Texture

Texture

Knitting back – it has 101 uses

A few years ago I heard a story about a left handed teenager learning to knit.

Her mother taught her the knit stitch right handed and got her started.  The mother then went to answer the phone and when she came back the teenager had 4 rows of stocking stitch knitted.  She had not been shown he daughter what to do when she got to the end of the row so she just went back the other way and worked out how to do it to get the stitches looking right.

Of course being another LH I decided that if she could do it so could I.  It is not difficult and I have found a lot of uses for it over the years.  Button bands, edgings and entrelac I use it all the time so I don’t have to turn.

I’m now working on a lace shawl that has patterned rows on both the right and wrong side.  When I knit I constantly check the row below to ensure I haven’t made a mistake.  With most patterns I can just purl back then fix any errors on the next right side row.  I have found with this though that I was turning it around regularly to check where I was on the even rows.  So I’ve given up and I am just knitting every row on the right side.  That way I know exactly where I am and what comes next.

This is easier than you would think.  This is how I do it:

Odd rows: – knit my normal way, RH english style.

Even rows:  For a knit stitch, knit into the back of the stitch, wrap the yarn in the opposite direction to normal (over the needle from back to front) and pull it through. For purl stitches, bring the yarn to the front and purl into the back of the stitch taking the yarn under then over the needle.  I have found that this gives me all my stitches aligned correctly for the next odd row.

I don’t swap the yarn over because my tensioning with my right hand is more natural to me as I learnt this over 30 years ago.  So my knit back is similar to but not identical to the way a left handed person knits continental style if they knit off the right needle onto the left.

Just remember if using a graph to still read the even rows left to right and if you are using written instructions to swap your knits and purls.

and one last thing…if the yarn is hanging off the left needle you are knitting back, if it is hanging off the right needle you are knitting.  It is easy to pick up the work and go in the wrong direction.

Silky knickers yarn – new pressies!!

The January yarn for the Silky knickers yarn club is here.

2ply 60% Polwarth, 20% silk and 20% cashmere.  It is lovely and soft.  Unfortunately the red one didn’t photograph true, there is a bit less orange in it, more wine than strawberries.

The perfect colour for me.  No idea what I’m going to make with it yet.

The green is gorgeous and is going to make a beautiful light shawl to wear.  I have a skirt that I have been looking for something to wear with it as it is a very light silk and anything heavy just looks silly.

yo-lace project 3 – Wisteria slip

step 1

I have finished the cups so now it is on to the body of this slip.  First of all I have to calculate the stitches required at the hem.

I’m going to knit it in the round and the lace repeat is 9 stitches.  Tension is 20 stitches to 4″.

The pattern schematics shows 56.5″ for the hem however with the heavier weight a closer fit would be better so around 44″.  (11×20=220 stitches, adjust for full patterns 225 stitches)

31.5″ at the top means 157 stitches (as per pattern)

Length required is 15″. Row count is 28 rows to 4″.

step 2

With 4 stitches decreased in each decrease row I need 17 decrease rows, up to the hip I will decrease every 6 rows, then knit straight to get the length I want.

Once I’ve done that I will decide whether I want the band of lace under the bra top that is in the original pattern or whether I will leave it plain.  The issue with this is there will then be 3 layers of 8ply in the seam under the bust.

(Edited because my maths was wrong – I shouldn’t do these calc’s on Sunday mornings)

Shiny

Shiny

Lace challenge update

lace fountain cowl 1

Originally uploaded by wen1965

First lace wardrobe challenge project is finished. I love it. A quick knit in pure silk gets me off to a good start.

I went shopping today and got Knitting Lingerie Style. I was a bit disappointed when I looked at the schematics and there was no size difference between the cups of a 32C and a 40C. I did some calculations and measured my bras and I think they are based on a 36.

I’m making the silk slip in Bendigo Harmony and my calculations seem to be correct. My 36 equivalent cup size worked out to match my actual bra when I made the first cup. I won’t know for sure until I have finished the top and tried it on. The construction of this pattern is for a silk bias cut skirt to be added but instead I’m going to make it out of the Harmony and add matching lace to the hem.

