Snowflake Mitts

Pattern Info

Yarn Weight: Bulky (5)

Recommended Yarn: Lang Snowflake (50g=125yds)

Yardage: 105yds/96m (125yds/114m)

Needles: US size 7 (4.5mm) dpn’s

Gauge in st st: 8sts/13r=2in/5cm

Sizes: Adult sizes small (medium/large): Small finished measurements are wrist circumference: 5.7in/14.5cm, hand circumference 7in/18cm. Medium/Large finished measurements are wrist circumference 7.4in/18.75cm, hand circumference 8.4in/21.25cm

Other Materials: stitch markers (2), waste yarn or stitch holder, tapestry needle (to weave in ends)

Term and Stitch Guide

CO: Cast on
Sts: stitches
St st: Stockinette stitch
Dpn: double pointed needles Rnd: round
Rnds: rounds
K: knit
P: purl
M1: make 1
Pm: place stitch marker
Sm: slip stitch marker

Instructions

STEP 1: CO 24 (32) sts using stretchy CO, and join in rnd.

STEP 2: PM and work k2 p2 rib for 15 rnds.

STEP 3: Work one increase round.
FOR SIZE SMALL
increase round: *k4, m1. Repeat from * (=30sts)

FOR SIZE MEDIUM/LARGE
increase round: *k8, m1. Repeat from * (=36sts)

STEP 4: Work as following to begin increases for thumb gusset

Rnd1: k1, m1, k1, pm, knit to end of rnd. (Note: The marker for the beginning of the round is also the marker for the start of the thumb gusset.)
Rnd2: knit
Rnd3: (k1, m1) twice, k1, sm, knit to end of rnd.
Rnd4: knit
Rnd5: k1, m1, knit to 1 stitch before next marker, m1, k1, sm, knit to end of rnd.

STEP 5: Repeat rnds 4 and 5, until you reach the end of rnd 16 (18). You should have 11(13) sts in between the start of the rnd and the stitch marker.

STEP 6: Place the 11(13) sts between beginning of rnd and stitch marker on a stitch holder or waste yarn. Join in round with the next sts, and knit to end of rnd.

STEP 7: Knit next 10 (12) rnds

STEP 8:
FOR SIZE SMALL:
Work k2 p2 rib for 12 rnds and then bind off on rnd 13.

FOR SIZE MEDIUM/LARGE:
Work 1 adjustment round: (K15, k2tog) twice.
Then work k2 p2 rib for 14 rnds. Bind off on rnd 15.

STEP 9: Cut yarn leaving a few inches to weave in later

STEP 10: Place thumb stitches from waste yarn/stitch holder onto dpns. Rejoin yarn and knit one row, then pick up and knit 3 sts from the side of the mitt in-between the end of the row and start of the row. (=14sts(16sts))

STEP 11: Join in round and knit 6 (8) rnds.

STEP 12: Work k1 p1 rib for 5 rnds then bind off.

STEP 13: Weave in any yarn ends using a tapestry needle.

STEP 14: Repeat steps 1-13 for the second mitt. The mitts can be worn with the top ribbing folded down, or unfolded for when it gets chilly.

Eve Hat

Eve Hat

Pattern Info
Gauge in Twist Pattern: 12sts/18 rows = 4inch (10cm)
Needles: US size 11 (8mm) dpn’s or circular needles
Yarn Weight: Chunky
Yardage: 120 Yards + Yarn for pompom
Sizes: Kids (18 in), Small/Medium (20 in), Large (22 in)

Stitch and Term Guide:
RT: Insert the right needle into the front loop of the second stitch on the left needle. Wrap yarn knitwise and pull it through; do not slip the stitch off the needle. Knit the skipped stitch through the front loop and slip both stitches from the left needle.
K: Knit
P: Purl
K2tog: knit 2 together

Instructions:

1. Cast on (Kids 54, Small/Medium 60, Large 66).
2. Join in round and work P1 K1 rib for (Kids/Small/Med 8, Large 10) rounds.
3. Begin Twist Pattern and work until you have knit (kids 18, Small/Med 20, Large 24) rounds in the pattern.
4. Begin decreases.
5. Finish decreases and pull yarn through remaining loops. Weave in ends. Make and attach
   pompom.

