Citrus Fruit Potholder

This "fruity" potholder will brighten up your kitchen and bring a summery atmosphere to your home. Since it's done in intarsia technique, the WS is presentable as well. It is worked flat and in wedges of short-rows.
I always think that potholders, washcloths or other really small items are best if you'd like to explore new knitting ideas or to just try out a new technique. It only takes some leftover yarn and a few hours to try it out, but if it works, these newly acquired skills can be in your next big project. For this little potholder quite a few interesting techniques are used - form a provisional cast-on, over short rows and intarsia, to grafting in garter stitch. Alternatively, this piece can be used as coaster or washcloth.

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 DK or sports weight cotton yarn in two colors - of color 1 you need two skeins or to put yarn of color 1 on a separate bobbin
• 4mm needles or a needle that fits your yarn (I used small dpns, since you only ever have 21 sts on a needle)
• a tapestry needle for grafting and to weave in ends

Techniques

• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy.
  To knit this piece in intarsia technique you need two skeins of color 1 - see photo below.

• 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).
• Throughout the pattern, the following notation will be used: "C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k13, w+t, k13); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)" means "knit 2 sts with skein a of C1; change to C2 and knit 2 sts with C2; change to skein b of C1 and knit 13 sts with this skein, wrap and turn, knit another 13 sts with this skein, change to C2 and knit 2 sts with C2, then change to skein a of C1 and knit 2 sts with it".
   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.
• 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. 

Instructions

With scrap yarn provisionally CO21 sts.
Setup row: C2 (k19), C1a (k2)
Ridge 1: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k13, w+t, k13); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 2: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k9, w+t, k9); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 3: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k5, w+t, k5); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 4: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k1, w+t, k1); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 5: C1a (k2); C2 (k1, w+t, k1); C1a (k2)
Ridge 6: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k3, w+t, k3); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 7: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k7, w+t, k7); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 8: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k11, w+t, k11); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 9: C1a (k2); C2 (k2); C1b (k15, w+t, k15); C2 (k2); C1a (k2)
Ridge 10: C1a (k2): C2 (k to end, turn, sl1, k18); C1a (k2)
Now you've finished the first "wedge".

Repeat ridges 1 to 10 ten more times (i.e. you have now 11 "wedges").

For the last (12th) wedge, knit ridges 1 to 9. Remove the scrap yarn of the provisional CO and catch the stitches on a knitting needle. Your piece should look similar to the one in the photo on the right.

Graft the last row in garter stitch: 2 sts in C1, and the remaining sts in C2.

Weave in ends.


Chart
In addition to the written instructions above, here's also a chart that shows how one wedge is knitted.
The first number written in orange is the number of stitches with skein a of C1, the number written in black is the number of stitches knitted with C2 and the second number in orange is the number of stitches knitted with skein b of C1.

Chart - click to enlarge

This post was featured at Oombawkadesigncrochet's 192nd Link and Share Wednesday, at Ouichrochet's Fiber Tuesday Link Part #111, at Myhusbandhastoomanyhobbies.com's Brag about it Link Party #21-17, at the Linky Ladies's Community Link Party No. 104 and at Sewcando's Craftastic Monday Link Party and at Reviews, Chews and How-Tos Awesome Life Friday #114.  Thank you :)

I ♥ Intarsia Wasch- oder Topflappen

Suchst du noch nach etwas, um das Geschenk zum Muttertag etwas aufzupeppen und persönlicher zu gestalten? Oder möchtest du einfach etwas Hübsches, das ein bisschen Liebe in dein Badezimmer bringt. Dann ist dieser Intarsia-Lappen genau richtig.
Es ist ein interessantes, kleines Strickprojekt, das in ein paar Stunden fertiggestellt werden kann. Weil es klein ist, eignet es sich außerdem gut, wenn man einmal neue Techniken, wie verkürzte Reihen oder Intarsia ausprobieren will.

The english version of this pattern is available here.

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

Materialien

• ca. 30 - 40 Gramm Baumwollgarn in zwei Farben (diese werden F1 und F2 genannt); ich habe älteres Garn verwendet (ca. 10-fädig) 
• zum Garn passende Nadeln; in meinem Fall 4mm Nadeln (und da es sich um ein kleineres Strickstück handelt, haben zwei Nadeln eines Nadelspiels ausgereicht.

