Skein Hash Cowl

If you're anything like me, you will have lots of yarn leftovers in your stash - not enough of one type of yarn to make something new, but also too much (and too good) to throw it away. I had long thought about a way to mix up leftovers to make them into something whole, but it took me a while to design a nice little pattern for it.

So, here's an interesting way of stashbusting and using up some beautiful yarn leftovers. It's a cowl that is knitted flat - started with a provisional CO and joined in the round by grafting. It's knitted all in garter stitch - i.e. you do not have to purl. Basically, it's a chevron pattern on a bias.

The pattern is written for fingering weight yarn, but I have included a way to calculate the number of stitches for other yarn weights and as well.

As to the name: Actually Skein Hash is a cryptographic hash function. These functions are used to calculate digital signatures and have many other applications in information security. When I saw the name I thought that this was too good to be missed as the name for knitting pattern - it was actually one of the rare cases where I had a name before I had a pattern to suit it :)
And since hash means (according to Webster's Dictionary) "confuse, muddle" it fits perfectly, since this is exactly what this pattern does with the yarn from your leftover skeins.


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






Materials

• about 130 to 180 grams of yarn of the same weight (I used fingering weight yarn)
• knitting needles (straight or circular) that fits your yarn weight (I used 3.25 mm needles)
• a removable stitch marker to mark the right side of the piece
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook for the provisional CO
• a tapestry needle for grafting and to weave in ends

Techniques and Abbreviations

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Grafting in Garter Stitch: A technique to get an invisible (knitted) seam - this technique is shown in this YouTube Video by knittinghelp.com.
• Carrying yarn up:  When you're knitting chevrons on a bias you have to BO or CO at the beginning or end of a row. And since you're using three strands of yarn, you need to bring the yarn that you're not using (for the current row) with you. This can be done by twisting the unused yarn with the current yarn after every BO or CO stitch - similar to the technique of carrying yarn up on the side of your work - this technique is shown in this YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter.
• kyok: centered double increase: knit, yarn over, knit into one stitch (as shown in this YouTube video by So, I make stuff)
• sl1 k2tog psso: slip one stitch, knit the next two stitches together and pass the slipped stitch over (as shown in this YouTube video by Knit Purl Hunter)

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

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

Gauge and Size
In garter stitch 5 stitches gave 2 cm in width and 8 rows (4 ridges) gave 2 cm in height.
The cowl that I knitted measures about 24 cm in width and 124 cm in circumference.

The lenght is adjusted easily, by knitting more or fewer rows.
If you want to change the width, knit a swatch in garter, calculate the number of stitches you'd need to cast on for the desired width, multiply this number by 2 (because of the chevron on a bias pattern) and then cast the number of stitches nearest to that that is a multiple of 10.

• Example Calculation 1: If your swatch 9 stitches give 5 cm in width - and you want your finished piece to measure 25 cm in width. 45 stitches would normally give 25 cm. Multiplied by 2 this gives 90 stitches to cast on with that yarn - and since 90 is divisible by 10 you don't need to add or subtract from that number.
• Example Calculation 2 (with a bigger yarn): Your swatch shows that 3 stitches give 2 cm in with - and you want a 22 cm wide cowl: 33 stitches would have to be cast on for a cowl in plain garter stitch (without the chevron pattern). Multiplied by 2 it'd give 66 stitches - the nearest multiple of 10 is 70, so you have to cast on 70 sts.

Using Your Leftovers
Go stash diving and find about 200 grams of yarn of the same weight - I used fingering weight yarn of the same part of the color spectrum (blue-ish), but I think color combinations would work as well. You always work with 3 skeins at a time, the one row is knitted with the skein 1, the next with skein 2, the next with skein 3, and then you start again with skein 1. Once one strand runs out of yarn, just connect the next one to it.
I wanted to rather consistent color distribution (or as consistent as possible). That's why I seperated some of the leftover skeins into two skeins and used them at different times. This will even increase the numbers of ends to weave in, but I prefered this over a color change that seemed to abrupt.