Twist Pattern:
R1: *RT. Repeat from *
R2: Knit

Decreases
R1: *K2tog, RT, RT. Repeat from * (= 45, 50, 55 )
R2: Knit.
R3: *K2tog, k1, RT. Repeat from * (=36, 40, 44)
R4: Knit.
R5: *K2tog, RT. Repeat from * (=27, 30, 33)
R6: Knit.
R7: *K2tog, k1. Repeat from * (=18, 20, 22)
R8: *K2tog. Repeat from * (=9, 10, 11)

Using Stretch Gauge for Perfect Fit

The stretch gauge is something I started using years ago to make my knitted hats. It’s something I came up with to make better fitting hats. I’ve never read about it or heard of anyone else doing it.

I’m going to jump right into the heart of the matter, and answer the question:

What is a stretch gauge?

A stretch gauge is when you take a normal gauge swatch, and stretch it out, either to maximum stretch capacity, or to the elasticity that you would like the finished knitted piece to be when it is worn, and then take a gauge measurement from the stretched out swatch.

Normal Gauge Swatch

Normal Gauge is 9.5sts =10cm/4in

Take the gauge swatch and stretch it out to get the stretch gauge

Stretch gauge is 8.5sts=10cm/4in

Be careful not to stretch it too far like in this photo

How do you get the final measurement from the stretch gauge?

This takes some math. For example I started to make a cabled hat the other day.
The gauge in stockinette stitch was: 18sts=4in(10cm) and once I took the same swatch and stretched it out the stretch gauge was: 11sts=4in(10cm)
My head is about 21.8in(55.5cm) around.
So I need to do the following calculation. How many sts do I need in the stretch gauge to get 21.8in(55.5cm)
To find this, I take the stretch gauge and figure out how many stitches per inch, and then multiply that by the number of inches it is around my head.
So (11sts/4in)x21.8in= 59.95sts
For the best fit with my stretch gauge, I should cast on about 60 sts for the brim. In general I will usually cast on for a little bit looser fit than my stretch gauge, but never tighter. To calculate it so that it works with the cable pattern, I need to cast on 64 sts. This is close enough that it won’t make a big difference in final fit.

To compare, if I were to do a negative ease calculation I might do 2 inches of negative ease with my normal gauge. (18sts/4in)x20in= 90sts for the cast on. This is how most designers calculate for size. As you can see there is a huge difference in the number of stitches compared to the stretch gauge calculation. The final hat for the calculation will be much looser, and it might fit some people well, but I know from my stretch gauge that I personally want it to be the tension that I stretched it out to.

But why do a stretch gauge? Is it necessary? Won’t it be too tight? And can’t you just use negative ease?

There are a few really good reasons to do a stretch gauge and it gives you a lot more control over the fit of the finished piece than negative ease. I’ll break down some of the reasons.

1. Fitting curly/kinky/thick haired heads.

My dad is from North Africa, and the most obvious trait I’ve inherited from him is his thick curly hair. It is voluminous and wild on good days. When I first started knitting, the hats I made from other designers would comically stretched out as soon as I put them on. The mushroom head look is not a flattering one, and it doesn’t keep your head all that warm. It was disappointing and disheartening, especially since I was new to knitting, and the hats took me so much time to make.

It is an unfortunate reality that I and all the other people with thick curly hair, or afros, or dreads, can’t easily find hat patterns to fit us well. Most hats are designed by people with straight or non-thick hair and made to fit people with similar hair.

