knitting Archives - Page 5 of 18

aurora blue

Aurora Blue captures all the gorgeous variations of vibrant blue found in the semi-double flowers of this type of delphinium. This design is knit sideways on the bias, making a shallow and asymmetrical triangle, perfect for wearing as an elegant scarf. The combination of garter stitch in a variegated hand-dyed yarn and simple lace makes it a perfect choice to get the best of both worlds.

The pattern contains both fully written out as well as charted instructions for the lace section.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.95)

€

Difficulty level

Stitches used in this pattern include knit, purl, yo, kfb, skp, k2tog, and a centered double decrease. This pattern is therefor suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: 174 cm (68 ½ inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 70 cm (27 ½ inches), measured after blocking.

Make the Aurora Blue shawl larger by adding more repeats of the garter stitch and/or by working more repeats in the lace section. As a result, this will, of course, increase the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Gauge: Approx. 17 sts / 24 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch, measured after blocking. Gauge is, however, not critical in this design.
Pattern languages included: English.
Digital PDF has 3 pages (letter size)

Materials

Yarn: 1 skein of Pure 100% Merino Superwash by Rohrspatz & Wollmeise (100% Merino; 525 m (575 yds) / 150 g) in “Blue Bell”. Substitute any variegated fingering weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles were used in the sample shawl.
Removable stitch marker to denote the RS of the shawl (optional)
Stitch markers to indicate repeats of the lace patterning (optional)
Yarn needle

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tutorial – Working German short rows

Short rows are a very handy way to create shaping in knitted fabric. Use it, for example, to raise the back of the neck in sweaters. You can also think of horizontal bust shaping, to prevent a sweater from riding up. I really like German short rows, because they’re pretty invisible in the resulting fabric, and they’re easy to work too. I don’t know how this technique has gotten its name, though. As I understand it, Germans know the technique as the German equivalent of “double stitch” short rows. But who knows how those things evolve?

Grab your materials and let’s get started!

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 125 Spearmint Green.

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

Working German short rows step by step

Work as instructed by your pattern until the point where it says “turn and make double stitch”.
Next, turn your work, making sure you have the yarn at the front of your work, ….
… and slip the first stitch on the left-hand needle purlwise.
To make the double stitch, or ds, we now tug the yarn attached to the stitch we slipped. This lifts it up and over the needle, pulling the base of the stitch with it.
This base consists of 2 strands of yarn, making it look like there are 2 stitches, hence the name “double stitch”.
Next, if the next stitch is to be purled, bring the yarn back to the front of the work between the needle and purl. If the next stitch is to be knit, keep the yarn at the back of the work.
In this step it’s important to keep the tension on the yarn, to make sure the double stitch does not slide back into its previous position, before you secure it with the new stitch worked.
Then continue to work the pattern, making double stitches as instructed.
In this example, I purled back to the end of the row, working the last 2 sts as knit stitches to keep the edges in garter stitches. Do you see the ds, just before the turning gap?
Then I worked 2 more sets of short rows, with each set turning to the WS at 2 sts before the last “turning gap”.
Please note: the ds is counted as a single stitch here! In other words: I worked steps 1 to 6 of this tutorial twice more. This is then the result:
At a certain point, you won’t be working short rows anymore and will resume working over the entire row or round of the work. To close the “turning gaps” you will be working over the double stitches.
Whenever you encounter a double stitch, just knit or purl over both strands as if it were a single stitch.

The result

When viewed from the right side:

And, of course, when viewed from the wrong side of the fabric:

Substituting German for wrap & turn short rows

When you have knitting instructions that contain classic wrap & turn short rows, you can’t just substitute them with German short rows. If you do that, the stitch counts will be off. As a result, the placement of the shaping will be slightly different from what’s intended in the pattern. The main difference between both methods is that with wrap & turn, the wrapped stitch is slipped but not worked. This means it technically isn’t part of the short row itself. With German short rows, however, the stitch in the row below the double stitch is the last stitch worked on the previous short row. This means it’s included in the short-row stitch count.

When substituting German short rows for wrap & turn ones on rows that are getting shorter: Work to the number of stitches as mentioned in the w&t instructions before the last turned stitch, then work 1 more stitch and turn your work. At that point, you’re ready to make a ds as described in step 2.

