 (RS, WS): k up to M4, k6, w+t, ssk ssk kfb kfb, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R17, R18 (RS, WS): k up to M4, w+t, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif
R19, R20 (RS, WS), k3, k6, w+t, ssk ssk kfb kfb, sl3wyif

Knit a contrast ridge.

Knit a left wide section as follows
With MC2
R1 (RS): k all stitches
R2, R3 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, kfb kfb ssk ssk, w+t, k all stitches
R4, R5 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb (you're now at M1), w+t, k all stitches
R6, R7 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb (you're now at M1), kfb kfb ssk ssk, w+t, k all stitches
R8, R9 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M2, w+t, k all stitches
R10, R11 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M2, kfb kfb ssk ssk.  w+t, k all stitches
R12, R13 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M3, w+t, k all stitches
R14, R15 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M3, kfb kfb ssk ssk. w+t, k all stitches
R16, R17 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M4, w+t, k all stitches
R18, R19 (WS, RS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until you are at M4, kfb kfb ssk ssk.  w+t, k all stitches
R20 (WS): sl3wyif, * kfb kfb ssk ssk ssk ssk kfb kfb repeat from * until there are only 3 sts left, sl3wyif

Knit a contrast ridge.
Knit a right wide section.
Knit a contrast ridge
Knit a left wide section.

Repeat this series of sections (right narrow, left narrow, right narrow, left narrow and right wide, left wide, right wide, left wide) - always divided by a ridge in the neutral color - until the cowl is long enough for you. End with a left wide section.

Put the stitches from your provisional cast-on on a needle and graft both ends together - 3 sts in stockinette, then 60 sts in garter stitch and the last 3 again in stockinette stitch. (If you need more detailed instructions for the grafting part, it's the same that has been used for the Mixed Wave Cowl on this blog. Follow the link and you'll find detailed instructions written by Joni Coniglio.

Weave in ends and block.

This pattern was featured at the Hookin' up on Humpday #111 Link Party, the Knitting Love Link Party #5 and at the Link and Share Wednesday Link Party No. 122 by Oombawka Design - thank you!

Octavo Fingerless Gloves

These stylish fingerless gloves will help help to keep your hands warm this fall. With their swirly design they are the perfect eye-catcher and great to show off your variegated yarn.

These mitts are called Octavo because of the eight-shape (octavo meaning one eighth in Spanish), because they are the crochet version of my Pieces of Eight mitts that I published nearly two years ago (both Pieces of Eight and  referring to coins) and - last but not least, because I like the name since the Octavo as a grimoire also plays a role in the library of Unseen University on Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

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




An Italian version of this pattern is available here.


Materials

• about 40 to 45 grams of fingering weight yarn
• a 3mm crochet hook
• 4 removable stitch markers
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Stitches and Techniques

• ch: chain 
• sc: single crochet
• sctbl: single crochet through back loop: http://crochet.about.com/od/crochetterms/tp/back-loops-only-or-blo.htm
• sl st: slip stitch: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-crochet-the-slip-stitch.html
• inc: increase by working 2 single crochet stitches into 1 sc below (in case of part 2 of this pattern, it's 2 sctbl into the sctbl below): http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-increase-with-single-crochet.html
• dec or sctog: decrease by working 2 single crochet stitches together (in case of this pattern all dec sts are crocheted through the back loop of the 2 underlying stitches: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-decrease-single-crochet.html 
• join: joining pieces with crochet: in order to join to pieces (or, in case of this pattern, the two sides of one piece) hold the pieces together with wrong sides facing and insert the crochet hook into both pieces at the same time, a foto tutorial can be found here (scroll down to “Joining with Crochet” http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/FEATwin08TT.php)
• [y]*x: work the sequence y (within the brackets) x times.
• [y] until / to x: work the sequence y (within the brackets) until the condition or point x is met.
• crochet short rows (as done in this pattern (*)): work sc's (or sctbl's) up to the stitch indicated, then turn work (without a turning-chain) and start into the 2nd sc; when you're working over this turn in a following row, always crochet into the turning-sc as well.
  (*) there may be different methods out there, feel free to try them.
• Foundation Chain: This YouTube-video by the Crochet Crowd explains how to do a foundation chain. 

Size and Possible Adjustments

The finished mitts are about 18 cm high and between 19 cm (at the widest point) and 16 cm in circumference.

