tutorial – reattaching an applied border

Tutorial reattaching an applied border - by La Visch Designs

In a recent post, I showed you how to remove an applied border, in order to reattach it later on. For example, after a couple of more rounds or rows in the main body of the project have been worked. But, this only does any good, if you also know how to reattach it again as well. So, in the name of science, I tried it out on a swatch. In this post, I’ll show you exactly what I did to reattach the removed knitted-on border.

Materials used

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

Other tools: Some spare knitting needles, and 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. I also used a darning needle, a length of smooth crochet cotton, and a stitch holder.

Reattaching the applied border step by step

  1. For this tutorial, I’m continuing with the swatch I used for the tutorial on removing the applied border. I worked extra rows in the pink part to simulate what I want to do with the big round project. To get started on reattaching it, I arranged both the border and the main body of the project with the right sides of the fabric pointing up.

    To get started, put the crochet hook through the first loop of the border. Do you see that it peeks through a larger green loop?Step 1 of reattaching an applied border

  2. Next, slip the first stitch of the body off the needle, and unto the crochet hook.

    Step 2 of reattaching an applied border

  3. Next, insert the crochet hook into the larger green loop on the left, where the first one was coming through. Pull it through the two other loops on the hook.

    Step 3

  4. Now insert the crochet through the next pink stitch of the body, and through the next green border stitch on the waste yarn….

    Step 4 of reattaching an applied border

  5. … and pull it through the loops already on the hook.

    Step 5 of reattaching an applied border

  6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until there are no more free loops of the border and body are available.

    The last loop on the crochet hook can be placed on the holder or needle holding the other life border stitches, for the final finishing steps.The result of reattaching an applied border

So, this is how to go about reattaching a removed applied border!

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stitch pattern – working a Vikkel braid in the round

Working a Vikkel braid in the round by La Visch Designs

A Vikkel braid, also known as an Estonian or lateral braid, is a decorative knitting technique used to create a horizontal braid-like texture across the fabric. It’s often used in traditional Estonian knitting, especially in mittens and cuffs, to add both structure and ornamentation. It can serve as a nice demarcation of the ribbing and the rest of the fabric. Its key feature, is that it creates a raised, twisted horizontal band that looks like a chain of stitches.

This braid is worked in a single round. It’s common to have a plain round above and below it to frame it nicely, and to prevent the purl stitches in the ribbing to distort the braid. Some folks advise dropping down a needle size when working the braid, because it can be a tad loose otherwise. In this how-to, I didn’t do that and found the tension to be ok. But, be warned, and try it out for yourself and adjust where needed.

In this article, I’m showing you how to do a Vikkel braid in the round, in a single color. In this post, you can see how to work it flat. The main difference between the in the round version and the flat version, is how it’s started and ended. When working a Vikkel braid in the round, it’s prettiest if the switch to a new round is jogless. There are, of course, many ways to go about it. The version shown here, is just the one that I like best. I’ll show how to braid a lateral braid in a contrasting color, sometime in the future.

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 tiny circular needle by Addi in the size 4 mm (US 6), and a length of 25 cm (10 inches).

Working a Vikkel braid in the round step by step

A Vikkel braid can be worked over any number of stitches, after or just before ribbing. In this example, I’m using a swatch worked in the round, in plain stockinette.

  1. I’m going to work my Vikkel braid onto this swatch.

    Step 1 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  2. Slip the last stitch of the previous round from the right-hand to the left-hand needle.

    Step 2 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  3. Next, insert the right-hand needle through the back loop of the 2nd stitch.

    Step 3

  4. Wrap the yarn around….

    And yes, I know I wrapped the yarn in the picture around the needle not the correct way around. It still delivered knitting!Step 4 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  5. …. and pull it through.

    Do not slip the stitch of the needle yet!Step 5

  6. Now, insert the needle into the first stitch as if to knit (because we’re going to knit it).

    Step 6

  7. Again, wrap the yarn around the needle….

    Step 7

  8. … and pull it through.

    Step 8 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  9. Now you can slip the 2 stitches nearest to the tip of the left-hand needle off.

    Step 9 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  10. Slip the stitch nearest to the tip of the right-hand needle, back to the left-hand needle.

    Step 10

  11. Repeat steps 3-10 until 1 stitch remains.

    This is how it looks when working the Vikkel braid across the round.Step 11 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  12. Next, repeat steps 3-9 once more.