When substituting German short rows for wrap & turn ones on rows that are getting longer: Work 1 fewer stitch before the previous double stitch than called for in the directions for the w&t short rows, and turn your work. Again, you’re now ready to make a ds as described in step 2.

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 – seaming with slip stitch

As I wrote in my tutorial on the mattress stitch, there are many ways to join two pieces of knitted fabric together. And they all have their own advantages and disadvantages! In this post, I’ll be talking about seaming with slip stitch, using a crochet hook. This technique is particularly suited for joining pieces together, that are not an exact match in rows or stitch patterns. Think for example of easing a set-in sleeve into its sleeve cap. Personally, I also prefer it over other seaming methods, because of how easy it is to undo. That flexibility can be a lifesaver when working on long seams like those on flat-knit sleeves.

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 142 Tea Rose. I also used a bit of 155 Vintage Pink.

Crochet hook : A crochet hook similar or smaller to the size of the knitting needles used in the project. The hook pictured is by Pony.

Slip stitch crochet seaming step by step

In this tutorial, I’m using the purple swatch to show you how to seam it close using slip stitch crochet, with the orange yarn. This particular seaming technique can be done with both the right side or the wrong side of the fabric facing. It yields a very decorative seam, that could be used as a design feature when visible on the outside of the piece, especially in a contrasting yarn. In this example, however, I’m working it with the wrong side facing, to have the seam on the inside of the piece.

First, line up the edges of the pieces to be seamed together.
I like to use these bulb-pins to hold the edges together, but regular safety pins or stitch markers could also be used.
To start, insert the crochet hook from front to back through both pieces, on the utmost right of the work. Take care to go under only one edge stitch for each piece.
Next, grab a loop of your seaming yarn …
…. and pull it through both edge stitches.
Next, insert the hook from front to back through both pieces, one stitch to the left. Again, take care to go under only one edge stitch for each piece.
Again, grab a loop from your seaming yarn, and pull it through both of the edge stitches.
You now have through 2 loops of yarn on your crochet hook.
Next, pull the loop closest to the tip of the hook through the second loop.
Repeat steps 5 to 7, each time moving one edge stitch to the right, until the entire edge has been worked.
To complete it, just break the yarn and pull the end through the last remaining loop before weaving in the ends.
Below, you can see how the seam looks when I flip the piece over.
Please note, this is still on the wrong side of the fabric!

The result when viewed from the RS

For completeness’s sake, you can see below how this seam looks on the other side of the fabric, the right side, in this case:

The result of working a slip stitch crochet seam

When I put the seam under a bit of tension, you can see below that the yarn used peeps through for a bit. You can see it is a design feature, using a contrasting yarn. Or, of course, just use the same yarn as for the rest of the project.

And that’s how to work a slip stitch crochet seam. Really not that hard, right?!

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Shoreham-by-Sea tee

The gorgeous linen yarn in the tee pictured, I bought when visiting Sally in Shoreham-by-Sea some years ago. What better to use it for than a simple top-down tee with a circular yoke construction? The top is completely seamless, with subtle star stitch patterning in the yoke, and neat twisted rib edgings. Worked in a 100% linen yarn, this top is a dream to wear in warm weather. Moreover, it also works great as a layering piece!

Instructions for 11 sizes are included, with finished bust measurements ranging from 81 to 152 cm (32 to 59.75 inches).

Pay what you want: (minimum €8.50)

€

Difficulty level

Stitches used include knit, purl, knit tbl, k2tog, skp, yo, k3tog, m1l and m1r. This pattern is therefor suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

The Shoreham-by-Sea tee pattern is available in 11 sizes: Size 0 (1, 2, 3, 4) [5, 6, 7] {8, 9, 10} with a finished bust measurement of 83 (91, 97, 105, 109.5) [115.5, 122, 131.5] {137.5, 145.5, 152} cm or 32.75 (35.75, 38.25, 41.25, 43) [45.5, 48, 51.75] {54.25, 57.25, 59.75} inches. For more measurements, please see the schematic in the picture gallery.

The tee is intended to be worn with approx. 5 -10 cm (2-4 inches) of positive ease at the full bust. The sample in size 2 shown is worn with 6 cm (2.25 inches) of positive ease.

