Knitting Friday was another a traveling day which meant I went from there to here or here to there and I had to bring all my “stuff” for knitting pictures, and that included remembering to pack the camera. Unfortunately, the camera didn’t meet up with the photo layout until this a.m. that’s why it’s Knitting Friday on Saturday.
Until Wednesday I was about to pack in Knitting Friday altogether since I had spent the week in the frog pond. How can a one row pattern: K1, *YO, K2tog* K1 cause so much grief? After the seventh (yes, seven times; it was not a charm) frogging I decided that perhaps my problem was that the pattern was just too simple and I needed more of a challenge to keep my concentration. Well, that myth was soon busted.
A little background. I want to make a white cotton summer cardigan. Well, first I wanted to make a white cotton yarn summer shrug. A discussion on shrugs can wait to another day but the prototype I made looked so homemade as opposed to handmade that the shrug idea became a short sleeve summer cardigan project.
And now, a short digression regarding white cotton yarn. Until, I am fixed in stone as to how beautiful the pattern will come out (that is, after I’ve made it a zillion times) I always use cheaper yarn and make a sample before I tackle the final project in white cotton. White cotton looks very tacky fast and it’s no fun ripping this yarn out. That’s why I’m wasting my time using acyclic yarn for a sample cardigan. Even if knew that this pattern would work for the body, I’m experimenting with casting on for sleeves when I get to the armhole and I don’t want to be pulling out the whole body in white cotton. So if you get the picture I’m frogging yarn which will not even be my final garment because I can’t get the simplest lace pattern right. I’m wasting all this time knitting and frogging on a sample.
That said, here’s the pattern I finally settled on so far. I’ll post the final pattern when it’s finished in the cotton.
Summer Short Sleeved Cardigan
First, depending on your yarn, cast on the number of stitches needed for the fronts and backs of a cardigan suitable for the size you wear. For example, I cast on 5 sts for border – 12 sts for front – 54 sts for back – 12 sts for front – 5 sts for border for a total of 88 sts. This should be a cardigan which doesn't quite meet in the front. However, I think the sample piece will button in the front. Not what I want but I’ll decrease the stitch count on the cotton sweater. Right now, using US 10.5 needles, this is what I’m doing: Cast on 88 sts.
Border Rows 1 - 5: Work seed stitch
Body pattern: Row 1: 5 sts in seed, *twisted knit stitch across* (put the right needle into stitch on the left needle as to knit. However, bring your yarn around from the back along the left side of your work around both needles to the front and then take the yarn around the front of your needles down the right side of your work to the back. Finally, take the same yarn between the two needles to make a knit stitch as usual) end 5 sts in seed.
Row 2: 5 sts in seed *purl* 5 sts in seed. Work Row 1 and
That’s it. I’m about 5 inches along. When I get to the armholes, I’ll post again for it’s there that I want to try to create an easy but attractive cast on short sleeve.
The two pictures below are Alix Shawls:
http://www.debbiemacomber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=nnp&pageID=195
The red one (right) in garter is still in progress and doesn’t photograph that well yet. The green (left) is in stockinette.
Stockinette is so easy to do for the Alix Shawl; the garter stitch is a bitch. First, you don’t have the stitch definition you have with stockinette since it is reversible with no right or wrong sides. This makes the pattern difficult to see and mistakes difficult to find.
That red one was a real frogger but I think I’m on the right track now. Be sure to mark the increase side of the pattern in garter. I’‘m also taking a long strand of different colored yarn and threading it along the increase rows so that each pattern repeat is marked. You’ll figure out where to lay the yarn quickly. This way if one repeat has a different stitch count you know where the problem is before you start the resting row. I differed from the pattern sugge
stions for knitting in garter by keeping the four border stitches in seed.
The green shawl is in sport weight; the red one is in fingering. The red is taking longer than the green did but I like spongy feel of the red. Oh, I used US 10 needles for the green and US 8 needles for the red. The Alix Shawl is a Faroese type so it curves nicely to stay on your shoulders.
Knitty
The new Knitty is up. I like Entomology, the short shawl:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/PATTentomology.php
And Annette, the summer cardigan:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/PATTannette.php
And Cold Mountain, a lace shawl with three long but not terribly complicated charts: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/PATTcoldmountain.php
Some Ravelry members think Knitty has too much winter knitting this month. Go take a look and see what you think.