Größe

Der Lappen, der mit 10-fädigem Garn war, wurde 17x17 cm gross. Eine Version mit 5-fädigem Garn und 3mm Nadeln wurde 14x14 cm gross.

Techniken und Schreibweisen in der Anleitung

• Intarsia: ist eine Technik, um die Farbe innerhalb einer Reihe zu ändern - dabei werden die Fäden auf der Rückseite des Strickstücks gekreuzt. Ein YouTube-Video dazu gibt es hier von Andrea Maschenanschlag. 
• Verkürzte Reihen mit Wickelmaschen - werden in diesem YouTube-Video von Luise1910 gezeigt. In dieser Anleitung wird hierfür jeweils die Abkürzung w+t verwendet (aus dem Englischen "wrap and turn", umwickele und drehe).
  Da es sich bei diesem Projekt um ein kraus rechts gestricktes Stück handelt, ist es (meistens) nicht notwendig, die Umwickelungen beim abstricken abzuheben - mit Ausnahme von zwei Reihen. Nämlich in den Reihen, in denen die gewickelte Masche mit einem Faden in der anderen Farbe umwickelt wurde. Dies ist in der Anleitung vermerkt. Das oben genannte YouTube-Video zeigt auch, wie man die Umwickelungen abhebt. 
• In dieser Anleitung wird die folgende Schreibweise verwendet: F1 (4 re.M.); F2 (10 re.M., w+t, 10 re.M.); C1 (re. bis zum Ende) heisst: 4 rechte Maschen in Farbe F1, Wechsel zu F2, 10 rechte Maschen in F2; Wickelmasche und drehen, 10 rechte Maschen in F2; Farbwechsel zu F1 un bis zum Ende der Reihe in F1 stricken. Die jeweils benutzte Farbe wird also vor die Anweisung gestellt, was mit der Farbe zu stricken ist und die Anleitung befindet sich in Klammern. Die Anleitung wird in Rippen gegeben (zwei Reihen rechte Maschen = eine (kraus-rechts) Rippe). 
• Fäden einweben beim Stricken mit zwei Farben: wird in diesem YouTube-Video von Angiies Wollplaudereien gezeigt.
  In den Rippen 21 bis 44 wird nur Farbe 1 verwendet. Um einen langen nachgezogenen Faden in Farbe 2 zu vermeiden, ist es hilfreich Farbe zwei in Reihe 21 soweit wie möglich hinten einzuweben. Im Bild unten wird der Unterschied gezeigt - in den schwarzen Kreisen. Bei meinem ersten Versuch (oranges Herz, links) sieht man den unschönen Querfaden. Daher habe ich beim zweiten Versuch (rotes Herz, rechts) den Faden in Reihe 21 über die letzten drei Stiche auf der Rückseite eingewoben. Die Rückseite sieht damit deutlich ordentlicher aus.

Genereller Aufbau

Während der ersten Hälfte ist jede Rippe um eine Masche kürzer als die vorherige (von zuerst 32 Maschen bis hin zu nur einer Masche in Rippe 32).. Während der zweiten Hälfte ist dies genau umgekehrt. Die erste Rippe ist nur eine Masche lang und jede weitere ist jeweils eine Masche länger als die vorherige. Dasselbe gilt für die Farben: die Reihen der zweiten Hälfte sind in umgekehrter Reihenfolge, die der ersten Hälfte. Durch die verkürzten Reihen steht die zweite Hälfte in einem 90 Grad Winkel zur ersten Hälfte.
Die Anleitung ist in Rippen (= zwei Reihen) geschrieben. Auf der Rückseite wird jeder Stich in der Farbe gestrickt, den er auch in der Hinreihe hatte.