• The width of the circumference is easily changed by crocheting a few rows more or less in part 3.
• If the thumb is too small for you, you can
  a) crochet it with a bigger crochet hook and change back to a 3mm hook when starting part 2,
  b) make it a few stitches wider but then adjust the number of increases in row 1 on part 2 that you end up with 31 stitches or
  c) do a thumb construction as explained in the Kreisel Fingerless Gloves and pick up 24 sts around it (or adjust the number of increases in row 1 on part 2 that you end up with 31 stitches).

General Construction

These fingerless gloves are worked in three parts as shown in the picture on the right hand side.

Part 1 (the thumb) is crocheted in the round. Then a longer chain is added to prepare for the eight-shape crocheted in part 2 - during this part increases are made around the thumb and decreases are made with the newly chained stitches. This part is crocheted back and forth.
During part 3 the part that covers the back of your hands is done - also back and forth. In the end, the upper edge of this part is connected to the other side of the glove.


Instructions

The pattern starts with a foundation chain because it’s stretchier than a normal crochet chain – alternatively you can start with a normal chain and a bigger hook just for the chain row.

Part 1: Thumb

Do 14 foundation chain sts and join in round with slip stitch
Round 1: sc all stitches - then go on (as in amigurumi – no connections with slip stitch etc.)
Repeat this round  5 more times
R6: sc 4, inc, sc 4, inc, sc4
R7 : sc all stitches
R8 : sc 2, inc, sc 10, inc, sc 2
R9 : sc all stitches
R10 : [sc, inc, sc] 6 times
Close with slip stitch and place a marker in this slip stitch (this marker will be called Middle Marker or MM for short - and it should always be put in the current row)

Part 2: Eight-Shape

Chain 70 + 1 turning chain and place markers in the 30th and 52nd chain. (These markers can stay there until the end of part 2, i.e. don’t move them up your rows, but just leave them where they are – they will not be used in part 2) - your piece should now look similar to the one in picture 1.

NOTE 1: all increase and decrease stitches in this part are crocheted through the back loop of the underlying stitch only.

NOTE 2: Please note that the sequences in brackets don't always match the number of stitches left (e.g. it might say [dec, sctbl 5], but there are only 4 stitches left) - that's OK. Just continue with the sequence and stop when you run out of stitches (in case of the example above, just make one decrease and sctbl the 3 stitches to the end)

R1: [sc5, dec, sc 5] until you reach MM. For the 1st mitt go on crocheting while looking at the inside of the thumb, for the second mitt go on looking at the outside of the thumb - that way you set up one mitt mirror-inverted to the other). [sc2, inc]*7 times, sc to the end. Now make a slip stitch into the underside of the first stitch of the chain of the last row, and then another slip stitch in the underside of the next chain (see picture 3). Start the next row into the last sc.
R2: [sctbl 1, inc, sctbl 3] to MM, [sctbl 8, dec, sctbl 1] to end, 1 turning-chain
R3: [sctbl 3, dec, sctbl 5] to MM, [sctbl 3, inc, sctbl 2] to the end, connect with 2 sl st into the underside of the 2 next chains stitches and start the next row into the last sc (this is how you'll end all odd-numbered rows in this part - it will be referred to as "connect with 2 sl st")
R4: [sctbl 2, inc, sctbl 4] to MM, [dec, sctbl 7] to end, sctbl to end, 1 turning-chain
Now your piece should look similar to the one in picture 2.
R5: [sctbl 1, dec, sctbl 5] to MM, sctbl 2, [sctbl 3, inc, sctbl 4] to end, connect with 2 sl st
R6: [sctbl 8, inc] to 2 sts before to MM, sctbl 4, [dec, sctbl 5] to end, 1 turning-chain
R7: [sctbl 3, dec, sctbl 1] to 2 sts before MM, sctbl 4, [sctbl 9, inc] to end, connect with 2 sl st
R8: [sctbl 10, inc] to 3 sts before MM. sctbl 6, [sctbl 3, dec] to end, 1 turning-chain
R9: [sctbl 2, dec] to 3 sts before MM, sctbl 6, [sctbl 6, inc, sctbl 5] to end, connect with 2 sl st
R10: [sctbl 7, inc, sctbl 5] to 3 sts before MM, sctbl 6, [dec, sctbl 1] to end, 1 turning-chain
R11: [dec] to 3 sts before MM, sctbl 6,  [sctbl 9, inc, sctbl 4] to end, connect with 2 sl st
R12: [sctbl 7, inc, sctbl 7] to 4 sts before MM, sctbl 8, [dec] to end
R13: turn your piece to the wrong side and connect the edge below the current stitch to the curve above (see picture 4) - you should use about 12 to 14 stitches to do this.

