tutorial

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.

  1. 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.Tubular BO for 1x1 rib - step 1

  2. 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.Step 2

  3. 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.Step 3

  4. 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!Step 4 of working a tubular BO for 1x1 rib

  5. 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.Step 5

  6. 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.Step 6

  7. 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. Step 7

  8. 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.Step 8

  9. 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.

    Step 9 of working a tubular bind off for 1x1 rib

  10. This is the bind-off result, isn’t it neat?!

    The result of working a tubular bind off for 1x1 rib

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

The result - side view
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tutorial – binding off in 1×1 rib

Tutorial on binding off in 1x1 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

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

    Step 1 of binding off in 1x1 rib

  2. 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.

    Step 2

  3. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

    Step 3

  4. … and pull it through the stitch.

    step 4

  5. To complete knitting the first stitch, slip it off the left-hand needle.

    Step 5 of binding off in 1x1 rib

  6. 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.

    Step 6

  7. Wrap the yarn around the needle…

    Step 7

  8. … and pull it through the stitch.

    Step 8

  9. To complete purling the stitch, slip it off the left-hand needle.

    Step 9

  10. Now insert the tip of the left-hand needle into the second stitch on the right-hand needle….

    Step 10 in binding off in 1x1 rib

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

    You have now bound-off a stitch!Step 11

  12. 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:The result

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

Side view of a BO edge in 1x1 rib
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tutorial – working the k-yo-k increase

Tutorial on working the k-yo-k increase

Double increases aren’t as commonly used as basic single increases. Nevertheless, they absolutely have their place in the knitter’s toolkit. Double increases, especially the ones including yarn overs, are most often found in lace stitch patterns. So if you like knitting lace, double increases are something you’ll want to be familiar with. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to work the increase that consists of working (1 knit, 1 yarn over, 1 knit) all in the same stitch, thus increasing 2 stitches where there was only 1 before. Abbreviated, this increase would be k-yo-k. This double increase is symmetrical and quite decorative, and for this reason also a very good choice to use for the central spine in top-down triangle shawls.

Below you can find how to work this increase 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 a k-yo-k step by step

  1. Work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the double increase.

    In this case, I want to work the increase in the center stitch of the swatch.Step 1

  2. First, work a knit stitch in the first stitch on the left-hand needle.

    Don’t let the stitch slide off the needle yet!step 2

  3. Now wrap the working yarn around the right-hand needle for the “yo” part of the increase.

    Step 3 of working the k-yo-k increase

  4. Then work another knit stitch.

    Step 4

  5. To complete the increase, slip the stitch worked off the needle.

    Step 5

  6. The result when a few more increase rows have been worked on the right side of the fabric.

    Doesn’t it look pretty?The result of the k-yo-k increase

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tutorial – working a p3tog

Working a p3tog decrease - a tutorial by La Visch Designs

In a previous post, I already showed you how to work the right-leaning double decrease, in which 3 stitches are reduced to one: the one abbreviated with “k3tog”. This stands for “knit 3 stitches together”. It’s a very easy and very common way to reduce the number of stitches in your project and make it narrower. It’s also often used in lace knitting.

But what when your lace also requires decreases to be worked on the wrong side of the fabric? This is where the purled decrease p3tog comes in! This decrease is worked on the wrong side and looks just like a k3tog when the result is viewed on the right side of the fabric. It’s a pretty straight-forward decrease to work; purl 3 stitches together, to decrease the total number of stitches with 2. It is just like making a regular purl stitch, but you work through three stitches instead of one.

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 a p3tog step by step

  1. Work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the decrease.

    In this case, I want to work the decrease over the 3 stitches in the middle of the swatch.Step 1

  2. Insert the needle

    Now insert the needle purl wise through the first 3 stitches on the left-hand needlestep 3

  3. Now wrap the working yarn around the right-hand needle….

    step 3

  4. … and pull the yarn through the 3 stitches…

    step 4 of working a p3tog

  5. To complete the decrease, slip the 3 stitches worked off the needle.

    Step 5

  6. The result

    When viewed from the right side of the fabric, this decrease looks exactly like the right-leaning k3tog decrease!The result

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tutorial – working a tubular CO in the round for 1×1 rib

Tubular CO in the round for 1x1 rib

The tubular cast on creates a rounded edge of your knitting project, as well as being very stretchy. This makes it a very good cast on for edges that are prone to wear and tear. And, of course, where the stretch is useful. Think, for example, of top-down socks, and the start of a bottom-up hat. In this example I’m casting on for a top-down sweater.

