Tuck Foldover Scalloped Border

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I needed a border to put around the tuck baby blanket I just completed in my previous post, of 20 March 17.  Because I had one unsightly side because I had yarn ends to do something with, I thought the easiest way around that was to do an edging that enclosed them.  I ran onto Diana Sullivan’s Scalloped Foldover Trim  on YouTube and thought that would work perfectly plus look very nice.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-8n2X8vlGo&t=10s  However after I got the blanket done, I thought that I wanted something a bit wider so I experimented and came up with a nice border just by adding another tuck row to Diana’s trim.  It still folded over great and does look nice. 

I started with waste yarn and ravel cord because I wanted to have live stitches to be able to do an invisible graft to the other end when I got done.  I made the blanket on my KX350 at T5 with sport and DK weight yarns.  The yarn for the border was a bit heavier and I wanted it nice and soft so I went up to T6.  But this border can be done on any machine with appropriate yarn and tension.

1.   CO 11 stitches with waste yarn and ravel cord, knit 1 row to the left,

2.   *  Put machine on hold, pull needles 3, 5, 7 and 9 out to hold position,

3.   Knit 4 rows,

4.   Push needles back to working position and knit 2 rows. *

Repeat this pattern from * to * for 1800 rows!  Yes, 1800.  Then scrap off to leave live stitches to be able to unravel and adjust for size and grafting to the other end later.

I used a 3/15 thinner weight yarn and a running stitch to sew the border to the back side.  Make sure to adjust stitching so the edging lays flat without flaring or puckering.  Gather up the border on the corners to make nice turns.  I then sewed the front side down.  I was afraid that it wouldn’t lay flat during the trips thru the washer and dryer so I loosely ran another running stitch thru both layers of the border, next to the inside row of tucks. 

I did a bit of experimenting to see how I wanted to attach the edging and decided to go under the ladder after the first full stitch of the border (much like mattress stitching), the picked up a stitch on the edge of the blanket.  Then go back and pick up the ladder, then over to the blanket.  Snug up the sewing yarn but don’t pull it tight.  It may take a bit of practice to see what you like best.

Tuck Baby Blanket

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I’ve been wanting to use this tuck pattern for just ages and we have a new little member coming into our family soon so thought it’d be a good time to just do it.  And I got even more motivation from seeing several other versions on Ravelry lately.  

I made this on my KX350 midgauge with sport and DK weight yarns so it’s all manually manipulated tuck patterning.  The KX350 has 135 needles but I wanted it a bit wider than that would allow so I robbed a section from another machine and added it to the end which added an additional 43 needles.  This pattern can be done on any machine with any yarn and tension the machine likes but I already had the sport weight yarns on hand so I opted for the midgauge.  

Here’s the story:

Machine:  KX350 midgauge, extended bed by 1 section

Yarns:    Patons Astra, Peony Pink and Aqua, 2 skeins each

               Redheart Designer Sport, Blossom, 2 skeins

               Bernat Berella Sportspun, White, 5 skeins (including edging)

Tension 5

Approximate size:  45”L x 35”W

 

With background color, e-wrap CO 158 sts, or any number desired as long as the following needle selection is used. 

Carriage to N and knit 1 row to the left.  Hang weights evenly across.

Carriage to H to hold, change to a contrasting color and begin patterning:

Skip 6 stitches, pull 2 needles out to hold position.  Repeat this patterning across the bed.

               . . . . . . x x . . . . . . x x . . . . . .

RC000, knit 6 rows.  Take carriage off hold, change to background color and knit 2 rows.

NOTE:  Before you knit the first and second rows of background color after each set of tucks, visually check that the stitches beside the tucks have knit off properly.  6 rows of tucking might be a bit much for the machine, depending on the yarn used.  If they didn’t knit off properly, manually knit the errant stitches before proceeding with the next row.

For the next set of tucks, put the carriage back on hold, skip 2 needles and pull 2 needles out to hold position, skip 6 needles and pull 2 needles out to hold position.   Repeat this across the row.  With a contrasting color, knit 6 rows.  Take carriage off hold, change to background color and knit 2 rows.

               . . x x . . . . . . x x . . . . . . x x . .

Note that the two tucking needles will always be lined up with the center of the ‘bubble’ of the previous pattern set.   

Repeat this patterning sequence for 450 rows, or as desired, ending with 2 rows of background color and carriage on the left.

