Sideways Cardigan

Usually I don't buy bigger amounts of the same yarn unless I have a specific project in mind. However, a few years ago I made an exception when there was a sale at Vilfil (my favorite yarn store in Zurich) and among the items for sale was Noro Furin. At the time I bought a whole pack (10 skeins) - and it was in my stash for quite a long time, because I didn't have a good idea how to use it.
Last year in April, I decided to use it to knit a cardigan - sideways and in one piece because I don't like cutting my yarn or and I like to minimize the finishing work (e.g. sewing pieces together). Plus, with variegated yarn, I don't like the abrupt color changes that can occur when putting on the arms.
In the end it took me to August 2019 to finish knitting it - and to the following January to finally sew up the arms and to attach the buttons. ...  And now it's taken me nearly a year to write down the instructions.  So, here's a tutorial on how to do something similar.

As with my other sweater patterns (e.g. Summer Garter Stitch Top and Waterfall Tunic) this is NOT a stitch-by-stitch pattern with stitch and row counts for various sizes but rather a tutorial on how to do something similar.
You will have to swatch and calculate for yourself. So this cardigan is completely configurable to your wishes and your shape. I will however give you my numbers and calculations as an example (written in purple).

The basic idea for stitch pattern (changing the skein and alternating between garter and stockinette stitch) is stolen from Lanesplitter Skirt by Tina Whitmore - because it is such great way to show off the color changes of the variegated yarn that I used.

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

Materials

• yarn, I used about 470 grams of Aran Weight yarn (Noro Furin, colorway 4 - here's a link to the yarn's Ravelry page), 
• straight or circular knitting needles, I used 4.5mm needles - mine were 100 cm long.
• removable stitch markers (safety pins or scrap yarn work fine as well)
• 3 buttons, and sewing needle and thread to sew them on

Techniques

• Short rows with wrap and turn (w+t) - as shown in this YouTube video by Very Pink Knits. (Yes, other short row methods works as well.)
• Knitted Cast-On: See this Youtube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Cable Cast-On: See this Youtube-video by Very Pink Knits.
• Pick up and knit: Picking up stitches from the side edge of your work as shown in this YouTube video by B.Hooked Crochet & Knitting

Construction, Measurements, and Calculations

The cardigan is knitted sideways and in one piece. It starts with the left sleeve is knitted up to the shoulder. Then (with knitted COs on both sides) the piece is widened to create the front and back piece of the cardigan). At each end short rows are used to shape the piece (i.e. to make sure it is wide enough to fit around your waist). When you've reached the width of your shoulder, you bind off the stitches on the front part and start to knit a "back-only" part. This starts with a few decreases at the top to get a round neckline at the neck edge. 

Once you've reached the middle (or centerline), you basically knit everything backwards, i.e. a mirror image of the first half. This means that just before you've reached the intended neckwidith, you  increases at the neck edge, then you do a knitted CO to start the front right part. Then you continue to knit the front and back (right part) at the same time. After a bind off at both sides you knit the right sleeve as a mirror image to the left one.

In the end, you pick up stitches along the inner edge of the front parts and the neckline (green line in figure 1) to knit a collar with button holes.

Figure 1: Construction

You need to take the following measurements:

A = arm circumference at wrist
B = arm circumference at shoulder
C = from shoulder to hip (total length of garment)
D = from under arm to hip (or C-B/2)
E = depth of neckline on the back of the garment

F = arm length
G = width of shoulder seam
H = half of the width of neckline
I = width of one side of the cardigan at your hip (for me H=I/2)
J = width at hip (should be roughly half of your hip circumference)

Figure 2: Measurements

Knit a swatch and calculate the stitch and row numbers according to your measurements!
Alternatively, with a rough idea of your gauge, you can start with the arm piece and use this as your swatch - however, this swatch piece has then not been blocked and/or washed and might be less exact than you'd like it to be ... and maybe you'll need to frog it after knitting half a sleeve (i.e. you've just knitted a bigger swatch ;-(.
So, better just knit a swatch and block it.

Here are my calculations for stitch numbers and ridges - rounded. My swatch measured 18 sts for 10 cm in width and 30 rows (in pattern) for 10 cm in height.

A = 22 cm = 40 sts
B = 42 cm = 72 sts
C = 60 cm = 108 sts
D = 60 cm - 21 cm = 39 cm - or 108 sts - 36 sts = 72 sts
E =  1,5 cm =  3 sts
 
F = 45 cm = 135 rows
G = 10 cm = 30 rows
H = 10 cm = 30 rows
I = 25 cm = 75 rows
J = 50 cm = 150 rows

Before you start ...

