A Knitter’s Blog

I just finished a new sock pattern, Hidden Stitch Lace Sock. As I was writing the pattern, I realized that using a Provisional Cast-On might be a problem for some.

It is the Provisional Cast-On and the two rows of Kitchener Rib that allow this sock to scallop so beautifully at the top and, at the same time, retain the elasticity necessary for the stock to keep its shape.

There are many many provisional cast-on techniques, but I think the easiest is a variation of the Long-Tailed Cast-On.

The only difference between the normal Long-Tailed Cast-On and the provisional Long-Tailed is the use of waste yarn for the yarn that goes over the thumb.

Below is the description found in my e-book, Socks! The Next Step.

The Provisional Long-Tailed Cast-On

1. Holding the waste yarn and the sock yarn together, tie a slip-knot.

2. Insert the needle into the slip-knot. Tighten the knot gently to fit the needle. Please do not count this slip-knot as a stitch. When you have finished the cast-on and begin knitting, you
will drop the slip-knot from the needle.

3. With the needle in your right hand and the needle point pointing toward your left, insert your left thumb and index finger between the two strands of yarn. The waste yarn (red in the diagram) should be over your thumb and the working yarn (blue in the diagram) over your index finger. Spread your thumb and index finger apart. Secure the two pieces of yarn against your palm with the remaining fingers of your
left hand.

4. To make a stitch, insert the needle point under the yarn
on the outside of your thumb.

5. Then pass the needle over the yarn on your index finger and
pull through the loop formed on your thumb.

6. Remove your thumb from the loop. Insert your thumb under
the tail yarn and spread your thumb and index finger
apart. This will tighten the newly formed stitch on the
needle and position your thumb in working position for the
next stitch.

Repeat steps 4-6 until you have formed the required number of stitches.

Filed under: Techniques by cwulster
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I received an email from Nancy McFarlane over July 4th weekend asking me if I had seen the sweater Amy Robach was wearing on The Today Show. Nancy had fallen in love with it and suggested that I should design a sweater that was similar.

Nancy’s thought was that it was the perfect sweater for which to find a button. I don’t think I stated that correctly. Nancy’s idea was that the next time she saw an exceptional button, she would be able to purchase it, knowing that she had a perfect garment to knit that would show off the button. Thus It’s All About The Button!.

I had not seen The Today Show, but assumed that I would be able to see some video online. After some searching, I did indeed find the a video of an Amy interview with her wearing the sweater. It was so flirty as Leah would say. And, I must say Leah looks flirty modeling it.

After freeze framing the video and careful examination, I realized the sweater was a raglan. I was happy to see the raglan shaping because it meant that I could draft a one piece garment.

As I was thinking about the sweater, I hit a real brain-teaser. The body of the sweater actually stops well before the neck line and there was almost no sleeve. It took me two days to come up with a formula for the upper section of the sweater.

I don’t think you really want me to go into all the techie stuff that I needed to do for the shaping, but would rather that I give you tips on the knitting.

This is a very simple sweater to knit. The only problem area may be the sleeves. Each sleeve is knit separately and then attached at the beginning of the bodice (upper section) of the sweater.

If you find that you do not have enough stitches to use a 16″ circular needle, and you probably won’t, use double points, or as I did, the once long circ method.

You will need to graft the underarms, once the sweater is finished. You can find directions for Kitchener Stitch by clicking the link.

The other important thing to note is that neither the button or the buttonhole is centered on the band. The buttonhole is made closer to the outer edge and the button is sewn on in relation to the buttonhole.

The band is made in one solid strip by picking up stitches from the center bottom back around the whole body of the sweater and ending at the center back. The pattern will guide you through the making of the buttonhole and its placement.

This is an Interactive Pattern, which means that you can use your yarn, your gauge and your size to knit it. The pattern will regenerate with your input.

I hope those of you who choose to knit it, love it as much as I.

Filed under: Knitting by cwulster
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  I really have to thank Lijuan’s Tango pattern for the inspiration for this vest. As I was knitting the neck warmer/hat, I kept thinking that the small cables would be beautiful in a vest.

I am afraid that I never did finish the neck warmer. It is still sitting in my knitting basket.

I began to really explore the idea for the vest and decided that I would like to do a form-fitting cropped vest. The rib would be much longer than normal to be sure that the vest hugged the midriff. The remainder of the vest would be cabled.

The first swatch was done in the round and blocked. I was disappointed that although the cables were visible they really lost stitch definition in the blocking.