When you look at your piece from the front, you see an 8 shape with the upper curve bigger than the
lower one. For the first mitt your current stitch will be on the left-hand side, for the second mitt it will be on the right hand side.
Count your stitches on the upper curve (i.e. from your current stitch to the end of the row, see black curve on the picture to the right). Your stitch count should be somewhere about 76 to 78 (a few stitches really don't matter here).

To calculate where to put your stitch markers, substract 22 from your stitch count, and devide the resulting number by 2.

I had 76 sts (76 - 22 = 54; 54 / 2 = 27). You can see that your current stitch is a bit lower than the end stitch of the curve on the other side. Therefore the part on the side of your current stitch should be a bit longer than the part on the other side, i.e. add 2 to the number for the longer part and substract 2 for the number on the shorter part. (In my example 27 - 2 = 25 (shorter part), 27 + 2 = 29 (longer part). Place your stitch markers according to the picture.

Part 3: Widening the Wrists
Now go on crocheting upwards (towards the marker you just put in)
R1: sctbl 29 (you should have reached the new marker), 1 turning-chain
R2: sctbl 29, sctbl 18 (now you should have reached a marker you put in when beginning part 2), 1 turning-chain
R3: sctbl to end, 1 turning-chain
R4: sctbl to end, 1 turning-chain
R5: sctbl18, sl st and turn, sctbl to end, 1 turning-chain, turn, sctbl to end (don't forget to stitch into the sl st from the short row below), 1 turning-chain
R6, sctbl to end, 1 turning-chain

Repeat rows 3 to 6 until the mitt fits around your hand. For me this was the case after working rows 3 to 6 a total of 3 times. Now your piece should look like picture 6.

Fold the mitt (right sides together) and connect the last row to the stitches between the stitch markers on the other side (see picture 6). Turn your mitts back right sides out and remove your stitch markers.

Weave in ends. Make two.

This pattern is listed on allfreecrochet.com.

This pattern was featured at the Link and Share Wednesday Link Party hosted by Oombawka Design and on the Fiber Tuesdays Link Party hosted by Oui Crochet. It was also  feaured at Crafting Along #119 at Be a Crafter.

Pieces of Eight Mitts in Crochet

I never thought that it'd be fun to "rewrite" some of my knitting patterns to a crochet version - but it was. After publishing a crochet version for my Circle Mitts - called Kreisel Fingerless Gloves, I thought I might as well try the same thing with my Pieces of Eight Mitts. It worked better than I had thought and I really like the colors.

EDIT: The Pattern called Octavo Fingerless Gloves is now available here.

Kreisel Fingerless Gloves

Keep your hands warm this winter with these stylish and unique fingerless gloves. They are crocheted around the thumb which allows you to show off your variegated yarn to the best effect.

These mitts are the crochet version of my knitted Circle Mitts.
Kreisel is the german word for (spinning) top.





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






Materials

• about 40 to 45 grams of fingering weight yarn
• 3mm crochet hook
• 4 removable stitch marker (e.g. safety pins)
• tapestry needle to weave in ends

Stitches and Abbreviations

• ch: chain 
• sc: single crochet
• sctbl: single crochet through back loop: http://crochet.about.com/od/crochetterms/tp/back-loops-only-or-blo.htm
• sl st: slip stitch: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-crochet-the-slip-stitch.html
• inc: increase by working 2 single crochet stitches into 1 sc below (in case of this pattern, it's 2 sctbl into the sctbl below): http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-increase-with-single-crochet.html
• dec or sctog: decrease by working 2 single crochet stitches together: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-decrease-single-crochet.html 
• join: joining pieces with crochet: in order to join to pieces (or, in case of this pattern, the two sides of one piece) hold the pieces together with wrong sides facing and insert the crochet hook into both pieces at the same time, a foto tutorial can be found here (scroll down to “Joining with Crochet” http://knitty.com/ISSUEwinter08/FEATwin08TT.php)
• [y]*x: work the sequence y (within the brackets) x times.
• crochet short rows (as done in this pattern (*)): work sc's (or sctbl's) up to the stitch indicated, then turn work (without a turning-chain) and start into the 2nd sc; when you're working over this turn in a following row, always crochet into the turning-sc as well.
  (*) there may be different methods out there, feel free to try them.