Pattern details

Gauge: 22.7 sts / 30 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette stitch on larger needles, measured after blocking.
Pattern languages included: English.
Digital PDF has 6 pages (letter size)

Yarn

Yarn used in the sample Shoreham-by-Sea tee: 4 (5, 5, 6, 6) [6, 7, 7] {8, 8, 9} balls of Rowan Pure Linen (100% linen (flax); 130 m (142 yds) / 50 g) in 399 Patagonian.

Alternatively, use: 512 (572, 608, 676, 710) [770, 809, 910] {967, 1035, 1100} m (559 (625, 665, 738, 775) [841, 883, 994] {1056, 1130, 1201} yds) / 197 (220, 234, 260, 273) [296, 311, 350] {372, 398, 423} g of yarn with good drape of approx. sport weight that knits up to the pattern gauge, in solid colors for a similar result. Cotton and cotton blends will work well.

Materials

Knitting needles:
- Size 2.5 mm (US 1.5) / 60 cm (24 inches) and 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles, or a size 0.5 mm (or the US equivalent) smaller than the size needed to get gauge
- A size 3 mm (US 2.5) / 60 cm (24 inches) and 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles, or the size needed to get gauge
- Size 3 mm (US 2.5) and 2.5 mm (US 1.5) needles in your preferred style for small circumference knitting in the round
Yarn needle
4 stitch markers
1 different “end of round” stitch marker
Waste yarn or stitch holder

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tutorial – seaming with mattress stitch

There are many ways to join two pieces of knitted fabric together, all with their own advantages and disadvantages. In this post, I’ll be talking about working the mattress stitch. This technique is particularly suited for joining pieces in stockinette stitch on the vertical edge of the work. It will also work splendidly with other stitch patterns, as long as there is a column of knit stitches right at the edge that you want to join with another piece. Examples of where I used mattress stitch, include closing up sleeves that were worked flat, and connecting the front and back pieces of sweaters.

Personally, I find mattress stitch more time-consuming than, for example, working a crochet join. However, it has a very important benefit: it’s virtually invisible on the right side of the fabric, although it does create a ridge on the wrong side of the work. Also, it’s very satisfying to see the fabric closing up when pulling the thread!

Materials used

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

Darning needle: Hiya Hiya Darn It Yarn Needle, or any other tapestry needle, threaded with yarn.

Working mattress stitch step by step

Before we can start, we have to measure out a length of the working yarn. For this, a length of approx. twice the length of the edge that you want to bind-off is advised. If long enough, you could also use the yarn tail left over from casting on or binding off. This will give less ends to weave in later on.

When you have measured out the length of yarn, break it, and thread it onto the darning needle.

First, make sure you have your work in front of you, with the right side facing.
In the picture below, you can see that I did not block my swatch before making the pictures for this tutorial. When using this technique on a project, though, blocking could make it easier to see the stitches you want to seam into.
To start, insert the darning needle directly to the right of the first column of stitches, from bottom to top, underneath the thread that runs between the two columns of stitches.
You can also start with the left piece of fabric. In that case, insert the needle underneath the thread to the left of the column of knit stitches at the edge of the piece. Don’t forget to leave a long enough yarn tail to weave in later on, if you’re not using a yarn tail for seaming.
Next, insert the darning needle directly to the left of the first column of stitches on the other piece of fabric. Again, from bottom to top, underneath the thread that runs between the two columns of stitches.
Pull the yarn through.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you’ve reached the end of the edges to join.
Make sure to pull the yarn to close up the seam every few cm or inches. Take care not to make it too tight, though, or the seam will be less invisible than it could be.
Below, you can see the result of seaming with mattress stitch on the right side of the fabric. Pretty good, right?!
And for completeness’s sake, here also the view from the wrong side of the fabric.

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morello cerise

Morello Cerise is a triangle shawl, knit sideways. This design features lace patterning in the tradition of the Shetland Isles. The triangle edging is worked at the same time as the body of the shawlette. Worked at a loose gauge, Morello Cerise is a lovely and airy layering piece.

The pattern contains both fully written out as well as charted instructions for the lace.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.95)

€

Difficulty level

This pattern contains simple WS patterning. Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, double yo, kfb, skp, and k2tog.

This pattern is suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: Span width of 158 cm (62 ¼ inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 76 cm (30 inches), measured after blocking.

