Mitten, 2 Color, Double Bed Jacquard, Birdseye Backing

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I just finished a pair of mittens in double bed jacquard that I really like and want to share with you.  I like the looks of fairisle but don’t do much of it because of dealing with the yarn floats carried on the back.  So unless I use a pattern with no more than 3 or 4  stitch floats, I usually don’t do fairisle.  DBJ is the perfect answer for smaller items for me.  It gives a nice double thickness fabric, warm for our cold winters, and no floats to deal with.  DBJ might be a bit heavy for garments though.

I’m going to focus on my pattern for the mittens right now….I plan to do a quick down and dirty tutorial on dbj in another post soon. 

I designed the stitch pattern in DK7, using Stitchworld pattern #20 for the hand and a 1x1 column of alternating colors in the cuff.  The cuff is not ribbed but done in dbj at two tensions tighter than the hand.  The mitten is made with 2 identical pieces, a front and back, and seamed together.  The thumb is knit separately and mattress stitched in the side seam above the cuff.  If I had more patience and could assure myself that I could resume the pattern, I would do the thumb gusset in one piece.  But mattress stitching it in worked well for me.

Seaming in dbj is quite easy actually.  Work a mattress stitch on the edges of the public side and it leaves very little bulk on the inside and is quite invisible on the public side.  It took me a bit to ‘see’ the stitches to pick up while mattressing, so look for the ladder st between the layers of fabric.

I worked the thumb in fairisle because I didn’t want to deal with all the increases in dbj but I will work on that when I have the fortitude and patience.  After I knit each row, I hung the longer yarn floats on a needle above to prevent thumb snags on the floats.

One last comment I want to make about dbj is to make a swatch, launder and dry as you would the finished item, then take your gauge measurements.  My length of my finished mitten shortened a bit;  my theory is that the heavy ribber weights stretched the stitches as I knit.  Washing and drying brought them back into shape nicely.  But of course this will depend on the yarn being used.  So do yourself a favor and swatch, launder and dry before measuring for gauge.

So….here goes.  If you see any glaring mistakes or have questions, please feel free to leave a comment and I’ll get right on it.

MITTENS, 2 color DBJ, Birdseye Backing  
                                               
Size:  Woman’s Medium, 7.5” L without cuff
Machine:  Brother KH965i and KR850 ribber
Yarn:  Main Color WEBs Sock yarn on cone
          Contrast Color 5^th Avenue Funky sock yarn
Tension: T7 in hand, T5 in dbj cuff
Gauge:  Approx 8 sts, 20 rows = 1”

CORRUGATED CUFF:
1)  CO 28 sts as for dbj, pitch H5, ribber slide lever on 'lili' or ‘II’ for a tighter cuff.  (Must be even sts on ea bed)
2)  T1, K across from L to R for zig zag row, hang CO comb and 2 large ribber weights; T2, set carriages for circular and K2R; T5, K1R across all needles, past the L turn mark and  into the color changer.  COL.
3)   Set machine for dbj and K21 pattern rows after the foundation cast on rows.  (43 rows on RC)

HAND:
1)   T7, ribber slide lever on ‘lili’, K in dbj pattern to RC156.  (79 rows in dbj pattern)  COR. 
2)   Make all decreases when COR.  Keeping in pattern, decrease fingertips by 2 sts with 3 prong tool on each side of each bed.  To decrease 2 sts on each bed, use 3 prong tool and move the outermost 3 sts in 2 needles.  There will be 2 sts on ndls 2 and 3 on both beds.
3)  K4R,  remembering to keep in pattern and changing yarn when carriage is on the left hand side.  Be sure to keep an even number of stitches on both beds and empty needles moved to out of work before knitting across. 
4)   Dec fingertip down to 8 sts ending with RC175 and COL.
5)   Discontinue DBJ patterning and set carriages back to plain knitting.  Transfer ribber sts to corresponding main bed needles.  There will be 2 sts on ea needle. 
6)   T6, K1R across.
7)   Scrap off with several rows of waste yarn for grafting later.

Make 2 identical pieces, however you may use a different pattern for the other side if you choose.  

THUMB:   Make 2  (Worked in fairisle using the same fairisle pattern as the hand)
1)   Begin with WY and ravel cord, hang weights and e-wrap 3 sts.
2)   RC000, T7, K3R with a single strand of yarn.   
3)   Set machine and yarns for fairisle patterning.
4)   Increase 1 st on carriage side of every row until 26 sts by bringing out one ndl to upper working position before knitting across.
5)   Knit even in fairisle patterning to RC048.  Then discontinue fairisle and set machine back to plain knitting.
6)   Cut one yarn and continue with only one strand.  Dec sts to EON across.  Move all empty needles out of work.
7)   T3, K1R, gather and secure.