Instructions
You will always work with three colors. After each row, you change to the next color.

Provisionally CO 120 sts
Row 0 (C1, WS): k all
Row 1 (C2, RS): k2, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only 8 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso, k1
Row 2 (C3, WS): k all
Row 3 (C1, RS): k3, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only7 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso
Row 4 (C2, WS): BO5 (while weaving in C1), k to end
Row 5 (C3, RS): k4, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there is only one sts left, k1
Row 6 (C1, WS): k all, CO5 while weaving in C2
Row 7 (C2, RS): *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * to end
Row 8 (C3. WS): k all
Row 9 (C1, RS): k1, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only 9 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso, k2
Row 10 (C2, WS): k all
Row 11 (C3, RS): k2, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only 8 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso, k1
Row 12 (C1, WS): k all
Row 13 (C2, RS): k3, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only7 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso
Row 14 (C3, WS): BO5 (while weaving in C1), k to end

Row 15 (C1, RS): k4, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there is only one sts left, k1
Row 16 (C2, WS): k all, CO5 while weaving in C2
Row 17 (C3, RS): *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * to end
Row 18 (C1. WS): k all
Row 19 (C2, RS): k1, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only 9 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso, k2
Row 20 (C3, WS): k all
Row 21 (C1, RS): k2, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only 8 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso, k1
Row 22 (C2, WS): k all
Row 23 (C3, RS): k3, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only7 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso
Row 24 (C1, WS): BO5 (while weaving in C1), k to end
Row 25 (C2, RS): k4, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there is only one sts left, k1
Row 26 (C3, WS): k all, CO5 while weaving in C2
Row 27 (C1, RS): *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * to end
Row 28 (C2. WS): k all
Row 29 (C3, RS): k1, *kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso k3 repeat from * until there are only 9 sts left, kyok, k3, sl1 k2tog psso, k2
Row 30 (C1, WS): k all

Repeat until your cowl has reached the desired lenght - make sure to end with a row 8, 18 or 28. Leave a tail for grafting. Place the stitches from the provisional CO on the second needle, hold the ends together (RS out) as shown in the picture and graft in garter stitch ... or if you want to be very precise about things follow the instructions below ...

Actually, the row you're grafting is an RS row (a row 9, 19 or 29 to be precise) which means that there should be increases and decreases in order to keep the chevron pattern ... I solved this by sometimes treating 3 stitches as 1 stitch. To be more precise, everytime, that there'd be a scheduled double decrease in row 9 (or 19 or 29), I inserted the needle not into one stitch but into three at a time on the front needle. and every time that there'd be a scheduled double increase in row 9 (meaning a double decrease on the corresponding provisional CO row), I inserted the needle into three stitches at a time on the back needle.

Even though, I think I didn't count correctly a few times, the finished grafting row looks OK.

Weave in all the ends if necessary and block.

Bubblewrap Cowl

I like to experiment with short rows and their effects on variegated yarn. With this piece I wanted to explore three-dimensional elements. The result was a stylish cowl with an organic look.
This cowl is basically knitted only in garter stitch, but with some increases and decreases combined with short rows to achieve the three-dimensional effect. It is stared with a provisional cast on, knitted flat and joined invisibly by grafting in garter stitch.

Using one skein of Wollmeise Twin (about 150 grams of any other fingering weight wool) the cowl will be long enough to fit twice around your neck.

