Tag: wrap

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Koolaid, Colour to Dye For

Iris Rose

I am going to take a break from the monster shawl today and let you in on some fun that DD1 and I had the weekend before last.

I love hand dyed yarn. I love the look of the rich colours, the different colour placements and the allover yumminess of the finished hank. I tried my hand at dying yarn a couple of years ago and, although I was generally pleased with the result, it just did not meet my expectations. Attempt number two did all of that and more.

Here is the yarn soaking in the sink.  I let it sit for 30 minutes to make sure that it was all hydrated.

Last time I used Wilton food colouring and did not do any research beforehand. I did my reading this time and we used Koolaid, guaranteed to stain anything in its crystal form. The only sad thing about all of this is that, in the wisdom of corporate Kraft Foods, Koolaid in the unsweetened package of crystals that we all know and cherish the memories of from our childhood is no longer distributed in Canada. This meant that an Amazon delivery was in order but, unfortunately, with limited colour (flavour) choices.

I think that we still did pretty well all in all. We had a variety of yarns to try, five in all, from the Knit Picks Bare collection. All are natural animal fibres which made the colouring easy.

Adding the Koolaid!  Then adding more Koolaid!  Then adding even more Koolaid!

Heating the yarn in the pots took a little time and I was so impatient.

Letting them cool before rinsing.  It is interesting that the water went from saturated with colour to clear in a couple of minutes.


I followed the instructions, here, on the Love Knitting website and everything went just as planned except that it took way more Koolaid than we expected for saturated colours. If you are looking at a large batch, this is definitely not the most economical way to play with dying yarn, but it was one hundred percent right on for the fun factor.

Drying took over night but was so worth the sheepy smell in my bathroom, not.  Good thing I don’t use this tub.

And, here we have it, from plain to fabulous!  Now, what am going to make with these lovelies?


I will have the promised next section of my shawl up for you later this week or early next but in the meantime, have fun with whatever craft you are working at right now. Take care of each other.

Knitting

New Shawl Part Two of Part Two

Iris Rose

Well, that was painful. I am still reconstructing my pattern so that’s my excuse for the slow action on publication. Please keep in mind that this is a pattern that is not tested by anyone other than me so, although I try to be careful, mistakes can and do happen. If you are making this knit, please let me know if you find errors so that I can correct them right away to benefit future knitters.
Without further ado, here is Part Two of Part Two.

**Right Side Row: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, knit to next marker, yarn over, slip marker, knit centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit to the next marker, yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Wrong Side Row: Work border, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to the next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Repeat these two rows once more for a total of four rows of stocking stitch.

Pattern Right Side Row 1: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, ((knit 2, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch)) repeat to the next marker. (You will have three stitches left at the end and that’s okay, go ahead and knit them.) Yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit 3, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, ((knit 2, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch)) to the last two stitches, knit 2, yarn over, slip marker, work border.

Pattern Wrong Side Row 2: Work border, slip marker, purl yarn over, (purl 2, knit3tog) to last bobble, purl the three remaining stitches and the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the next three stitches, knit3tog, (purl 2, k3tog) to the last two stitches, purl 2, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Right Side Row: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, knit to next marker, yarn over, slip marker, knit centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit to the next marker, yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Wrong Side Row: Work border, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to the next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Repeat these two rows once more for a total of four rows of stocking stitch.

Pattern Right Side Row 1: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, ((knit 4, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch)) repeat to the next marker. (You will have six stitches left at the end and that’s okay, go ahead and knit them.) Yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit 6, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, ((knit 4, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch)) to the last four stitches, knit 4, yarn over, slip marker, work border.