Of course, there are many ways to work a tubular cast on. This particular version is for working in the round in k1, p1 rib patterning.

Materials used

Yarn: Shetland Lambswool from De Schapekop, a yarn very similar to Jamieson & Smith 2ply Jumper Weight, and no. 5 crochet thread or other smooth waste yarn.

Needles: KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 2.5 mm (US 1 1/2) and the 3.5 mm (US 4) size. Both with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Other materials: a crochet hook, and a stitch marker.

Working a tubular CO in the round for 1×1 rib step by step

  1. First, using the larger size needles, the smooth waste yarn and the provisional cast on of your choice, cast on half as many stitches as you need according to your pattern.

    In other words: if you need 80 stitches, cast on 40. I used the crochet provisional cast on for this step.Step 1: working the provisional CO

  2. Now, using the smaller size needle and the working yarn, work (k1, yo) across all provisionally cast on stitches.

    Step 2

  3. After this row is finished, as shown below, it’s time to join into the round.

    The last worked stitch is a yarn over, so make sure it stays intact when joining into the round.Step 3: ready to join into the round

  4. Here I’ve rearranged my stitches to continue knitting in the round, magic loop style.

    Before joining, I made sure that my stitches weren’t twisted, and I’ve added the stitch marker to indicate the beginning (and end) of a round. Also, do you see that the yarn over is still there, behind the stitch marker?Step 4: joining in the round, magic loop style

  5. In this step, work (knit 1, slip 1 purl wise with the yarn in front) to the end of the round.

    In other words: knit every stitch that was knit in the previous round, and slip every yarn over. Below, is how it looks after this round is completed.Step 5 of working a tubular CO in the round for 1x1 rib

  6. Next, work (slip 1 purl wise with the yarn in the back, purl 1) to the end of the round.

    In other words: slip every stitch that was knit in the previous round, and purl every stitch that was slipped. This is how it then looks:Step 6

  7. In this step, work (knit 1, slip 1 purl wise with the yarn in front) to the end of the round.

    In other words: knit every stitch that was slipped in the previous round, and slip every stitch that was purled. Step 7

  8. Now we repeat step 6: work (slip 1 purl wise with the yarn in the back, purl 1) to the end of the round.

    In other words: slip every stitch that was knit in the previous round, and purl every stitch that was slipped. Step 8

  9. In this step, it’s time to unravel the provisional cast on

    Starting at the end that you indicated when doing the provisional cast on, undo the knot and gently pull the cast on loose.Step 9: time to unravel the provisional cast on

  10. This is the cast-on result, ready for further knitting (k1, p1) rib in the round (using magic loop) as described in your pattern!

    The result: a tubular CO in the round for 1x1 rib

A comparison

I thought it would be useful to compare the tubular cast on with a regular knitted on cast on one. So, I continued the piece above with another few rounds in (k1, p1) rib until it measured 1.5 cm / 0.6″.

Neck band

Now take a look at the following picture. The lower neckband has a regular knitted-on cast on, followed by 1×1 rib for 1.5 cm / 0.6″. The one at the top has the tubular cast on in the round with 1×1 rib. Both pieces are worked in the same yarn, and with the same needle size.

Comparion

I think the neckband with the tubular cast on looks much better, with its rounded edge. It is also much less likely to give issues with wear & tear, because there are no single strands of yarn right at that edge. What do you think?

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tutorial – cabling without a cable needle

Cabling without a cable needle

Most of my projects are about knitting lace, not cables. The reason? I find that with cabling, 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.

For complex cables, I see no way around using a cable needle. For the simple twists only involving 2 stitches, it’s another matter, though! Cabling itself is nothing more than working in another order than the one they originally appeared on the knitting needle. So, if we’re talking about simple twists only involving 2 stitches, we can easily change the order around without using a cable needle. And, of course, without having a big risk of dropping a stitch.

In this tutorial I show you how to go about it!

Materials used

Yarn: Wayfaring Yarns Arcadia DK, a 100% extra fine, non-superwash merino in the color Portobello Road.

Needles: Addi Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4.5 mm (US 7) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Cabling without a cable needle step by step

In this example, I’m working on my Mossy Cables shawl that involves various types of cables. The ones that can easily be done without a cable needle, are the following ones:
1/1 LPC – a left cross cable over 2 stitches: Slip next stitch to cable needle and place at front of work, p1, then k1 from cable needle.
1/1 RPC – right cross cable over 2 stitches: Slip next stitch to cable needle and place at back of work, k1, then p1 from cable needle.