Change the size of the shawl by using heavier yarn and/or working less (or more) repeats of the edging. This will of course change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Gauge: Approx. 17 sts / 26 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch, after blocking. Gauge is, however, not critical in this design.
Pattern languages included: English.
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)

Materials

Yarn: 750 m (820 yds) / 150 g Ístex Einband (100% wool; 250 m (273 yds) / 50 g). Substitute any heavy lace weight or (light) fingering weight wool yarn for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles were used in the sample shawl.
Yarn needle.
1 stitch marker to differentiate the body from the edging of the shawl.

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tutorial – knitting stripes in rib patterning

A tutorial on knitting stripes in rib patterning

Adding stripes is an easy way to make a project more interesting, without having to work complex patterning. But what if you’re changing colors when already working in some sort of knit-purl patterning, like the 2×2 rib pictured above? When changing the colors, you will see purl bumps in the old color showing through. Personally, I don’t like how it looks, it makes the color change look less sharp than it could. Fortunately, there is an easy solution!

Materials used

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

Needles: A random circular needle in the 4 mm (US 6) size, with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Preventing purl bumps when knitting stripes in rib patterning

In the picture below, you can clearly see the purl bumps of the Marine Blue yarn peeking through, above the Vintage Pink.
To remove those pesky purl bumps, simply knit the entire first row or round in the new color!
For all rows or rounds following the color change, just resume the patterning as before. Do you see the difference in the picture below?
To be complete, I’ll also show you the wrong side of this piece:

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Warm Among the Wheat

This fresh take on a simple beanie is worked from brim to crown, with twisted ribbing throughout. After the brim with the twisted rib cable patterning is worked, the body of the hat is worked to the desired height. Next, the crown is finished with neat double decreases. What is not to like?!

This pattern contains instructions for 5 sizes, ranging from a finished size of 24 cm up to 43 cm (9.5 to 17 inches) unstretched. Don’t let this fool you, though. The twisted rib patterning is extremely stretchy (stretching up to 75 cm or 29.5 inches in the largest size), making this hat very flexible in sizing. In addition, the instructions for the patterning are provided both charted and written out.

Pay what you want: (minimum €5.00)

€

Difficulty level

The Warm Among the Wheat hat is seamless and knit in the round from the bottom up. Stitches used include knit through the back loop, purl, left- and right leaning twists over 3 sts, skp, as well as left-leaning double decreases. This pattern is therefor suitable for the intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Sizes 1 (2, 3, 4, 5):

Finished circumference (unstretched) of 24 (28.5, 33.5, 38, 43) cm or 9.5 (11.25, 13.25, 15, 17) inches comfortably stretching to approx. 42 (50, 58.5, 67, 75) cm or 16.5 (19.75, 23, 26.5, 29.5) inches.
Finished length, measured from the crown along the curve of the hat to the edge: 17.5 (20.5, 23.5, 27, 30) cm or 6.75 (8, 9.25, 10.5, 11.75) inches.

The sample pictured is in size 3, worn on a 53.5 cm (21 inches) head.

Pattern details

The Warm Among the Wheat hat pattern is written for a gauge of 34 sts / 29 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) unstretched over twisted rib patterning after washing and gentle blocking.
Pattern language included: English.
Digital PDF has 3 pages (letter size).

Yarn

58 (85, 120, 160, 205) m (63 (93, 131, 175, 224) yds) / 23 (34, 48, 64, 82) g Anna & Clara Woolblend w/Bamboo by Søstrene Grene (70% Wool, 30% Rayon from Bamboo; 125 m (137 yds) / 50 g).

Substitute any singly ply type DK weight wool blend yarn for a similar result.

Materials

Size 3.5 mm (US 4) knitting needles in your preferred style for small circumference knitting in the round (or to match gauge).
1 end-of-round stitch marker
4 (5, 6, 7, 8) stitch markers
Cable needle
Yarn needle

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tutorial – working a tubular bind off for 1×1 rib

Tutorial - working a tubular bind off for 1x1 rib

The tubular bind-off creates a rounded edge of your knitting project, as well as being very stretchy. This makes it a very good bind-off for edges that are prone to wear and tear. And, of course, where the stretch is useful. Think, for example, of bottom-up socks. In this example, I’m binding off a sleeve of a top-down sweater. That said, this bind-off is very time-consuming to work, very much worth it in my opinion, though!