Anleitung

30 Maschen anschlagen
Allererste Reihe: alle Maschen rechts stricken
Rippe 1: F1 (31 re. M.  w+t, k re. M. bis zum Ende)
Rippen 2 to 5: F1 (re. M. bis zum Stich vor der letzten Wickelmasche, w+t, re. M. bis zum Ende der Reihe)
Rippe 6: F1 (12 re. M.); F2 (15 re. M., w+t, 15 re. M.); F1 (12 re. M.)
Rippe 7: F1 (9 re. M.); F2 (17 re. M., w+t, 17 re. M.); F1 (9 re. M.)
Rippe 8: F1 (7 re. M.); F2 (18 re. M., w+t, 18 re. M.); F1 (7 re. M.)
Rippe 9: F1 (6 re. M.); F2 (18 re. M., w+t, 18 re. M.); F1 (6 re. M.)
Rippe 10: F1 (5 re. M.); F2 (18 re. M., w+t, 18 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 11: F1 (5 re. M.); F2 (17 re. M., w+t, 17 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 12: F1 (4 re. M.); F2 (17 re. M., w+t, 17 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 13: F1 (4 re. M.); F2 (16 re. M., w+t, 16 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 14: F1 (4 re. M.); F2 (15 re. M., w+t, 15 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 15: F1 (4 re. M.); F2 (14 re. M., w+t, 14 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 16: F1 (5 re. M.); F2 (12 re. M., w+t, 12 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 17: F1 (5 re. M.); F2 (11 re. M., w+t, 11 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 18: F1 (6 re. M.); F2 (9 re. M., w+t, 9 re. M.); F1 (6 re. M.)
Rippe 19: F1 (7 re. M.); F2 (7 re. M., w+t, 7 re. M.); F1 (7 re. M.)
Rippe 20: F1 (9 re. M.); F2 (4 re. M., w+t, 4 re. M.); F1 (9 re. M.)
Rippe 21: F1 (re. M. bis zum Stich vor der letzten Wickelmasche (F2 während der letzten 3 Stiche auf der Rückseite verweben), w+t, re.M. bis zum Ende der Reihe)
Rippen 22 to 31: F1 (re. M. bis zum Stich vor der letzten Wickelmasche, w+t, k re.M. bis zum Ende der Reihe)
Rippe 32: F1(1 re. M., w+t, 1  re. M.)

Ab jetzt werden die Rippen 1 bis 32 in umgekehrter Reihenfolge gestrickt.
Rippe 33:  F1(1 re. M., w+t, 1  re. M.)
Rippe 34 to 44: F1 (re. M. bis zur letzten Wickelmasche, diese gewickelte Masche re. abstricken, w+t, k re.M. bis zum Ende der Reihe)
Rippe 45:  F1 (9 re. M.); F2 (3 re. M., gewickelte Masche abstricken und dabei Umwicklung abheben, w+t, 4 re. M.); F1 (9 re. M.)
Rippe 46: F1 (7 re. M.); F2 (7 re. M., w+t, 7 re. M.); F1 (7 re. M.)
Rippe 47: (6 re. M.); F2 (9 re. M., w+t, 9 re. M.); F1 (6 re. M.)
Rippe 48:  F1 (5 re. M.); F2 (11 re. M., w+t, 11 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 49: F1 (5 re. M.); F2 (12 re. M., w+t, 12 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 50: F1 (4 re. M.); F2 (14 re. M., w+t, 14 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 51: (4 re. M.); F2 (15 re. M., w+t, 15 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 52: (4 re. M.); F2 (16 re. M., w+t, 16 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 53: (4 re. M.); F2 (17 re. M., w+t, 17 re. M.); F1 (4 re. M.)
Rippe 54: (5 re. M.); F2 (17 re. M., w+t, 17 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 55: F1 (5 re. M.); F2 (18 re. M., w+t, 18 re. M.); F1 (5 re. M.)
Rippe 56: F1 (6 re. M.); F2 (18 re. M., w+t, 18 re. M.); F1 (6 re. M.)
Rippe 57: F1 (7 re. M.); F2 (18 re. M., w+t, 18 re. M.); F1 (7 re. M.)
Rippe 58: F1 (9 re. M.); F2 (17 re. M., w+t, 17 re. M.); F1 (9 re. M.)
Rippe 59: F1 (12 re. M.); F2 (15 re. M., w+t, 15 re. M.); F1 (12 re. M.)
Rippe 60: F1 (re. M. bis zur letzten Wickelmasche, diese gewickelte Masche abstricken und dabei die Umwicklung abheben, w+t, re. M. bis zum Ende der Reihe)
Rippen 61 to 64: F1 (re. M. bis zum Stich vor der letzten Wickelmasche, w+t, re. M. bis zum Ende der Reihe)
Letzte Reihe: alle Maschen abketten.

