Snowboarder Hat

(FO Monday Week 2)

• Pattern: Snowboarder Hat that Rocks, by Irishgirlieknits.
• Yarn: mystery yarn from stash.
• Needles: 1 x 80cm 6.5mm metal circular.
• Finished measurements: 21in circumference, 8.5in from mid-crown to edge excluding ear-flaps etc.
• Gauge attained: 3st and 5 rows to 4in/10cm in stockinette

Finished waaay back in January, this was an emergency replacement for the hat I lost. The pattern was easy to follow, and accurate in saying that the hat comes out quite large.  I ran out of the ‘mystery’ 3 tone red yarn, which was 3 strands plied together - one each of bright red, wine red and black. To finish the hat and make the plaits, I ended up using 3 strands of random dk together to get a similar weight yarn (1 orange, 1 wine and 1 black).

Bellatrix (FO Monday Week 1)

Here’s the thing - I have a fair number of finished items/objects sitting that I haven’t written up, photographed or posted about. I’m going to try and present one of these projects each Monday over the next few weeks - hence ‘FO Monday’. This week is for the Bellatrix socks I completed in May (I think).

• Pattern: Bellatrix, by Gigi Silva/Monkey Toes.
• Yarn: Elle Jeans dk (2 balls) cotton/acrylic dk, lavender.
• Needles: 2 x 80cm 2.5mm metal circular.
• Finished measurements: 10.25in foot length.
• Gauge attained: 8st to 4in/10cm in stockinette

Gauge challenge

The pattern specified a gauge of 8st per inch and suggests going down a needle size or so to get this if you can’t quite manage it. I’m assuming this means that the desired gauge should be achieved in the patterned stitch.
I only managed to get 8st per inch in the stockinette parts of the sock. In the drop-stitch pattern sections, the gauge turned out much looser overall, maybe about 6-7 st per inch. I was happy with the result for this pair of socks, as they’re intended for schlepping about the house or sleeping in.

For future pairs to be worn out-and-about, a sportweight (or lower yardage fingering) yarn on 2.5mm needles would (for me) probably result in the correct pattern gauge, but a finer gauge in stockinette. So, would need to add a couple of stitches to the base of the sock to balance things.

Other Modifications

I worked the socks toe-up, two at a time, with a modified ’square’ heel. I used Judy’s magic cast-on, and a sewn bind-off. 1 ball of yarn lasted until the heel was ‘turned’ on both socks. The second ball was used for the heel flap and leg of each sock. Only 3 feet of yarn was left after I finished the sewn bind-off.

Working both socks at once is the only way I actually finish a pair, expecially working at finer gauges. I’ve had a pair of 10/11 st per inch spiral boot socks languishing at part-way up the 2nd sock for months!

Currently on the needles

Toe-up pomatomus - arch increases, gusset and heel completed. Working on the leg slooowly over a 16 st repeat (96 st total).

Toe-up spiral boot socks - 1st sock complete, 2nd sock half way up the foot before the gusset increases.

‘Ziggy-back’ (New) - started off as the ‘Ziggy’ pattern from Knitty using the kureyon sock yarn from my sp. Has changed into an experiment inspired by the ‘Back to basics’ pattern in Knitty.

Kaylee Anklets

My first attempt at tabi socks, albeit accidentally! The anklets are pretty sturdy, so they’ll stand up well to the abuse they’ll get from me walking around outside in them with no shoes.

• Pattern: Kaylee, by Gigi Silva/Monkey Toes.
• Yarn: about 50g (1/2 ball) generic acrylic dk, blues/greens.
• Needles: 2 x 80cm 2.5mm metal circular.
• Finished measurements: 10.25in foot length.
• Gauge: 7.5 to 8st to 4in/10cm in stockinette.

The socks started out as normal toe-up socks.  In order to stick to the specified st count I used dk yarn on 2.5mm needles. I started with a normal wedge toe, 2 at a time; when I’d finished the foot, I realised I’d goofed and made ‘em at least an inch too short. aargh!

Cue an experiment: I finished the ankles shorter than planned with 10 rounds stockinette to produce a rolled cuff. Went back to the toes and unravelled em to a couple of rows before the main pattern started. I added the extra length in stockinette - was not going to figure out how to do the st pattern upside down! Once I was reasonably certain they were long enough, I started the pre-shaping for tabi socks (guesswork). Then, I put the big toe stitches onto waste yarn, worked the four-toe section as an asymmetric wedge toe, then worked the big toes.

To cap it all, I had a complete brain-fuzz moment and forgot how to kitchener. I looked up the info for knit grafting in the ‘knitters handbook’, followed montse stanley’s instructions and ended up with a perl graft instead. I did look at the right section too.

Next time:

• I’ll check the length of the foot more often and my gauge before doing the heel!
• Will also write out the toe shaping, so it can be repeated.
• Will add stitches into the pattern so that it isn’t pulled so tight horizontally.