The pattern contains a long stitch-by-stitch version, a shorter version that may be helpful once you've got the idea of how to knit one bubble, plus a schematic of the bubble placement and a chart of a bubble.
It is available for purchase 

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

Materials

• about 150 grams of fingering weight yarn – I used Wollmeise Twin – colorway “Martha”, for a pattern such as this variegated yarn looks good, especially with a really short color gradient
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook for provisional CO - here's a photo of the hank before winding.
• 3.25 mm knitting needles - I used circulars, but straight needles will do as well
• 5 stitch markers
• a tapestry needle to graft and to weave in ends

Size and Gauge
The finished cowl (that used up almost all of a 150 grams skein of fingering weight yarn) measures 20 cm in width and 110 cm in circumference, i.e. it fits twice around your neck.

Necessary Skills

In order to finish this cowl you need the following knitting skills.

• Provisional CO
• Basic increases and decreases (kfb and ssk)
• Grafting in garter stitch
• German short rows (there is also an explanation on how to convert the pattern to "wrap and turn" short rows)

Sparkler Mitts - version française - french version

Sophie Gelfi from Easy Crochet has kindly translated the Sparkler Mitts crochet pattern into French. It is available here. Thank you!

Grâce à Sophie Gelfi de Easy Crochet le modèle crochet pour les mitaines "Sparkler" est disponible ici. Merci beaucoup pour la traduction.

The original english version of this crochet pattern is available here.

Bartkauz Shoulder Warmer

Like many women I tend to feel cold ... practically always except in high summer. That's why I wanted a sort of shoulder warmer or poncho to keep me warm at work.
I chose a light-weight merino yarn in different grey tones that - colors that are compatible with an office environment.
The piece is knitted flat - starting with a provisional cast on and knitted sideways with a combination of short row ribs and a lace pattern to make it interesting, and it is finished with Kitchener stitch.
Because of the short rows, this piece is wider at the bottom than at the top - so that it fits nicely around your shoulders. You can wear it either as a cowl or as a shoulder warmer / poncho.

Bartkauz is the german name for the Great Grey Owl. The color of the cowl reminded me of its plumage.


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






Materials

• about 100 grams of lace weight yarn - I used Schachenmeyer Merino Extra Fine Lace (link to the yarn's Ravelry page)
• 3.75mm needles (straight or circular)
• scrap yarn and a crochet hook for provisional CO
• tapestry needle for grafting and to weave in ends

Techniques

• Provisional CO: My favorite method for a provision CO is the crochet provisional CO - it is shown in this Youtube video by New Stitch a Day.
• Shadow Wrap Short Rows: the last stitch you knit (or purl) before turning, is worked into the stitch in the row below (also called the "mother-stitch"), which also leaves you with a pair of stitches that has to be worked as one in the row above. This method is shown in this YouTube video by Lee Meredith. 
• Grafting in stockinette stitch (also called Kitchener Stitch): a way to seamlessly join two rows of live stitches - as shown in this YouTube video by WEBS America's Yarn Store.

Gauge and Size
When knitting in garter stitch 12 stitches gave about 5 cm in width, and 11 garter stitch ridges (i.e. 22 rows) about 5 cm in height.
After blocking, the finished piece measures 40 cm in height. The circumference in 140 cm at the lower edge and 75 cm at the upper edge - however, the pattern is written in a way that the circumference can be adapted.

Lace Chart

If you prefer to knit lace from a chart, here's a chart for the lace pattern. The part within the red rectangles is one repeat of the lace pattern.

Row 1: k all
Row 2: p all
Row 3: k3, *k2tog, yo, yo, ssk repeat from * until 3 sts from end, k3
Row 4: p3 * p1, (k1, p1) into double yo, p1 repeat from * until 3 sts from end, p3
Row 5: k all
Row 6: p all
Row 7: k1, *k2tog, yo, yo, ssk repeat from * until 1 st from end, k1
Row 8: p1 * p1, (k1, p1) into double yo, p1 repeat from * until 1 st from end, p1