Diagramm
Unten findet sich die Anleitung zusätzich noch als Diagramm. Die violetten Pfeile geben jeweils die Strickrichtung an.
Neben den Reihen ist jeweils aufgeführt, wie viele Stiche in welcher Farbe gemacht werden - jeweils in schwarz für Farbe 1 und in rot für Farbe 2.

Diagramm - zum Vergrössern klicken

I ♥ Intarsia Washcloth

Want to show your affection for a special person with a small piece of knitting? Or to give your Mum a small but lovely washcloth for Mother's Day? Then this washcloth is perfect for you. It adds a special touch to your bathroom decorations or makes a great handmade gift for someone you love. This piece can be used as a potholder as well.
It's a fun project that can be finished within a few hours with a gorgeous heart effect. It's great if you want to learn a new technique, like short rows or intarsia.

Eine deutsche Version dieser Anleitung gibt es hier.
A german version of this pattern can be found here.

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

Materials

• about 30 - 40 grams of cotton yarn in two colors (called C1 and C2) - I used some old yarn that I think was Aran weight
• needles that the yarn calls for - I used 4mm dpns

Size

The size depends on the yarn you use. The first I did (in Sport weight, with 3mm needles) measured 14 cm by 14 cm. The second one (Aran weight) measured 17 cm by 17 cm.

If you want to know beforehand, how big the piece is going to be cast on 32 sts and knit a few rows in garter stitch. The width you can measure now will be the finished piece's width and height.

Techniques and Notation

• Intarsia: Changing colors with the intarsia technique - as shown in this YouTube video by knitwithpat; or this YouTube video by Francoise Danoy.
• 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).
• Throughout the pattern, the following notation will be 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.
• Stranding yarn sideways and catching the secondary color - as shown in this YouTube Video by The Alpaca Yarn Company.
  From ridge 21 to ridge 44 you only use C1. To avoid a long yarn float on the piece's WS, you should catch the C2 yarn while knitting the RS of ridge 21. The pictures below show the difference - the important part is circled. While knitting the first washcloth (orange heart, left hand picture), I didn't catch the C2 yarn, that's why there is a long float on the WS, which is something to be avoided in pieces that are seen from both sides. When knitting the next one (red heart, right hand picture), I remembered to catch the C2 yarn over the three stitches with C1.  Here the WS looks much neater.

• It's helpful if you know how to weave in ends while you're knitting as shown in this YouTube video by So, I make stuff.

General Construction

First half: each row is one stitch shorter than the last one - until the last row is only 1 stitch long

Second half: starts with a row that's only one stitch long, each row is one stitch longer than the last one, until the last row is 32 stitches long.

The second half is knitted at a 90 degree angle to the first half. It's made up of the same rows than the first half, but with all rows knitted in reverse order.

The pattern is written in ridges - on the WS each stitch is always knitted in the color of the underlying RS stitch.

Instructions

CO32
Setup Row: k all
Ridge 1: C1 (k to 1 st bef end, w+t, k to end)
Ridge 2 to 5: C1 (k to 1 st bef last wrapped st, w+t, k to end)
Ridge 6: C1 (k12); C2 (k15, w+t, k15); C1 (k12)
Ridge 7: C1 (k9); C2 (k17, w+t, k17); C1 (k9)
Ridge 8: C1 (k7); C2 (k18, w+t, k18); C1 (k7)
Ridge 9: C1 (k6); C2 (k18, w+t, k18); C1 (k6)
Ridge 10: C1 (k5); C2 (k18, w+t, k18); C1 (k5)
Ridge 11: C1 (k5); C2 (k17, w+t, k17); C1 (k5)
Ridge 12: C1 (k4); C2 (k17, w+t, k17); C1 (k4)
Ridge 13: C1 (k4); C2 (k16, w+t, k16); C1 (k4)
Ridge 14: C1 (k4); C2 (k15, w+t, k15); C1 (k4)
Ridge 15: C1 (k4); C2 (k14, w+t, k14); C1 (k4)
Ridge 16: C1 (k5); C2 (k12, w+t, k12); C1 (k5)
Ridge 17: C1 (k5); C2 (k11, w+t, k11); C1 (k5)
Ridge 18: C1 (k6); C2 (k9, w+t, k9); C1 (k6)
Ridge 19: C1 (k7); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k7)
Ridge 20: C1 (k9); C2 (k4, w+t, k4); C1 (k9)
Ridge 21: C1 (k to 1 st bef last wrapped st (stranding C2 over the last 3 sts), w+t, k to end)
Ridge 22 to 31: C1 (k to 1 st bef last wrapped st, w+t, k to end)
Ridge 32: C1 (k1, w+t, k to end)