Pattern Wrong Side Row 2: Work border, slip marker, purl yarn over, (purl four, knit3tog) to last bobble, purl the six, remaining stitches and the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the next six stitches, knit3tog, (purl 4, k3tog) to the last four stitches, purl 4, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Pattern Right Side Row 3: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, knit 4, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1), knit 1, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, knit 2)) repeat to the next marker. (You will have five stitches left at the end and that’s okay, go ahead and knit them.) Yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit 5, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1)in the next stitch), knit 1, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1)in the next stitch, knit 2)) to the last four stitches, knit 4, yarn over, slip marker, work border.

Pattern Wrong Side Row 4: Work border, slip marker, purl yarn over, purl four, (knit3tog, purl 1, knit3tog, purl 2) to last bobble, purl the 5 remaining stitches and the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the next 5 stitches, (knit3tog, purl 1, k3tog, purl 2) to the last four stitches, purl 4, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Pattern Right Side Row 5: Repeat row 1 starting with 6 stitches and ending the section with 8 stitches.

Pattern Wrong Side Row 4: Repeat row 2 working the extra stitches at the beginning and end with purls.**

Repeat from ** to ** one more time.

Right Side Row: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, knit to next marker, yarn over, slip marker, knit centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit to the next marker, yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Wrong Side Row: Work border, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to the next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Repeat these two rows twice more for a total of six rows of stocking stitch.

You should have a three rows of bobble blossoms divided by two rows of bobbles with four rows of stocking stitch in between the pattern rows. The section starts and ends with six tows of stocking stitch.

Are you ready to move on? If you are going to change colours here, go ahead and repeat the stranded one by one knitting that you worked at the first colour change.

Later this week I will share an adventure in yarn dying that DD1 and I had on the weekend. It was super fun and won’t be the last time that we do this for sure.
Here is a sneak peek.

Have a lovely week filled with all of your favourite crafts. Be kind to one another.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Part One of Part Two of the New Shawl

Iris Rose

Okay, after much delay, here is part two of my latest shawl design. Please keep in mind that this is an untested (tested only by me) pattern. If you find errors, please let me know and I will correct them. There are no charts although there will be in the final paid version of the pattern.

I told you that I lost my notes and had to start over with this beast. I found them in the bottom of my purse which is lovely but large and a pit for everything that I don’t know what to do with including that ever increasing pile of receipts in the darkest depths. That is where I found this.

Good thing that I started over, yeah?

Part two is bobbles or nupps if you want to call them that. I don’t because I hate knitting nupps but am okay with bobbles. Bobbles it is then for this section. I changed colours here because the yarn I am using is in single, double and triple balls from my stash so not enough for all one colour. If you have a single colour that you want to use, ignore the colour change rows and carry on with the next pattern section.

You will have ended the first section with six rows of stocking stitch. Do not cut the yarn as you will work a 1×1 stranded colour pattern for two rows. If you are not used to stranded knitting, a caution; make sure that you spread your stitches out on your right hand needle or you will end up with a puckered or pulled in row which is difficult to block out. Loose is good!!!

Next Right Side Row: With the first colour, work the border in the usual way, slip marker, yarn over and knit 1, pick up your second colour, leaving a tail to weave in later, and knit the next stitch. Work across the row with (knit 1 with colour one, knit 1 with colour two) to one stitch before the next marker. Hold both yarns together knit the last stitch, yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit the first stitch on the next side. Using a single yarn again, (knit 1 with colour two, knit 1 with colour one to the next marker), drop colour two and yarn over, slip marker and work the border with colour one.

Next Wrong Side Row: Work the border with colour one, slip marker, purl the yarn over with colour one, (purl 1 with colour two, purl 1 with colour one) to the last stitch before the next marker, hold the two colours together and purl the last stitch, purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the first stitch on the second section. Then (purl 1 with colour on, purl 1 with colour two) to the last stitch before the marker. Drop colour one and continue with colour two, purl the last stitch, purl the yarn over slip marker, and work the border. Cut colour one leaving a long enough piece to weave in.

Right Side Row: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, knit to next marker, yarn over, slip marker, knit centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit to the next marker, yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Wrong Side Row: Work border, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl to the next marker, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Repeat these two rows twice more for a total of six rows.

