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Knitting Friday

(A quick mea culpa re: the wacky size of my fonts lately. I've been using different computers and for some reason a click of "Normal" as a font size is different each time. Add to that, while I love the new informational features on my blog site, editing has become wicked and a simple highlighting to change font size leads to so many other editing snafus.)

Oh, boy!

I promised myself I wouldn't gloat but I designed and knitted a shrug; and amazingly, it's wearable!

The picture on the right is my first designed shrug in black (which was still bleeding after 10 washings.) It's about 28" long and 24" wide across the back. It was knitted in one piece from cuff to cuff with only two yarn threads to weave in.

As it looks before wearing

 

On the left, is the shape of the shrug you are making before you give it simple tugs to morph into the wearable picture on the right. You can see from both pictures that you increase from the cuff to the body and then decrease back down to the second cuff. Here's how you do it.

Lightening (named for the speed of the knit)

Materials: Cotton DK yarn (sorry I don't know the yardage but it was very little); US 8 and US 10.5 needles. Circulars and double pointed (DPN)

Pattern: Row/Round 1 & 2: K and Row/Round 3 & 4: *YO, K2tog* across

With US 8 DPN, CO 43. Join and work 8 rounds of seed stitch.

Next round: Start patten and on Round 1 (K), increase 10 stitches evenly to 53 stitches. 

Change to US 10.5 DPN and work Round 2 of pattern even. (After this round, you will start working flat in rows.)

Work Row 3 & 4 of pattern.

Next row (Row 1 of the pattern): K across, increasing 11 stitches to 64 stitches. (You have enough stitches to be using circulars by now.) Just continue in pattern with no increasing across your back to the second cuff. 

(I measured from arm to arm across my back and came up with 22" but I was more comfortable adding 6" to 28" in the finished shrug.)

About 1.5 - 2" before the end and on Row 2 of pattern:  K across, decreasing evenly 11 stitches. (53 sts)  (You may have to change to DPNs again.)

Work Rows 3, 4 & 1 of pattern even. Change to US 8 DPN and join your work.

Next round (Row 2 of pattern): K across, decreasing 10 stitches evenly. (43 stitches.)

You start with 2 rows of K & you end with 2 rows of K.

Work 8 rounds of seed and bind off. You're done. No blocking needed. Slip on the shrug. Give a tug to the back (it really stretches) and wear.

Making this pattern your size: Three simple changes would be: 1. Add/subtract your CO stitches. 2. Increase/decrease the number of stitches you work at the beginning to the pattern and the end. 3. Change your needle size. As I see it (and I haven't made this except in my size), that's all you need since the pattern is very stretchy.

Not much yarn

I hope you like this pattern as much as I do. It's a great way to use up a little bit of yarn. The picture on the right shows a little bit of yarn which I'm working on right now with a different lace pattern.

Next week: I'll show you a shrug with which I used even a littler bit of yarn and it's knitted and crocheted. (Where I discovered you can get more mileage out of yarn when you crochet.)

Happy knitting.