General Construction

When crocheting in the round, the structure of the finished piece looks different than when crocheting back and forth. Since in the original (knitted) Circle Mitts are knitted in the round (parts 1 and 2), back and forth (part 3) and then in the round again (part 4), I needed to change the pattern in a way that a change like that wouldn't occur - at least for parts 2 to 4.

Therefore, these mitts are constructed as follows: it starts with the thumb (part 1) which is finished by connecting the edges and creating a small tube (the thumb). Part 2 starts with crocheting around one edge of this tube and increases in circles. However after each "round" direction is changed (i.e. the round closed by a slip stitch and the piece is turned).


How to Crochet a Flat Circle
Start with a ring of 5 chains or a magic ring. Into this ring do a set-up row consisting 8 single crochets, close round with slip stitch.
In all following rounds, the stitch count should be increased by 8, i.e. in the first round every stitch, the 2nd row increase every 2nd stitch, in the 3rd row every 3rd, in the 4th row every 4th and so on ...
To avoid an octagon pattern, the increases should be made at different points, so the first rows may be
Round 0: sc to end, sl st into first sc, ch1 (-> 8 stitches)
Round 1: inc into every st, sl st into first sc, ch1 (every stitch was increase, now there are 16 stitches)
Round 2: [sc, inc] repeat to end, sl st into first sc, ch1 (every 2nd stitch was increased, now there are 24 stitches)
Round 3: [inc, sc 2] repeat to end, sl st into first sc, ch1 (every 3rd stitch was increased, now there are 32 stitches)
Round 4: [sc2, inc, sc1] repeat to end, sl st into first sc, ch1 (every 4th stitch was increased, now there are 40 stitches)
Round 5: [sc4, inc] repeat to end, sl st into first sc, ch1 (every 5th stitch was increased, now there are 48 stitches)
Round 6: [sc2, inc, sc3] repeat to end, sl st into first sc, ch1 (every 6th stitch was increase, now there are 56 stitches)
For this pattern the above recipe will be applied.

Gauge or What to Measure
If you're knitting for your own hands, you just have to try it on a few times before finishing. If you're knitting for somebody else, you'll need the following measurements:

• thumb circumference, 
• hand circumference at wrist height
• hand circumference at base of thumb
• hand circumference at knuckle height

As with many of my patterns, it is written in a way that you can adjust it to your hand size. If you're uncomfortable with instructions like that, the pattern might not be for you.

Instructions

Part 1 (Thumb)
Row 0: ch 10 and 1 turning-chain
Row 1: sc 10; 1 turning-chain
Row 2: sctbl 10; 1 turning-chain
Row 3: sctbl 8, dec; 1 turning-chain
Row 4: sctbl 9; 1 turning-chain
Row 5: sctbl 7, dec; 1 turning-chain
Row 6: sctbl 8; 1 turning-chain
Row 7: sctbl 6, dec; 1 turning-chain

(Your piece should now be as high as half of your thumb circumference. If it's too small for that you can add an even number of "sctbl all, 1 turning-chain"-rounds.)

Row 8: sctbl 7; 1 turning-chain
Row 9: sctbl 6, inc; 1 turning-chain
Row 10: sctbl 8; 1 turning-chain
Row 11: sctbl 7, inc; 1 turning-chain
Row 12: stbl 9; 1 turning-chain
Row 13: sctbl 8, inc; 1 turning-chain
Row 14: sctbl 10; 1 turning-chain

Now your piece should look like in picture 1.

Fold the edges together (chain edge and your last row) and connect.

Part 2:
Setup Round: Chain 1, and stitch about 20 sc's into the rim of the thumb in the round (while you're doing this you're looking to the inside of the thumb), after about 20 stitches you should be back at the beginning. close with a slip stitch. Chain 1 and turn.

For the next rounds, do the circle crochet recipe from above, but crochet sctbl stitches. Don't forget to change crochet direction (ie. turn) after every round.
If you had to crochet a few rounds more during part 1, there may be more stitches. If you have between less than or excatly 24 stitches in the round, you the next round should be increasing every 3rd stitch. If you made the thumb bigger and have more than 25 stitches start with increasing every 4th stitch. After a few rounds your piece should look as like picture 2.