This is the pattern but unblocked.  The bobbles will stand out and look like flowers when it is blocked.

 

Pattern Right Side Row 1: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, ((knit 4, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch)) repeat to the next marker. (You will have six stitches left at the end and that’s okay, go ahead and knit them.) Yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit 6, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, ((knit 4, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch)) to the last four stitches, knit 4, yarn over, slip marker, work border.

Making the bobble:

 

 

Pattern Wrong Side Row 2: Work border, slip marker, purl yarn over, (purl four, knit3tog) to last bobble, purl the six, remaining stitches and the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the next six stitches, knit3tog, (purl 4, k3tog) to the last four stitches, purl 4, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Pattern Right Side Row 3: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, knit 4, ((purl 1, yarn over, purl1), knit 1, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, knit 2)) repeat to the next marker. (You will have five stitches left at the end and that’s okay, go ahead and knit them.) Yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit 5, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, ((purl 1, yarn over, purl1), knit 1, (purl 1, yarn over, purl1) in the next stitch, knit 2))) to the last four stitches, knit 4, yarn over, slip marker, work border.

Pattern Wrong Side Row 4: Work border, slip marker, purl yarn over, purl four, (knit3tog, purl 1, knit3tog, purl 2) to last bobble, purl the 5 remaining stitches and the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over and the next 5 stitches, (knit3tog, purl 1, k3tog, purl 2) to the last four stitches, purl 4, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Pattern Right Side Row 5: Repeat row 1 starting with 6 stitches and ending the section with 8 stitches.

Pattern Wrong Side Row 4: Repeat row 2 working the extra stitches at the beginning and end with purls.

The next piece of this section will be next week’s blog post.  Have a great week!

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Part One Of The New Shawl

Iris Rose

Okay, this is a week late. I began to write up the first part of the shawl pattern and, in the middle of it all, I lost my notes! I had to go back and test knit so that my instructions actually produce the pattern that I wanted to share. OY! Anyway better late than never, right?  So, here it is with last week’s intro and all.

Last week I wrote about garter tabs and the best way to start a triangular shawl. I also explained how to complete a yarn over and slip stitch at the beginning of a row.

Both of these techniques are used to start my newest shawl pattern, Part One being featured today. If you missed last week’s post and tutorial, you can find it here; I am not going to repeat the instructions today.

Start with a garter tab and begin the first section of the shawl with simple stocking stitch. The border will stay the same throughout all sections of the shawl and it is worked over four stitches in garter stitch as follows: yarn in front, slip the first stitch purlwise and bring the yarn over to knit the next stitch. Refer back to last week’s post for photos of this. Knit two more stitches and the border is done. When you get to the other end of the row, you will knit the first three stitches and knit the yarn over and slipped stitch together to bring your border back to four stitches.

The border stitches will NOT be included in the pattern instructions as they are the same throughout as stated above. You will knit on the right side and purl on the wrong side for the first fifteen rows increasing four stitches over every right side row with your yarn over increases.

After your garter tab is worked and the return purl row is made, continue as follows:

Right side: Work border, place marker, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, place marker, work centre spine stitch, place marker, yarn over, knit 1, yarn over, place marker, work border.

Wrong side: Work border, slip marker, purl all stitches, slip marker, purl centre stitch, slip marker, purl all stitches, slip marker, work border.

Continue with the right and wrong side rows until you have fifteen stitches on each side of the centre spine. Your last row completed will be a wrong side row as your first purl row after the garter tab is row one.

The next right side row will start the seed stitch band.