  1. To start, we knit to the point where a cable has to be worked.

    See those 2 stitches on the left-hand needle? I want to reverse the order of that purl and knit stitch, to make it seem that the column of knit stitches curves outwards from the center cable. To do so, I want the knit stitch to cross in front and to the right of the purl stitch. In other words: I’ll be working a 1/1 RPC or right cross cable.Step 1

  2. To start, I grab the work directly below the 2 stitches, as shown in the picture below.

    This way, I can remove them from the knitting needle without having the risk of them running down and ruining my work.Step 2

  3. Here I’ve removed the 2 stitches from the needle.

    Keep squeezing that fabric, we don’t want to drop one of these stitches!Step 3

  4. To change the order of the stitches, I first place the stitch on the right (the purl stitch in this case) back on the needle.

    While doing so, keep your fingers underneath the other stitch to keep it from running down. Please note that if I was working a left cross cable instead of a right cross cable, I would have held the remaining loose stitch at the back, instead of at the front of the work as pictured.Step 4

  5. Now use the working (right-hand) needle to catch the remaining loose stitch from the front and also put it on the left-hand needle.

    For a left cross cable, I would have caught the remaining stitch from the back of the work.Step 5

  6. Now the order of the stitches has been changed, ready to work!

    This is how it then looks in the case of the right cross cable:Step 6

  7. For this right cross cable, I have to work 1 k, followed by 1 p.

    This is how it looks when done:Step 7

And that’s all there is to cabling without a cable needle!

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tutorial – working slip stitch (as edge treatment)

Tutorial on workign slip stitch as an edge treatment

In my previous tutorial, I showed you how I went about fixing my mr Greenjeans cardigan to make it more wearable. As part of the fix, I also worked slip stitching along all outer edges of the cardigan, to tie the new contrasting yarn together better with the original elements of the garment. For this reason, I worked the slip stitch with the right side facing. Doing something similar with the same yarn as used in the rest of the project, could be done to make the edges look a tad neater.

Another application for slip stitching as edge treatment would be to work it on the inside (wrong side facing) of the garment. In particular, along the edge of the back neck, and possibly also the shoulder seam. Doing this with a non-stretchy yarn can help prevent stretching and sagging of these edges, if the garment is prone to that.

So, let’s get started!

Working slip stitch step by step

  1. Insert a crochet hook into the stitch at the edge of the fabric.

    On both cast-on and bind-off edge, each stitch looks like a little “V”. Insert the hook underneath both strands of the V.Step 1

  2. Wrap the yarn around your hook…

    Step 2

  3. … and pull it through.

    You now have 2 loops on your hook.Step 3

  4. To finish, pull the loop that is nearest to the tip of your hook through the other loop.

    Step 4

  5. Repeat steps 1-4 until you run out of edge to work!

    Note that you may want to work 3 slip stitches in the stitch that sits right at the corner of the fabric, to “turn” that corner.

This is the result when viewed from the right side of the fabric:

Slip stitch edge viewed from the front

Neat, isn’t it? Below, you can see the very same piece of fabric, viewed from the wrong side. The horizontal line of stitches in the contrasting pink is almost invisible.

Slip stitch edge viewed from the back
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tutorial – fixing my mr Greenjeans

Fixing my mr Greenjeans cardigan

This project has quite the backstory, so I’ll get started to get you up to speed. Back in 2011 I bought 2 batts of Texeler wool, each a whopping 200 g. One was cyclamen pink, the other more pink & purple. I spun each of these into singles, and twined them into an (on average) 2-ply DK-weight yarn. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of the resulting yarn to show you.

Anyway, I decided to use this yarn to make myself a Mr Greenjeans cardigan, which is a pattern by Amy Swenson, available for free on Knitty. When I started the project, it was just after my youngest was born, and I was still breastfeeding. I expected to lose some weight because of that, so I aimed at a size to end up eventually with a garment with approx. 0 cm / 0″ of ease. Things going as they go, I didn’t finish the project until sometime in 2013. By then I had lost so much baby weight that my mr Greenjeanshad a whopping 14 cm / 5.6” of positive ease! Nevertheless, I put it in my closet and wore it from time to time.

Below you can see how I wore it at the time. I didn’t even make the effort to sew a button on, I just closed it with a shawl pin.