• The 2nd half of one piece (right side) is the exact mirror of the 1st part (left side). So it's essential to take notes while you're knitting, in order to be able to knit the same rows in the opposite order (i.e. decreases where you increased, BO where you CO'd etc.)
• Since I am not "busty" I didn't make allowance for bust shaping. This can be done by starting the front side short rows higher up in the rows or by inserting short rows at bust height that act as bust darts (as I did in the No Assembly Required Top).

Instructions

Throughout the pattern you alternate skeins of variegated yarn (skeins S1 and S2).

The basic stitch pattern for the sleeves (without the calculated increases) is:

• two rows in stockinette stitch in S1, 
• two rows in garter stitch (i.e. one garter ridge) in S2, 
• four rows in stockinette stitch in S1, 
• two rows in garter stitch (i.e. one garter ridge) in S2.

Or spelled out: 

Row 1 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end    // stockinette part, S1
Row 3 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 4 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge, S2
Row 5 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end
Row 7 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end    // stockinette part, S1
Row 9 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 10 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge, S2

The stitch pattern for the body is similar

• two rows in stockinette stitch in S1 - with some (calculated) short rows at the beginning and end of the row
• two rows in garter stitch (i.e. one garter ridge) in S2

So, when you finish a part, make sure that you continue in pattern, i.e. if you've finished the first sleeve on a garter ridge (in S2), start the main body in stockinette (S1) - my examples below might differ from that.

Left Sleeve

CO A stitches with S1
Instead of ribbing, knit several rigdes of garter stitch, alternating the skeins after each ridge.
I did a CO of 46 stitches and knit 4 ridges in garter stitch.

You now have to calculate the increases you have to do in order to reach B stitches at the shoulder.

I wanted to reach 72 stitches at the shoulder, i.e. I had to increase by 13 ((72-46)/2 =  26/2 = 13) on each side (beginning and end of row) - and I had 128 rows to reach that (D=136 rows, minus 8 rows already knitted for the "instead-of-ribbing"). So I decided had to do increases every 10th row (i.e. that would give 130 rows, but this difference (1cm) was OK for me).

Start knitting the stitch pattern above and increase (as calculated at the beginning and end of the rows)

As calculated I knitted the pattern and increased at the beginning and end of every 10th row, i.e. after 130 I had 13x2 = 26 sts more than the CO, i.e. 46+26 = 72 sts.

To help me count the rows of the body part and to measure, I marked the last row of the sleeve with a removable stitch marker.


Body (Back Piece and Two Front Pieces)

Left Half 

Knit the next row, at the end of the row, with a knitted cast-on, CO D stitches for the front.

Then turn, knit back and CO D stitches for the back.

I wanted to add 39 cm to the lenght (added to the sleeve width - back and front), so I CO'd 72 sts on each side.

Since you're knitting sideways and the shoulders are narrower than the piece around the hips, you now have to calculate the amount of short rows to knit at the front and the back. Plus, you have to decide where you want your short rows to end.

The short rows for the front piece are calculated by the ratio of G to I (i.e. shoulder width to width at the hip of one half).
And the short rows for the back piece by the ratio of G+H to J/2 (i.e. shoulder width plus half of the neckline width to half of the width at the hip.

This means, that you have more short rows on the front than on the back.

For the front I had G = 10 cm and I=25 cm, i.e. for each shoulder ridge, I had to knit 2,5 ridges on the lower edge, i.e. a ratio of 1:2,5 or 2:5. 

For the back it was G+H=10+10= 20 cm and J/2 = 50/2 = 25 cm. So I had the ratio of 2:2,5 or 4:5.

I wanted to keep the pattern of 1 garter ridge and stockinette rows inbetween.

So, taking into account the short rows calculated above, I ended up with this pattern, but I varied the points where I did the w+t's a bit.

Row 1 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end  // garter stitch ridge
Row 3 (RS), S1): sl1, k to end
Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p65, w+t

Row 5 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p40, w+t

Row 7 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p15, w+t

Row 9 (RS, S1): k to end   

Row 10 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end  // stockinette part with short rows in front

Repeat rows 1 to 10 once, after you've the last row for the 2nd time, continue with 

Row 21 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 22 (WS, S1): p to end   // stockinette part plus short rows in the back

I knitted these rows 4 times, i.e. until the shoulder was wide enough.