Now you basically knit all the ridges you just knitted again, but in reverse order.
Ridge 33:  k1, w+t, k to end
Ridge 34 to 44: C1 (k to 1 the first wrapped st, knit this stitch, w+t, k to end)
Ridge 45: C1 (k9); C2 (k3, pick up wraps and k1, w+t, k4); C1 (k9)
Ridge 46: C1 (k7); C2 (k7, w+t, k7); C1 (k7)
Ridge 47: C1 (k6); C2 (k9, w+t, k9); C1 (k6)
Ridge 48: C1 (k5); C2 (k11, w+t, k11); C1 (k5)
Ridge 49: C1 (k5); C2 (k12, w+t, k12); C1 (k5)
Ridge 50: C1 (k4); C2 (k14, w+t, k14); C1 (k4)
Ridge 51: C1 (k4); C2 (k15, w+t, k15); C1 (k4)
Ridge 52: C1 (k4); C2 (k16, w+t, k16); C1 (k4)
Ridge 53: C1 (k4); C2 (k17, w+t, k17); C1 (k4)
Ridge 54: C1 (k5); C2 (k17, w+t, k17); C1 (k5)
Ridge 55: C1 (k5); C2 (k18, w+t, k18); C1 (k5)
Ridge 56: C1 (k6); C2 (k18, w+t, k18); C1 (k6)
Ridge 57: C1 (k7); C2 (k18, w+t, k18); C1 (k7)
Ridge 58: C1 (k9); C2 (k17, w+t, k17); C1 (k9)
Ridge 59: C1 (k12); C2 (k15, w+t, k15); C1 (k12)
Ridge 60:  C1 (k to 1 the first wrapped st, pick up wraps and knit this stitch, w+t, k to end)
Ridges 61 to 64: C1 (k to 1 the first wrapped st, knit this stitch, w+t, k to end)
Last Row: BO loosely

Chart
Here's a charted version of the pattern. The purple arrows indicated the knitting direction. The cloth is started at the lower triangle. The numbers next to the ridge numbers indicate how many stitches there are of colors 1 and 2 - written in black and red respectively.

Chart - click to enlarge

This blogpost was featured at the Linky Ladies Community Link Party No. 102. Thank you!

Mermaid's Garden Scarf

This scarf was knitted as a birthday present for a friend of mine. She chose the yarn and I designed and knitted it. Short rows are used to create a light wavy pattern. Lace rows inbetween create a bubbly effect. Since it is basically all garter stitch with a simple lace pattern inbetween, it's easy to knit but has a stunning effect.

The pattern is available for purchase on

• Ravelry 
• Loveknitting. 
• Payhip and
• Gumroad.

It contains written instructions as well as illustrations how the short rows stack up.

Besides garter stitch you need the following skills to knit this scarf:

• Basic lace stitches: i.e yo (yarn over), k2tog (k2 together), ssk (slip slip knit)
• Short rows with double stitches (also called German Short Rows): when you turn, bring yarn to the front and pull it back so that both legs of the stitch are visible on your neeedle, i.e. a 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 by leethal knits).
  In addition, the pattern explains how to adapt it to use the "wrap and turn"-method, as well.

Materials needed to knit this scarf

• about 200 grams of fingering weight yarn – something with a long color gradient (I used two skeins of Lang Yarns Jawoll Magic Dégradé), but a solid color will look fine, too
• 3.5 mm needles – I used circulars, but straight needles will do as well
• 5 stitch markers
• a removable stitch marker can be used to mark the RS which is helpful when doing the short row sequences
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Size

The finished piece measures about 46 cm in width and 170 cm in length.

This blogpost was featured at Oombawka Design's 190th Link & Share Wednesday Link Party. Thank you! 