Instructions

Do a provisional CO of 90 sts

Setup Rows
Row 1: p all
Row 2: k all
Row 3: k all
Row 4: p all

Part A) Short Row Sequence
Ridge 1: p70, k into mother stitch and turn, k to end
Ridge 2: k60, p into mother stitch and p to end
Ridge 3: p50, k into mother stitch and turn, k to end
Ridge 4: k40, p into mother stitch and p to end
Ridge 5: p30, k into mother stitch and turn, k to end
Ridge 6: k20, p into mother stitch and p to end
Ridge 7: p10, k into mother stitch and turn, k to end
Ridge 8: k19, k into mother stitch and p to end
Ridge 9: p29, p into mother stitch and turn, k to end
Ridge 10: k39, k into mother stitch and p to end
Ridge 11: p49, p into mother stitch and turn, k to end
Ridge 12: k59, k into mother stitch and p to end
Ridge 13: p69, p into mother stitch and turn, k to end

Part B) Transition to Lace
Row 1: k all
Row 2: p all
Row 3: p all
Row 4: k all
Row 5: k all
Row 6: p all

Part C) Lace Pattern
Row 1: k all
Row 2: p all
Row 3: k3, *k2tog, yo, yo, ssk repeat from * until 3 sts from end, k3
Row 4: p3 * p1, (k1, p1) into double yo, p1 repeat from * until 3 sts from end, p3
Row 5: k all
Row 6: p all
Row 7: k1, *k2tog, yo, yo, ssk repeat from * until 1 st from end, k1
Row 8: p1 * p1, (k1, p1) into double yo, p1 repeat from * until 1 st from end, p1
Repeat rows 1 to 8 once more
Then knit rows 1 to 6 once.

Part D) Transition to Short Row Sequence
= Part B

Repeat Parts A to D six times more or until the lower edge nearly fits around your shoulders.
Then repeat parts A to C once more.

Graft in stockinette stitch.

Leftovers

When you knit a lot, you always have leftovers ... and it's usually difficult to find suitable projects for them. One idea is to use different leftovers (three at a time) and switching colors after each row. And once one skein is finished to replace it with the next one. This means that the colors are evenly distributed - and the unused yarn can be carried up easily after each row.
So I looked through my stash and picked all kinds of fingeringh weight yarns in different shades of blue. Than I started with a chevron pattern on a bias - with the plan of knitting a cowl (flat, starting with a provisional CO and finished by grafting).

I really liked it at the beginning, but I hadn't reckoned with the fact that my leftovers were a bit too long to achieve the sort of randomness that I had hoped for. So that nearly half of the piece is blue with turquoise, and the next half would be blue with another color inbetween - and I don't like the idea of two halves of my cowl being so different in color - mixed up would be OK but not with such a clear border. Also, I^ve started to think that the piece is not wide enough for my taste - even though I did a cast on of 100 stitches, only half of them make up the width.

Currently, I'm not sure whether I will continue this piece, frog it and start in the same color scheme but with 5 strands at the same time (and switching them after each row, but that's a yarn tangle waiting to happen), or whether I'll start something with different leftovers - chosen not only for their colors but also for their length :)

Klecks Socks

A few months ago, Addi brought out a new set of sock needles - and it seemed as if everybody on social media posted about them. So of course I wanted a set of them, too. Everytime I went to a LYS, I tried to get them, but most stores didn't have them in stock. So I was really pleased when I found a 3mm set of them at Strickschuh in Bergisch-Gladbach - even though it was the only set they had. The store owner told me that she had ordered them months ago and only received them recently.
I wanted to try them out right away, so I started a pair of socks with a simple short row pattern. It's not very sophisticated and while I was knitting them, I wasn't too happy about the design ... it just looked too blobby. But once the first sock was finished, the look rather grew on me and I decided to knit its partner.
These socks are knitted from the cuff down, with a short row heel (knitted with shadow wrap short rows). The blobby pattern is achieved with short rows.

As with some of my other sock patterns (e.g. Iceberg Socks or Battenberg Socks), this blogpost is more of a sketch or recipe than a complete pattern. It is assumed that you know how to knit socks to fit your feet.

