It can happen just like that: a dropped stitch in the middle of your work! When using a somewhat “sticky” yarn, it is usually a matter of putting the stitch back on the needle and continuing to knit. With a smooth yarn, however, it may be that the stitch ladders down in your work….
Do not panic, though! A dropped stitch really isn’t that hard to fix. Especially when the project is still on the needles and you’re not dealing with patterning and shaping. So, in this tutorial, I’ll show you how to fix a dropped stitch in the middle of a piece of stockinette knitting.
Materials used
Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 142 Tea Rose.
1. First, grab your crochet hook and catch the fallen stitch before it ladders even further down!
2. Take a look at the last stitch that sits correctly in the fabric and the stitch directly below it: Here we have stockinette stitch. This means that we, therefore, insert the crochet hook through the stitch from the front to the back.
3. Next, insert the crochet hook underneath the thread directly above the dropped stitch…
4. … and pull the thread through the loop already on the hook to make a new knit stitch.
5. Repeat steps 4 and 5 (for stockinette) until you have run out of threads to pull through.
6. Place the stitch back on the knitting needle and continue knitting as if nothing happened!
An that’s all there is to it! Really not that hard, right?
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.
Looking for an eye-catching layering piece for when the weather and seasons turn? A knit that combines both relaxing stockinette as well as challenging patterning? Look no further! The Think Pink shawl has you covered. And yes, pun intended! Or make the shawl in a different color.
Written and charted instructions for the patterned central section are included. Written directions for the central section and plain stockinette/increase section are written separately and must be read together to work each row.
Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)
€
Difficulty level
The Think Pink shawl starts with a garter stitch tab, and the patterning is worked on both RS and WS rows. Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, make 1 with a backward loop, right and left twist stitches, a knot stitch, a centered double decrease as well as knitting tbl.
This
pattern is suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
One
size: Wingspan of 180 cm (71 inches) along the upper edge and a depth
of 67 cm (26 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
Gauge: 14.5 sts / 23 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over stockinette, measured after blocking. Gauge is, however, not critical in this design.
Pattern languages included: English, the Dutch version will be available soon. (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 6 pages (letter size)
Materials
Yarn: 800 m (875 yds) / 400 g Debbie Bliss Piper (50% Cotton, 50% Rayon; 200 m (219 yds) / 100 g) in 12016 Magenta. Substitute any cotton/rayon blend DK weight yarn for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 100 cm (40 inches) circular needles
Size 4.5 mm (US 7) knitting needle (for bind-off only)
Yarn needle
2 stitch markers to indicate the center section
Stitch markers to indicate repeats of the central patterning (optional)
The purl through the back loop stitch (or ptbl for short) is a variation of the purl stitch. It creates a twisted stitch by slightly turning the stitch while you work it. I’ve used the ptbl in some of my patterns, for example in the Art Deco shawl pattern.
And while it isn’t a hard stitch to work, it can be a tad tricky if you’re not familiar with how to work into that back loop of a stitch. So, for that reason, it’s a good idea to get that straight. If you look at the picture below, you can see that the first stitch on the needle consists of a loop of yarn, straddling the needle. The “leg” facing is what we call the “front loop”. Likewise, the “leg” at the back of the work is the “back loop” one.
Materials used
Yarn: *
Paintbox Yarns Simply DK,
a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 125
Spearmint Green.
1. First, we have to make sure that the working yarn is at the front of the work since we’ll be working a purl stitch.
2. Next, insert the right-hand needle purlwise into the back leg or loop of the stitch. To do this, it is important to know the difference between knitwise and purlwise when talking about that back loop. To insert the needle knitwise you’d insert the needle away from the tip of the left-hand needle. In the same vein, to insert the needle purlwise you’d insert the needle towards the tip of the left-hand needle!
In the picture below the needles have become a bit twisted due to me holding everything with my left hand and the camera in the other. But if you take another look at the picture with the blue yarn above you can see exactly what I mean!
3. Now wrap the yarn around the needle…
4. … pull it through and slip the resulting stitch from the left-hand needle to complete your ptbl stitch.
And that’s all there is to it! Not that hard, right?
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.
The Kitty Cat Shawl is a shallow, triangle scarf, knit sideways. It has paw prints and hearts because my daughter loves cats and therefore wanted this in her new shawl. This design features a lace edging that is worked at the same time as the body of the shawlette. Worked at a loose gauge, the Kitty Cat Shawl is a lovely and airy layering piece.
The pattern contains both fully written out as well as charted instructions for the lace. The lace in the border of the shawl is true lace knitting, worked on both wrong and right side rows.
Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)
€
Difficulty level
Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, kfb, skp, k2tog, and nupps. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
Finished
dimensions of the sample shawl: Span
width of 155
cm (61 inches)
along the upper edge and a depth of 45
cm (17 ¾ inches),
measured after blocking.
Change the size of the shawl by using heavier or lighter weight yarn and/or working less (or more) repeats. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.
Pattern details
Gauge: 14 sts / 25 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch, measured after blocking. Gauge is, however, not critical in this design.
Pattern languages included: English, the Dutch version will be available soon. (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)
Materials
Yarn: 400 m (437 yds) / 100 g The Dutch Yarn Barn Double Dutch (100% Texel wool; 400 m (437 yds) / 100 g) in Hot Raspberry. Substitute any heavy fingering or sport weight wool yarn for a similar result.
Size 4.5 mm (US 7) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
Yarn needle
1 stitch marker to differentiate the body from the edging of the shawl
Crochet hook in a size equivalent to the size of your knitting needles (optional, for easy nupps)
Cinematic is a simple but stylish triangular shawl knit sideways in garter stitch. With its generous size, it’s perfect to wear as an elegant scarf. Eyelet rows and stripes in a contrast color, combined with a gradient yarn, make for a highly customizable accessory. Wear it with a shirt and jeans for a casual look or with that little black dress for a more dramatic look.
The KAL will start this Friday, August the 30th and will run for a month until and including September the 30th 2019. The pattern can be found on Ravelry and, of course, on the La Visch Designs website. Every person posting a picture of the FO before or on September 30th will receive a 25% discount code for a La Visch Designs pattern of choice 😃
Want to share your progress social media? Go ahead, I love to see what folks do with my designs! Make sure to tag your posts with #cinematickal, #lavischdesigns and #cinematicshawl so I can find your post.
So, get your yarn and pattern today, I’m looking forward to seeing you over in the KAL group for the Cinematic knit-a-long!
In one of the designs I’m working on, I’m using a lovely intricate stitch pattern from the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida. In this particular stitch pattern, a Left Twist stitch is used. So, in this post, I’ll go into the details on how to work this stitch.
The basic characteristic of a Left Twist is that it switches the order of 2 adjoining stitches, one “main stitch” and one “background stitch” to make it appear that the main stitch travels to the left. The background is usually reverse stockinette. The main stitch is usually worked twisted (working the stitch through the back loop) stockinette. This way it pops even more against the background.
The instruction from the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible for this stitch consists of the following text:
With RN, go behind first st and p
second st without removing it from LN; ktbl first
st and slip both off LN.
Now, I don’t know if you’ve tried this, but following the above instruction didn’t give me anything resembling the picture of the worked left twist. It may be due to where I had my yarn or the fact that I knit weird, who knows? Anyway, I did some more research and found that this type of traveling stitch is also used quite a lot in Bavarian knitting. I also found that there are quite some ways it can be worked. Take for example this one from leethalknits.com, the one described in this Interweave article or the elaborate description of methods by Rox over on Ravelry.
Personally, I found just changing the order of the stitches before actually knitting them (as one would do for cabling without a cable needle) to be easiest. So that’s what I will show you in this tutorial.
Materials used
Yarn: Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 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).
Some words about the swatch
In this swatch, I’ve taken part of the stitch pattern in which I encountered the Left Twist stitch. It consists of a k3, p4 rib in which the left-most knit stitch travels across the purl stitches until it joins the next column of knit stitches. As you can see, I’ve already worked one RS row with a Left twist, as well as it’s accompanying WS row.
Working a Left Twist step by step
1. The first 2 stitches on the left-hand needle in the picture
below, are the ones we’re going to work the Left Twist over. In other
words: we’re going to switch the order of the knit and the purl
stitch, to make it appear that the knit stitch travels to the left.
2. First I make sure to move the working yarn to the front of the work since the first stitch to work will be a purl stitch. Next, I grab the yarn directly below the 2 stitches to be switched and pinch down as pictured.
3. Next, I move these stitches off the left-hand needle. Keeping the fabric pinched, makes sure that the stitches won’t ladder down.
4. Then insert the left-hand needle knit wise into the loose stitch on the right to put it back on the needle. Make sure to keep pinching the fabric underneath the other stitch! Especially now we’re placing some stress on the yarn.
5. Now insert the left-hand needle knit wise into the remaining loose stitch and put it back on the needle. This can be somewhat fiddly.
6. Now it’s time to insert your right-hand needle purl wise into the first stitch from the tip of the left-hand needle.
7. Next, wrap your yarn around the needle, pull it through and let the stitch slide of the needle to complete the purl stitch.