So project 1 is still going nicely, project 2 has been finished and project 3 has just been started.

WIP wrestling for the new year

Here is my progress in January at trying to reduce my WIPs and get a few things finished:

WIPS @ 1/1/10

Scarves and Cowls

1. Lacy scarf – this lives in my car for waiting times
2. Reversible cables
3. Matter & Void finished 3/1
4. Simple cowl finished 6/1
5. Entrelac scarf - finished 27/1
   

Capelets, Wraps & Shawls

1. Garter stitch wrap – I had to frog what had been done on the second piece and start that again as the centre stitch got mucked up and the centre line was not straight.
2. Cherry leaf shawl
3. Fluted ribs finished 16/1

Garments

1. Aubergine jumper
2. wide collared jacket
3. ribbed jacket – this one is progressing slowly.  Those rows that go from the bottom of the front over the shoulder to the bottom of the back are so long.
4. Justine lace tank  - some mistakes just don’t want to be fixed. frogged

Other

1. Log cabin – this is a long term project that will not be finished any time soon.
2. Funky slippers
3. Felted bag – hiding; where have I put it?

Started in January

1. A handsome triangle – YO-lace project 1, summer knitting
2. Motorbike muffler – a new design to keep my sister warm on her bike, aeroplane knitting. Finished 15/1
3. Lace fountain hood – YO-lace project 2, aeroplane knitting, it would have been finished if I’d taken an extra skein of silk to Tasmania.
4. Possum mitts – to replace the ones I lost by leaving them in a taxi – more aeroplane knitting

Well 5 off the list and only 4 started and all for a specific reason. ( or is that any excuse will do)   I started the handsome triangle because it was 35 degrees and everything OTN was wool, I started the other 3 because I didn’t have any nice small aeroplane knitting and one of those is now finished and one is over 2/3 done.  Overall a successful month of WIP wrestling.

Entrelac scarf finished finally

Entrelac scarf

Originally uploaded by wen1965

This scarf was started in March 2008. I finally finished it last night.

I enjoyed making it and I learnt to knit back instead of purling by making it but after 22 months I’m glad to have it finished.

Quick update on the summer lace stole

I can’t count!  2+3+1+3+2 = 11.  I’ve fixed the number of stitches to be cast on.  I have also updated a couple of other things so if you have printed the pattern throw it out and don’t reprint until you are ready to start.

Project plans – what is coming up

I have a few plans for what to make this year – my Ravelry queue is much much longer than just this list!

First of all there is the Lace Wardrobe Challenge for 2010. (All projects for this will be tagged yo-lace)

1. I will restart Justine.  This is an 8ply casual lace tank.  My first attempt had a mistake that I couldn’t get right so it has been frogged.
2. A pair of lace wristwarmers- not sure of the pattern yet.  I want them to be warm and pretty.
3. A lace scarf, 3 options here.  Branching out, a scarf version of my summer lace stole or the Stella bamboo lace scarf from Luxury yarns one skein wonders.
4. A  camisole in fine silk…maybe I will get around to Butterfly vest from Rowan 37 finally.
5. I like the idea of french knickers to go with the cami but finding a pattern could be a problem.
6. Hope cardi from Yarn magazine issue 12.  This gives details on how to calculate for a good fit no matter what your shape.
7. Eerie – lace t shirt from Rowan 43
8. TBD  – maybe a hat, or something else that is small.

The other 2 are underway.

No one said you had to finish this in a year did they?  That is a challenging list!

Other stuff:

1. A new pair of possum fingerless gloves – I have bought the yarn.
2. A scarf that has stripes of recycled sari silk in black, silver, red and purple in a base of black brushed alpaca.  I will knit it lengthwise.
3. A lace weight shawl. – doesn’t count to yo-lace as I already have a shawl and likely to take a long time to finish.
4. More knitted tops for work.  It is easier to get a good fit when I make them instead of buying them.

Also on the shopping front I finally got my Knitpro tips in 3.00mm and 3.25mm.  They have been a long time coming.  In the last week I also got the merino/possum for my fingerless gloves and the alpaca for my silk and alpaca scarf.

It is going to be a busy year.