    Now it’s time to close the round in such a way that the Vikkel braid appears jogless.Step 12

  13. First, insert your right-hand knitting needle from bottom to top through both legs of the first “V” of the Vikkel braid.

    Step 13 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  14. Then, lift both loops onto the needle as pictured:

    Step 14 of working a Vikkel braid in the round

  15. Now slip the stitch nearest to the tip of the right-hand needle, to the left-hand needle.

    Step 15

  16. To finish the round, pull both Vikkel-braid loops over the stitch nearest to the tip of the left-hand needle.

    Step 16

  17. Slip the stitch back to the right-hand needle, and you’re ready to continue your knitting project.

    Step 17

The result

In the below picture, you see the result, after I’ve inserted an end-of-round stitch marker, and worked a bit more than 1 round. Pretty jogless, if you ask me!

The result of working a Vikkel braid in the round
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tutorial – removing an applied border

Tutorial removing an applied border - by La Visch Designs

For a recent project, I’m working an applied border around a pi-shawl. Nearing the end of the border, it seems that there will be yarn left. This could be used to work a couple of more rounds in the body of the shawl. From forum posts, I understood that it is possible to “unzip” an applied border from its project. It could then be reapplied later on. But how to go about removing an applied border, exactly, remains elusive.

So, in the name of science, I tried it out on a swatch. In this post, I’ll show you exactly what I did to remove the knitted-on border, ready to be reattached later on.

Materials used

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

Other tools: Some spare knitting needles, and 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. I also used a darning needle, a length of smooth crochet cotton, and a stitch holder.

Removing the applied border step by step

  1. For this tutorial, I used a swatch I had already lying around. It was originally used to show the ribbed heart stitch. With the applied border, I started out with one repeat of the leaf border I’m working on the big round project. After that I condensed it a bit down to reduce the amount of knitting.

    Removing an applied border - the start

  2. Before unzipping the connecting stitches between body and border, I first want to put at least one set of stitches on a holder. This prevents it from unraveling where I don’t want it. To do so, I first flipped the entire piece, so the wrong side of the body is pointing up.

    Removing an applied border - step 1

  3. See those pink stitches hugging the green ones? I’m inserting my knitting needle underneath the leg on the right.

    Removing an applied border - step 2

  4. This is how it looks when all pink stitches have been placed on the knitting needle.

    Removing an applied border

  5. Next, I rotated the piece a bit, so now the life border stitches are facing me. I placed them on a stitch holder, except for the very last stitch, that threads through the first pink stitch on the knitting needle.

    Removing an applied border - step 5

  6. Carefully work this stitch loose, by using the crochet hook to hook underneath the horizontal bar of green yarn just above and to the left of the first pink stitch on the knitting needle in the picture above.

    You’ll see that you’ll get slightly large loose loops of live border stitches.Removing an applied border - step 6

  7. Of course, we don’t want those stitches to unravel either, so I caught them with my darning needle and some waste yarn.

    Please note, that in this picture, I’ve flipped the piece again. Now it’s with the right side of the body facing up.Removing an applied border - step 7

  8. In this upwards orientation, I now also see that I can place the green border stitches on the waste yarn, before actually pulling everything loose.

    Just insert the darning needle underneath the upwards leg of the green stitches. This is directly to the right of the stitches that connect the border to the body.Removing an applied border - step 8

  9. After securing all stitches, and pulling the connecting stitches loose, you have the below situation. Ready to continue with your plans for the project!

    In my case, I will work extra rows in the pink part to simulate what I want to do with the big round project.Removing an applied border - the result

So, this is how to go about removing an applied border! Stay tuned for the tutorial in which I’ll show you how to reattach the border.

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stitch pattern – working a Vikkel or Estonian braid

Working a Vikkel braid by La Visch Designs

A Vikkel braid, also known as an Estonian or lateral braid, is a decorative knitting technique used to create a horizontal braid-like texture across the fabric. It’s often used in traditional Estonian knitting, especially in mittens and cuffs, to add both structure and ornamentation. It can serve as a nice demarcation of the ribbing and the rest of the fabric. Its key feature, is that it creates a raised, twisted horizontal band that looks like a chain of stitches.

The braid is worked in a single row. It’s common to have a plain row above and below it to frame it nicely, and to prevent the purl stitches in the ribbing to distort the braid. Some folks advise dropping down a needle size when working the braid, because it can be a tad loose otherwise. In this how-to, I didn’t do that and found the tension to be ok. But, be warned, and try it out for yourself and adjust where needed.