Knit the calculated pattern until you've reach the shoulder width. 

Now you have to BO the stitches on the front part, i.e. knit to the end of an RS row and BO C stitches.

In my case I had to BO 108 sts. So I knitted an RS row, and started the WS with binding off 108 sts.

 

Now that you've reached the neck of the piece and have done a BO of the front stitches, you need to knit only the part of the rows, that is on the back of the cardigan. 

For me that meant skipping the rows that were called row 4 to row 9 in the body pattern above, i.e. the following: 

Row 1 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter stitch ridge
Row 3 (RS), S1): sl1, k to end

Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end   // stockinette rows

Repeat rows 1 to 4 once more. After you've the last row for the 2nd time, continue with 

Row 9 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 10 (WS, S1): p to end   // stockinette part plus short rows in the back 

However, if you want to have a slight curve in the back of the neckline, you have to do some decreases at the end of the first RS rows to shape a curve in your neck. 

I wanted a curve that was 1,5 cm deep, so over the first 6 rows, I decreased one stitch every other row, i.e. I knitted up to the last three stitches of a RS row and ended with "ssk, k1".

Knit your calculated pattern until you've reached exactly the centerline of your piece.

I ended on a stockinette row in S2. For a nice symmetry (and to stay "in pattern") I knitted one garter stitch ridge in S1.

Right Half

After reaching the middle of your piece, you basically have to knit a mirror image of the 1st half, i.e. 

• you increase where you decreased before, 
• you to a BO where you did a CO before (and vice versa), 
• you knit the same short rows as before - just in reverse order.

So first you knit the back part only.

For me this meant the following for rows 1 to 10 of the back-only part.

Row 1 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end

Row 2 (WS, S1):, p to end   

Row 3 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 4 (RS, S1): p to end      // stockinette part plus short rows in the back 

Row 5 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end

Row 6 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter stitch ridge

Row 7 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end

Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end   // stockinette rows

Row 9 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end

Row 10 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end      // garter stitch ridge

Plus, just before you finish the back-only part, you need to include some increases at the upper edge (to mirror the decreases you did during the right half.

For me that meant that - starting from the 6th row before I had to do the BO, I increased one stitch every other row, i.e. I knitted up to the last two stitches of a RS row and ended with "kfb, k1".

Then you need to CO the front stitches again, i.e. knit an RS row and then do a knitted CO of the calculated number of stitches.

I knitted an RS row, then continued by casting on 108 stitches 

Knit the same pattern you knitted for the left half in reverse order until you've reached the shoulder width.

For me that meant knitting the following sequence

Row 1 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 2 (WS, S1): sl1, p15, w+t

Row 3 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p40, w+t

Row 5 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p65, w+t

Row 7 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 8 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end

Row 9 (RS, S1): sl1, k35, w+t

Row 10 (WS, S1): p to end     // stockinette "ridge" with short rows front and back

Row 11 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 12 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge

Row 13 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 14 (WS, S1): sl1, p15, w+t

Row 15 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 16 (WS, S1): sl1, p40, w+t

Row 17 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 18 (WS, S1): sl1, p65, w+t

Row 19 (RS, S1): k to end

Row 20 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end    // stockinette "ridge" with short rows only in front 

Row 21 (RS, S2): sl1, k to end
Row 22 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end    // garter ridge

Once you've reached the shoulder width of the right shoulder, knit to the end of the row, turn and BO D stitches (front), and knit to end. Then BO D stitches (back). The number of stitches that you have left now should be exactly the number you had when you finished the first sleeve.

For me that meant:

Row 1: sl1, k to end

Row 2: BO72, k to end

Row 3: BO72

Right Sleeve

The right sleeve is the left sleeve knitted backwards, i.e. knitting the stitch pattern in reverse order and doing decreases where you did increases before.

Knit in pattern (with the decreases) until your right sleeve has the same length than the left.

I knitted the sleeve stitch pattern in reverse order ...

Row 1 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 2 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter ridge

Row 3 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 4 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end
Row 5 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 6 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end  // stockinette part

Row 7 (RS), S2): sl1, k to end
Row 8 (WS, S2): sl1, k to end   // garter ridge

Row 9 (RS, S1): sl1, k to end
Row 10 (WS, S1): sl1, p to end   // stockinette part

... while I did decreases at the beginning and end of every 10th row.