Happy knitting.
Next week: I hope the summer cardigan is finally done in the white cotton yarn.
Until Wednesday I was about to pack in Knitting Friday altogether since I had spent the week in the frog pond. How can a one row pattern: K1, *YO, K2tog* K1 cause so much grief? After the seventh (yes, seven times; it was not a charm) frogging I decided that perhaps my problem was that the pattern was just too simple and I needed more of a challenge to keep my concentration. Well, that myth was soon busted.
A little background. I want to make a white cotton summer cardigan. Well, first I wanted to make a white cotton yarn summer shrug. A discussion on shrugs can wait to another day but the prototype I made looked so homemade as opposed to handmade that the shrug idea became a short sleeve summer cardigan project.
And now, a short digression regarding white cotton yarn. Until, I am fixed in stone as to how beautiful the pattern will come out (that is, after I’ve made it a zillion times) I always use cheaper yarn and make a sample before I tackle the final project in white cotton. White cotton looks very tacky fast and it’s no fun ripping this yarn out. That’s why I’m wasting my time using acyclic yarn for a sample cardigan. Even if knew that this pattern would work for the body, I’m experimenting with casting on for sleeves when I get to the armhole and I don’t want to be pulling out the whole body in white cotton. So if you get the picture I’m frogging yarn which will not even be my final garment because I can’t get the simplest lace pattern right. I’m wasting all this time knitting and frogging on a sample.
That said, here’s the pattern I finally settled on so far. I’ll post the final pattern when it’s finished in the cotton.
Summer Short Sleeved Cardigan
First, depending on your yarn, cast on the number of stitches needed for the fronts and backs of a cardigan suitable for the size you wear. For example, I cast on 5 sts for border – 12 sts for front – 54 sts for back – 12 sts for front – 5 sts for border for a total of 88 sts. This should be a cardigan which doesn't quite meet in the front. However, I think the sample piece will button in the front. Not what I want but I’ll decrease the stitch count on the cotton sweater. Right now, using US 10.5 needles, this is what I’m doing: Cast on 88 sts.
Border Rows 1 - 5: Work seed stitch
Body pattern: Row 1: 5 sts in seed, *twisted knit stitch across* (put the right needle into stitch on the left needle as to knit. However, bring your yarn around from the back along the left side of your work around both needles to the front and then take the yarn around the front of your needles down the right side of your work to the back. Finally, take the same yarn between the two needles to make a knit stitch as usual) end 5 sts in seed.
Row 2: 5 sts in seed *purl* 5 sts in seed. Work Row 1 and
That’s it. I’m about 5 inches along. When I get to the armholes, I’ll post again for it’s there that I want to try to create an easy but attractive cast on short sleeve.
The two pictures below are Alix Shawls:
http://www.debbiemacomber.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=nnp&pageID=195
The red one (right) in garter is still in progress and doesn’t photograph that well yet. The green (left) is in stockinette.
Stockinette is so easy to do for the Alix Shawl; the garter stitch is a bitch. First, you don’t have the stitch definition you have with stockinette since it is reversible with no right or wrong sides. This makes the pattern difficult to see and mistakes difficult to find.
That red one was a real frogger but I think I’m on the right track now. Be sure to mark the increase side of the pattern in garter. I’‘m also taking a long strand of different colored yarn and threading it along the increase rows so that each pattern repeat is marked. You’ll figure out where to lay the yarn quickly. This way if one repeat has a different stitch count you know where the problem is before you start the resting row. I differed from the pattern sugge
stions for knitting in garter by keeping the four border stitches in seed.The green shawl is in sport weight; the red one is in fingering. The red is taking longer than the green did but I like spongy feel of the red. Oh, I used US 10 needles for the green and US 8 needles for the red. The Alix Shawl is a Faroese type so it curves nicely to stay on your shoulders.
Knitty
The new Knitty is up. I like Entomology, the short shawl:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/PATTentomology.php
And Annette, the summer cardigan:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/PATTannette.php
And Cold Mountain, a lace shawl with three long but not terribly complicated charts: http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer09/PATTcoldmountain.php
Some Ravelry members think Knitty has too much winter knitting this month. Go take a look and see what you think.
Happy knitting.
Next week: I hope the summer cardigan is finally done in the white cotton yarn.
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