In this article, I’m showing you how to do a Vikkel braid worked flat in a single color. It is, however, also possible to work it in the round, and in a contrasting color. I’ll show those variations sometime in the future.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 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 a Vikkel braid step by step

A Vikkel braid can be worked over any number of stitches, after or just before ribbing. In this example, I’m using a swatch in 2×2 rib.

  1. I’m going to work my Vikkel braid onto this swatch.

    Step 1 of working a Vikkel braid

  2. To prevent any distortion in the braid, I’m working another right side row in 2×2 rib, followed by a wrong side row in purl.

    That single row without patterning won’t be noticeable in the final result, but will prevent the braid from being wobbly.Step 2

  3. Cast-on a stitch, here I used the knitted-on cast-on, but the cable cast-on would also work.

    Step 3 of working a Vikkel braid

  4. Slip the newly cast-on stitch back to the left-hand needle.

    Step 4

  5. Next, insert the right-hand needle through the back loop of the 2nd stitch.

    Step 5 of working a Vikkel braid

  6. Wrap the yarn around….

    Step 6

  7. …. and pull it through.

    Do not slip the stitch of the needle yet!Step 7 of working a Vikkel braid

  8. Now, insert the needle into the first stitch as if to knit (because we’re going to knit it).

    Step 8

  9. Again, wrap the yarn around the needle….

    Step 9 of working a Vikkel braid

  10. … and pull it through.

    Step 10

  11. Now you can slip the 2 stitches nearest to the tip of the left-hand needle off.

    Step 11 of working a Vikkel braid

  12. Slip the stitch nearest to the tip of the right-hand needle, back to the left-hand needle.

    Step 12

  13. Repeat steps 5-12 until 1 stitch remains, then repeat steps 5-11 once more.

    This is how it looks by then. Pretty, right?!The finished Vikkel braid

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tutorial – how to make the most of remaining yarn

How to make the most of remaining yarn - a tutorial by La Visch Designs

When you have a limited amount of yarn, it’s pretty common to want to make the most of it. I often have a limited amount of a specific fingering weight yarn available, with which I want to knit a shawl. Especially when working with a shawl shape and construction that leads to ever-growing rows, that can be a challenge. Take, for example, a top-down triangle, or crescent shawl. But also with side-ways knit projects, it can be very useful to know whether another repeat before the mid-way point of the project is possible.

For this, I usually weigh my yarn. You can, of course, use a kitchen scale. Most kitchen scales have an accuracy of 1 g. This means that the scale will provide a reading for up to 1 gram above or below the object’s true weight. Especially when working with thinner yarns, this may mean that the reading is just not accurate enough to go on. In those cases, it can be advisable to use a precision scale, that measures with an accuracy of 0.1 g. The benefit of precision scales is, usually also, that they are smaller and therefor easier to take along when knitting on the go.

Once you use a specific scale for a project, it’s best to stick to that one for the duration of the project. Calibration may differ between scales, potentially causing issues when you have less yarn remaining than expected based on previous measurements with the other scale. Below, I’ll give you more information about the scales I use, and how I go about how to make the most of remaining yarn in a project.

Materials used

Yarn: RMR Yarn Co. Zihuatanejo DK in Casi Casi.

Scales: These are the scales I use for my knitting. The larger one was picked up at a local store, it has an accuracy of 0.1 g, and can weigh up to 200 g. The smaller one is a Christen Swiss OR-10 pocket scale. The latter is accurate to 0.1 g, and has a weighing capacity up to 150 g. The pencil and row counter are in the picture for scale. As you can see, the small one, is really very, very small.

How to make the most of remaining yarn in a project, an example

Usually I don’t bother weighing my yarn, until I see that I’m down to somewhere into the last ball of yarn. At that time, I start weighing after every 2 rows, and write down how much yarn was left. When doing this a couple of times, you can calculate how much yarn was used for every 2 rows. Even more, you can also see how much the yarn usage increases when the rows get longer. In the below pictures, I’m using my tiny scale, using the cover to increase the platform size to rest the ball of yarn on.

In the below picture, you can see the notes I scribbled on the back of the draft pattern of my Atomic Tangerine shawl. The middle column contains the weights, and with the arcs on the right you see what the weight differences were between the various rows. The example below shows, that I had 85 g left after row 50, which means I could get at most 8 other rows out of the remaining yarn. But given the rate at which the yarn usage went up, probably 6 rows at most. When binding off my shawl projects, I usually use the Russian bind-off, which, in my experience, uses almost as much yarn as 2 rows. So, taking this into account, there is only enough yarn left for another 4 rows before starting the bind-off.