Wearing mr Greenjeans in 2013

Fast-forward to July 2021: Looking back, I really haven’t worn this garment that much. You see, it turned out to be very warm. So warm, in fact, that I only wore it on the coldest days of the year. That combined with the 3/4th length sleeves made it rather unpractical to wear for me. But, I realized that the pink yarn I bought in Greece a couple of years ago, is a lovely match with this cardigan!

So, long story short, I hatched the plan to fix my mr Greenjeans by undoing the bind-off, work in stockinette until the hand spun is finished and then redo the cuffs with the pink yarn. And I made pictures of what I did!

Fixing my mr Greenjeans step by step

  1. Undoing the bind-off and unraveling the cabled cuffs.

    The original yarn tail was, of course, woven in. However, with some smart and careful snipping, I managed to unravel the bind-off and then rip back the knitting to the point where the stockinette stopped.Step 1

  2. Re-knitting the hand spun yarn.

    I put the stitches on a tiny circular needle, and continued the stockinette section of the sleeve until I couldn’t work another round. And yes, I kept track of the number of rounds to be able to duplicate it for the other sleeve.Step 2

  3. No more round possible!

    I made a total of 18 extra rounds of stockinette in the hand spun yarn.Step 3

  4. The next step consisted of re-knitting the cabled cuff in the somewhat matching pink yarn.

    Here I made 29 rounds to arrive at a cozy long sleeve length.Step 4

  5. Repeat steps 1 to 4 for the other sleeve!

    Step 5

And this is the result of foxing my mr Greenjeans!

The new and improved mr Greenjeans

As you can see, I found a button in the very same pink as the contrast yarn, and actually sewed it on. To tie everything together, I also did some slip stitching along all outer edges of the cardigan. In my next tutorial, I’ll show you how to work slip stitches as an edge treatment!

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tutorial – preparing alpaca for spinning

Tutorial preparing alpaca for spinning

Recently I learned that the mother of an acquaintance of my mom has a small flock of alpacas, and piles of unused freshly shorn fiber. So when, the question came if I would be interested in taking some of her hands, I was delighted! I’ve never worked with raw alpaca before. I got a big bag of white and another one in brown, the pictures below really don’t do it justice.

And, of course, I had to prepare this raw alpaca to be able to spin it into yarn! In this post, I’ll show you how I went about it. Please bear in mind that I’m new to processing alpaca, so this very first batch really was a matter of trial and error for me.

Differences between alpaca and wool

Before going into detail about how I prepped this fiber for spinning, it’s good to talk about the differences between wool from sheep and the fiber from alpaca’s. Off course, there are many differences in fiber even within both sheep and alpaca’s, due to breed, age, nutrition etc. A very basic difference, however, is that alpaca fibers are hollow, where sheep fibers are not. Because of this, alpaca fiber repels water and retains heat, making it warmer than wool. Also, in general, alpaca will have better drape and less elasticity than sheep wool.

From a fiber prep perspective, the main difference is that sheep wool contains lanolin and alpaca fiber does not. However, alpaca’s just love their dust baths, so a wash before spinning is absolutely advised to prevent locking in dirt.

Ok, let’s get started on this fiber!

Alpaca fiber prep step by step

Since I’m very new to preparing raw alpaca for spinning, I’ve started with only a small amount of fiber. My aim is to prep enough to spin a shawl-amount of yarn.

  1. Picking through the yarn to remove the short bits.

    This fiber was not shorn with the hand spinner in mind and contains quite a lot of vegetable matter and shortcuts that will have to be filtered out. In the picture below, you see on the right the pile of shortcuts that I’ve already removed from this handful of alpaca.Step 1 of fiber prep

  2. After, picking each handful of fiber, I put it into this laundry bag.

    This particular one has compartments, which is a good thing, since it reduces the amount of movement possible in the bag, and thus possible felting/Step 2

  3. One bag completely filled!

    There fits much more fiber into the bag than one might think. The pile in front of it are all the short bits I filtered out.First laundry filled!

  4. Next step is washing the fiber.

    Here I used some wool wash and warm water. Not to remove lanolin from the fiber, since alpaca doesn’t have any, but to get some of the dust and dirt out. Take care not to agitate or squeeze the fiber, because it doesn’t take much to felt it. Washing the alpaca

  5. Do you see how filthy the water turns?

    The fiber itself didn’t look as dirty, but looks can be deceiving!Washing water turning brown

  6. The grit remaining in the sink after washing.

    I really didn’t expect this much dirt to come out.Grit remaining in the sink

  7. After washing, I rinsed the fiber in a new bath with hot water.

    Again, take care not to agitate the fiber to prevent felting.Rinsing the washed fiber

  8. Next, I’m removing as much water out of the fiber as possible, without squeezing!

    Because this is a tiny amount of fiber, I used my dedicated fiber salad spinner. For bigger quantities, a centrifuge would be best. Please note that the centrifuge in your washing machine is only advised if you can use it without any rinsing water, because that would cause the fiber to felt.Squeeze all the water out!