Continue until the distance between the thumb and the upper edge is high enough for you. Make sure to end on an outside row.
For me this was the case after 13 rows.

To get you started here are the first few rounds spelled out
Round 1 (outside, ie. while crocheting you're looking at the outside of your piece): [sctbl 2, inc] repeat to end (or until there are less than 3 stitches, sctbl to end), chain 1 and turn (i.e. increase every 3rd stitch)
Round 2 (inside, ie. while crocheting you're looking at the intside of your piece):[sctbl, inc, sctbl 2] repeat to end (or until there are less than 4 stitches, sctbl to end), chain 1 and turn (i.e. increase every 4th stitch)
Round 3 (outside): [sctbl 4, inc] repeat to end (or until there are less than 5 stitches, sctbl to end), chain 1 and turn (i.e. increase every 5th stitch)
Round 4 (inside): [sctbl 2, inc, sctbl 3] repeat to end (or until there are less than 6 stitches, sctbl to end), chain 1 and turn (i.e. increase every 6th stitch)
Round 5 (outside): [sctbl 5, inc, sctbl 1] repeat to end (or until there are less than 7 stitches, sctbl to end), chain 1 and turn (i.e. increase every 7th stitch)
Round 6 (intside): [sctbl 2, inc, sctbl 5] repeat to end (or until there are less than 8 stitches, sctbl to end), chain 1 and turn (i.e. increase every 8th stitch)
... and so on ...

When the distance between the thumb and the upper edge is high enough, move to part 3.

Don't do a chain and don't turn after the last round.

Part 3:
Count your stitches, place stitchmarkers at the beginning of the round, the middle of the round, and around 5 stitches before the middle marker and 5 stitches after the mittle marker. These last two markers mark the ends of the rows in part 3.

Don't turn but go on crocheting in the same direction, but now with slip stitches into the back loop until you have reached the marker that is placed 5 stitches before the middle marker.
The point of these slip stitches and the subsequent stitches into the stitch below, is to get an even texture on the outside - the slip stitches will be hidden behind the next row.
Your piece should now look as in picture 3.

Chain 1 and turn.
Row 1: dec, then sctbl into the stitch below and continue the circle increases (e.g. if you increased every 15th stitch in the last round of part 2, in this row you have to increase every 16th stitch) - for the first half (until the "beginning marker") stitch into the stitch below the slip stitches you just did; for the second half do normal sctbl's - until you are two stitches away from the other marker that is placed 5 stitches away from the middle marker, dec, chain 1 and turn
Row 2: dec, sctbl 9, turn, sctbl to last 2 stitches, dec; chain 1 and turn;  dec, sctbl to last 2 stitches (while doing the circle increases) to the last 2 stitches, dec - this row with a short row is needed to widen the upper edge - your piece should now look similar to picture 4.
Row 3 = Row 2
Row 4: dec, sctbl (with circle increases) to last 2 stitches, dec

Repeat Row 4 until the the piece fits around your hand (or until the upper edge equals the hand circumference at the knuckles and the widest part equals the hand circumference at the base of the thumb) - see picture 5. If you want to widen the upper edge more, you can do one or more repeats of row 2 (i.e. using short rows).

Part 4:
After you have finished, count your stitches again. Devide the number of stitches by 4 and add 2 or 3. This is the number of stitches that you're going to connect to the other side of the mitt.
I had 99 stitches - devided by 4 makes a bit less than 25, plus 2 makes 27.

Hold the right sides of the mitt together and connect the number of stitches that you just calculated.
Your piece should now look like in picture 6.
Turn the mitt back right sides out (be sure to secure your last loop while you're doing this) and put a stitch marker in the current stitch.
(You can remove all other stitch markers at this point).

For an even texture you need again to hide the next few slip stitches before continuing.
If the last row you knitted in part 3 was an even numbered-row, you need to do slip stitches up the right hand side as seen from the current stitch, if it was an even numbered row, you need need to do the following slip stitches towards the left.

In my case, I had crocheted 7 rows in part 3, so I did my slip stitches up the left side (see picture 7).

Setup Row: sl st 14 on the inside of the mitt, turn

Now you can start to work on the little triangle on top of the joined stitches as follows (see picture 8). These are short rows, so you don't crochet a turning-chain but start with the second stitch.