Using the stretch gauge is one way to make a hat to fit someone with very thick curly or kinky hair since you can calculate and make a hat with just enough tension to fit your head and pull in all your hair. There are a couple points to doing this well. First you need a thick enough yarn, anything worsted or up should work. Then you need to size down needles to reduce elasticity. If the knitted work is too elastic then it will stretch out when it is worn, and you’ll look like you have a mushroom head. So for a bulky yarn, you might use US size 6 needles, or for worsted weight US size 3 needles. Then you knit a gauge swatch, and when you stretch it to take the stretch gauge, you are going to want to stretch it to maximum capacity for a fro-tamer hat, or to the point that you feel it’s tight enough to fit the head and smush the thick hair in. Once you have the stretch gauge, you calculate it to the persons head circumference (no ease calculation) and that should be the number of stitches that you cast on for the brim. Keep in mind that the stretch gauge is only used for the brim. Then an increase round is worked before continuing to the body of the hat.

Hat made using negative ease techniques- You can see it’s stretched out by the curly hair and doesn’t fit to the head.

Hat made using stretch gauge – fits closely to the head and pulls in the thick curls

2. Control over final fit

Even if you don’t have thick hair, when you measure the stretch gauge, you control exactly how much the knitted swatch is stretched. This means you can hold it in your hands and pull it out, and think. How will this feel against my skin at this point? Is this a good elasticity for a hat at this stretch point? If I try pulling it out further will it be too stretched out? Do I want it this tighter or less tight? At what point do I think the yarn looks and feels the best?
And then you can pinpoint exactly how stretched out you want the final hat or sock or whatever to be when you are wearing it. This is much more accurate than simply using negative ease, since there is a lot of difference in how the same negative ease feels with bulky yarn or fingering yarn, or even if you change the material the yarn is made from or how tightly or loosely you knit. This is a method for measuring size that gets rid of all those variables and simplifies it all down to looking and feeling and deciding from there. It’s a much more tactile and intuitive way of deciding the finished measurements.

3. Knitting with non-wool yarns (Alpaca, cotton, linen, acrylic etc)

Wool is elastic. It can stretch out over time when you wear it, but once you get it wet it bounces back to it’s original shape. However most non-wool yarns are not elastic, and once they stretch out, they are stretched out for good. This means if you make a hat using alpaca or cotton, then it might stretch out and become too loose to wear, and there won’t be any simple way to redeem it. However if you use a stretch gauge, you can stretch it out to it’s maximum stretch and calculate the size it needs to be. In short you are calculating and making something with the plan for it to stretch out to a better fit over time. This means that it might be a little tight at first, but as you wear it, it will stretch out to a comfortable fit.

So even if most hats you’ve made fit fine, and you don’t think that stretch gauge is something you need to use, it comes in useful when you are making a hat for someone with wool allergies or a cotton hat for a friend who wears hats all year round (We all know that one person…).

How To Make and Knit Thrums

Thrums are little bits of wool made from wool roving that you add to your knitted work to create a fleece lining.

How to Make Thrums

How to Knit Thrums

Combining Cables and Stranded Knitting AKA Strabling

When I first started knitting I became curious about whether there was a way to combine cabling and stranded knitting, and what that would look like.

So back in 2011 I turned to google and tried to find combinations of cabling and fair isle, or cabling and intarsia or cabling and any color techniques in general. I looked and looked. Almost nothing came up, and what did come up didn’t interest me.There were cabled patterns where one cable was a different color, and the rest of the work was another like in the photo below. Or two-colored cables.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/colorful-cable-hat

However I was interested in the combination of color and cables together to create new textures and patterns that didn’t really look like cables and didn’t really look like stranded knitting. I was convinced that by combining them, it would be possible to make something that looked totally new and different.

I eventually stumbled upon a photo of a hat that was somewhat similar to what I wanted. I looked at it and looked at it, and thought a little bit, and then wrote a pattern for a hat.

This was my bulls eye beanie pattern, or my first strabled hat pattern. (Stranded cables = strables)

The Bulls Eye Beanie https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bulls-eye-beanie

Once I had made that, I wrote the pattern for my squiggle hat, which you can find here, if you are interested in seeing how exactly the stranded knitting works along with the cables.

The Squiggle Hat https://knittoblog.wordpress.com/2016/03/07/www-squiggle-hat-pattern/

And I also came up with a theoretical 2-colored honeycomb strabled pattern, which became the Williston hat, published by Juniper Moon Farms.