U-Turn Slippers

I'm back to knitting slippers again. As usual, I tend to prefer constructions that are a bit out of the ordinary (such as the Undecided Slippers I published last year).
These slippers are knitted in a U-Turn shape around the tip of your foot. They are constructed in one piece, i.e. there are only two ends to weave in per slipper. The pattern comes out best when using variegated yarn, e.g. colorful sock yarn.

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

Materials

• 3.25mm circular needles (even though everything is knitted back and forth)
• about 40 grams of fingering weight yarn
• a third needle for the three-needle-BO
• tapestry needle  to weave in ends
• 3 stitch markers 
• a safety pin to secure your stitch while turning the piece right sides out

Techniques & Notation

• 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.
• Picking up stitches from the side: Without your working yarn, insert the needle into the front leg of the edge stitch from back to front. A photo how this looks like, is shown in a post regarding the short wave mitts. Here’s a Knitty-article that explains picking up stitches in detail (also the difference between "picking up" and "picking up and knit"): http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEwinter04/FEATwin04TT.html
• Three-Needle Bind-Off: https://youtu.be/Ph93jWSzTa0
• Knitting a flat circle - or in case of this pattern a semicircle: The technique for knitting a flat circle has been described a few times on this blog, e.g. in the "Zoom Out Mitts"-Post. Basically it consists of doing 8 increases (evenly spaced out in one round) every other row, and varying the starting point for the first increase to avoid an octagon pattern. 
  In this pattern only a semicircle is knitted. This means that there will be only 4 increases on every RS row - and they will be started at a random stitch within the first quarter of the half circle.
  In this pattern you will be asked to increase (or decrease) by 2 from one point in your knitting to another. This means that you can randomly distribute the increases (or decreases) between the two given points (stitch markers)
  As an increase I used kfb and as decrease I used ssk, but you can use other stitches as well, e.g. a make 1 knit stitch (mk1) as increasing stitch or a k2tog as a decrease stitch.

Gauge and What You Need to Measure

• I had a gauge of about 5 sts to 2 cm in width and 5 garter stitch ridges (10 rows) to 2 cm.  With this gauge and with a CO of 2x18 sts, the cast on of the tip will be 8 cm long, The tip will grow by 1/4 of the circumference you measured. You can adjust the length of this part by casting on more or fewer stitches.
• The pattern is written in a way that you can adapt it to the width and length of your feet. As an example I will give the numbers I had for my feet (in purple).
• Before you start, measure around the widest point of your feet (i.e. the circumference) and the length of your feet.

Construction

The slippers is constructed in two parts - the tip and the heel. Both are knitted flat.
It is started at the sole of the tip by doing a magic cast on. Then you knit around that CO in a U-shape making semicircle increases at the tip until the straight egde is half as wide as the circumference of your feet. Then you basically knit the same rows you just knitted backwards, i.e. doing semicircle decreases until the two sides meet and join them with a three-needle bind-off.
To start the heel part, stitches are picked up and knit from the straight edge of the tip part. Then you knit back and forth until you start decreases for a round heel. After some decreases, you only work one side part until the two sides meet. Another three-needle BO closes the heel.
The picture on the right shows a slipper as seen from both the top and the side.


Instructions

Tip
CO 2x18 stitches with the magic CO (i.e. there are 18 stitches on each needle)

Now turn your needles around in a way that you're looking at the garter stitch bumps.
All rows of the tip will be knitted in a U-shape, i.e. you knit the stitches on the first needle turn the piece upside down (this point will be called turning-point ("TP") and knit the stitches on the other needle. Then you turn your knitting to the WS and knit back.

Row 1 (WS): k16, pm, k2, TP, k2, pm, k16
Row 2 (RS): sl1, k to m, increase by 2 sts between m and TP, TP, increase by 2 sts between TP and m, k to end
Row 3 (WS): sl1, k all
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the straight edge is wide enough to fit half way around your feet. Your piece should look similar to the one depicted in photo 1.
Repeat row 3 once more.

(For the slippers in the pictures, I did a total of 9 increase rows.)

Now you basically knit the same backwards, i.e. for each increase row you knitted before, you will now knit a decrease row. Spelled out this means:
Row 5 (WS): sl1, k all
Row 6 (RS): sl1, k to m, decrease by 2 sts between m and TP, TP, decrease by 2 sts between TP and m, k to end
Repeat rows 5 and 6 until there are only 2 sts left between each marker and the TP.
Row 7: sl1, k to TP

Do a three needle BO, keep the last stitch and turn the tip rights sides out, i.e. that the rigde from the three needle BO is on the inside (see photo 2).