  9. The next step is to dry the alpaca.

    I filled up my laundry bag twice and agitated the second batch even less than the first one. You can see the difference in this picture: on the left is the first batch, and on the right the second one. This stuff really felts as soon as you look at it wrong! I use a flat perforated crate for drying fiber, to promote air circulation. (Also, Donut is of the opinion that wet alpaca smells funny.)Drying the fiber

  10. After drying, which took a couple of days, this is what I ended up with.

    It looks a tad felted, despite handling it as lightly as possible.Dried alpaca

  11. Fortunately, the fiber fluffed up quite nicely!

    On the right, you see some more shortcuts that I found and separated out.After fluffing

  12. Below, you can see the result of all the washed alpaca fluffed up.

    Doesn’t it look wonderful?A big crate of fluffed up alpaca!

  13. Next is carding all the fluffed up fiber into batts for spinning.

    I ended up with 5 batts total. For those who’re interested: my carding machine is an Ashford drum carder, with a 72 point carding cloth.Carding the alpaca

  14. During carding, I again removed any shortcuts that I found.

    The dirt pictured, is what I found underneath my carder after I was finished.Waste after carding

And that’s everything I did to prep the raw alpaca for spinning!

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tutorial – working the Turkish cast-on

Working the Turkish cast-on

The Turkish cast-on is a way to invisibly cast-on for projects to be worked in the round. Think, for example, of toe-up socks. This cast-on can be used for a wide range of projects and not just for socks. It can be used for anything that requires knitting in the round and a neat, seamless start. In other words, for anything you’d use Judy’s Magic Cast-On for, this cast-on is a good alternative. And, to be honest, I find this one to be much easier and less fiddly to work!

Materials used

Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, in the color 128 Lime Green.

Needles: KnitPro Zing Fixed Circular Needles. In this tutorial, I used the 4 mm (US 6) size with a cable length of 80 cm (32 inches).

Working the Turkish cast-on step by step

In this example, I’m casting on 20 stitches, as one would do for toe-up socks.

  1. To start, we make a slipknot, and place it on the needle.

    making a slipknot

  2. Next, arrange both needle tips as shown in the picture below.

    Place both needle tips parallel to each other, with the slipknot-holding needle below the other one, and the working yarn behind and above the top needle.Arrange the needles

  3. Now wrap the working yarn around both needles. Make as many wraps as half the total stitches you want to cast-on.

    In this example, I want 20 stitches total, so I wrap the yarn 10 times around the needles.Wrapping the yarn around the needles

  4. Next, pull out the bottom needle (the one with the slipknot).

    It helps to keep the wrapped yarn in place by holding it close to the needle with your left hand.Step 4

  5. Now use the pulled-out needle tip as your working (right-hand) needle to knit into the first stitch on the main (left-hand) needle.

    To do so, first insert the needle knit-wise into the stitch…Turkish cast-on step 5

  6. …, and wrap the yarn around the needle.

    Step 6

  7. To finish the knit stitch, pull the yarn through en let the loop fall off the left-hand needle.

    This is how it then looks:Step 7 of the Turkish cast-on

  8. Repeat steps 5-7 until there are no more loops on the needle.

    This is how it looks:Step 8

  9. To work the other 10 stitches that are on the cable, we have to rearrange the circular needle.

    First, orient the work in such in a way that the row of stitches with the slipknot is on top, as shown below. Now push the needle in, so they no longer rest on the cable, but on the needle tip instead. For the other row of stitches, pull the needle tip out, so the stitches rest on the cable.Step 9

  10. In this step, I’ve slipped the slipknot off the needle, because I don’t need it as a stitch.

    Just gently pull the yarn tail to pull the slipknot loose. Next, knit all the stitches on the needle as described in steps 5 to 7.Step 10

  11. This is the cast-on result, ready for further knitting in the round (using magic loop) as described in your pattern!

    Step 11, the result of the Turkish cast-on

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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 – working the Turkish cast-on Read More »