Tallinn Scarf

• Pattern: Tallinn Scarf, by Ziina plus my mistakes/alterations - see below.
• Yarn: 200g (1 ball) Marble chunky by James C Brett, shade MC8 lot 790.
• Needles: 1 x 80cm 6.5mm metal circular.
• Finished measurements: 159cm length, 44cm width (widest point just before split).
• Gauge attained: 13st and 14 rows to 4in/10cm in pattern

This was a fun project and quick to make up. I’ll freely admit that I messed up somewhere along the line. This is what I did or if you want to hop straight to what I think of the yarn I used, go for it

What I did for the scarf

I would stress - use Ziina’s pattern, not my meanderings. Her version will work. I just jumped in with both feet (well, needles anyway) and this is just me trying to figure out everywhere where I goofed.

1. I cast on 3 st and knit a row as per the original pattern, but placing a st marker immediately before and after the centre st.
2. I then followed this repeat which incorporates the increases and pattern instructions, until the scarf measured roughly 41cm wide (55 st). The scarf later turned out to be nearer 44cm wide, but hey - this is a stretchy pattern! The other thing is, I think that there should have been 3 increase rows per pattern repeat, but I only included two. oops.

   row 1: K to 1st st marker, sm, m1 (twisted as per pattern), k1, m1, sm, k to end.
   row 2: k
   row 3 + 4: rep rows 1 and 2 again.
   row 5 (yo row): (k, yo twice) to last st, k1.
   row 6: knit knitted st from previous row, dropping yo as you go.

3. Next came splitting the scarf into two legs, so I knitted to 1st st marker, remove marker, bind off centre st, remove 2nd st marker, k to end. Slip 1st half of stitches before bound off centre st to waste yarn.
4. Straight section (first leg):
   *Completing 1st straight pattern repeat: Working on remaining half of st only, knit another 3 rows, followed by yo row, finishing with another knit row.
   Rest of straight section: I repeated the following another 19 times - knit 4 rows, yo row, knit another row.
5. Decreases (first leg): Ziina’s pattern calls for a double decrease in the centre of a row, which only works if there’s a central stitch. Luckily, I had 27 stitches on each leg. If I hadn’t, I’d have worked the 1st decrease row as ‘k to centre 2 stitches, k2tog, k to end’ - basically as per “1. decrease:” from the pattern.
   As it was, I went straight into the double decreases, and because I didn’t have a lot of yarn left, I incorporated 3 decreases into each pattern repeat. It took 3 pattern repeats to decrease to 9 st. This produced quite a sharp angle, so maybe there should have only been two decrease rows per repeat. Some of the decreases ended up on the yo rows, which isn’t what the pattern called for. I can see why - you end up with long ‘floats’ depending on how the scarf stretches, which don’t look so great.
6. I then departed from the pattern even more - I knit 4 rows, a yo row, 2 more decrease rows, another knit row, and a final two decrease rows. These rows gave me a slightly sharper point
7. For the second leg, I slipped the stitches from the waste yarn back onto the needles and repeated from (4)*.  There was only 4m of yarn left after I finished.  It would have been perfectly possible to work both legs of the scarf at the same time, using both ends of the ball of yarn. In fact I did try, but I got in such a tangle that I reverted to working one at a time.

Once I’d woven in the ends, I stretched the yarnovers into place by pulling the scarf taut. I couldn’t block it because the yarn was acrylic.

What I think of the yarn

The yarn was actually a pleasant surprise. I bought it because of the vibrant colours. I walked away from the stand several times, but kept finding myself going back. In the end, I gave in and ended up with 2 balls. One went to a friend for christmas, and the other became this scarf.

Ok, James C Brett Marble Chunky is acrylic, but it is soft, springy and very touchable - none of that horrid synthetic feel I normally associate with cheap stuff. The price was good too, at £2.99 to £3.50 a ball, and the colour stripes are fairly long, so it could be used in a lizard ridge blanket square or for the hat… I know, I know - suggesting something other than Noro for lizard ridge is heresy to some folk. I certainly think of Noro yarns before any other when considering a new project. But seriously, give this yarn go.

Facecloth II

• Pattern: ‘Laura’ doily, designer verlag otto beyer, plus my alterations - see below.
• Yarn: Jaeger Aqua cotton dk, shae 304 lot 2915079.
• Needles: 1 x 40cm 4mm metal circular.
• Finished measurements: 14in diameter.

I seem to be getting interested in all things circular… No sooner had I finished the last facecloth, than I found this pattern and started thinking ‘what if’ again. After just under 2 evenings, the finished article was pinned out to within an inch of its life.

The original pattern was fairly easy to follow, even though it is slightly more complex than the last one. It called for a crochet edging, which I ignored. I wanted to try for a knitted eyelet-ish edge. Almost got it right I also added a hanging loop, with the thought that the item would be a facecloth.