Of course, there are many ways to work a tubular bind-off. This particular version is for working in k1, p1 rib patterning. It can be used both in the round and for knits worked flat, and is a perfect match for the tubular cast on I did a tutorial about recently.

Materials used

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

Darning needle: Hiya Hiya Darn It Yarn Needle, or any other tapestry needle, threaded with yarn.

Working a tubular bind-off for 1×1 rib step by step

Before we can start, we have to measure out a length of the working yarn, before breaking it. For this, a length of approx. 3 to 4 times the length of the edge that you want to bind-off is advised. However, if you want to bind-off a long edge like the body of a sweater, this means that the length of yarn can get very unyielding and prone to tangling. So when using a feltable yarn, I highly recommend only measuring out about twice the length needed. When the yarn tail runs out, a new length can be added by first using the braided join, followed by felting the join between your hands. This would have saved me quite aggravation on a recent sweater project!

When you have measured out the length of yarn, break it, and thread it onto the darning needle.

First, make sure you have your work in front of you on the left-hand needle, ready to work.
We’ll be working on binding the stitches off from right to left.
To start, insert the darning needle purl-wise into the first stitch on the needle, and pull the yarn through.
This first stitch is a knit stitch.
Next, hold the darning needle behind the work, insert it between the first 2 stitches on the needle from back to front, then twist it around to insert it knit-wise into the second stitch (purl stitch) on the needle.
Pull the yarn through.
Now move the darning needle back to the front of the work, insert it knit-wise in the first stitch on the needle (a knit stitch) and slip this stitch off the knitting needle.
Don’t pull the yarn through yet!
Still with the darning needle at the front of the work, insert it purl-wise into the second stitch on the needle (a knit stitch), skipping the first (purl) stitch.
Now pull the yarn through.
Next, insert the darning needle purl-wise into the first stitch (the purl stitch that was skipped in the previous step), and slip it off the knitting needle.
Pull the yarn through.
Next, hold the darning needle behind the work, insert it between the first 2 stitches on the needle from back to front, then twist it around to insert it knit-wise into the second stitch (purl stitch) on the needle. This is similar to step 3.
Pull the yarn through.
Repeat steps 4 to 7 until 3 stitches remain on the knitting needle.
In this tutorial I used a swatch with an odd number of stitches. If you have a piece with an even number of stitches, repeat steps 4 to 7 until 2 stitches remain.
To finish the bind-off work steps 4 to 6 once again (in case of an even number of stitches work only step 4 once more), so only 1 stitch remains, then insert the darning needle purl-wise into the last stitch and pull the yarn through.
This is the bind-off result, isn’t it neat?!

When viewed from the side, this is how the bind off edge looks:

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tutorial – binding off in 1×1 rib

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to work binding off in 1×1 rib patterning. In knitting patterns you may encounter the phrase “to bind off in pattern”, after working (k1, p1) ribbing. For example, after knitting the cuff of a sleeve or the hem of a sweater. The basic premise of it, is that you continue working the knit stitches as knits, and the purl stitches as purls while binding off. The resulting edge to your work seamlessly blends into the stitch pattern. Also, working the bind off itself in rib patterning ensures that it pulls in somewhat, as ribbing tends to do. This way, it won’t flare out, as it may do when working a non-patterned bind off.

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.

Binding off in 1×1 rib step by step

To start, take the piece of knitting you want to bind-off.
First, we’re going to knit the first stitch on the left-hand needle. To do so, insert the right-hand needle knit wise into the first stitch.
Wrap the yarn around the needle…
… and pull it through the stitch.
To complete knitting the first stitch, slip it off the left-hand needle.
Next, we’re going to purl the new stitch nearest to the tip of the left-hand needle. To do so, insert the right-hand needle purl wise into the first stitch.
Wrap the yarn around the needle…
… and pull it through the stitch.
To complete purling the stitch, slip it off the left-hand needle.
Now insert the tip of the left-hand needle into the second stitch on the right-hand needle….
…., and pass this second stitch over the first one.
You have now bound-off a stitch!
Repeat steps 2-5 plus 10-11, followed by steps 6-9 plus 10-11 until all stitches have been bound-off.
It will look something like this:

That’s how binding off in 1×1 rib is done! And here is a picture of the resulting edge. Pretty, isn’t it?!

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