And that’s exactly how it worked out for this pattern!

The back of a draft pattern, on which weights are scribbled in pencil
Weighing notes on Atomic Tangerine

Projects with multiple colors

You may wonder how this looks when working on a project that uses multiple colors. In that case, depending on the patterning, you may want to weigh either after every 2 rows, or after each pattern repeat. In this example, I’m working on a mosaic color-work project. With mosaic knitting, you alternate colors every 2 rows. So, in this case, weighing after every pattern repeat makes the most sense. And yes, in this example, I’m using my kitchen scale.

Angled view of a mosaic knitting project in yellow and teal, the teal yarn is positioned on a scale.
Weighing on a kitchen scale
Weighing notes, scribbled in blue pen on graph paper
Weighing notes

As you can see, these notes look a tad more complex, because the yarn usage arcs for the various colors cross each other. At this moment, I’m still working on this design. But, given the amount of yarn remaining, it’s time to start the final section of this shawl. To be continued!

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    stitch pattern – ribbed heart stitch

    The ribbed heart stitch - by La Visch Designs

    The ribbed heart stitch pattern is a textured knitting pattern that looks like little stacked hearts, against a background of reverse stockinette stitch. It may look complicated to work, but it’s really not that hard. You create the effect by pulling up loops from the center of a stitch, a couple of rows below the one that you’re working. These loops are slipped a couple of rows, before they’re anchored by doing some regular left- and right leaning decreases. It’s a versatile stitch pattern that can be used in any place you’d used regular ribbing. However, because it’s so pretty, it’s lovely as all-over patterning for blankets, for example.

    This stitch pattern is worked as a multiple of 5 stitches + 2, and in a four-row repeat. Please note that in this swatch, I’ve added 2 edge stitches on each side.

    Materials used

    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.

    Stitches used

    Pulling up a loop
    Pulling up a loop

    Ribbed heart stitch instructions

    Set-up row 1 (RS): P2, *k3, p2*; rep *-* to end.
    Set-up row 2 (WS): K2, *p3, k2*; rep *-* to end.
    Set-up rows 3-4: Rep set-up rows 1 and 2 once.

    Row 1 (RS): P2, *pull up a loop through the knit st in the middle of the 3 knit sts, 4 rows down, k3, pull up another loop through the same st, p2*; rep *-* to end.
    Row 2 (WS): K2, *move the working yarn to the front of the work and sl1, p3, sl1*; rep *-* to end.
    Row 3: P2, *skp, k1, k2tog, p2*; rep *-* to end.
    Row 4: K2, *p3, k2*; rep *-* to end.

    Repeat rows 1-4 for pattern until desired length.

    Below you can see how this stitch pattern looks, first as seen from the right side, and then from the wrong side of the fabric.

    Ribbed heart stitch from the RS
    Ribbed heart stitch from the WS
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    tutorial – working a cabled bind-off

    Working a cabled bind-off

    The cabled bind-off may look complex, but it’s really nothing more than a twist of a fat i-cord bind-off. Usually, an i-cord bind-off is made with 3 to 4 stitches. However, to make it a cabled bind-off, once every few rows the order of the stitches on your knitting needle is changed. These crossings are what gives cables their characteristic look. To give each half of the cable a bit of heft, they need to have enough stitches. Also, with cable knitting, you usually work stitches in stockinette. So, to make the cables pop against the body of the piece you’re binding off, a contrasting stitch in reverse stockinette is used.

    In this example, I’ll be showing you a cabled bind-off with a 3/3 RC (3/3 right-cross cable). For this we will need 6 stitches, plus 1 purl stitch to make them pop. This bind-off is worked over a multiple of 6 stitches in the piece to bind-off, plus 1 extra stitches to bind-off the cable itself.

    Materials used

    Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, in the colors Vintage Pink, and Lime Green.

    Needles: This is a pair of straights that I picked up at the second-hand store when I started knitting, brand unknown. You will also need a cable needle in a similar or slightly smaller size as your knitting needles.

    The cabled bind-off step by step

    In short, the instructions for this bind-off would look something like this:

    Cabled bind off: Cast-on 7 sts, *k6, p2tog, sl 7 sts just worked back to left-hand needle, pull yarn tight across back of sts; rep from * until 1 st remains.
    Next: Bind-off 6 sts by knitting 1 st, *then knitting the next st and passing the one already on the right-hand needle over the newly worked stitch*, work *-* 5 times, p2tog, and fasten off.

