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tutorial – changing a skp to a k2tog

Tutorial changing skp to k2tog - by La Visch Designs

This tutorial is part of the series on fixing mistakes in knitting. When knitting lace or shaping in garments it can easily happen that a left-leaning decrease is worked where a right-leaning one was needed. Or vice versa, of course. And because I really don’t like ripping out my work, I’m showing how to drop down several rows in your knitting and how to go about changing skp to k2tog.

Materials used

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

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

Changing a skp to a k2tog step by step

First, slip the stitches purl-wise from the left-hand needle to the right-hand needle, until you reach the stitch directly above the wrongly worked decrease.
Do you see it, 4 stitches below the needle?
Now drop down the stitch.
Ladder it all the way down until the decrease is undone, and you have 2 stitches instead of 1.
Catch these 2 stitches with the crochet hook.
Make sure to insert the hook from left to right through the stitches.
Next, it’s time to start working the k2tog decrease.
To do so, insert the crochet hook below the first horizontal thread running directly above the 2 stitches on the hook.
Next, pull the horizontal thread through the both stitches on the hook.
This completes the k2tog decrease. In the picture below you can see that the decrease now leans to the right instead of to the left as it was originally.
Finishing up.
Next, ladder your way up again by inserting the crochet hook underneath the horizontal thread directly above the hook, and pulling the thread through the loop already on the hook to make a new knit stitch. For stockinette, repeat this until all horizontal threads have been worked. After this you can place the stitch back unto the knitting needle.

And that is how you go about changing a skp to a k2tog, several rows down in your knitting! I prefer knitting skp instead of ssk for my left leaning decreases, but the same principles apply to that too:

Just drop down the stitch directly above the decrease
Catch the stitches
Work the correct decrease using the first horizontal thread above the stitches as your working yarn
Ladder your way back up again.

That’s all there is to it!

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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octaaf

Octaaf is a stylish triangular shawl knit sideways, with all-over lace patterning. I named it after the verse form consisting of eight lines of poetry. While I made my version in a DK weight yarn, it’s very easy to customize to other weights and quantities of yarn. Just knit in pattern until your shawl has the desired size, or when you run out of yarn!

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

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Skills required

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

Sizes and measurements

Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: Span width of 201 cm (79 inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 88 cm (34 ½ inches), measured after blocking.

The size of the Octaaf shawl can be changed by using lighter or heavier yarn and/or working less (or more) repeats of the body patterning. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Worked flat and sideways.
Written for a gauge of 12 sts / 20 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over body pattern measured after blocking. However, gauge is not critical in this design.
Pattern language: English.
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)

Yarn

Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend (70% Merino, 30% Silk; 137 m (150 yds) / 50 g) in the following colors and amounts:

C1: 137 m (150 yds) / 50 g in “Mallard”
C2: 137 m (150 yds) / 50 g in “Steel”
C3: 274 m (300 yds) / 100 g in “Virgo”

Substitute single ply type wool or wool/silk DK weight yarn of comparable thickness in a solid or tonal color for a similar result.

Materials

Size 4.5 mm (US 7) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles. Choose a needle size appropriate for the yarn selected.
Yarn needle.
Stitch markers to indicate repeats of the lace patterning (optional).

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tutorial – fixing a forgotten m1

Fixing a forgotten m1 increase - a tutorial by La Visch Designs

In an earlier tutorial I already showed you how to fix a forgotten yo. But, of course, that’s not the only type of increase that can be forgotten. What about fixing a forgotten m1? Personally, I have a very big aversion against ripping out my work, just because I forgot one teeny tiny stitch a couple of rows back. I mean, it certainly is an option, but I consider it to be more of a last resort type of option.

So, in this post I’ll show you to fix a forgotten m1 increase, specifically for the situation that the lack of the increase hasn’t been noticed until several more rows or rounds have been worked. I’ll address it for both the m1l and m1r variations of the increase.