The Williston Hat

Since I wrote those patterns, there has been more activity online in the world of knitting. There are many more wonderful designers online, and a lot of really cool unique designs. And there are definitely other designers who have done it since. Here are some examples.

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/asti-spumante-hat

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/entwood

However this technique has yet to gain much momentum. It’s so neglected that it has yet to have an official name. I’ve decided to call it strabling for now. And if anyone knows any more cool examples of strabled patterns, leave a comment! I would love to see them.

Sand Cabled Headband

Pattern Info

Yarn Weight: Medium/Worsted

Yardage: 50-80yards

Needles: US size 8

Other materials: waste yarn, tapestry needle,crochet hook.

Stitch Guide

BC: Slip 3 sts to a cn, hold to the back, k3, k3 from cn.

FC: slip 3 sts to a cn, hold to the front, p3, p3 from cn.

S1: slip 1

 

Instructions

Step 1

Cast on 24 stitches to US size 8 knitting needles using a provisional crochet cast on.

Step 2

Work the Sand Cable Pattern 10 times.

Step 3

Undo the provisional crochet cast on, and place the stitches on a knitting needle. Hold the knitting needles together with the purl sides facing each other and seam together using the Kitchener stitch.

Step 4

Weave in loose yarn ends.

 

Sand Cable Pattern

r1:s1, k23

r2:s1, p23

r3:*BC, k6. repeat from *

r4:s1, p23

r5:s1, k23

r6:s1, p23

r7:s1, k23

r8:*FC, p6. repeat from *

r9:s1, k23

r10:s1, p23

 

Tutorials for provisional crochet cast on, and the Kitchener stitch:

http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/provisional-crochet-cast-on

http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/kitchener-stitch

 

Squiggle Hat Pattern

Pattern Info

Yarn weight: Worsted

Needles: US size 4 dpns or circular needles, and US size 9 dpn or circular needles.

 

Instructions

*Please read all instructions before beginning pattern*

Step 1

Cast on 96 stitches in color 1 to size 4 dpn’s and join in round.

Step 2

Work k2 p2 rib for until piece measures about 2 inches, or desired length of brim.

Step 3

Work one increase round

Increase round:  *k2, m1, p2, m1. Repeat from * (Increases to 144).

Step 4

Switch to size 9 needles and begin pattern. (You can read the instructions for the written version below, or scroll down further and there’s a charted pattern).

Step 5

Start the decrease rounds on row 11 of the third repeat of the pattern.

Step 6

After decreasing pull remaining yarn through loops, and weave in ends.

Step 7

Make a pompom and attach. For how to make a pompom just check out some online tutorials.

 

Pattern Key

m1 – make one.

k2tog – k2tog

ssk – slip slip knit

s1 – slip 1

psso – pass slipped stitch over

b=black/color 1

r=red/ color 2

w=white/color 3

p= purple/color 4

bc – slip 1 stitch to dpn and hold to back, knit next stitch, knit stitch from dpn.

fc – slip 1 stitch to dpn and hold to front, knit next stitch, knit stitch from dpn.

*when doing bc fc rows (rows 3, 6, 9, and 12), continue to knit the stitches in the same color that they already are.*

**The letters following the k1 and k2 instructions in the pattern represent the color that the stitch should be knit in. For example  “k1r” means “knit 1 red stitch”; “k2b” means “Knit 2 black stitches”; and “k2togR” means “Knit 2 together in red.” **

Pattern

r1:k1b, k2r, k1b

r2:k1w, k2r, k1w

r3:bc fc

r4:k1r, k2w, k1r

r5:k1p, k2w, k1p

r6:bc fc

r7:k1w, k2p, k1w

r8:k1b, k2p, k1b

r9:bc fc

r10:k1p, k2b, k1p

r11:k1r, k2b, kr

r12:bc fc

Decrease (starting on r11 of pattern)

r1:k1r, k2b, k2togr,slip just knitted stitch back to left needle and pass the next stitch (black)

over it, then slip it back to the right needle. sl1 k2tog psso, k2b, k1r. (k1r k2b k1r) 3 times. Repeat.