Then finish with the same "ribbing" you did on your left sleeve and bind off (loosely).

In my case that meant knitting 4 ridges of garter stitch alternating the skeins.


Collar

Pick up stitches all along the inner edge on the left front, the neck and the right edge in front (see green line in figure 1 above).

Knit (back and forth) 3 ridges of garter stitch.

Calculate the size of your button holes and decide where you want to put the buttons, i.e. decide on the distance between two buttons and calculate the appropriate number of stitches.

Knit up to the 1st button hole, BO the number of stitches for 1 button, k to the next button hole, BO the number of stitches for 1 button

 

The buttons I bought had a diameter of 2,5cm, so I decided that I'd make my button holes 4 sts wide and I decided that I'd place them within the lowest 20 cm, i.e 40 sts, 

So I knitted the "botton hole ridge" as follows:

sl1, k7, BO4, k10, BO4, k10 BO4, k to end; 

sl1, k up to first BO, CO4, k10, CO4, k10, CO4, k to end

Knit 3 more ridges of garter stitch, BO during the last row.

Finishing

I prefer to block the finished piece (sewn up) rather than the flattened out version. Both methods have their advantages and disadvantages.

Sew the side underarm seams together and the buttons on. Weave in ends.

Sew on buttons and block the piece.

Retstrikkede Fingervanter - All Fingers and Thumbs Gloves in Danish

Marianne Holmen from strikkeglad.dk has written another Danish translation for one of my patterns - this time for the All Fingers and Thumbs Gloves. Mange Tak!

The Danish translation can be found here.
The original (english) version of this pattern is available here.

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

A list of all translated versions of my patterns can be found in this blogpost.

Perpendicularity Mitts

 I love fingerless gloves. They are my favorite accessory – and knitting project. They are fun to knit and wear, and on top of that  they are so versatile – especially in terms of construction, which shows off nicely, if you use variegated or self-striping yarn. 

These mitts are constructed in seven parts, each of which either starting with a provisional CO or by picking up stitches from the edge, and some are finished by a three-needle BO (three times) and (the last one) by grafting in garter stitch. 

This means that the mitts are knitted in one piece each – so you only have to weave in two ends for each glove. 

The pattern is available on

• Ravelry
• Loveknitting 
• Payhip

This pattern PDF is 13 pages long and contains 

• written row-by-row instructions for knitting these fingerless gloves in one size – including 21 photos of the different stages
• explanations how to adapt the pattern to other sizes
• a schematic how the mitts are constructed
• short photo tutorials of the following techniques:
• provisional cast-on and how to undo it
• three-needle bind-off
• picking up and knitting stitches from the edge of your knitting
• picking up stitches from gaps (e.g. necessary after changes in direction)
• short rows with wrap and turn 
• grafting in garter stitch

To knit these fingerless gloves you need the following materials:

• about 35 to 40 grams of fingering weight yarn 
• 3mm needles, for fingerless gloves such as these, I tend to switch between dpns and circulars, but it's possible to use either of them
• one surplus knitting needle (of the same size (3mm))
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook (about 3mm) for the provisional COs
• a stitch holder for the thumb stitches (scrap yarn works well, too)
• 3 stitch markers and a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Diamond Lattice Cowl

Two-colour brioche is a marvellous technique. It creates a lovely, squishy texture that is comforable to wear and it can be used to create quite intricate geometric patterns.

This cowl is knitted in the round with diamond shapes in a lattice pattern. 

 

The pattern is available via

• Ravelry 
• Loveknitting 
• Payhip

The pattern PDF is 9 pages long and contains

• row-by-row instructions
• a chart of one pattern repeat
• photo tutorials of the brioche increases and decreases that you need for this cowl
• brk2Ldec (left-leaning brioche decrease)
• brk2Rdec (right-leaning brioche decrease)
• brk2inc (brioche increase)
• brkX (brioche stitch that creates the lattice effect) 

If you want to knit this pattern, you should already know how to knit two-colour brioche in the round.