Materials used

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

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

Fixing a forgotten m1 step by step

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

First, go to the spot in your knitting where the m1 increase should have been.
Let’s assume we’ve forgotten to work the increase at the spot indicated by the crochet hook. If you look carefully, you can see horizontal threads between the 2 columns of stitches.
Let’s assume we’ve forgotten the m1 increase 4 rows down.
Now insert the crochet hook from top to bottom underneath the 5th horizontal thread.
Next, twist the crochet hook 180 degrees to twist the loop on the hook.
The direction depends on the type of m1 increase you want to make. Twist it 180 degrees clockwise for a left leaning increase (m1l), or 180 degrees counterclockwise for a right leaning (m1r) increase. In the picture below the loop has been twisted, see how it sits more snugly on the crochet hook?
Now we can ladder the work back up!
To do so, insert the crochet hook underneath the horizontal thread directly above the new m1 (the 4th horizontal thread down), and pull the thread through the loop already on the hook to make a new knit stitch. Repeat this (for stockinette) as often as needed until you’ve run out of threads to pull through and place the stitch on the left-hand needle. Below you can see the result.

Now you’re ready to continue your knitting!

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tutorial – working a double crochet bind-off

In this tutorial I’ll show you how to work a double crochet bind-off. As you know, there are many ways to bind off knitted fabric, which one to choose depends greatly on various factors. Take the amount of stretch in the bind-off itself, for example. The Russian bind-off is wonderful for lace shawls that are blocked to the max, but is less suitable for projects that need more structure at the bind-off edge. For that an i-cord bind-off may be more suitable. Another thing to take into account is the way it looks, does it match the cast-on used?

The double crochet bind-off is reasonably flexible and, due to its taller height when compared with other bind-offs, a pretty good match with the German twisted cast-on. Let’s take a look at how it’s worked!

Materials used

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

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).

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.

Working a double crochet bind-off step by step

First, insert your crochet hook into the first stitch on the needle knit wise.
Next, wrap the yarn around the hook….
…and pull it through the stitch on the needle.
Next, remove the stitch and let it drop from the needle.
Repeat steps 1-4 once.
Now you have 2 loops on your crochet hook.
Now wrap your yarn around the crochet hook…
This is the start of the “double crochet” part of this bind-off.
…and pull the wrapped yarn through both loops that are on the hook.
Repeat steps 5 to 7 until all stitches are bound off.
This is how it looks:

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I’m Cold

Mosaic knitting is a very stress-free way of knitting color work, since only 1 color is handled at a time. If you can knit stripes, you can make the I’m Cold hat!

This pattern contains instructions for 6 sizes, ranging from a finished size of 35.5 cm up to 61 cm (14 to 24 inches). The I’m Cold mosaic hat is seamless and knitted from the bottom up. The instructions for the color work are provided both charted and written out.

Pay what you want: (minimum €4.90)

€

Difficulty level

The I’m Cold hat is seamless and knit in the round from the bottom up. This pattern features mosaic slip stitch patterning. Stitches used include knit, purl, and k2tog. Therefore, this pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner to intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Size 1 (2, 3, 4, 5, 6):

Finished circumference of 35.5 (40.5, 45.5, 51, 56, 61) cm or 14 (16, 18, 20, 22, 24) inches.
Finished height of 11.5 (16.5, 18.5, 21, 23.5, 26) cm or 4.5 (6.5, 7.25, 8.25, 9.25, 10.25) inches.

When choosing your hat size, take 2.5 – 5 cm (1 – 2 inches) of negative ease into account for a fitted hat. For a more slouchy fit, take approx. 0 – 5 cm (0 – 2 inches) of positive ease into account.