r2:bc fc

r3:k1b k2r k1b

r4:(k1w, k2r, k1w) twice, k1w, k2r, k2togw,slip just knitted stitch back to left needle and pass the next stitch (red) over it, then slip it back to the right needle. sl1 k2tog psso.k2r k1w. repeat.

r5: bc fc

r6: k1r k2w k1r

r7: k1p k2w k2togp slip just knitted stitch back to left needle and pass the next stitch (white) over it, then slip it back to the right needle, s1 k2tog psso, k2w, k2p k2w, k1p. repeat.

r8: bc fc

r9: k1w k2p k1w

r10: k1r k2p k2togr, slip just knitted stitch back to left needle and pass the next stitch (red) over it, then slip it back to the right needle, s1 k2tog psso,k2p, k1r. repeat.

r11:bc fc

r12: k1p k2r k1p

r13:s1. * k2r k2togw. Repeat from *  For last stitch slip 1 stitch from the next row and k2tog.

r14: k2r, bc fc

r15:s1 k2tog psso, k2w, k1r

r16: k2tog ssk

r17:k2tog

Charts

Pattern Chart

Decrease Chart

 

 

 

Gothic Arch Beret

 

Gothic Arch Beret Pattern

Yarn Weight – Bulky

Needles- US size 4 (for ribbing) DPN’s and US size 5 dpns or circular (for body of the hat).

Step 1) Cast On 88 to size 4 knitting needles.

Step 2) Join in round and work p2 k2 ribbing for length 1.5 inches (4 cm).

Step 3) Do one increase round and switch to size 5 needles. *p2, m1, k2, m1. repeat from *. (Increases to 132)

Step 4) Begin knitting pattern.

Step 5) After the body of the hat (not including the rib section) reaches approximately 5-6 inches begin row 1 of the decrease on the 8th row of the pattern.

Step 6) After you finish decreasing, pull yarn tail through remaining loops and weave in yarn ends. Hat brim might be snug at first but will loosen after wear.

Gothic Arch Pattern (Knitting Pattern)

r1: *p2, yo, ssk, k5, k2tog, yo. repeat from *

r2: knit the knit stitches; purl the purl stitches and knit the yarn-over loops

r3: *p2, k1, yo, ssk, k3, k2 tog, yo, k1. repeat from *    

r4: knit the knit stitches; purl the purl stitches and knit the yarn-over loops

r5: *p2, k2, yo, ssk, k1, k2tog, yo, k2 . repeat from *

r6:knit the knit stitches; purl the purl stitches and knit the yarn-over loops

r7: *p2, k3, yo, k3-tog, yo, k3. repeat from *

r8:knit the knit stitches; purl the purl stitches and knit the yarn-over loops

r9: *p2, ssk, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, k2-tog. repeat from *

r10: knit the knit stitches; purl the purl stitches and knit the yarn-over loops

r11: *p2, ssk, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, k2 tog. repeat from *

r12: knit the knit stitches; purl the purl stitches and knit the yarn-over loops

Decrease

r1: *purl 2 tog, k9. repeat from *  (decrease 1 over 11= 120)

r2: *p1, ssk, k2, yo, k1, yo, k2, k2-tog. repeat from * (no decrease)

r3:*p1, ssk, k5, k2tog. repeat from *  (decrease 2 over 10= 96)

r4:*p1, ssk, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, k2-tog. repeat from *    (no decrease)

r5:*p1, ssk, k3, k2tog . repeat from * (decrease 2 over 8 =72)

r6 :*p1, k5. repeat from *  (no decrease)

r7 : *p1, ssk, k1, k2 tog. repeat from * (decrease 2 over 6= 48)

r8: *p1, k3 . repeat from *  (no decrease)

r9: *p1 k3 tog. repeat from *   (decrease 2 over 4= 24)

r10: *k1, k2 tog. repeat from * (decrease 1 over 3 = 16)

r11: *k2 tog. repeat from * (decrease 1 over 2 = 8)