Heel

Starting from only leftover stitch, pick up and knit stitches along the rim of the tip - one stitch per garter stitch ridge (see photo 4).

Count the stitches and devide the number by 4 (this number will be called X). In row 1, you will place two markers, one X stitches away from the beginning of the row and another X stitches away from the end of the row. The piece should look similar to the one in photo 4.  (I had a total of 43 stitch, 1 leftover, 42 picked up. so I distributed them as follows: 11-21-11 where the 21 stitches made up the sole and both 11 stitches the sides).

Row 1 (inside) : sl1, k X-1 sts, place marker, p to last X sts, place marker, k to end

Row 2 (outside): sl1, kfb, k to last 2 sts bef end, kfb, k1

Row 3 (inside): sl1, k to marker, p to marker, k to end

Repeat rows 2 and 3 three times more.

Row 4 (outside) = sl1, k to end

Row 5 (inside) = Row 3

Then repeat rows 4 and 5 until the length of the slippers are  4 cm short of the total length of your feet.

Now start with the heel decreases:

Row 6 (outside): sl1, k to marker, ssk, k to 2 sts before marker, k2tog, k to end

Row 7 (inside): sl1, k to marker, p to marker, k to end

Repeat rows 6 and 7 four more times.

From now on only one of the side parts (in garter stitch) is worked, the stitches between the markers will be decreased row-by-row and the second garter stitch bit will not be worked until it is joined with the opposite side at the end.

Row 8: sl1, k to 1 bef marker, ssk, replace marker, turn, sl1, k to end

Repeat row 8 until there are only 2 stitches between the two markers.

Then knit the following last ridge: sl1, k to 1 bef marker, remove marker, and do a central double decrease as follow: ssk, slip the last stitch back onto the lefthand needle and slip the next stitch over the former ssk. Leave this stitch on the lefthand needle. Then turn, and k to end.

Distribute the remaining stitches evenly on two needles. Your piece should now look similar to photo 5. Finish with a three-needle bind off on the inside of the slipper (see photo 6).

Turn the heel back right sides out.

Weave in ends.
Make two.

This post was features at Oombawkadesign's 194th Wednesday Link & Share Link Party. Thank you!

Candy Corners

Add a sparkle of color to your spring outfit with this light and playful scarf. It is easy to knit because it consists of garter stitch short rows alternated with a lace pattern. As with nearly all short row patterns, it's great to show off your variegated yarn.

This pattern is available for purchase 

• on Ravelry 
• on Loveknitting 
• on Payhip
• on Gumroad

The pattern PDF is 5 pages long and contains written instructions and some illustrations explaining the short rows.





Skills Needed
Besides the plain knit stitch (garter stitch) you need the following skills to knit this scarf:

• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t)
• Decrease with slip-slip-knit (ssk), alternatively you can use a k2tog
• Increase with yarn-over (yo)

Materials

• 300 grams of DK weight yarn - the yarn I used for the scarf in the pictures is Austermann Step 6 Irish Rainbow Colors (link to the yarn's Ravelry page)
• 4mm needles (straight or circulars)
• 1 stitch marker
• tapestry needle to weave in ends

Gauge and Size
Unblocked my gauge was as follows: 10 sts and 21 rows gave 5 cm. Unblocked the scarf measured 140 cm x 33 cm, blocked it grew to 170 cm x 36 cm

This pattern was featured at Oombawka Design's 188th Link and Share Wednesday Link Party and at the Crafty Love Link Party #21 at the Undergroud Crafter. Thank you!

Another Intarsia Experiment

After my last two intarsia knitting projects (Ice Maiden Cowl and Amplitude Cowl) I decided that it would be funny to take it up a notch, i.e. incorporating other design elements as well. And I decided to add some holes to the mix.

Here's what I came up with: A three-color design with a middle line that winds around small crescent shaped holes. I really like the effect around the middle line, but not the overall piece (yarn type, overall shape etc.). Therefore, the piece in the picture will be frogged, but the basic idea (i.e. wiggly line in the middle with the small holes) will be used in another project.