I’m Cold pattern details

Gauge: 24 sts / 26 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette on the medium size needles after washing and gentle blocking.
Pattern language: English.
Digital PDF has 3 pages (letter size)

Yarn

P aintbox Yarns Simply DK (100% acrylic; 276 m (302 yds) / 100 g) in the following amounts and colors:

C1: 52 (88, 119, 146, 199, 246) m (57 (97, 130, 160, 217, 269) yds) / 19 (32, 43, 53, 72, 89) g in 133 “Marine Blue”.
C2: 11 (14, 14, 17, 19, 19) m (12 (15, 15, 18, 21, 21) yds) / 4 (5, 5, 6, 7, 7) g in 155 “Vintage Pink”.

Substitute any DK weight yarn with sufficient contrast between the two colors for a similar result. For tips on determining contrast, visit this tutorial.

Materials

Knitting needles in your preferred style for small circumference knitting in the round in the following sizes (or to match gauge):
- Size 3 mm (US 2 ½) – for ribbed brim
- Size 3.5 mm (US 4) – for body of the hat
- Size 4 mm (US 6) – for the mosaic patterning
Yarn needle
5 stitch markers
1 differently colored end-of-round stitch marker

I’m Cold Read More »

tutorial – working the knit 1 below (k1b) stitch

There are cases in which skipping the row on your needle for particular stitches is desired, and one is to knit or purl in the row below that one. In other words: you knit/purl into the stitch below where you normally would, exactly as the name suggests. Think, for example, of Fisherman’s Rib. In a previous tutorial I already showed you how to work the purl 1 below stitch, so now it’s the turn of the knit 1 below! The main challenge in working this stitch is recognizing the stitch to insert your needle in. So that’s what I’ll be showing you in this tutorial on how to work the knit 1 below or k1b stitch.

Materials used

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the colors 155 Vintage Pink and 125 Spearmint 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 a knit 1 below or k1b step by step

In patterns, you may encounter the following description of this stitch:
Knit 1 below (k1b): Knit into the stitch 1 row below the one on the needle by inserting the needle from front to back. Knit this stitch, then pull the worked stitch and the stitch above off the needle together.
But how to actually do this? Read on!

First, work your way across the row until you’ve reached the point where you want to make the stitch
In this case I’m making the k1b4 stitches in from the right edge.
Identify the correct loop to insert your needle in.
Normally, you’d insert the right-hand needle in the loop that’s on the left-hand needle. If we go down a row, you see the stitch we want (pointed out by the extra needle), hugging the loop that’s on the needle.
Now, insert the right-hand needle knit wise in the stitch we’ve identified.
You can see it more easily if you pull down the fabric a bit with your fingers.
Now wrap your working yarn around the needle…
…. and pull it through the stitch.
See that you’re actually pulling it through 2 stitches at once? That is, the one on the needle and the one directly below it.
Finish the stitch by slipping the top stitch off the left-hand needle without actually working it.
Because the fabric is secured by knitting into the stitch below it, the stitch won’t run down unraveling.

And that’s all there is to it!

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tutorial – preventing a tight edge when knitting stripes

When knitting stripes, especially the thinner ones, it often doesn’t make sense to break the yarn when switching to a different color. It mostly gives you a ton of ends to weave in later on. And personally, I’m just not a fan of extra and unnecessary work. That said, carrying the unused yarn along the side of the fabric has its own disadvantages.

For one, you have to remember to actually wrap the yarn you’re working with around the yarn you’re carrying along, before you go on knitting. Without securing the yarn to the side of the project and moving it up to where you’ll need it next, you’ll have a loose hanging strand on the edge of your work. And if you do remember to wrap the carried-along yarn, you may do it with a different tension than in the knitted fabric. This one is especially hard to judge, because both stitch pattern and yarn composition have a big influence on the tension of knitted fabric after blocking. This may very well result in a too tight or too loose tension at the edge, where it initially seemed to be just right.

In this post I’ll show you how I prevent these issues when carrying along the unused yarn at the side of the work.

Materials used

Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the colors 155 Vintage Pink and 125 Spearmint 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).

