tutorial Archives - Page 2 of 19

tutorial – making a tassel

Yarn tassels are very easy and quick to make, and can be a lovely addition to your knitting project. You may have seen those lovely triangle shawls with a tassel added to each corner of the shawl. With just some yarn and a piece of cardboard, you can make a yarn tassel in only a few minutes! In this tutorial, I made my tassel with a DK weight yarn. You can, of course, also make your tassels with other weights of knitting yarn, but also with crochet thread, or embroidery floss. Do keep in mind that the thinner the yarn you’re using, the more times you would need to wrap the yarn for similar fatness of the resulting tassel.

Ok, let’s get started!

Materials

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the colors 133 Marine Blue, and 142 Tea Rose.

A piece of cardboard. In this tutorial, I used a piece of about 7.5 x 10 cm (3 x 4″). You can adjust the length of your tassel by changing the size of the cardboard template. Cut a piece of cardboard about 2.5 cm (1″) taller than the height that you would like your finished tassel to be.

You will also need sharp scissors, and a darning needle. Pictured is a Hiya Hiya Darn It Yarn Needle.

Making a tassel step by step

Wind your yarn around the shortest part of the cardboard template.
In this example, I wrapped around 30 times for this tassel. When using thicker yarn, you may need to wind less times, or more when using a thinner yarn.
After the last wrap, cut off the yarn at the bottom of the cardboard.
Measure a separate piece of yarn, of approx. 25 cm (10″).
Next, thread the piece of yarn through the eye of the darning needle.
Insert the needle underneath threads at the top of your piece of cardboard.
Make a knot, but do not pull it tight yet.
Next, use the scissors to carefully cut the loops at the bottom of the cardboard.
Now tighten the knot, and make it a double knot. You can now remove the cardboard.
Next, take another length of yarn (approx. 25 cm / 10″) and wrap it tightly 4 tot 6 times around the tassel. Place it about 1.5 – 2 cm (3/4″) below the top. Make a double knot to make sure it doesn’t come undone.
Take your darning needle, and use it to pull the ends of the yarn you used to wrap around the tassel, behind the wraps.
This way, they become part of the tassel.
Now take your scissors again, and trim the ends of the tassel to make it nice and neat.

The results

And there you have it: a lovely tassel! It’s complete with a piece of yarn at the top, that you can use to sew it to your project!

Thanks to my Patreon supporters for bringing you this freebie! Creating quality patterns and tutorials is a lot of work and resource-intensive. However, I find it important to give you free content like this tutorial. Thanks to the generous support of my Patreon supporters, I can make it happen. Thank you, patrons! Click here to join, or click here to read more about La Visch Designs on Patreon.

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tutorial – making a spliced join

Making a spliced join - by La Visch Designs

When making a bigger project, chances are that you’ll have to join a new ball of yarn. There are multiple ways to approach this, also depending on the type of yarn. For a non-super wash wool, for example, I’ll probably go for a felted join. In a project with a smooth and slippery yarn like cotton, I would most likely choose a braided join or a Russian join. But what about the spliced join this tutorial is about?

The spliced join is very similar to the Russian join, in the sense that a needle is used to thread the yarn through the end of the new piece of yarn. The difference, however, is that in the spliced join the yarn is not looped back. Because of this, it’s a join that less suited for the very slippery yarns. Yarns that have some texture and “grip” to them, will work splendidly, though. Similar to the Russian join, the spliced join locally produces a thicker thread. However, this does not need to be a problem, because it’s often not very visible.

Materials

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the colors 133 Marine Blue, and 142 Tea Rose.

Darning needle: Pictured is a Hiya Hiya Darn It Yarn Needle. Please note that in the tutorial, I used a sharper darning needle, to make threading it through the yarn easier.

The spliced join step by step

In this example, I have used yarn in two different colors to illustrate how this method works.

Thread the yarn end from the first ball through the eye of the needle.
Zigzag with the needle through the end of the thread attached to your project, for approximately 5 to 6 centimeters (about 2 inches).
Make sure to do that about 10-15 cm (4 to 6 inches) from the end.
Pull the needle with its attached yarn through the other thread.
After that, you can remove the yarn from the needle.
Next, thread the yarn from the other tail through the eye of the needle.
Now zigzag back with the needle through the second thread for about 5 to 6 centimeters (about 2 inches).
Start at the point where the other “doubled up yarn section” ended.
Pull the yarn through, and gently tug on both ends to pull the yarn smooth.
The result of the spliced join!