8. Next is to work the traveling stitch itself. To make it pop against the background and tighten it up a bit, this stitch is worked through the back loop. So, insert your right-hand needle knit wise into the first stitch from the tip of the left-hand needle.
9. Next, wrap your yarn around the needle, pull it through and let the stitch slide of the needle to complete the twisted knit stitch.
Then what?
On the following wrong side row, work the stitches as they present themselves. In other words: what looks like a knit stitch is knit, what looks like a purl stitch is purled, and the “traveling stitch” itself is purled through the back loop. Below is how it looks after a couple of more rows have been worked. Please note this piece has not been blocked!
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.
The Dutch Knitting Festival Zwolle is the most popular knitting and crocheting event in the Netherlands. There will be more than 80 exhibitors, inspiring guests from the world of fiber crafts, over 30 classes and workshops, free yarn tastings, and demonstrations, and, of course, lots of opportunities to knit and crochet together. Perfect for inspiration-filled days with and among like-minded people. And parking is free!
At the upcoming edition in the IJsselhallen in Zwolle, on October 11 and 12, 2019, there will again be a surprising program. And I’ll be teaching a workshop on Friday the 11th on fixing mistakes in your knitting!
Fixing Knitting Mistakes with La Visch
You are knitting happily along when
suddenly you notice it: a mistake in your knitting, 5 cm down in your
project! Ripping it all out is a waste of time, that’s why you will
learn in this workshop how to correct mistakes while the project is
still on your needles. You will learn how to pick up fallen stitches
(in the middle and at the edge of your work!) and how to correct a
decrease or increase. You will also learn a good approach for
repairing mistakes in a lace or cable pattern. If you have a project
in time-out with such an error, do take it with you! In that case, a
cushion in a light color and a pack of pins is also handy to have.
This workshop is suitable for a wide
range of knitters; we all make mistakes when knitting. To get the
most out of this workshop, it is, however, advisable to have already
completed some knitting projects. These do not have to be very
complex projects, but experience with simple decreases such as k2tog
and ssk/skp, increases such as the yarn over and m1 as well as with
simple lace knitting is useful.
For more information on this workshop, visit the workshop page (in Dutch) on the Dutch Knitting Festival website.
Early bird tickets for admission and this class are available through the workshop page from July 24th, 19.00 (GMT+1).
Will I see you at the Dutch Knitting Festival Zwolle? Do let me know if you plan on visiting. In case of questions or remarks regarding the workshop you’re, of course, also welcome to contact me. I’m very much looking forward to seeing there!
Monegros is a simple yet stylish triangular shawl knit sideways on the bias, named after the Monegros Desert in northeastern Spain. The combination of garter stitch in a variegated hand-dyed yarn and simple lace in a solid/tonal yarn makes it a perfect choice to get the best of both worlds. Due to its shape and generous size, it’s perfect to wear as an elegant scarf.
The pattern contains both fully written out as well as charted instructions for the lace section.
Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)
€
Difficulty level
Stitches used include knit, yo, k2tog, skp, kfb and a centered double decrease. This pattern is suitable for the intermediate knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: 195 cm (76 ¾ inches) along the upper edge and a depth of 66 cm (26 inches), measured after blocking.
The shawl can be made larger by adding more repeats of the garter stitch and/or by working more repeats in the lace section. This will, of course, increase the amount of yarn needed.
Pattern details
Gauge: 14.6 sts / 26 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over garter stitch, measured after blocking. Gauge is, however, not critical in this design.
Pattern languages included: English, the Dutch version will be available soon. (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 4 pages (letter size)
Materials
Yarn: C1 – 1 skein Sticks & Cups Sockstravagance (80% Merino, 20% Nylon; 400 m (437 yds) / 100 g) in “Santorini”, C2 – 1 ball Rauma Baby Panda (100% Merino; 175 m (191 yds) / 50 g) in 54 “Orange”. Substitute any variegated fingering weight yarn for C1 and any solid or tonal colored fingering weight yarn for C2 for a similar result.
Size 4 mm (US 6) / 80 cm (32 inches) circular needles.
Removable stitch marker to denote the RS of the shawl (optional)
Russian grafting is a method of joining live knitting stitches together. It’s an alternative to the Kitchener stitch and is a quick and easy method for finishing off your knitted piece. In this tutorial, I’ll show you the in’s and outs of using the Russian grafting method to connect 2 pieces of stockinette fabric. Of course, this method has pro’s and cons when compared with the Kitchener stitch, which I’ll go into below.