Preventing a tight edge when knitting stripes step by step

In this example I’m knitting thin 2-row stripes, but it would work just as well with deeper/wider stripes.

Work to 1 stitch before the end of the row, at which point you’ll be switching to the other color yarn.
This particular technique does assume that the new color of yarn is started and ended at the same side edge of the fabric. This means working an even number of rows in every stripe.
Next, insert your needle into the stitch to work it and wrap both color yarns around the needle.
In this case, the edge is worked in garter stitch, so we’re talking about a knit stitch here. But it can, of course, just as easily be done in a purl stitch.
Now pull both strands of yarn through the stitch on the left-hand needle…
… and slide the original stitch of the needle to complete the stitch.
Now, turn the work and get ready to start the new row in the new color.
To do so, insert your needle into both strands and work it as one using the new color yarn. What you’re basically doing is carrying along the unused yarn by knitting it into the last stitch of the row. This way the unused yarn is incorporated into the main fabric and will behave similarly upon blocking. In other words: no tension differences!
This is how the resulting edge looks.
Yes, the edge will be slightly bulkier than its non-doubled counterpart at the other side edge. But usually it’s not very noticeable.

Overall look

You may wonder how this looks on both the right and wrong side of the fabric. This is how:

Preventing a tight edge when knitting stripes: result on the RS

Preventing a tight edge when knitting stripes: result on the WS

And that’s how to go about preventing a tight edge when knitting stripes!

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winding grape

Snuggle up in cozy woolens when it’s cold! This super bulky weight shawl will make you feel like you’re enveloped in a nice warm big hug. It knits up quickly, with its stockinette edge sections and cable section in the center. What’s not to like?! Or make Winding Grape in a lighter weight yarn.

Both written and charted instructions for the cable patterning are included in this pattern. Directions for the central cable section and plain stockinette sections are written separately and must be read together to work each row.

Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)

€

Skills required

Directions for central cable section and plain stockinette / increase section are written separately and must be read together to work each row. The Winding Grape shawl starts with a garter tab cast-on. Stitches used include various cables, knit, purl, as well as right and left lifted regular and purl increases. This pattern is therefor suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.

Sizes and measurements

One size: Wingspan of 215 cm (84 ½ inches) and a depth of 75 cm (29 ½ inches), measured after blocking.

Adjust the sizing by using a different weight yarn and/or working a different number of repeats of the body pattern or the border. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Worked flat from the top down.
Written for a gauge of 8 sts / 13 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette measured after blocking. However, gauge is not critical in this design.
Pattern language: English.
Digital PDF has 5 pages (letter size)

Yarn

525 m (572 yds) Garnstudio Drops Andes (65% Wool, 35% Alpaca; 100 m (109 yds) / 100 g) in 4301 Purple. Please note that slightly different weights are available of this yarn. The one used for the sample shawl pictured is described above.

Substitute a solid-color super bulky weight wool yarn of similar thickness for a similar result or try double or triple stranding DK or worsted weight wool yarn.

Materials

Size 8 mm (US 11) / 100 cm (40 inches) circular needles. Choose a needle size appropriate for the yarn selected.
Yarn needle.
Cable needle.
4 stitch markers.

winding grape Read More »

tutorial – inserting an afterthought life line

As shown in the post about life lines, these are very handy. They can be used for added security when you’re sure that a certain stretch of knitting is error-free. Just insert the life line and you have a safe place in your knitting to rip back to in the event you make a mistake in your knitting. But what to do when you’ve forgotten to add in a life line?

No worries! In that case you can insert an afterthought life line. In this post I’ll show you how.

Materials used

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

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).

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

Crochet cotton: Manuela N° 5 from Schoeller+Stahl, a 100% mercerized cotton 6-ply thread (200 m (219 yds) / 50 g)

Inserting an afterthought life line step by step

In this example, I’m using the same stockinette swatch as for the previous life line tutorial. I’ll use it to show you how to insert a life line using a darning needle and thread. When doing so in a piece of knitted lace, you may find it easiest to do so after a plain knit of purl row if that’s possible in your patterning.

