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.