FINISHING:
Graft fingertips, mattress st side seams leaving a space in one side seam for the thumb. To fit the thumb in, I seamed the cuff first then positioned the thumb and sewed it in with mattress st, up one side and down the other. The thumb sts may need to be eased in to fit the opening.

 

 

This is an example of birdseye backing, set with the 'lili' buttons.  It's kind of hard to pick the pattern out with the varigated yarn, but birdseye knits every other stitch alternating on each row, like a checkerboard pattern.  For ribbers without 'lili' buttons, the backing will be striped, one color per row.    

DIY Decker Comb, Revisited

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I have a great update to a previous post, DIY Decker Comb, that I posted on Sep 17, 2012.  A friend on Ravelry.com sent her sweet husband on a mission to find a better way to hold the stitches on the Decker comb while turning her work.  He came home with a pack of hair bands and they do indeed work better than the report cover slider bar and binder clip that I came up with.  The hair bands cling to the metal transfer comb better, hold the stitches on nicely while turning work and not as cumbersome as the slider bar and clip combo.  It was a great find. 

As a reminder, I'm also showing the original tool with the slider bar and binder clip that I was working with and posted earlier.  The hair band works much much better.

DIY Cast On Comb for Singer/Studio/Silver Reed Machines

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The Studio/Singer/Silver Reed line of knitting machines don’t afford the luxury of using a cast-on comb for their cast-on methods.  I much prefer the Brother method of casting on with the comb, so have made my own combs for my Studio/Singer machines.  I’ve made several sizes for each machine, two half the length of the full bed to cover the entire bed and a shorter one to cover about 1/3 of the bed.  They aren't real pretty but do the job just fine.

Tools needed are a couple cards of bobby pins, a length of wooden molding or ruler, hot glue gun and glue sticks (or glue of choice), a couple clamps and a pair of side cutting pliers.


(Click on Photos to Enlarge)

 

1.  Determine how long you want your comb to be and prepare enough bobby pins to fit on every other needle.  Spring the bobby pin open about half way and cut at the bend.  Cut toward the ‘crinkled’ side so there will be a little curl at the end on the straight side of the bobby pin.  You will be using the straight side and discarding the ‘crinkled’ side.

 

2.  With the needle nose of the pliers, carefully bend over the tip of the bobby pin with the rubber end attached.  Bend slowly as the bobby pin will break if bent too fast or sharply.  Bend in the same direction as the little curl at the other end.
 

3.  Bring out every other needle to just beyond the front of the needle bed.  Open latches and lay a blocking wire or any other stiff wire in the needles.  Then push the needles back far enough so the wire lays snuggly against the sinker posts. 
 

4.  Begin hanging the bent bobby pins onto the wire, evenly spaced on every other needle space.  Make sure the hook faces you.

5.   Place a piece of wooden molding cut to desired size or a ruler on the back side of the hanging bobby pins.  Clamp the end pins on each side in place against the wood so that there is about 3/4” of pin above the edge of the wooden strip.  Straighten and arrange the rest of the pins so they are spaced evenly in the every other needle spaces.  Start with a ‘dot’ of glue at the bottom of each pin, just enough to hold them in place while working.  When you’re happy with how they hang, add more glue making sure to get in all the crooks and crannies.  Keep the glue atleast 1/4 “ away from the top edge.  Let the glue cool until there is a good bond.  Then remove the clamps on the end and apply glue to the end bobbypins.  Let the glue cool and get totally set and remove from machine. 

Yarn Wreath

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Oh my, it's been over a month since I posted.  Guess it's about time. 

This wreath is so quick, easy and quite inexpensive to make.  Start with a wire clothes hanger and shape it into a circle.  Go to your scrap yarn bin and wind several balls with any color yarn you might have on hand, any size and number desired. Use a pair of pliers to take the clothes hanger apart at the top so there is an open end.  Then ‘skewer’ the balls of yarn thru the middle and feed them onto the clothes hanger in desired color sequence.  Reattach the wire at the top of the clothes hanger to enclose again.  Add a seasonal decoration, sprig or spray at the top and stick a pair of knitting needles thru a ball of yarn where desired.  Change out the decoration at the top to coincide with a holiday or season.  Hang by the hook at the top of the clothes hanger and enjoy.