Row 1: sctbl 11 (into the stitches below the slip stitches you just made), dec, (now you should be back at the marker), dec, sctbl 14, sl st 1, turn
Row 2: sctbl 11, dec (now you should be back at the marker), dec sctbl 8, sl st 1, turn
Row 3: sctbl 5, dec (marker) dec, sctbl 8, sl st, turn
Row 4: sctbl 5, dec (marker) dec, sctbl 2, sl st, turn
Row 5: dec (marker) and close with slip stitch, chain 1

Now do several more rounds of sctbl's until the shaft of the mitt is as long as you want it, i.e.
Round: sctbl to end, sl st into first stitch, chain 1, turn

Make sure to end each round with a slip stitch, chain 1 and turn - to keep up the regular stitch pattern.

Try your mitts on for size (or measure the circumference, it should equal your wrist circumference). If the shaft is too wide you can do some decreasing rounds as well, i.e.
Decreasing round: dec, sctbl to last 2 stitches, dec, sl st into first stitch, chain 1, turn

Weave in ends.
Make two.

This pattern was featured as most clicked at the Hookin on Hump Day Link Party 107. It was also featured in the Stash-buster Link Party on Linda's Crafty Corner in December 2015, on the Crafting Along Link Party #120 at Be a Crafter and at Yarn Fanstastic Party #54 at EyeLoveKnots.

Vermicelli Autumn Wrap

This year I went to some yarn festivals for the first time ever and bought some beautiful hand-painted yarn. However, these yarns are always different, i.e. no two skeins are the same ... and one 100 gram skein is not enough for a nice big scarf that I love to wrap myself into when it's getting colder outside. That's why I got the idea of combining this yarn with a semi-solid yarn. This shows off the colors of the hand-painted or hand-dyed yarn even better.

Wide stripes of garter stitch show off the beautiful features of the hand-painted yarn while a lace pattern makes the most of the (semi-)solid yarn.

It's called Vermicelli because the lace pattern looks a bit like little caterpillars and because the brown color reminded me of one of my favorite autumn desserts - Vermicelles.


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





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Materials

• 3.5 mm needles
• 100 grams of yarn in color 1 (C1), here I used some beautiful hand-dyed yarn (by Wolleverliebt that I bought at Wollefestival).
• 150 grams of yarn in color 2 (C2), here I used some semi-solid Wollmeise Pure Merino that I bought some years ago
• tapestry needle to weave in ends

Construction

The vermicelli wrap forms a rectangle but is knitted diagonally. You start with only a few stitches and increase on both sides (part 1). During the next part the stitch count stays the same but you increase on one side and decrease on the other (part 2). When the scarf is long enough you decrease on both sides and finish (part 3).


Techniques

• If you want to avoid cutting your yarn every time you change color, you'd want to carry the yarn up the side of your work - there are several ways to do this - e.g. as shown in this YouTube video by New Stitch a Day. or as shown in this YouTube video by The Knitting Vortex.

Instructions

Part 1

In color 1
CO4
R1: k all stitches
R2: kfb, k to last stitch, kfb
-> repeat 12 more times (i.e. you have knitted a total of 26 rows with C1 and there are 30 sts on your needles)

Color 2
Setup Row 1: k all stitches
Setup Row 2: kfb, p to last stitch, kfb
-> then knit chart 1 for the next 34 rows (i.e. you have knitted a total of 36 rows with C2 and now there are 66 sts on your needles)

Here's the pattern from chart 1 spelled out:
R1: k1, * k2tog, yo, k1 repeat from * until there is only one stitch left, k1
R2 and all even numbered rows: kfb, p to last stitch, kfb
R3: k2, * yo, k1, k2tog repeat from * until there are only two stitches left, k2
R5: k3, * k1, k2tog, yo repeat from * until there are three stitches left, k3

The pattern is a repeat of six rows - the charts show 12 rows of it to illustrate how to handle the increases or decreases.

Color 1
R1: k all stitches
R2: kfb, k to last stitch, kfb
-> repeat 11 more times (i.e. you have knitted 24 rows with C1 and there are now 90 stitches on your needles)

Color 2
Setup Row 1: k all stitches
Setup Row 2: kfb, p to last stitch, kfb
-> then knit chart 1 for the next 34 rows (i.e. you have knitted a total of 36 rows with C2 and now there are 126 sts on your needles)

Color 1
R1: k all stitches
R2: kfb, k to last stitch, kfb
-> repeat 11 more times (i.e. you have knitted 24 rows with C1 and there are now 150 stitches on your needles)

If you want your wrap to be wider you can repeat the last two stripes again.