Klecks is the German word for a large blot or splodge.


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




Materials

• 50 to 80 grams of fingering weight yarn in two colors (I used about 40 grams of main color (MC) and about 20 grams of contrast color (CC)).
• 3mm needles - that can be dpns, a circular needle with a length of at least 80cm or needles that you can use to knit socks in the round - of course, if you prefer to knit socks with 2.5mm needles you can used these, too, the important point is to cast on a number of stitches that is a multiple of 3
• a tapestry needle to weave in ends
• two stitch markers to mark the half  and beginning of a round

Techniques

• Loose Cast-On: If I knit top-down socks (or something else that needs a loose CO), I always do a longtail CO, but on two needles.
• Kitchener Stitch: i.e. grafting two life rows of stitches as for example shown in this YouTube video by Purl Soho.
• Sock Knitting Table: There are already a number of tables available on the web that tells you how many stitches to cast on for socks of any foot size, e.g. here by Schachenmayr (see table on page 3), here by Regia or here at aboutneedlework. For this pattern you need the number of stitches to cast on for your socks. 
• German Short Rows (t+p): when you turn, bring yarn to the front and pull it back so that a sort of double-stitch is created, then knit back as usual - when you have to knit the double-stitch, be careful to knit it as one stitch (see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6n561SMZXQ); this method has the advantage the no picking up of stitches is necessary. In the pattern, this stitch will be called t+p (turn and pull).
• Shadow Wrap Short Rows: the last stitch you knit (or purl) before turning, is worked into the stitch in the row below, which also leaves you with a pair of stitches that has to be worked as one in the row above. This method is shown in this YouTube video by Lee Meredith. A video by Miriam Felton that shows how to do a heel with shadow wraps can be found here on YouTube. However, the heel knitted here is knitted slightly different because here there are two rounds between the two parts of the heel, i.e. there won't be any triple stitches.

As you can see, I'm using two types of short rows - German short rows for the color pattern and shadow wrap short rows for the heel. That is just a personal preference - you can substitute one short row method for another: make sure that the stitch that would be turned back to form a double-stitch (for German short rows) is the one that would be wrapped (for Wrap-and-Turn short rows) or the one that where you'd knit into the row below (for Shadow Wrap short rows).

Instructions

Cuff

With MC CO54 sts (or another number of sts that is a multiple of 6) and join in round. Place a marker to mark the beginning of the round (called "end marker").
Knit 10 rounds of p1-k2-ribbing - while you're knitting the first round, place one marker after knitting half of the stitches (called "half marker")

Round 11: k all

Now you start the first short row sequence - still in MC.
(a) k to 2 bef half marker, t+p, p to end marker, slip end marker, p to 2 bef half marker, t+p, k to end marker
(b) k to 3 bef last double-stitch, t+p, p to end marker, p to 3 bef last double-stitch, t+p, k to end
repeat (b) until you there are only 3 sts between the end marker and the next double-stitch

If you cast on exactly 54 sts round 12 reads as follows:
(a) k25, t+p, p25, (slip end marker), p25, t+p, k25 (now you're back at the end marker)
(b) k22, t+p, p22, p22, t+p, k22
(c) k19, t+p, p19, p19, t+p, k19
(d) k16, t+p, p16, p16, t+p, k16
(e) k13, t+p, p13, p13, t+p, k13
(f) k10, t+p, p10, p10, t+p, k10
(g)k7, t+p, p7, p7, t+p, k7
(h) k4, t+p, p4, p4, t+p, k4

Round 13: k all

Change to CC
Round 14: k all
Now you knit the next short row sequence

Round 15:
k27
(a) k4, t+p, p4, (slip half marker), p4, t+p, k4 (now you're back at the half marker)
(b) k up to and including last double-stitch, k3, t+p, p to half marker, p up to and including last double-stitch, p3, t+p, k to half marker
Repeat (b) until the double-stitch is the third stitch before the end marker
k27