E-wrap Cast On for Ribbing

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In search of a nicer looking cast on for ribbing, I ran onto this e-wrap cast on.  It looks really nice, as close to a hand knit cast on as I’ve seen and is just so easy and simple. If you can e-wrap, you can do this ribbing cast on.  It doesn’t flare, has elasticity to match the ribbing, goes back into shape after stretching and the back side looks as nice as the public side.  My first sample was knit with a lightweight worsted roving type yarn on my midgauge machine.  I think this cast on method will lend itself nicely to any ribbed band.  The second sample shows sock ribbing with sock yarn.

1.   E-wrap desired number of needles on the main bed.

2.   With ribbing tension, knit 1 row across on main bed only.

3.   Raise ribber and with a double eyed ribber transfer tool, transfer EOS to the ribber bed for 1x1 ribbing or for your desired configuration, i.e. 2x2, 1x3, 2x3 etc.

4.   Hang the cast on comb and evenly spaced heavy ribber weights.

5.   Knit desired number of rows at ribbing tension.

An afterthought....I should note that any e-wrap cast on should be preceeded by several rows of waste yarn and ravel cord.  This will give the e-wrap more stability and allow weights to be hung to give a nice even cast on.  Your carriage will love you for it and you will like the results.

Fingerless Mitts, Midgauge

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I love mittens but don't like not being able to use my fingers while wearing mittens.  So fingerless mitts are the perfect answer for me.  They can be knit plain to be practical or in nice patterns for a good looking mitt.  Here's my pattern.



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Machine: Brother KX350 or Silver Reed SK860 Midgauge
Yarn: Berroco Vintage or Classic Shades by Universal
Main Tension: 4
Ribbed Tension: 2
Gauge: 5.5 sts, 8 rows =1”
Size: Woman’s Med

Wrist Ribbing:
1.  E-wrap CO 42 sts with scrap and ravel cord.  (40 if Bickford type seaming)
2.  T2, K 18 rows, or length desired.
3.  Latch 1x2 rib.

Wrist:
1.  T 4, K  8 rows, or length desired.  COR.

Thumb Gusset:
1.  RC000.  T 4.
2.  Increase one st at the beginning of each of the next 16 rows.  (I use the 2 prong tool to move the sts out, then fill the empty needle with the ‘heel’  taken from the next st toward the center of the bed)
3.  Starting on the side away from the carriage, manually remove  8 sts from the edge of the needle bed on several rows of waste yarn, leaving the remaining hand stitches on the machine. 
4.  K1R across and remove the same number of sts on the other side away from the carriage.

Upper Mitten:
1.  RC000. 
2.  T4,  K 8 to 10 rows.  (Or length desired)
3.  T2 + one click, K 7 rows, or length desired.  (COR)
4.  Latch 1x2 rib on the 7 rows.
5.  Back stitch BO.  (I prefer from right hand side)
  
Thumb:
1.  RC000. 
2.  With purl side facing you and center thumbs neighboring each other, pick up and hang on the needle bed 16 thumb sts from each piece of waste yarn PLUS 2 full sts, one from each side of the body at the seam side. 
3.   T4,  K 2  rows.  (Or length desired)
4.   T2 + one click, K 6 rows (COR).  May need to knit 1 more row to move carriage to the right hand side.
5.   Latch rib in 1x2.
6.   Back stitch BO.

Finishing:
1.   Sew seams with mattress stitch or a Bickford type seam.  If using a flat Bickford type seam reduce CO by 2 sts.
2.   Weave in yarn ends.

Notes:
1.   Use your ribber to work the ribbing instead of latching the ribbed rows.
2.   Length of the hand, thumb or ribbing may be adjusted by adding or subtracting rows.
3.   Cables, fairisle, tuck or other patterning may be used in the hand portion, but keep in mind that most patterning may alter the gauge.
4.   You may omit the ribbing on the thumb and/or hand if desired, but the edges will curl unless treated otherwise, such as a crocheted edging.
5.   Make 2^nd mitt to match, unless using a pattern design on the back.  Then begin CO on opposite side of machine and reverse all shaping.
6.   Mitts may be knit in the round on machines with ribbers.  My trick to that is making the upper hand and thumb ribbings separately and grafting from the purl side afterward.
7.   The mitts may be worn over little knit gloves found at our favorite discount chain store.  But CO sts or tension may need to be increased to fit comfortably over the gloves.  They will be nice and toasty.