Part 2

First stripe of part 2 with color 2
Setup Row 1: k all stitches
Setup Row 2: kfb, p to last stitch, kfb (-> now there are 152 stitches)
-> then knit chart 2 for the next 34 rows (i.e. you have knitted a total of 36 rows with C2, since there is always an decrease at the beginning of an even-numbered row and an increase at the end of it, the stitch count will from now on stay the same during part 2)

Here's the pattern of chart 2 spelled out
R1: k1, * k2tog, yo, k1 repeat from * until there is only one stitch left, k1
R2 and all even numbered rows: ssk, p to last stitch, kfb
R3: k2, * yo, k1, k2tog repeat from * to end
R5: k3, * k1, k2tog, yo repeat from * until there are two stitches left, k2


Color 1
R1: k all stitches
R2: ssk, k to last, kfb
-> repeat 11 more times (i.e. you have knitted 24 rows with C1)

Color 2

Setup Row 1: k all stitches
Setup Row 2: ssk, p to last stitch, kfb
-> then knit chart 2 for the next 34 rows (i.e. you have knitted a total of 36 rows with C2)

Repeat the last two stripes of color 1 and 2 until your wrap has the desired length.

Part 3

Color 1
R1: k all stitches
R2: ssk, k to last, k2tog
-> repeat 11 more times (i.e. you have knitted 24 rows with C1 - there are now 128 sts on your needles, i.e. if you subtract 2 edge stitches there are 126 stitches - a number that's divisible by 3)

Color 2

Setup Row 1: k all stitches
Setup Row 2: ssk, p to last stitch, k2tog
-> then knit chart 3 for the next 34 rows (i.e. you have knitted a total of 36 rows with C2, and there are 92 stitches on your needles)

Here's the pattern of chart 3 spelled out:
R1: k1, * k2tog, yo, k1 repeat from * until there is only one stitch left, k1
R2 and all even numbered rows: ssk, p to last stitch, k2tog
R3: k3, * yo, k1, k2tog repeat from * to end
R5: k2, * k1, k2tog, yo repeat from * until there are two stitches left, k2

Repeat these two stripes (color 1 and color 2) once more - now there are only 32 stitches left.

With color 1 repeat the following rows until there are only 4 stitches left
R1: k all stitches
R2: ssk, k to last, k2tog
Then bind off.

Weave in ends and block.

Studies in Topology 2

Not sure whether this can be used anywhere ... but I wanted to knit entwined rings (just not know if it can be done :)

I'm not quite satisfied with the result and there are a few things to figure out before I can use this idea within a pattern. However, it was fun to knit.

Edgy Fingerless Gloves

These fingerless gloves have a beautiful garter-stitch look that shows off your variegated yarn to the best effect. As with many of my FG designs, these are knitted in one piece each, i.e. there are only two ends to weave in for each gloves. The design also allows you to adapt them in size to make them custom-fit your hands.

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

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Materials

• 25 to 30 grams of fingering weight yarn
• three 3mm needles (I used dpns to start, then switched to circulars), whichever needles or methods (e.g. Magic Loop) you prefer, you need a third needle for the three-needle BO
• 4 stitch markers
• scrap yarn or a long stitch holder
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Techniques

• Three-Needle Bind-Off: 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.
• Short Rows with Wraps and Turns (w+t): In this pattern short rows are used to shape the mitts, e.g. to make it a bit wider at the bottom edge. The pattern is written with "wrap and turn"-short rows (see this YouTube Video by Very Pink Knits).
• Pick up and knit stitches from the edge - as shown in this YouTube-Video by Very Pink Knits

Construction
The basic construction is shown in the picture on the right. The gloves are knitted in three parts. They are started in the round at the thumb (part 1), in part 2 (also knitted in the round, but alternating in knit and purl rows to achieve a garter stitch look) increases are made at the for corners to make the piece rectangular. Once it's high enough the upper and lower edge are cast of and it's knitted flat (part 3) in (real) garter stitch. When wide enough to fit around your hands both sides are connected with a three-needle bind-off.