    1. You can start casting off as soon as the last row or round of your work has been knit, and after your work has been turned when working flat back and forth.

      Step 1 of working the cabled bind-off

    2. With the right side facing, cast-on 7 stitches. I used the knitted-on method.

      Step 2

    3. Knit 6 stitches.

      Step 3 of working the cabled bind-off

    4. Purl 2 stitches together, 1 from the bind-off, and the other one from the body of the work.

      Step 4

    5. Move yarn to the back of the work, then slip the 7 stitches on the right-needle back to the left hand-needle one by one.

      Step 5 of working the cabled bind-off

    6. Repeat steps 3 to 5 once.

      Step 6

    7. Next, we’re going tot work the cable twist row with a 3/3 RC (3/3 right-cross cable). First, slip the next 3 stitches to the cable needle, and place at the back of the work.

      Step 7 of working the cabled bind-off

    8. Knit 3 stitches….

      Step 8 of working the cabled bind-off

    9. …. finish the cable by knitting 3 stitches from the cable needle.

      Step 9

    10. Next, purl 2 stitches together. Again, one from the bind-off, and the other one from the body of the work.

      Step 10 of working the cabled bind-off

    11. Move yarn to the back of the work, then slip the 7 stitches on the right-needle back to the left hand-needle one by one.

      Step 11

    12. Repeat steps 3 to 5 another 3 times. You have now bound-off 6 stitches.

    13. Repeat steps 3 to 12 until only 1 stitch is left over.

      Please note that in my swatch, I hadn’t accounted for this last stitch. So in this example, I had no stitches left over at this point.Step 12

    14. To finish, bind-off 6 stitches by knitting 1 stitch, *then knitting the next stitch and passing the one already on the right-hand needle over the newly worked stitch*, work *-* 5 times, purl the last 2 stitches together, and fasten off.

      In my example, I did not have any stitch left to do the p2tog with, so I just fastened off.The result of working the cabled bind-off

    Pretty, right?!

    A few notes

    • In this example, I worked the cabled bind-off in a contrasting color. You can, of course, also work the bind-off in the same color as the project itself.
    • All i-cord based bind-off edge on pieces worked in stockinette stitch are very pretty. As you know, however, stockinette tends to curl…. A lot. An i-cord bind-off is usually not sufficient to prevent curling. For this, you will have to look at other methods, such as garter stitch or rib.
    • Depending on the difference between your stitch, and row gauge, the bind-off may be tighter than the body of the work. If this is not desired in your piece, you could consider going up a needle size. Working an extra row, without connecting it to the body once every few repeats, may also be sufficient to get enough length at the edge.
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    atomic tangerine

    Atomic Tangerine - a bulky weight knit shawl by La Visch Designs

    Atomic Tangerine was inspired by the lovely, vibrant yarn I bought on vacation in Sweden. While the version pictured is knit in a bulky-weight yarn, the patterning is very flexible and can easily be knit in other yarn weights. Just repeat the body pattern until your shawl is the desired size!

    This shawl is knit from the top-down in one piece, starting at the neck edge with a garter tab. The instructions for the body patterning are both charted and written out. 


    Pay what you want: (minimum €7.25)

    €

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    Difficulty level

    This shawl is worked from the top down, starting with a garter stitch tab. Stitches used include knit, purl, skp, sl1-k2tog-psso, k2tog tbl and yo. This pattern is therefor suitable for the advanced beginner to intermediate knitter.

    Sizes and finished measurements

    One size: Span width of 178 cm (70 inches) measured along the upper edge, and a depth of 75 cm (29 ½ inches), measured after blocking.

    Change the size of the Atomic Tangerine shawl by using lighter or heavier yarn and/or working fewer (or more) repeats of the various sections of the shawl. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

    Pattern details

    • Gauge: Approx. 7 sts / 22 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over body pattern, measured after blocking. Gauge is not critical in this design, but for a look similar to the sample shown, a loose gauge is advised
    • Pattern languages included: English.
    • Digital PDF has 6 pages (letter size)

    Yarn

    256 m (280 yds) / 400 g Ullcentrum Lovikka (100% wool; 64 m (70 yds) / 100 g) in the color Lo-2122 Orange ljus.