Then I realised that the two cloths had turned out the same diameter, so now I’m thinking about bag panels or cushion covers. Who knows?

Facecloth

• Pattern: ‘Doily style dishcloth’, designer unknown, plus my alterations - see below.
• Yarn: Jaeger Aqua cotton dk, shae 304 lot 2915079.
• Needles: 1 x 40cm 4mm metal circular.
• Finished measurements: 14in diameter.

The ‘nesting’ instinct has taken over. I know I’m going to have to move soon, whether it’s to my new house (if everything goes ok) or to a temporary place. Part of me wants to make stuff just for the new place, which I can pack up with the rest of the things going in boxes. And actually packing some boxes might be a good plan - I kinda stopped when the buying process seemed to have stalled…

Anyway, I convinced myself not to make curtains, ‘cos I don’t know the ‘drop’ measurements. That left me with a pattern I’ve been eyeing up for a while - a doily style dishcloth. I liked the simplicity of the pattern.

I tinkered with the instructions, once I was part way through. I thought it was going to end up too small, so I added 2 rounds to each of the 2 main pattern sections, and about 8 rounds of netting after the main pattern ended and before the purl round. Finally, I added a crochet hanging loop. Blocked, it’s 14 inches across, but when it’s been through the wash it’s a perfect size for a facecloth.

Toe-up Toe socks

• Pattern: ‘Lilly-Mint’ - mine. There are a few issues with the pattern, so won’t be writing it up this time round.
• Yarn: Patons 4ply cotton, colour = jade.
• Needles: 2 x 40cm (for the toes) and 2 x 80cm 2.25mm bamboo circulars.
• Finished measurements: fits a female US size 9w, UK 7/8, eu 41.

Another first - toe-up toe socks And a pair of very happy feet inside ‘em!

The concept was to make a pair of toe socks where the toes weren’t too tight, and were long enough. I also wanted ‘fish-net’ socks like those I found a while back, but with the net just on the top of the foot and cuff. Just as a final twist, I wanted to mirror the direction the net ’spiralled’ on each sock, and create an assymetrical transition between the stockinette and fishnet.

I was pleased when I tried them on. The toes fit comfortably without being too loose; they also fit lengthwise, with the exception of the piggy toe (a bit long). Just off the needles, the socks were slightly too long overall, with the main part of the foot and cuff being too wide as well. I remedied this by throwing em in the washing machine at 95º C, followed by 40 mins in the dryer on high. They shrank by about an inch in length - more than I’d hoped for. Luckily, the fibres relaxed in wearing, so the socks now fit comfortably lengthwise, but they’re still too wide around the cuff. Moral of the story - cotton ribbing and net doesn’t spring back into shape.

The assymetrical shaping between the stockinette and fishnet worked quite well, although I’ve now thought of a better way of doing it that may produce a better point. I tried to mirror the direction of the spiral in the netting, but ended up with two different nets that both look straightish on the top of the foot and spiral anti-clockwise in the cuff - oops! Need to work on that a bit more.

So, for next time - swatch the netting til I find two mirror images, try alternate shaping, make the piggy toe shorter and maybe a couple of stitches narrower, work the heel over more stitches, use slightly fewer stitches for the top of the foot and the cuff (stretch the net a bit more) , and carry shirring elastic on the wrong side when working the cuff.

That sounds like a lot of changes… Hey, I still like em! They were an experiment, and I think I may be hooked on knitting toe socks now

The final triumph is the short row heels. Look ma, no holes!

Return to Lizard Ridge

The weekend was fun, and my friend loved her birthday present - a lizard ridge hat I’d made earlier this year. She has to travel to Edinburgh everyday for work, and it’s going to come in handy when she’s waiting on chilly Scottish train station platforms. She and a friend tried it on for the camera

When I got back, I cast on and finished another one - this time the one I’d been planning for my friends kid. It’s very pink!

• Pattern: ‘Lizard Ridge Hat‘ - mine. I’ve updated it to include where I switched to work from the opposite end of the ball of Noro.
• Yarn: MC - Noro Kureyon, shade 102 lot X, 50 grams (1 skein)
  CC - Debbie Bliss cashmerino astrakhan, shade 31013 lot 56 (purple), less than 50grams, knits to the same gauge as the kureyon.
• Needles: one 40cm 4mm bamboo circular.
• Finished measurements: 19-20″/ 48-51cm circumference, fitting up to 21-22″ head.

The boucle (ahem, astrakhan) yarn that I used as the contrast worked well. It’s turned into a lovely soft ‘fluffy’ fabric. It produced an interesting dimple effect on the crown, when the hat’s ‘worn tall’. However, I think I’ll wait a while before using that type of yarn again - it was a real **** to work with!

While I was knitting the pink lizard ridge hat, my thoughts turned to knitting socks, as they seem to do rather a lot at the moment. Now there’s a little voice in the back of my head whispering ‘lizard ridge socks… you know you want to!”