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tutorial – knitting 4-stitch cables without a cable needle

Recently, in this post, I posted about a stitch pattern using both a 2/2 RC, and a 2/2 LC cable. But I must say, that I find that with knitting cables, my flow is very much interrupted. First by getting the cable needle. Next, by manipulating all three needles I have in my hands at that moment while working the stitches. Followed by laying the cable needle aside again. All of this to repeated multiple times in a row, depending on the patterning, of course. This, I really dislike.

Fortunately, as long as the cable is not too complex and does not involve too many stitches, it’s very well possible to work the cables without using a cable needle. Below you can find how to work this decrease step by step, so get your materials and follow along!

Materials

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 155 Vintage pink.

Knitting needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Working 4-stitch cables without a cable needle step by step

In this example, I’m working the following cables:
2/2 LC (2/2 left-cross cable): Slip next 2 stitches to cable needle and place at front of work, k2, then k2 from cable needle.
2/2 RC (2/2 right-cross cable): Slip next 2 stitches to cable needle and place at back of work, k2, then k2 from cable needle.

And yes, the instructions say to use a cable needle, because not all folks will want to work them without one.

Work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the cable.
First up is the 2/2 right-cross cable. With this cable, we want the first 2 stitches to cross in the back and to the left of the next 2 stitches.
To do so, I remove the first 2 stitches from the needle and place them to the back of the work.
Grab those stitches to make sure they don’t unravel!
Now insert the right-hand needle purl-wise into the next 2 stitches and slip them to the right-hand needle…
Next, place the 2 stitches you are still holding on to, also to the right-hand needle.
Now we only have to knit the stitches as they present themselves to finish the cable. To make that possible, slip the 4 stitches back to the left-hand needle…
…. and knit them!
Onward to the next cable! With the 2/2 left-cross cable, we want the first 2 stitches to cross in the front and to the right of the next 2 stitches.
To do so, I remove the first 2 stitches from the needle and place them to the front of the work. Again, grab those stitches to prevent any unraveling.
Now insert the right-hand needle purl-wise into the next 2 stitches and slip them to the right-hand needle…
Next, place the stitches you’re holding onto, to the left-hand needle.
Now place the 2 stitches from the right-hand needle back to the left-handle, and knit all 4 stitches to complete the cable. And that’s how to go about knitting 4-stitch cables without a cable needle!

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tutorial – working a slipped stitch edge

In some of my patterns, I use a slipped stitch edge as a finishing on the edges. Take for example the edges on the Sweet as Pi cardigan, or the upper edge of the sideways knit Morello Cerise shawl. What I like about this kind of edge, is that it looks like i-cord finishing. Only at the side edges of your fabric, instead of the top or bottom edges that you would get with an i-cord cast-on, or i-cord bind-off.

The slipped stitch edge is sometimes abbreviated as “SSE”. It is worked over the first 3 or last 3 stitches of a row. Or on both, of course. I find it helps to place an extra stitch marker 3 stitches in from the edge on each side of your work. That way there is always a clear demarcation of the stitches to work the SSE over.

Materials

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color Vintage Pink.

Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Working a slipped stitch edge step by step

In a pattern you may see the following instruction for the slipped stitch edge or SSE:
RS: K1, sl1 purl-wise wyif, k1.
WS: Sl1 purl-wise wyif, k1, sl1 purl-wise wyif.

In other words: when slipping the stitches, you always keep the yarn in front of your work, and you never slip a stitch that you’ve slipped in the previous row. Ok, let’s take a look at how to do this.

On the RS: Knit the first stitch
Move the yarn to the front of the work, insert your right-hand knitting needle purl-wise into the stitch and slip it to that needle.
Knit the third stitch.
Now you can continue with the row according to your pattern.
WS: Move the yarn to the front of the work, insert your right-hand knitting needle purl-wise into the stitch and slip it to that needle.
Knit the next stitch.
Again, move the yarn to the front of the work, insert your right-hand knitting needle purl-wise into the stitch and slip it to that needle.
Now you can continue with the row according to your pattern.

The result

In the little swatch I made for this tutorial, I did half in garter stitch, and half in stockinette. This way, you can see what the effect is on both the right and wrong sides of the fabric. It really looks like an i-cord! What’s also pretty obvious in the below pictures, is that the row gauge of garter stitch is much more condensed than with the stockinette. This is something that you may want to take into account in your project. Because the SSE contains slipped stitches, it will give a tighter edge than other edge treatments. This may cause pulling.

The result of working a slipped stitch edge on the WS

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tutorial – 7 into 9 gathered stitch

The 7 into 9 gathered stitch takes 7 stitches, and increases these to 9 stitches. The increase is done in such a way, that it looks like the fabric is “gathered” in the middle. You may encounter gathers in Estonian lace knitting, they are a distinctive feature of this type of lace. Gathers come in many different configurations. In some versions, the stitch counts stay the same, in some the stitch counts decrease or increase.