Dyed Sock Blanks

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As promised, here are a few sock blanks that I’ve painted with their resulting socks or mittens.  I did these with KoolAid and food coloring early on in my dyeing ‘career’.  I’ve since moved up to retail acid dyes but the techniques are the same.  Painting blanks can be addictive and it seems that even if I have reservations with a specific blank, I can usually ooh and aah in amazement at the finished socks or mittens.  I had no clue what I was doing when I painted my first blank and my socks turned out to be quite interesting, however amazing to see my blank transform into a sock.  There are absolutely no rules to painting blanks, so it’s a good craft to let the creative juices flow. 

I keep saying painting, but 'painting' a blank isn't limited to using a paint brush, as you might assume.  I've used sponges, squeeze bottles and various sized foam paint brushes.  I guess what I use to get the dye there depends on what effect I'm trying to achieve.  I have the most control with foam paint brushes but the squeeze bottles are quicker if I don't care that the colors bleed more.  Whatever 'painting' method you choose, saturation is the key to a nice solid color.  Less dye saturation will result in a heathered look which is nice too.

DIY Sock Blanks for Dyeing

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Another one of my addictions has been dyeing yarn for socks.  I started out a few years ago with sock blanks and let me tell you that painting blanks is definitely addictive.  I came up with a pretty good  recipe to make my own blanks on my knitting machines so I want to share with you.  I usually buy my sock yarn on cones so I use either a postal scale or fishing line meter to weigh or measure my yarn while winding it off the cone.  The standard skein of sock yarn is 100 gr (3.5 oz) or about 450 yards, depending on the yarn.  Besides being cheaper, another advantage of winding off my own yarn from a cone is that I can put more or less yarn in the blanks, depending on the size foot I’m knitting for...bigger foot, more yarn; smaller foot less yarn.   

When dyeing for socks or mittens that I want to match, I knit my blanks with 2 strands of yarn so I will have an identical cake of yarn for each piece.  If I’m making one article such as a scarf that doesn’t need to match anything, I only knit one strand of yarn in my blanks. 

So here’s how I make my own sock blanks.  I start out with 6 rows of waste yarn and then change to the 2 strands of sock yarn, each strand run through its own tensioner.  Knit the sock yarn, then end with 6 rows of waste yarn again.  Then I run the yarn tail thru the live stitches on the needles and secure.  Do not use a permanent bind off.  Starting and ending with waste yarn allows me to ‘play’ with my blank while painting, such as straightening or pinning it in place.  And it’s easy to unravel after dyeing.

I use my Silver Reed SK860 or Brother KX350 midgauge machines for most of my blanks.  For a 2 stranded blank, I divide the total yarn in half if I’ve wound it from a cone.  Otherwise, knit 2 skeins of 50 grams together.

Sock weight on midgauge machine:
T6 or 7, Scrap CO 60 sts, K6R with waste yarn. Change to sock yarn and knit as far as yardage will go. Scrap off with 6 rows of waste yarn. 

(Click on photos to enlarge)

Sport weight on midgauge machine:
T8, Scrap CO 60 sts, then same as above, about 120 rows for socks. 


DK weight on bulky machine:
T6 or 7, Scrap CO 53 sts, then same as above, about 100 rows for socks.
 

No matter what yarn or what machine is used, make sure that the blank is not knit tightly. If too tight, the dyes will not penetrate all the nooks and crannies between the stitches and white or lighter spots will be evident in the finished yarn.

Here’re a couple things I do depending on what I want my result to be.  Most always, I pull out every other or third needle to hold position and slip across for just one row, say every 10 rows or so. That way if I want to keep my dye application in a straight line, the slipped row will act as a guide to keep me straight with the rows.  I get better absorption if I begin painting on the purl side so it's easy to follow the slipped row.  Then I flip the blank over and make sure I have good coverage on the knit side also.

If I want more defined stripes, I add in about 4 to 6 rows of scrap yarn (cotton or acrylic work best cuz doesn’t take up the dye) between my striped areas of dyeing.  Note that the pink rows in this blank are scrap yarn.  The dyes won’t bleed into each other in the  stripes with the waste yarn in there. The blank gets longer but I get better stripes.  In this picture, I’ve only put 2 rows of scrap yarn between the colors and I did get some color bleeding so I added more rows of scrap yarn on subsequent blanks for stripes.

After my blank has been dyed, rinsed and air dried, I then remove the waste yarn and unravel the dyed yarn into 2 cakes, ready for knitting.  Don’t worry about the kinks, they won’t be noticeable when knit. 

In my next post, I’ll show some of the blanks I’ve dyed and the resulting socks and/or mittens.  Pretty much fun and gratifying.   