If you cast on exactly 54 sts, round 15 reads as follows:
k27
(a) k4, t+p, p4, (slip half marker), p4, t+p, k4 (now you're back at the half marker)
(b) k7, t+p, p7, p7, t+p, k7
(c) k10, t+p, p10, p10, t+p, k10
(d) k13, t+p, p13, p13, t+p, k13
(e) k16, t+p, p16, p16, t+p, k16
(f) k19, t+p, p19, p19, t+p, k19
(g) k22, t+p, p22, p22, t+p, k22
(h) k25, t+p, p25, p25, t+p, k25
k27

Round 16: k all

Round 17:
k27
(a) k to 2 bef end marker, t+p, p to half marker, slip half marker, p to 2 bef end marker, t+p, k to end marker
(b) k to 3 bef last double-stitch, t+p, p to half marker, p to 3 bef last double-stitch, t+p, k to end
Repeat (b) until you there are only 3 sts between the end marker and the next double-stitch
k27

If you cast on exactly 54 sts, round 17 reads as follows:
k27
(a) k25, t+p, p25, (slip half marker), p25, t+p, k25 (now you're back at the half marker)
(b) k22, t+p, p22, p22, t+p, k22
(c) k19, t+p, p19, p19, t+p, k19
(d) k16, t+p, p16, p16, t+p, k16
(e) k13, t+p, p13, p13, t+p, k13
(f) k10, t+p, p10, p10, t+p, k10
(g) k7, t+p, p7, p7, t+p, k7
(h) k4, t+p, p4, p4, t+p, k4
k27

Round 18: k all

Change back to MC

Round 19: k all

Round 20:
(a) k4, t+p, p4, (slip end marker), p4, t+p, k4 (now you're back at the end marker)
(b) k up to and including last double-stitch, k3, t+p, p to end marker, p up to and including last double-stitch, p3, t+p, k to end marker
Repeat (b) until the double-stitch is the third stitch before the half marker

If you cast on exactly 54 sts, round 20 reads as follows:
(a) k4, t+p, p4, (slip end marker), p4, t+p, k4 (now you're back at the end marker)
(b) k7, t+p, p7, p7, t+p, k7
(c) k10, t+p, p10, p10, t+p, k10
(d) k13, t+p, p13, p13, t+p, k13
(e) k16, t+p, p16, p16, t+p, k16
(f) k19, t+p, p19, p19, t+p, k19
(g) k22, t+p, p22, p22, t+p, k22
(h) k25, t+p, p25, p25, t+p, k25

Round 21: k all

Heel

In MC

Short row heels are knitted over one half of the total stitches (called the heel stitches) - depending on the shape of your foot this may be a bit tight. So, when knitting a short row heel, I usually increase the back "half" by two or three stitches to get a heel that is slightly wider. That's what is done during the first 4 rounds of the heel and this means that all the increases are on the side that contains the back stitches - after finishing the heel these stitches will be decreased again.

Round 1: k to half marker, slip marker, mk1r, k up to end marker, mk1l, slip end marker
Round 2: k all
Repeat rounds 1 and 2 once more

Round 5: k to half marker,
(a) k to one stitch before end marker, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn
(b) slip shadow wrap stitch, p to one stitch before half marker, purl into the mother stitch of the next st, turn
(c) slip shadow wrap stitch, k to one stitch before the last shadow wrap, knit into the mother stitch of the next st, turn
(d) slip shadow wrap stitch, p to one stitch before the last shadow wrap, purl into the mother stitch of the next st, turn
Repeat (c) and (d) until the remaining (knitted) stitches are only one third of your heel stitches.
k to end of row (making sure to pick up the shadow wraps, i.e. to knit the twin-stitches as one stitch) and mk1l (this last increase is to avoid a hole at the gap)