    Substitute a single ply type wool bulky weight yarn in a solid or tonal colorway for a similar result.

    Materials

    • Size 8 mm (US 11) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles were used for the sample shawl. Use needles appropriate for the yarn chosen.
    • 4 stitch markers to indicate the center stitch and the edge stitches
    • Stitch markers to indicate repeats of the lace patterning (optional)
    • Yarn needle

    atomic tangerine Read More »

    stitch pattern – the honeycomb cable stitch

    Knitting the honeycomb cable stitch

    With cable knitting, you usually work stitches in stockinette against a background of either garter stitch or reverse stockinette. The cables themselves are worked in stockinette, and once every few rows the order of those stitches on your knitting needle is changed. However, unlike most cable stitch patterns, the honeycomb cable does not use any background stitches. The pattern is purely cable crossings every few rows to create the all-over honeycomb effect.

    Stitch patterns with cables can be very complex. In this stitch pattern, however, I show you a simple 2/2 RC, and a 2/2 LC cable. This stitch pattern is worked in a multiple of 8 stitches. Please note that in the above picture, I did not add any edge stitches to the swatch.

    Materials used

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

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

    You will also need a cable needle in a similar or slightly smaller size as your knitting needles. Unless, of course, you’re going to work the cables without a cable needle. The cables made in this stitch pattern are small enough to make that doable.

    Stitches used

    • k – knit
    • p – purl
    • 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.

    Honeycomb cable stitch instructions

    Row 1 (right side): Knit. (8 sts)
    Row 2 and all following wrong side rows: Purl.
    Row 3: *2/2 RC, 2/2 LC*; rep *-* to end.
    Row 5: Knit.
    Row 7: *2/2 LC, 2/2 RC*; rep *-* to end.
    Row 8: Purl.

    Repeat rows 1-8 for pattern.
    To adjust this stitch pattern for working in the round, simply replace all purl instructions with knit!

    The honeycomb cable stitch chart
    The honeycomb cable stitch from the right side
    The honeycomb cable stitch from the right side.
    The honeycomb cable stitch from the wrong side
    The honeycomb cable stitch from the wrong side.
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    tutorial – the buttonhole loop bind-off

    The buttonhole loop bind-off

    The buttonhole loop bind-off is very similar to the standard knitted bind-off, but with a twist! There are loops of yarn worked right at the edge of the work, which can be utilized as buttonholes. Of course, you can also just use this bind-off because it’s decorative. And yes, in this tutorial I’m using the swatch of the slip stitch rib stitch pattern, I showed you two weeks ago. Let’s get started!

    Materials used

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

    The buttonhole loop bind-off step by step

    1. To start, take the piece of knitting you want to bind-off, and knit the first stitch.

      Step 1 of working the buttonhole loop bind-off

    2. Next, knit the new stitch nearest to the tip of the left-hand needle.

      Step 2

    3. Insert the tip of the left-hand needle into the second stitch on the right-hand needle….

      Step 3 of working the buttonhole loop bind-off

    4. …., and pass this second stitch over the first one.

      You have now bound-off a stitch!Step 4

    5. Repeat steps 2-4 until you have reached the spot where you want to have the buttonhole.

      In my case, I want the buttonhole right between the 2 purl stitches in the rib. So I continued binding stitches off, until I had worked the first of the 2 purl stitches.Step 5 of working the buttonhole loop bind-off

    6. Next, we want to make a series of loops to accommodate the buttons you’ve chosen. Depending on the size of the buttons, You may want to work longer loops than I’m doing in this example.

      To start the first loop, place the stitch from the right-hand needle back to the left-hand needle.Step 6

    7. Next, insert your right-hand needle into the first stitch on the left-hand needle as if to knit.

      Step 7 of working the buttonhole loop bind-off

    8. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

      Step 8 of working the buttonhole loop bind-off

    9. … and pull it through. You have now made 1 “chain”.

      This is very similar to working a chain with a crochet hook, hence the name I’m giving it. Step 9

    10. I want a loop consisting of 3 “chains”, so I have repeated steps 6-9 another two times.

      Step 10 of working the buttonhole loop bind-off

    11. To close the loop, I then worked steps 2-4 once more.

      Step 11

    The result

    In the below picture, I worked another 2 buttonholes, again centered in the purl part of the rib patterning. I really like this result!

    The result of working the buttonhole loop bind-off

     

    Patreon logo

    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.

    tutorial – the buttonhole loop bind-off Read More »