tutorial Archives - Page 3 of 21

tutorial – fixing a forgotten shaping yo in a triangle shawl

In an earlier tutorial, I already showed you how to fix a forgotten yo. However, fixing a forgotten yarn over becomes a tad more complex if it’s a shaping increase. Take, for example, a typical top-down triangle shawl, with increases on both outer edges, and on both sides of the central spine stitch. But, no fear, when such a shaping increase has been forgotten, it’s still very much possible to fix it without ripping out all your work back to the -place where the error occurred.

So, in this post I’ll show you to fix a forgotten yarn over, used as a shaping increase. Specifically for the situation that the lack of the increase hasn’t been noticed until several more rows have been worked.

Materials used

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

A crochet hook in the same size or slightly smaller than your knitting needles. For example, this Pony Aluminum Crochet Hook in size 4 mm.

Fixing a forgotten shaping yo step by step

Let’s get started! In this tutorial, I’m using the swatch I also used in previous tutorials on fixing things in knitting.

First, we have to identify the exact spot where the increase is missing.
Do you see it?
The yo is missing in between the two columns of stitches above the yo’s that are there.
The two horizontal threads, in the center of the yellow circle, is where we need to work our magic. You can count both the garter stitch ridges in the border, and the shaping yo’s that have been worked, to know how many rows have been worked since making the mistake. In this case, that’s 4 rows.
Let’s start fixing! Insert the crochet hook as shown from bottom to top underneath the two horizontal threads…
…. and pull the top thread through the one below to make the yarn over.
Now we can ladder the work back up! To see which threads should be used to ladder up the rest of the stitch column, you can pull the two columns of stitches slightly apart above.
There are 4 horizontal threads, just like we deduced earlier.
To ladder the work back up, insert the crochet hook underneath the lowest horizontal thread directly above the new yo (the 4th horizontal thread down), and pull the thread through the loop already on the hook to make a new knit stitch.
Repeat this (for stockinette) as often as needed until you’ve run out of threads to pull through to make the new column of stitches above the yarn over.
The end result!
The new yarn over and stitches above it, will be a bit tight when compared with the surrounding stitches. But, this will usually even out with some blocking.

And that is how to fix a forgotten shaping yo! You are now ready to continue with 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 – working the Estonian cast-on

Working the Estonian cast-on - a tutorial by La Visch Designs

The Estonian cast-on is a long tail cast-on method for those projects that need some stretch at the edge. Think, for example, of socks, hats, and gloves or mittens. This particular cast-on has many names. It’s also referred to as the Latvian cast-on, the Double Start cast-on, and the German cast-on. As with all long tail cast-on methods, it can be a bit tricky to get the hang of. However, once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty fast to work.

The main challenge with this cast-on is that it uses its yarn tail together with the working yarn. In other words: if you don’t leave the tail long enough, you may run short of yarn to cast-on all needed stitches. This is especially bothersome when casting on many stitches. A rule of thumb is to leave a yarn tail that is 3 to 4 times as long as the width you want your work to become. A somewhat more reliable guesstimate can be made by casting on 10 stitches. Unravel those and leave a yarn tail in that length, multiplied as many times as needed to arrive at the number of required stitches. Plus a bit extra, of course, to weave in later on.

Another way to deal with it is not to calculate or guess anything, but just use 2 different strands of yarn. This can be from 2 different balls of yarn, or both ends of the same ball if you can find the end in the center.

Shall we go see how the cast-on is worked?

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 Estonian cast-on step by step

Let’s get started on the Estonian tail cast-on!

Start by holding the yarn around your thumb and index finger.
It isn’t very clear in the picture, but I’m holding the ball end of the yarn around my thumb and the yarn tail around my index finger.
Next, place your left thumb and index finger as shown, and position the needle against the yarn between your thumb and index finger.
In this next picture, I’ve rotated the needle downwards, twisting the yarn around it.
In this picture, I’ve moved my right hand down. Doing this, the yarn basically makes a “v” between my thumb and index finger, making it possible to dip the tip of the needle underneath the strand of yarn you see going around my thumb.
Next, bring the needle over the top of the strand of yarn going around your index finger, and dip below it from right to left.
Now we’ve caught this strand too, it’s time for the next step.
Now we pull the last caught strand through the “thumb loop”.
This picture shows this step pretty well.
To finish the new stitch, gently draw out your thumb from the loop, and tighten the stitch a bit by pulling on the strands.
Next, position the yarn around your thumb and index finger again, but this time wrap it around the opposite way.
Rotate your left-hand upwards, while moving the right hand down again to form a “v” between your thumb and index finger again. Then, place the tip of the needle underneath the top strand of yarn you see going around your thumb.
Next, take the needle over the top of the strand of yarn going around your index finger, and dip below it from right to left.
Bring the needle back through the thumb loop…
…then drop the yarn from your thumb and tighten the stitch.
Repeat steps 2 to 12 as often as needed to arrive at the desired number of stitches.
This is my result working the Estonian cast-on:

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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!

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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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