First, make sure you have your thread and darning needle ready.
Don’t cut your thread too short, or you may not have enough length to thread through all stitches, and allow for some stretch.
Next, identify the row and stitches to insert the life line in, take your darning needle and insert it through the first couple of stitches on the needle.
For this, it is of importance to correctly select which “leg” of the stitch to insert the darning needle under. In stockinette stitch fabric, the individual stitches look like a “V”. When inserting the needle, make sure to insert pass it underneath the right leg and over the left leg of the “V”. This way the stitches are mounted correctly on the life line. When doing it like this, you just have to follow the path of the life line when putting the fabric back on your knitting needle, to correctly mount the stitches there too. In other words: not twisted! Take care not to pierce any strands of yarn.
After the first few stitches, pull the cotton thread through, taking care to leave a tail outside the piece of knitting.
Then, you can insert the darning needle into the next couple of stitches and so on, to put all stitches on the thread.
Now we have to secure the life line.
To do so, I prefer making a loose knot in the ends of the cotton thread.
And this is the result!
When the life line is no longer needed, just undo the knot and pull the thread out of the knitting. Or follow the path of the life line through the stitches with a knitting needle before ripping back your knitting…

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tutorial – using life lines

You may have heard about life lines and wonder about what they are and why they’re useful. I’ll tell you all about it in this post! In short: A life line in knitting is a temporarily inserted thread, to make sure that any dropped stitches can’t unravel down beyond the line you’ve inserted. This is particularly useful when knitting lace with a smooth yarn. Working lace back up with the correct stitches is much more complex than regular stockinette!

A life line can also be used for added security when you’re sure that a certain stretch of knitting is error-free. Just insert the life line and you have a safe place in your knitting to rip back to in the event you make a mistake in your knitting after that.

The technique for adding a life line is the very same as for putting live stitches on a piece of waste yarn or stitch holder, to work further on later on. The only difference is that with just adding a life line, the stitches are kept on the needle. With putting stitches on waste yarn, the stitches are pushed off the needle. The latter I also use when trying out the fit of sweaters, when the length of the cable of my circular knitting needles doesn’t allow for trying the piece on.

Many yarns are suitable to be used as a life line. Personally, though, I prefer yarn that is

Thinner than my working yarn, so it doesn’t distort the surrounding stitches.
A different color than my working yarn, so I can see where it is in my knitted fabric.
Smooth, so it’s easy to both insert and remove it.

For these reasons I usually use crochet thread, a relatively heavy one.

Materials used

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

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).

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

Crochet cotton: Manuela N° 5 from Schoeller+Stahl, a 100% mercerized cotton 6-ply thread (200 m (219 yds) / 50 g)

Inserting a life line step by step

In this example I’m using a little stockinette swatch to show you how to insert a life line using a darning needle and thread. When doing so in a piece of knitted lace, you may find it easiest to do so after a plain knit of purl row if that’s possible in your patterning.

First, make sure you have your thread and darning needle ready.
Don’t cut your thread too short, or you may not have enough length to thread through all stitches, and allow for some stretch.
Next, take your darning needle and insert it through the first couple of stitches on the needle.
Move the darning needle behind the front leg of the various stitches. Take care not to pierce any strands of yarn.
After the first few stitches, pull the cotton thread through, taking care to leave a tail outside the piece of knitting.
Then, you can insert the darning needle into the next couple of stitches and so on, to put all stitches on the thread.
Now we have to secure the life line.
To do so, I prefer making a loose knot in the ends of the cotton thread.
And this is the result!
When the life line is no longer needed, just undo the knot and pull the thread out of the knitting. Or follow the path of the life line through the stitches with a knitting needle before ripping back your knitting…

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