Socks Made to Fit

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Any yarn and any machine may be used to make socks.  The key to any good sock is the fit.  No matter how beautiful or how expertly made, it won't be a good sock if it doesn’t fit.  This is my guide to getting a good fitting sock for me.  It may require a bit of tweaking for individual feet but this usually comes pretty close to any I’ve made by it.  Swatch your yarn to obtain gauge and follow these calculations.

Measure Foot:

*Around ankle (just above the ankle bones) -AND- around the arch.  If there is a lot of difference in the two measurements, use the smallest one in the formula to calculate number of cast on sts.

**Length of foot from end of toe to end of heel (standing on a ruler on the floor).

*A good rule of thumb to determine number of cast on stitches is by using the ankle measurement in inches times the number of stitches in your gauge per inch.  Subtract 10% if you prefer a tighter fitting sock.  Make sure it is an even number by rounding up or down.  You will be happy with your socks if they fit snugly but are not tight as most socks will stretch with wear.

**A shortrowed toe and heel for an adult sock will each be approximately 2” long, depending on the yarn and size.  Therefore, subtract 4” from foot measurement to determine how many rows to knit between the heel and toe.  I have found that reducing the length by 5 to 10% will give a satisfactory fit; i.e., my foot is 10” long, minus 4” to allow for the toe and heel, minus 1” (10%), times the number of rows per inch in my gauge = number of rows to knit for the foot section.  Multiply the number of rows by 2 for circular knitting.

                                                                         Example for a 10" foot

                                                               and 8.5" measurement around ankle:   

                                                              (10" long, minus 1" from total length)

 

 



Midgauge Socks in the Round

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Machine:  SK860 Midgauge with ribber
Yarn:  Berroco Vintage Colors, 1 skein
            50% acrylic, 40% wool, 10% nylon
            Machine Washable, 217 yds per 3.5 oz
Tension:  T5
Gauge:  5.5 sts and 8 rows = 1”
Size:  Woman’s 8

Socks made in the round but may be made flat and seamed

Divide skein of yarn in half, either by weight or yardage

CUFF: 
1)  Double bed e-wrap 44 sts in 1 x 1 (or desired) rib.  K1R to left and hang CO comb and ribber weights.
2)   RC000, T2/2 K20R.
3)   For a seam up the back of the ribbing, transfer main bed stitches to the ribber bed.
4)   T6, K1R across.
5)   Lower ribber and remove CO comb and ribber weights.  Hang 4 claw weights evenly across.
6)   Transfer the right hand 11 stitches to corresponding needles from ‘0’ to R11 on the main bed.
7)   Transfer the left hand 11 stitches to corresponding needles from ‘0’ to L11 on the main bed.
8)   Unravel the row of stitches on the carriage side to have yarn in proper knitting position.
NOTES:  If a side seam in the ribbing is desired, transfer half the stitches opposite the carriage to corresponding needles on the main bed.
      Transferring stitches may be accomplished by scrapping off stitches to be moved with several rows of waste yarn and rehanging to the main bed or by using a garter bar or Decker type tool (comb). 

ANKLE:
1)   RC000, T5/6, raise ribber and set machine for circular knitting and K50R.

HEEL:
1)   Lower ribber bed one notch.  On the main bed and with main bed carriage, shortrow the heel down to 8 sts and back out til all needles are in working position.
2)   Transfer purl bumps from the main bed to the ribber bed at each side to prevent holes.

FOOT:
1)   RC000, raise ribber and return carriage and all settings to circular knitting and K88R.

TOE:
1)   Repeat shortrowing as for heel but decrease down to 6 sts instead of 8.  No need to transfer the purl bumps on each side.
2)    Cut yarn, leaving enough to graft the toe seam.
3)    Scrap off stitches on each bed with several rows of waste yarn and remove from machine.

FINISHING:
1)   Seam ribbing.
2)   Graft the toe seam.

NOTES:
1)   For a longer sock, use contrasting yarn for the heel/toes to allow for adding more rows in the ribbed cuff and/or ankle.

2)   I use a strand of Wooly Nylon run through its own tensioner in the heels and toes for added body and reinforcement for longer wear.  If not using Wooly Nylon, I reduce the tension in just the heel and toe by one full number.

3)   Be sure to swatch yarn as gauge may vary with different colorways even in the same brand.

4)   Ribber tensions usually run differently than main bed tensions, so always run a test swatch and set ribber tension to match the main bed gauge while knitting in the round.