You need the following materials to knit this cowl:

• about 260 to 300 grams of DK weight yarn (in total) – in two colours: I used two (semi-)solid yarns: Supertwist by Nurturing Fibres (link to the yarn's Ravelry page):
• as LY I used light grey (colorway “Driftwood”) 
• as DY I used pink (colorway “Ouma's Quilt”) 
• 4.5 mm circular knitting needles
• 22 stitch markers – one of them different
• a tapestry needle for weaving in ends

Sideways Pumpkins

 After a few really warm days in September, it's finally getting colder and wetter outside. For me, that's the moment where I really like to stay inside, make myself comfortable and have it cozy. Part of this is a bit of seasonal decoration and somehow the pumpkin is the ultimate autumn decoration (even though I cannot remember eating it as a child). That's why I decided to knit little decorative pumpkins, using old  yarn that was already in my stash. (The light orange ones are made from yarn, that was leftover when my Mum knitted a sweater in the 70ies :) 

As it is my usual go-to construction (e.g. here or here), I knitted them sideways - starting with a provisional CO, shaping the piece with short rows and finishing by grafting in garter stitch. If you want to learn one of these techniques, this might be a project to learn.

This is a project a bit like my little knitted hearts (Herzchen) - once you start knitting them, you cannot stop :)

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

Size

The pumpkins I knitted measured between 6 and 11 cm in diameter - depending on yarn (fingering, to fingering held double) and needles that I used (2.25 to 3.5 mm).

Materials

• yarn – basically leftovers - I different kinds of yarn – and self-striping fingering weight yarn)
• knitting needles – dpns knitting needles, circulars or AddiTrios (both will work for the flat piece and for the i-cord), always smaller needles than the yarn called for – in order to get a tight texture, e.g. 2.25 mm for fingering weight yarn or 3.5 mm for fingering yarn held doubly
• a crochet hook (for the provisional cast-on)
• stuffing - I used the yarn ends and fabric scraps that I had saved from previous knitting or sewing projects
• a tapestry needle for grafting and weaving 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. Since the piece is all knitted in garter stitch, there is no need to pick up the wraps.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.
• I-Cord: shown in this YouTube video by Studio Knit.

Instructions

Pumpkin

With scrap yarn, do a provisional CO of 18 stitches and with your working yarn (see illustration 1), knit the setup row (k all, see illustration 2).

Ridge 1 (RS/WS): sl, k1, kfb, k1, kfb, k2, kfb, k2, kfb, k1, kfb, k1, kfb, k1, w+t, k20 (or k to 2 bef end), w+t
Ridge 2 (RS/WS): k5, kfb, k8, kfb, k3 (i.e. 4 bef end), w+t, k15,  (i.e. 7 bef end) w+t
Ridge 3 (RS/WS): k10, w+t, k13 (i.e. 4 bef end), w+t
Ridge 4 (RS/WS): k15, w+t, k11, w+t
Ridge 5 (RS/WS): k10, w+t, k12 (i.e. 6 bef end), w+t
Ridge 6 (RS/WS): k14 (i.e. 6 bef end), w+t, k15 (i.e. 5 bef end), w+t
Ridge 7 (RS/WS): k1, ssk, k10, ssk, k1 (i.e. 5 bef end), w+t, k11, w+t
Ridge 8 (RS/WS): k10, w+t, k15 (i.e. 3 bef end), w+t
Ridge 9 (RS/WS): ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1 (i.e. 3 bef end), w+t, k14 (i.e. 1 bef end), w+t
Ridge 10: k17, turn, sl1, k17 (i.e. to end)

Illustrations

After the first repeat of these 10 ridges you're back to 18 stitches on your needles and the piece will look similar to illustration 3.

Repeat ridges 1 to 10 four more times, then knit ridges 1 to 8 - and a slightly altered version of ridge 9 (i.e. ridge 9b), knitting the WS row to end - or spelled out: 

Ridge 9b (RS/WS): ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, ssk, k1, w+t, k to end

Remove the scrap yarn of the provisional CO and catch the stitches on a knitting needle. As you can see on illustration 4, the right edge of the piece is 6 rows high. That's why you first have to close up the (potential) hole at the end of the row. Then start grafting the live stitches together in garter stitch. 

When you've closed about two thirds of the row, fill the pumpkin with stuffing. Continue grafting in garter stitch to the end of the row. With the same tail, close the other (potential) hole. Then stick the needle right through the middle of the piece, and then back (illustration 5). Pull the yarn tight. That will make the piece a bit flatter and therefore more pumpkin shaped. Secure tail and weave in ends.