Round 6: k to half marker, slip half marker, mk1r (also to avoid a hole), k to end (also making sure to pick up the shadow wraps)
Round 7 and 8: k all

Round 9: k to half marker,
(a) k two thirds of the heel stitches, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn
(b) slip shadow wrap stitch, p one third of the heel stitches, purl into the mother stitch of the next stitch, turn
(c) slip shadow wrap stitch, k up to and including the twin-stitch, knit into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn
(d) slip shadow wrap stitch, p up to and including the twin-stitch, purl into the mother stitch of the next st (i.e. do a shadow wrap), turn
Repeat (c) and (d) until the twin-stitches on both sides are one stitch away from the markers (end marker and half marker),
k to end of row and mk1l

Round 10: k to half marker, slip half marker, mk1r, k to end
Round 11: k all

Now the extra stitches for the heel (four per side) must be decreased again.
Round 12: k to half marker, slip half marker, ssk, k to 2 bef end marker, k2tog
Round 13: k all
Repeat rounds 12 and 13 three more times.

Now your back to your original stitch count.

For the first sock the heel is knitted over the second half of the stitches. If you want your socks to look like mirror images of one another (as the pair in the pictures), there is only one thing you need to do differently for the second sock: knit the heel over the first half of the stitches.


Foot

Knit rows 11 to 21 of the cuff.
Knit stockinette rows in MC until the foot is 5 cm short of the desired length - or until it's time to knit your prefered toe.


Toe

Knitted in MC
My formula for toes with 3mm needles is:

• twice: 1 decrease row, 2 normal rows (k all stitches)
• twice: 1 decrease row, 1 normal row
• and then decrease rows only ... until only a third of your total stitches are left, then graft in stockinette

With 54 sts this means
Round 1 (decrease row): * k1, ssk, to 3 bef marker, k2tog, k1 repeat from * to end of round
Round 2: k all
Round 3: k all
Round 4 = Row 1
Round 5: k all
Round 6: k all
Round 7 = Row 1
Round 8: k all
Round 9 = Row 1
Round 10: k all
Rounds 11 to 15  = Row 1
Now there are only 18 stitches left. Distribute on two needles (9 stitches each) and graft in stockinette stitch.

Knitting vs. Crochet - Part II

As readers of this blog may know, I like designs that are a bit complicated :) But once they work, I like to use the idea more than once. An easy way to re-use a design idea is to use it both for knitting and for crochet.

About two years ago, I published a blog post with four designs for fingerless gloves - and all of them with both a knitting and a crochet version. Here are three more designs - with a knitting and a crochet version; two of them for fingerless gloves and one for a scarf. All the patterns linked here are free.


Helgoland Mitts & La Chocolatière Mitts
Started around the thumb these mitts are worked flat with a wave pattern and in two colors. One mitt is knitted in one piece which minimizes the number of ends to weave in :)
The knitted version is mainly worked in garter stitch and the crochet version with single crochet through the back loop which gives them more texture.

Helgoland Mitts (knitting version) 
La Chocolatière Mitts (crochet version)




Triangulation Wrist Warmers & Sankaku Wrist Warmers
These fingerless gloves are also worked in one piece, but they are started as a triangle that grows from the outside of the wrist, then worked on a bias and finished at the thumb. Both are nice to showcase your variegated yarn.

Triangulation Wrist Warmers (knitting version)
Sankaku Wrist Warmers (crochet version)

Little Rectangles Scarf & Rettangolini Scarf 
Modular and worked in layers that consist of five rectangles each, this scarf is also a fun way to use your variegated yarn to great effect.
The knitted version is worked all in garter stitch, but you need to be able to do a knitted cast on, a backwards loop cast on and to pick up and knit stitches from the selvedge.
The crochet version is worked in double crochets, and you need to be able to do a chainless double foundation stitch.

Little Rectangles Scarf (knitting version)
Rettangolini Scarf (crochet version)