I did a backstitch bind off but use whichever bind off you prefer as long as it’s not tight.

I used a variation of Diana Sullivan's tuck scalloped foldover edging but you can use whatever border or edging you desire.  I liked this foldover edging because it encased the edge of yarn ends...that I neglected to weave in as I knit.  I will post my 'how I did that' too in another posting, soon.

Striped Blanket



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Here is another masterpiece from our granddaughter, the rising machine knitting star.  She wanted to make a blanket for her little brother’s first birthday but didn’t want panels that needed seaming as in her very first afghan.  So again Gramma came to the rescue.  I have an extra KX350 midgauge plastic machine so we decided to put two beds together to make a wider knitting span.  It’s very easy to join the beds together but my only problem was where and how to mount it.  Neither the bar counter in my kitchen nor the dining table are long enough for this double sized machine.  But DH found an 8’ long by about 12” wide piece of 3/8” plywood that it fit on nicely.  I put the leaves in the dining room table, mounted the machine to the plywood, then mounted the plywood to the table.  I put a couple little pieces of thin cardboard under the clamps of the machine so it wouldn’t mar my table.  And all went well.  My kitchen was in a state of disarray for a few days but it was worth it.  Her blanket is gorgeous, little brother loves it and she got lots of rave reviews at the birthday party. 

I especially like how the borders worked out.  The beginning edge is a hung hem and the ending edge is folded over and tacked down to the back side to form the end borders.  The side borders are attached by Sew As Ya Go (SAYG) and then folded over and tacked down to the back side.

Here’s how we did it.


Machine:  KX350 7mm midgauge, 2 beds joined together
Yarn:  I Love This Yarn Sport, 2.5 oz  (230 yds)
               Black, 1.5 skeins
               Bright Blue, 1.2 skeins
               Red, 2.8 skeins
               Sun Yellow, 1 skein
               Plus 1 skein of each color for the borders
Gauge:  T2, 6 sts and 9 rows = 1”
Size:  Approx 39" x 42" without borders

1)   CO 234 needles with waste yarn and ravel cord. 
2)   T2, RC000, K36R with border color.
3)   To form a hem, pick up the stitches from the first body row and hang on corresponding needles in work.
4)   T3, K1R across.
5)   T2, RC000, knit a total of 374 rows changing colors as desired.
6)   RC000, K36R with border color. 
7)   End with COL and back stitch bind off.
8)   When blanket body is complete, fold the border of last end in half toward the back side and whip stitch to the body. 

SIDE BORDERS:  (Sew As Ya Go, SAYG)
1)   Bring out 25 needles.
2)   T2, CO with waste yarn and ravel cord.  End with COR.
3)   Hold the blanket with the wrong side facing and starting at the bottom right hand corner, *on the side away from the carriage, pick up and hang the first loop stitch of the blanket onto the left edge needle of the border. 
4)   Knit 2 rows.**
5)   Repeat from * to ** for the full length of the blanket edge.
6)   Scrap off with several rows of waste yarn.
7)   Repeat for other side.

FINISHING:
1)   Fold the side border in half lengthwise and seam each end by grafting from the purl side.  Remove scrap yarn. Then whip stitch the border to the back side of the blanket, covering the seam line and yarn tails at the color changes.  Seam the edge of the side border to the end border with mattress stitch.
2)   Weave in all yarn ends.
3)   Gently launder and only partially dry in the dryer.  Then block and lightly steam if necessary.  The hems and wide borders keep curling to a minimum.

This is the schematic for the striped patterning we used, designed and implemented totally by our granddaughter.  This was such a fun project.

 

 

My Stars, Baby Blanket, G-carriage

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I just finished a g-carriage baby blanket.  I used Cheryl Jiles' dbj pattern from her Crib Quilts IV collection, did some redesigning in DAK, changed her original pattern hearts to stars and knit it on the g-carriage.  The dbj pattern can be ordered by contacting Cheryl Jiles at her 'under construction' website at www.wishknits.com.  It is a great pattern and I've used it for several other g-carriage blankets over the years.

My pattern is 196 sts wide and 412 rows long, knit at T9 for the end borders and T10 in the body.  Finished measurement is 30 x 44”.  I CO with a double needle e-wrap and BO with a latch tool around the gate pegs. I used the Russian join to connect the skeins on this one. I was hesitant to use Russian joins with the g-carriage but they went thru just fine. And I’m really happy not to have to work in all the ends after the fact.