Please note:

• It may be helpful to mark the RS of the piece.
• When I knitted these, I sometimes miscounted my stitches. This doesn't really matter, as long as you're not too far out (and anyway, real pumpkins aren't completely symmetrical, are they?). But that's why I've included the instructions until which stitch some of the ridges are to be knitted (e.g. k to 2 bef end). This may help you to get back in sync with the pattern after having miscounted.

Stem

In contrasting yarn, knit an i-cord (of 5 stitches) of about 12 rows (or however long you want the stem), cut yarn, but leave a tail that's long enough to sew stem to pumpkin.

Use the tail to sew the stem to the pumpkin (illustration 6) and weave in ends.

Rainbow Mitts

It's been a while since I published the last fingerless glove pattern (to be precise, it was published in May 2018, my Color Explosion Mitts). However, fingerless gloves are my favorite kind of knitted items because they are so versatile - especially in terms of construction - and this is great when using variegated yarn.

And this is exactly what I did for these fingerless gloves; they are knitted in different directions and in one piece – so you only have to weave in two ends for each glove.

The pattern is available 

• on Ravelry 
• on Loveknitting 
• on Payhip

The PDF is 10 pages long and contains:

• a schematic how the mitts are constructed
• written row-by-row instructions for knitting these fingerless gloves (including 8 photos of the different stages) for one size (21 cm high with a circumference of 17 cm at the wrist edge and of 16 cm at the fingers)
• explanations how to adapt the pattern to other sizes
• short photo tutorials of the following techniques
• provisional cast on (with a crochet hook) and how to undo it
• three-needle bind-of
• picking up and knitting stitches from the edge of your knitting
• picking up stitches from gaps (e.g. necessary when changing knitting direction(
• short rows with shadow wraps

To knit this pattern the following techniques are used:

• provisional CO and how to undo it
• three needle BO
• picking up stitches from the edge of a knitted piece
• short rows with shadow wraps
• picking up stitches from a gap (e.g. when doing a thumb gusset)

For all these techniques/skills, the pattern PDF contains photo tutorials. 

You need the following materials to knit these fingerless mitts

• about 35 to 40 grams of fingering weight yarn (I used Schoeller Esslinger Wolle, Sockenwolle, Color 0008 "Regenbogen-bunt" - here's the link to the yarn's Ravelry page)
• 3mm needles, for fingerless gloves such as these, I tend to switch between dpns and circulars, but it's possible to use either of them
• in case you only use circulars, you'll a third knitting needle in a similar size for the three-needle BO, 
• a stitch holder for the thumb stitches (scrap yarn works well, too)
• 2 stitch markers
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook (about 3mm) for the provisional CO
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends

Seven Petals Potholder

After finishing my Daisy Potholders I wanted to knit a flower with a petal contour - and so I started experimenting - and surprisingly enough, it worked.
So, here is the pattern for a flower-shaped potholder, hotpad or coaster. It starts with a provisional CO, is knitted in short row wedges and finished with grafting in garter stitch.
Since this is an intarsia project with three colours that also uses short rows, it can be quite fiddly. It is NOT a beginner pattern.

The pattern is available 

• on Ravelry 
• on Loveknitting 
• on Payhip 

The pattern PDF is 12 pages long and contains

• written row-by-row instructions for knitting this piece – including four photos of the different stages 
• a pattern chart of one wedge
• short photo tutorials for the following techniques
• provisional CO with a crochet hook and how to undo it
• grafting in garter stitch
• short rows with wrap and turn and picking up the wraps 
• intarsia knitting 
• weaving in yarn while carrying it (backwards and forwards)
• photo tutorials and step-by-step explanations of
• undoing the provisional CO in this pattern (i.e. catching stitches in different colours)
• grafting this piece – with a decrease and colour changes

Of the 12 pages, the pattern instructions and chart comprise only 3 pages - the rest are the technique tutorials and explanations of their specific application for this motif.

Since it's an intarsia pattern, it looks OK from WS as well (see picture below).

To knit one of these pieces you need the following materials

• Cotton yarn in three colors – I knitted these potholders in Aran and Sports weight yarn
• for Aran, I used a total of 30 grams
• for Sports weight, I used a total of 20 grams
• knitting needles – straight or circulars: I used 3mm needles for Aran weight yarn and 2.5mm needles for Sports weight yarn, i.e. smaller than the yarn usually requires because I wanted a firm texture. 
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook (about 3mm) for the provisional CO
• two tapestry needles for grafting and to weave in ends

The pieces I knitted measure 16 cm to 22 cm in diameter - depending on the yarn weight I used.