knitting Archives - Page 7 of 18

tutorial – 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.

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.
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.
Here I’ve removed the 2 stitches from the needle.
Keep squeezing that fabric, we don’t want to drop one of these stitches!
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.
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.
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:
For this right cross cable, I have to work 1 k, followed by 1 p.
This is how it looks when done:

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

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tutorial – 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.

To start, we make a slipknot, and place it on the needle.
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.
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.
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.
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…
…, and wrap the yarn around the needle.
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:
Repeat steps 5-7 until there are no more loops on the needle.
This is how it looks:
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.
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.
This is the cast-on result, ready for further knitting in the round (using magic loop) as described in your pattern!

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tutorial – the standard knitted bind-off

This particular bind-off is the one most knitters learn first, and with good reason: it’s a very versatile bind-off that can be used in both knit and purl variations. This makes it my go-to bind-off when a pattern instructs me to bind-off “in pattern”. That said, in this tutorial, I will focus only on the knit variation, to work this in purl, just replace all knits by purls!

But I’m getting ahead of myself. The standard knitted bind-off creates a lovely edge, that is perfect for seaming, picking up stitches or doing “pick up and knit” for further finishing. Think for example of knitting a button band for a cardigan. That said, while this bind-off has some elasticity, it can be hard to get the tension exactly right. It’s not advised to use for edges that need a lot of stretch, like the ribbing of toe-up socks. If you know you’re a tight knitter, it may be a good idea to go up a needle size when doing this bind-off. Likewise, if you’re a very loose knitter, you may want to drop down a size.

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.

The standard knitted bind-off step by step

In patterns, you may see the following instruction for this bind-off:
K1, *k1, insert tip of the left-hand needle into first stitch on the right-hand needle, pass this stitch over the second stitch; repeat from * to end.
Below I’ll show you step by step how this looks like in knitting!

To start, take the piece of knitting you want to bind-off.
In this case I’m using the swatch I made for the Double Lace Rib stitch pattern.
Knit the first stitch on the left-hand needle.
Next, knit the new stitch nearest to the tip of the left-hand needle.
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 3-5 until all stitches have been bound-off.
Midway, it will look something like this:

And here also a picture of the resulting edge. Pretty, isn’t it?!

The Standard Knitted Bind-Off - the result

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tutorial – working a k2tog tbl

In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to work the k2tog tbl decrease. The abbreviation stands for “knit 2 stitches together through the back loop”. Basically, it’s the twisted version of the k2tog decrease. However, while the k2tog is a right-leaning decrease, k2tog tbl is a left-leaning decrease. It’s similar in appearance to the skp and ssk decreases.

Knitting the k2tog tbl decrease step by step

First, take your project and work to the spot indicated in your pattern, where the decrease is supposed to be made.
In this case, I’m working a stitch pattern in which I have to work a k2tog tbl directly after a YO, over the 2 stitches near the tip of the left-hand needle.
Next, insert the tip of the right-hand needle into the first 2 stitches at the same time as if to knit through the back loop of these stitches.
This can be a tad hard to get right, I find it helps to pull the fabric down a bit.
Wrap the yarn around the needle…
…, and pull it through the stitches you inserted the right-hand needle in.
To finish the decrease, slip the original stitches of the left-hand needle.

And this is how to work the k2tog tbl decrease!

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tutorial – the cable cast-on

The cable cast-on is a cast-on very similar to the knitted on cast-on. It is worked similarly and creates a clean, and sturdy edge. It is, however, more firm and less stretchy; a very good choice for edges that benefit from that stability and don’t need any stretch. Take for example edges from which stitches are picked up and knit. For this reason, I personally wouldn’t use it for a knitting project that would be blocked heavily. For most other applications, though, it makes a very nice decorative edge. Think for example of edges of non-lace blankets.

This particular method is also great for the beginner knitter because it is basically the knit stitch that is used to cast on. In this post, I’ll show you how to do it!

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.