While studying the swatch at the left, I started to think about my semi-completed neck warmer/hat. I loved the way the cables looked unblocked.

I had my hands inside the knitting and realized that I was stretching the fabric. I think I was playing with the fabric to see at which point of stretch the fabric would be most appealing.

A thought occurred to me. Why not design the vest based on stretch rather than a blocked finish?

I could use the gauge of the blocked swatch but the final vest would not be blocked, but stretched to fit several sizes.

Note the cable definition at the left in the unblocked swatch. Also, there is compression in the length of the stitches, therefore the color changes are much more distinct.

In playing with the gauge of both swatches, I realized that the fabric would stretch easily up to 8 inches. Unbelievable! And even with the full stretch of 8″, it would still retain more stitch definition than a blocked piece. Therefore, I extrapolated that an unblocked vest knit with numbers from the blocked gauge for a finished size of 37″ would have a finished unblocked circumference of 28″ and would fit a person size 32, 34, or 36 and still look wonderful.

This is one of the few times that I ignored row gauge, and wrote directions in a pattern based on measurements rather than rows.

At this point, all of this was just a picture in my mind. I quickly computed the numbers using Sweater Wizard, worked on my cable placement and sent my ideas off to Lynn Miller to knit my ideas in reality.

The vest is knit in the round, split at the underarm. The only seam is at the shoulder.

I asked Lynn not to do any finishing because I hadn’t decided on a trim. When Lynn was finished, she photographed the vest with her daughter wearing it. It was exactly as I had pictured.

I emailed the picture to my friend Nancy McFarlane, and she loved it. I told Nancy that my only remaining issue was the trim. I just couldn’t decide what to do around the armholes and neck. I was thinking about a crocheted border.

Nancy immediately suggested Crab Stitch Crochet (reverse single crochet). It was the perfect solution.

This vest will look as fit as well as the day it was first worn as long as it is never wet-blocked. It is a “dry clean only” garment.

Filed under: Knitting, Projects by cwulster
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Ring of Lace is a pattern by Heartstrings. I can’t describe how beautiful it is and how clever. It is not a Moebius, just a simple circle of lace that is gorgeous.

I combined the pattern with a luxury yarn that suits the design and does not break the bank. The yarn is Cheryl Potter’s (Cherry Tree Hill) Possum Lace.

As with all Heartstring’s patterns, the instructions are very straight-forward. Nothing is left to assumed knowledge.

I chose to use the “crochet over the needle” cast-on. I was so surprised to see the suggested size of the crochet hook. The Size H crochet hook was enormous in comparison to the 3 mm knitting needle. I wondered why.

To my dismay there was nothing eye appealing about the ring after I completed the last bind-off stitch. The ring was small and the yarn overs had no definition.

My stomach sank, and I thought maybe I had chosen the wrong yarn. However, once I blocked it, I had a piece that was both delicate and airy. Had I not followed the directions to the letter regarding the cast-on and bind-off, I would never have been able to stretch the ring to the correct dimensions.

Lesson Learned…Lace really needs a loose cast-on and a loose bind-off, as instructed in this pattern, in order to stretch the piece correctly. Thank heaven, Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer guides us so well when she writes a pattern.

Filed under: Knitting by cwulster
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I am sure that by now, many of you know what a Flat Feet flat is. For those of you who don’t, I’ll just go into a brief description. A flat is a knitted rectangle with waste yarn at either end. Two rectangles are joined with more waste yarn. Two flats joined = two socks. One flat (two flats joined by waste yarn) is more than enough yarn to knit a pair of socks.

Pictured at the left is the remaining yarn from each of the two flats that were joined and the pair of socks knit from the flat.

The flat is then hand-painted. We sock knitters then unravel the waste yarn, and cast-on from the flat. There is no skein as we know it and we don’t unravel the flat and wind it into a ball, but knit right from the flat.

If you wish to knit two socks at once, then separate the two flats at the mid waste yarn.

If you are a first time Flat Feet knitter, you will see that unraveling can be fun. The frog will have turned into a prince with the kiss of your needles.

I loved knitting my Flat Feet sock. The tug from the flat was just enough to make tensioning the yarn very easy. I also love the grab factor. When I needed to stop knitting, it was so easy to grab the sock in progress and the flat and stuff the whole thing into a bag. My project was so easy to fit into my purse.

My flat was vertical stripes, which created horizontal striping in the sock. The horizontally striped flats will create wider striping. Then there are the freeform flats….who knows what the fabric will be.

Flat Feet are just plain fun!

Filed under: Knitting by cwulster
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