Pro’s
When using Russian grafting on stockinette, a decorative seam is created on the outside of the work.
No working yarn is necessary, this makes this method, not a “true” grafting method.
When grafting with this method, the stitches of the pieces to be joined align better than with Kitchener stitch grafting. This can be desirable when using patterning.
Con’s
Since Russian grafting is worked by pulling existing stitches through other stitches, there is no way to adjust the tension of the graft.
The seam will be visible if it’s used on a piece of very open lace fabric.
Materials used
Yarn: * Paintbox Yarns Simply DK, a good value, good quality 100% acrylic yarn, here in the color 125 Spearmint Green.
I’ve made 2 little swatches of stockinette and slipped one of those to another knitting needle, making sure the yarn tail is on the left side. Position the needles as pictured. Now we’re ready to start the actual Russian graft!
Set-up
1. Back needle: Insert the crochet hook purlwise through the first stitch on the needle …
2. … and slide it off the needle.
3. Front needle: Insert the crochet hook purlwise through the first stitch on the needle ….
4. … and slide it off the needle.
5. Now pull this second stitch through the first stitch on the hook, so only 1 loop remains on the crochet hook.
Repeat
1. Back needle: Insert the crochet hook knitwise through the first stitch …
2. … and slide it off the needle.
3. Pull this last stitch through the first stitch on the hook, so only 1 loop remains on the crochet hook.
4. Front needle: Insert the crochet hook knitwise through the first stitch …
5. …and slide it off the needle.
6. Pull this last stitch through the first stitch on the hook, so only 1 loop remains on the crochet hook.
Repeat steps 1-6 until all stitches have been worked. At this point you will have 1 stitch remaining on the crochet hook:
To finish the graft, pull the yarn tail through this last stitch to secure it. This was the reason to shuffle the stitches around on one of the swatches, otherwise, we wouldn’t have a yarn tail available.
And that’s how Russian grafting on stockinette is done! The seam is very decorative on its own and could be used as a design element instead of a 3-needle bind-off. Think for example when closing the shoulder seams on a bottom-up sweater.
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.
Worked in this lovely fade yarn, hand-dyed by AG2N Hand Dyed Yarns, the Full Fade Hap makes for a wonderful, cozy shawl, which is perfect to wrap up in on a chilly day. This shawl is made in the tradition of the shawls from the Shetland Isles, making for a very interesting construction.
Start the Full Fade Hap at one corner of the center square and increase until big enough, then decrease. Pick up stitches along the edges, and work the stunning border outwards. Each color band in its own lace patterning. The shawl is finished with a gorgeous edging that is knitted on sideways and attached to the live stitches of the border as it is being worked.
Want to knit this shawl in the smaller, triangular version? Take a look a the Half Fade Hap!
Pay what you want: (minimum €6.50)
€
Difficulty level
This shawl is worked both flat back and forth as in the round. Techniques used include working a knitted-on edging and grafting remaining stitches together using Kitchener stitch. Stitches used include knit, purl, yo, k2tog, k3tog, skp, and various double decreases.
This pattern is suitable for the intermediate to advanced knitter.
Sizes and finished measurements
Finished dimensions of the sample shawl: 146 cm (57 ½ inches) square, measured after blocking.
Pattern details
Gauge: approx. 12.7 sts / 25 rows = 10 cm (4 inches) over the center square, measured after blocking Gauge is not critical in this design.
Pattern languages included: English and Dutch (Dit patroon omvat zowel een Nederlandse als een Engelse versie)
Digital PDF has 8 pages (letter size)
Yarn
In the sample hap shown, AG2N Hand Dyed Yarns Softy Sock Fingering (75% Merino, 25% Nylon; 422 m (462 yds) / 100 g) in the following colors and amounts was used:
C1: 211 m (231 yds) / 50 g in “Fade 1” C2: 211 m (231 yds) / 50 g in “Fade 2” C3: 211 m (231 yds) / 50 g in “Fade 3” C4: 211 m (231 yds) / 50 g in “Fade 4” C5: 211 m (231 yds) / 50 g in “Fade 5” C6: 422 m (462 yds) / 100 g in “Fade 6”
Substitute wool fingering weight yarn of comparable thickness, in a fade sequence for a similar result, or with 1477 m (1617 yds) / 350 g yarn in a single color.
Materials
Size 4 mm (US Size 6) 80 cm (32 inches) or longer circular needle.
Extra needle in size 4 mm (US Size 6) for the applied edging and grafting.
Yarn needle
7 stitch markers to denote the corner stitches/quarter sections