The cable cast-on step by step

Make a slip knot and place it on your needle.
This forms the first stitch, make sure to leave enough on the tail of the yarn to weave in later. It is also possible not to use a slip knot and just loop the yarn around the needle for your first stitch, thus avoiding the knot in the corner of your work. For the sake of this tutorial, however, I’m going with the slip knot version.
Take your second needle and insert the tip into the stitch with the needle under your main needle.
Insert at an angle, so your needles cross as pictured.
Hold the crossed needles together, take the yarn connected to your ball and wrap it around the bottom needle: go around, and then over.
Depending on your knitting style, this can be done with either your left or your right hand. The end result is however always the yarn wrapped around the needle as pictured.
Take the bottom needle and bring it back through the stitch, pulling the yarn with it in a loop.
Now transfer the new loop from the bottom needle to the other needle and tighten the yarn.
You have now cast on a stitch!
Take your second needle and insert the tip in between the 2 stitches closest to the tip of the main needle.
In this step, we’re deviating from the knitted-on cast-on.
Wrap the yarn around the needle….
… and pull it through the stitch.
To finish adding the new stitch, place it on the main needle.
Repeat steps 6-9 until you have reached the desired amount of stitches on your needle.
This is how it looks from the RS of the work, after a couple rows have been worked in garter stitch.
And the result from the WS:

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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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worsted delft blue

Due to popular request here’s the worsted weight version of my bulky weight Delft Blue cowl design. My lovely tester Yayalovestoknit made the version pictured (in size S). Isn’t it pretty in these colors?! A wonderful way for stash busting odds and ends. Of course, I also included larger sizes in the pattern for those who prefer a longer loop.

The Worsted Delft Blue cowl is knit seamless in the round, with simple color work in the corrugated ribbing.

Pay what you want: (minimum €5.50)

€

Difficulty level

The Worsted Delft Blue cowl is seamless and knit in the round with simple color work patterning. Stitches used are knit and purl. This pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner to intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Sizes S (M, L, XL): With a circumference of 60 (74, 88, 102) cm (24 (29, 35, 40) inches), and 21.5 cm (8½ inches) high.

To further adjust the sizing, cast-on any number of stitches in a multiple of 4 and/or work a different number of repeats of the body pattern. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Worsted Delft Blue is written for a gauge of 20 sts / 24 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over color work pattern after washing and gentle blocking.
Pattern language included: English.
Digital PDF has 3 pages (letter size).

Yarn

Premier yarns Everyday Worsted Solids, Marls & Heathers [100% acrylic; 160 m (181 yds) / 100 g] in the following colors and amounts:

C1: 107 (132, 157, 182) m (117 (144, 172, 199) yds) / 65 (80, 95, 111) g in Black
C2: 25 (31, 37, 43) m (27 (34, 40, 47) yds / 15 (19, 22, 26) g in Aubergine
C3: 25 (31, 37, 43) m (27 (34, 40, 47) yds / 15 (19, 22, 26) g in Grenadine
C4: 25 (31, 37, 43) m (27 (34, 40, 47) yds / 15 (19, 22, 26) g in Peacock

Substitute any worsted weight yarns of similar weight and in sufficient contrast to each other for a similar result.

Materials

Circular needles in the following sizes (or to match gauge): Size 4 mm (US 6) and size 4.5 mm (US 7). For sizes S and M, a cable length of 60 cm (24 inches) is advised. However, for the larger two sizes a length of 80 cm (32 inches) may be more appropriate.
Yarn needle.
1 end-of-round stitch marker.

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delft blue

If you’re in need of a fast extra-bulky weight cowl project, look no further! The design for the Delft Blue cowl came into being because my daughter bikes to school every day. It can get cold in the 45 minutes she needs for that. So, I made her this nice and snug-fitting cowl (size S). It’s tall enough to keep her neck warm, even if she pulls it up over her nose. Of course, I also included larger sizes for those who prefer a longer loop.

Extra bulky-weight knitting not quite your thing? There is also a worsted weight version of this design!

The Delft Blue cowl is knit seamless and in the round, with simple color work in the corrugated ribbing.

Pay what you want: (minimum €5.50)

€

Difficulty level

The Delft Blue cowl is seamless and knit in the round with simple color work patterning. Stitches used are knit and purl. This pattern is suitable for the advanced beginner to intermediate knitter.

Sizes and finished measurements

Sizes S (M, L, XL): With a circumference of 60 (74, 88, 102) cm (24 (29, 35, 40) inches), and 34 cm (13 inches) high.