Row 1: Right side: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, knit1, purl1 across to the next yarn over, knitting the last stitch, yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, knit1, purl1 to the next marker, knit the last stitch, yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Row 2: Wrong side: Work border, slip marker, purl the yarn over, knit1, purl1 across to the next yarn over, knitting the last stitch and purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over, knit1, purl1 to the next marker, knit the last stitch, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Row 3: Right side: Work border, slip marker, yarn over, purl1, knit1 across to the next yarn over, purling the last stitch, yarn over, slip marker, knit the centre stitch, slip marker, yarn over, purl 1, knit 1 to the next marker, purl the last stitch, yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Row 4: Wrong side: Work border, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl1, knit1 across to the next yarn over, purling the last stitch, purl the yarn over, slip marker, purl the centre stitch, slip marker, purl the yarn over, purl 1, knit 1 to the next marker, purl the last stitch, purl the yarn over, slip marker, work the border.

Work six rows in stocking stitch, increasing on the right side rows.
Repeat these ten rows five more times for a total of six repeats of the seed stitch bands and finishing with six stocking stitch rows.
And there you have it, part one of your shawl is all done.

Have a happy week filled with yarny goodness and don’t forget that random acts of kindness are really an essential to happy living.

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

Garter Tab Explained With YO at the Beginning of a Row

Iris Rose

I have been busy designing the new shawl for you this week. Most triangular shawls start with a garter tab. Say what, you say? Yes, the dreaded garter tab, it really does take some mental maneuvering to work out the process. I have compounded that “huh?” factor by adding the slipped stitch edge on the outside of the border.

So, because I read a lot of discussion about the garter tab, here is brief tutorial, with photos, on how I make the tab to start any triangular shawl. This is not the only way, I am sure, but it is the way I, personally, have had most success with. I like a four stitch garter edge as I like the look of the yarn over slipped stitch edge with a wider border.

Start with a long tail cast on of four stitches. The tail will be on the outside edge when you are finished and will be used to hide the join with a looping stitch later so leave about six inches or 10 centimetres.

Turn your work and, with the working yarn in front, slip the first stitch purlwise. Knit the next stitch by bringing the working yarn over the right needle and knit the second stitch that you cast on. It will look like you now have three stitches on your right needle.

 

Knit the next two stitches and turn. It appears that you have five stitches on your needle. Knit the first three stitches and then knit the slipped stitch and the yarn over (remember you brought the working yarn from the front and over the right needle) together. You will have four stitches on your needle again.

 

Continue to work these two rows three more times and the first row once more for a total of nine rows not counting your cast on. You will have a braided edge started on the outside edge and should be at the inside edge where you will pick up the stitches for the shawl body.

 

 

Pick up three stitches, one in each of three bars that you see across the garter edge. Don’t work into the knots or you will have bumps or a seam show on the inside of your shawl. You will have the slipped stitch with yarn over at the beginning, three stitches across the rest of the row and now three stitches along the side of the tab.

Pick up four stitches across the bottom of your cast on row. You should have eleven stitches on your needle if you count the slip, yarn over at the beginning as one. Four at the beginning, three on the side, and four at the end.

Turn your work and, with the yarn in front, slip the first stitch purlwise, knit three stitches, purl three stitches, knit three and knit the slipped stitch and yarn over together. You purled the centre three stitches as this is the wrong side of your work and we are assuming that the shawl will be knit in stocking stitch or lace.

Place your markers on the next row, right side. Yarn in front, slip the first stitch purlwise, knit three, place marker, yarn over, knit one, yarn over, place marker (centre spine), knit one, place marker, yarn over, knit one, yarn over, place marker, knit three, knit the slipped stitch and the yarn over together. You can see that picking up the bars on the side of the garter tab instead of the knots leave you with a nice bump free join on the wrong side of your work.  I always like to use a different colour for the first right side marker so that I always know which are the right and wrong sides.

 

 

And there you have it. The yarn overs between the markers will increase your triangle by four stitches every two rows. You can make the garter tab longer (two rows for every extra stitch in the centre) and work more stitches to start if you want a Faroese shaped shawl with a wide centre spine. Make sure that you have the number of stitches for the spine plus two for your two side wings.

Next week part one of the shawl. Have a great week and happiness for all of you.