Gauge and Measurements
In garter stitch 13 rows are 5 cm in height and 11 stitches equal 5 cm in width
The finished gloves (as described below) measure about 20 cm in height and 17 cm in circumference at the top and 18.5 cm at the lower edge. However, the pattern is written in a way that you can adapt it to the size of your hands.


Instructions

Part 1: Thumb - Knitted in the round

CO18 and join in round
Round 1 - Round 10: * p1 k1 p1 repeat from *
Round 11: *p1 k1 p1 mk1 repeat from * (-> 24 sts)
Round 12 – Round 15: *p1 k1 repeat from *
While knitting R15 either distribute the stitches evenly on four needles (6 sts each) or place stitch markers after every 6th stitch -> your piece should now look similar to illustration 1

(When in the following the pattern speaks of „needle 1“ this means the stitches between the beginning-of-round-marker and the next marker, “needle 2” means the space between that marker and the next one … and so on to “needle 4” which means the space between the last marker and the beginning-of-round-marker.)

Part 2: Knitted in the round

Round 1: * kfb, knit up to last st on needle (or to 1 before marker), kfb repeat from *
Round 2: p all stitches
Round 3: needle 1: k to end of needle, turn work (do not wrap and turn),
    sl1, k to last stitch, sl1, turn work (do not wrap and turn)
    k to end of needle, turn work (do not wrap and turn)
    sl1, k to last stitch, sl1, turn work (do not wrap and turn)
    kfb, k to last stitch, kfb – next needle (or slip marker)
    needle 2: pick up three stitches from the side (i.e. from the edge of the rows you just knitted – see picture 3), k up to last stitch, kfb – next needle (or slip marker)
    needle 3: kfb, k to last stitch, kfb - next needle (or slip marker)
    needle 4: kfb, k to end of needle, pick up three stitches from the side (i.e. from the edge of the rows you knitted on needle 1)

On illustration 2, you can see the gap between needle 1 and needle 2 (or needle 1 and needle 4) that shows up after you've knitted needle 1 in a round 3. That's why you do not only have to increase one stitch at the corner, but also two more stitches (ie. a total of three stitches) at the beginning of needle 2 and the end of needle 4. Illustration 3 shows part of the process of picking up.

Work rounds  2 and 3 a total of 9 times – or until the long side measures the intended length of your fingerless gloves. (After 9 repeats I had the following stitch count: needle 1 and 3 = n stitches each, needle 2 and 4 = 48 stitches each)
Row 20: needle 1: purl and BO all but the last stitch,
     needle 2: purl all stitches - either with a new needle or put these stitches on scrap yarn/a stitch holder afterwards, make one new stitch by purling into the first stitch on needle 3 (but don't slip this first stitch from needle 3)
     needle 3: purl and BO all stitches, purl the last stitch and keep it with the others from needle 4
     needle 4: purl all stitches

(The stitches increased at the end of needles 2 and 3 are there to avoid different heights of parts 2 and 3.)

Part 3 – Widening the shaft (knitted flat)

The next part is knitted in garter stitch – with a few short rows for shaping.
Here you can adapt the gloves to fit your hands. So, please try on the gloves and make them fit your hands.

I used a combination of the following rows to make the gloves fit my hands:
Standard Row 1, 2 (WS, RS): sl1, k to end, turn, sl1, k to end  
Widening Below Rows 1, 2 (WS, RS): sl1, k15, w+t, k to end
Widening Upper Part Rows 1, 2, 3. 4 (WS, RS, WS, RS): sl1, k to 5 sts before end, w+t, k18, w+t, k to end; turn; sl1, k to end

Here’s the sequence I knitted:
Rows 1, 2 = Standard Rows
Rows 3, 4 = Widening Below Rows
Rows 5, 6 = Standard Rows
Rows 7, 8 = Widening Below Rows
Rows 9, 10 = Standard Rows
Rows 11, 12 = Standard Rows
Rows 13, 14 = Widening Upper Part
Rows 15, 16 = Standard Rows
Rows 17, 18 = Widening Below Rows
Rows 19, 20 = Standard Rows
Rows 21, 22 = Widening Below Rows
Rows 23, 24 = Standard Rows
Row 25: sl1, k to end

When the glove is wide enough to fit around your hand, put the stitches from the scrap yarn onto another needle. Hold both needles together (wrong sides out) and do a three needle BO.

Weave in ends.

Make two.