To further adjust the sizing, cast-on any number of stitches in a multiple of 4 and/or work a different number of repeats of the body pattern. This will, of course, change the amount of yarn needed.

Pattern details

Delft Blue is written for a gauge of 11.3 sts / 14.5 rounds = 10 cm (4 inches) over color work pattern after washing and gentle blocking.
Pattern language included: English.
Digital PDF has 3 pages (letter size).

Yarn

Debbie Bliss Merion [50% wool, 50% acrylic; 100 m (109 yds) / 100 g] in the following colors and amounts:

C1: 80 (99, 118, 136) m (88 (108, 129, 149) yds) / 80 (99, 118, 136) g in 10 Admiral
C2: 80 (99, 118, 136) m (88 (108, 129, 149) yds) / 80 (99, 118, 136) g in 09 Sky Blue

Substitute any single-ply type bulky weight yarns of similar weight and in sufficient contrast to each other for a similar result.

Materials

Circular needles in the following sizes (or to match gauge): Size 7 mm (US 10.75) and size 8 mm (US 11). For sizes S and M, a cable length of 60 cm (24 inches) is advised, for the larger two sizes a length of 80 cm (32 inches) may be more appropriate.
Yarn needle.
1 end-of-round stitch marker.

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tutorial – working a bobble from 3 rows below

Bobbles are a lovely way to add texture to a knitting project. I’ve used them myself to add interest to an otherwise rather plain stockinette shawl body in my Moerbei shawl. They’re also rather popular as an extra design element on cabled sweaters.

In the basis a bobble is nothing more than a single stitch that is increased to a collection of stitches (usually 3, 5, or 7 stitches), worked back and forth and then decreased back again to a single stitch. There are, however, many ways to go about this.

In this tutorial I’m focusing on a specific kind of bobble that is described in the Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible by Hitomi Shida. It’s worked in stockinette stitch on a background of reverse stockinette by working in a stitch 3 rows down. Read on for more details!

Materials used

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

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 bobble from 3 rows below step by step

1. First, work in your piece of knitting to the point where you want to make the bobble. Remember, this bobble is worked on a background of reverse stockinette, so the purl side is the right side of the work.

2. Next we have to insert the right-hand needle into the center of the stitch, 3 rows down from the next stitch on the needle. I’ve indicated it with the yarn needle.

3. Move the working yarn to the back of the work (we’re working the bobble itself in stockinette, not in reverse stockinette!) ….

4. … and insert the right-hand needle right through the stitch to the back of the work!

Working a bobble from 3 rows below step 4

5. Now wrap the yarn around the needle and pull up a loop through the fabric.

Working a bobble from 3 rows below step 5

6. Wrap the yarn around the needle to form a yarn over.

Working a bobble from 3 rows below step 6

7. Repeat steps 4 and 5 once to make a 3 stitch bobble, or repeat steps 4 to 6 followed by steps 4 and 5 once again for a 5 stitch bobble. Pictured below is how it looks after working these steps for a 5 stitch bobble.

8. Next, drop the next stitch on the left-hand needle. It won’t ladder down below the bobble, because the stitch is secured by pulling the yarn through the fabric in the steps above.

9. Now work in pattern to the end of the row. You can see in the picture below, that I worked a 5 stitch bobble on the right and a 3 stitch bobble on the left.

Onwards to the next row

10. Turn the work and again work in pattern (knit) until you reach the bobble loops. Those we work in purl, because we’re looking at the wrong side of the work here.

11. This is how it looks after working this row. You can see the bobble stitches more easily now, because they are purled.

12. Again work in pattern to the bobble stitches. Now we have to decrease these 5 stitches back to 1 stitch. To do so, I have slipped the first 3 stitches together knit wise to the right-hand needle, worked a k2tog, and then passed the 3 slipped stitches over the result of the k2tog. This is the result of that decrease:

14. For the 3 stitch bobble I worked a sl2-k1-p2sso decrease. This is the result:

15. And this is how these bobbles look after 2 more rows in reverse stockinette have been worked. See how much fatter the 5 stitch bobble is when compared with the other one? You can, of course, work even fatter bobbles this way. Just repeat steps 4-6 twice or thrice instead of only once.

And this how to do it!

Found this tutorial useful? Tag me with @la_visch on Instagram or @lavischdesigns on Facebook if you’ve used it in a project!

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