Read on to see how the 7 into 9 gathered stitch is worked.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 142 Tea Rose.

Knitting needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Working the 7 into 9 gathered stitch step by step

To start, work as instructed by your pattern until the point where you want to make the gather.
First, insert your right-hand needle into the 4th stitch on the left-hand needle as if to purl.
Next, pull this stitch over the 3 stitches near the tip, and off the needle.
Repeat step 3 another 3 times for a total of 4 stitches that are pulled over the set of 3 stitches near the tip of the needle.
Next, insert your right-hand needle into the first stitch on the left-hand needle as if to knit…
… wrap the yarn around the needle …
… and pull it through. Do not slip the stitch off the needle yet!
Next, wrap the yarn around the needle.
Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7, and slip the original stitch off the needle. In essence, you’re working a (k1, yo, k1) increase into the stitch. Check below for the result after this last step.
Repeat steps 5 to 9 for each of the other 2 wrapped stitches. In other words: after these steps, you’ve worked (k1, yo, k1) in each of the 3 wrapped stitches, bringing the total stitch count up to 9 stitches.
After this, continue with your knitting as instructed in the pattern.

View the result, when the row has been finished and a purl row has also been worked, below. I think it’s pretty neat!

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tutorial – working a centered 5 to 1 decrease

A centered decrease, as shown in this tutorial, reduces 5 stitches down to 1 stitch in a symmetrical way. This decrease results in a strong vertical decrease line that doesn’t slant to either the left or the right. A useful decrease to have in your knitter’s toolkit! Read on to see how it’s worked.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 142 Tea Rose.

Knitting needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Working the centered 5 to 1 decrease step by step

To start, work as instructed by your pattern until the point where you want to make the decrease.
First, insert your right-hand needle into the first 3 stitches on the left-hand needle as if to knit.
Next, slip these 3 stitches from the left-hand to the right-hand needle.
Now, insert your right-hand needle into the first 2 stitches on the left-hand needle as if to knit.
Next, wrap the yarn around the needle …
… and pull it through to work a k2tog. Slip the resulting stitch to the right-hand needle.
Next, insert the left-hand needle into the 3 stitches that were slipped earlier, and pass them over the k2tog.
The result after this last step can be seen below.
After this, continue with your knitting as instructed in the pattern.

The result, when the row has been finished and a purl row has also been worked, is as follows. I think it’s pretty neat!

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tutorial – working a (k1, yo, k1, yo, k1) increase

Recently, it was pointed out to me, that in the Scalloped edge tutorial, I don’t show step by step how to work the increases needed. So, time for a new tutorial! With the (k1, yo, k1, yo, k1) increase, 1 stitch is increased to 5 by working [k1, yo] twice in the same loop, followed by another k1. That said, if you’d like to increase 7 or even 9 stitches instead of 5, just work more repeats of [k1, yo] into the original stitch.

Let’s get our materials and get started!

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 142 Tea Rose.

Knitting needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Working the (k1, yo, k1, yo, k1) increase step by step

To start, work as instructed by your pattern until the point where you want to make the increase.
First, insert your right-hand needle into the first stitch on the left-hand needle as if to knit.
Next, wrap the yarn around the needle …
… and pull it through to work a k1. Do not slip the loop off the needle yet!
Now, wrap the yarn around the needle again.
This is one of the yo’s in the increase.
To work the next set of (k1, yo), I find it helps to put my finger on the last yo loop already on the needle. This will keep it from sliding off.
Again, insert your right-hand needle into the first stitch on the left-hand needle as if to knit.
Next, wrap the yarn around the needle …
… and pull it through to work a k1. Do not slip the loop off the needle yet!
Repeat steps 5 to 9 once more to create all the extra stitches needed.
After this, you can slide the original stitch off the left-hand needle to conclude the increase.
Below, you can see the result of the (k1, yo, k1, yo, k1) increase.

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tutorial – working a Russian picot bind-off

Recently, I showed you how to work a variation of a regular picot bind-off. However, sometimes you just want the stretch of a Russian bind-off, and combine it with the added pizzazz of some picots. That was exactly the scenario I encountered when I was working on my Framboos shawl. So, I tried out a way to combine the two in a Russian picot bind-off. In this tutorial, I’ll show you what I did.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color Tea Rose.

Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Working the Russian picot bind-off step by step

To start, knit 1 stitch.
In this example, I’m using a swatch from a stitch pattern that will be on this website soon.
Knit another stitch.
Slip both stitches from the right-hand needle back to the left-hand needle.
If you insert the left-hand needle as pictured, everything is already positioned correctly for the next step.
Knit the stitches together through the back loop.
Repeat steps 2-4 another 5 times.
This is basically the regular Russian bind-off. You can adjust the number of times to make the distance between the picots larger or smaller. End this step by slipping the remaining stitch from the right-hand needle back to the left-hand needle.
Cast-on 3 stitches using the knitted on cast-on.
Knit 1 stitch.
Next, knit another stitch…
…and pass the stitch already on the right-hand needle over the one just worked.
Repeat steps 8 and 9 twice more. This is what makes the picot.
Repeat steps 2-10 until all stitches have been bound off.

The result of the Russian picot bind-off looks like this:

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tutorial – working a picot bind-off

There are quite a few different ways to work a picot bind-off. That’s not even counting the variations coming from different distances between picots, and the sizing of the picots. In this tutorial, I’ll show you a variation of the picot bind-off that consists of binding of stitches the traditional way, combined with strategically cast-on stitches. Also, it can, of course, be used to bind-off a project. But the picot bind-off can also be worked on picked-up stitches or on the stitches from a provisional cast-on. The sky is the limit!

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 133 Marine Blue.

Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown.

Working the picot bind-off step by step

Take your project when you’re ready to start your bind-off. You can start as soon as the last row of your work has been knit, and after your work has been turned when working flat back and forth.
In this example, I’m using a swatch from a previous tutorial.
To start, knit 2 stitches.
Insert the left-hand needle into the stitch first worked…
… and lift it over the second stitch.
You have now bound-off 1 stitch.
Knit 1 stitch and repeat steps 3 and 4 to bind-off another stitch.
Next, cast-on 2 stitches using the knitted-on cast-on.
To do so, insert your needle into the stitch, wrap the yarn around it and pull it through the stitch. Then, instead of slipping the original stitch off the needle as you’d do when working a knit stitch, slip the new loop onto the left-hand needle to create a new stitch. Repeat once to get 2 new stitches.
To finish the first picot, work step 5 a total of 4 times.
Continue working steps 6 and 7 until your work has been completely bound-off.

When viewed from the back, it looks like this:

The result of the picot bind-off, viewed from the back

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tutorial – in between tinking and frogging

In between tinking and frogging - a tutorial by La Visch Designs

In a shawl project, I encountered a hiccup that I had to fix. When finishing the diamond patterning after a full repeat, and then working a garter stitch ridge to mirror the beginning of this section, this is what I noticed:

Do you see those plain rows of stockinette just above the needle and garter stitch ridge on the right? This did not mirror the start of the section at all… So, I undid some rows to start the garter stitch ridge earlier. With a rather “sticky” yarn, I would just remove the knitting needle, rip it out and place the stitches back on the needle at the right point. However, the yarn used in this project contains 50% tencel, making it rather slippery. I certainly didn’t want to drop any stitches in this patterning. But tinking (knitting spelled and done backwards) back 3 rows wasn’t a good option as well, with over 350 sts on the needle.

The solution: a technique that is something in between tinking and frogging! Below, I’ll show you how I went about it step by step.

Materials

Yarn: Hearthside Fibers Crystal in the colors “Vermont”, and “Lake”.

Needles: A pair of Addi circular needles in the size 4 mm (US 6)

In between tinking and frogging step by step

I positioned my project in such a way, that I had a good view of the row I wanted to put back on the needle from the right side of the fabric.
In this case, that meant holding the work as shown.
Do you see the little “V” just above the knitting needle, positioned in between the loops on that needle? Insert the needle into the left leg of the first “V”
You could, of course, insert the needle under the other leg, but that would mean that the loops are placed on the needle with a twisted orientation. Not a big issue, but it would mean working a first row of the project through the back loops to get them oriented correctly again.
I do hope I haven’t mixed up my stitch legs here, though…
Repeat step 2 until you have a decent number of stitches on your needle.
When working with circulars, that’s about 15 to 20 stitches for me.
Next, slide the knitting needle that holds all non-tinked back stitches out of the stitches below which you’ve just picked up stitches with the other needle.
Now gently pull out the working yarn out of these stitches.
Make sure to watch out for any missed stitches, now it’s easy to fix it without any runners in your fabric. This will be less so when you’ve already moved on to a new section of stitches.
And there you have it: a whole set of stitches safely on the needle, without either tinking or frogging.

This way really is between tinking and frogging; a lovely compromise! And my project? I got the offending rows out and did the garter stitch ridge earlier. This is how I intended it to look!

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