Lavori 07/30 progress report and a Brioche circular-knit cowl pattern (Brioche all the things!)

No photos, but I've finished round 52 of Lavori 07/30.  That's almost a quarter of the rounds, but, sigh, barely 5% of the doily. (1/4 of the rounds is 1/16 of the area.)  The first sections of hex mesh are closing up and the first set of leaves are growing.  There won't be any yarnovers at all from round 54 through round 70, though after that, I believe there will be yarnovers in all of the rest of the rounds.

With the hex mesh area closing up quickly, and the leaves growing quickly, the lace fabric is bending and distorting.  What fun!  It won't be fully visible until blocking.

These leaves are growing by making increases along the center line -- m1, k1, m1.  The chart uses the V symbol to indicate the increase where one picks up the running thread between two stitches and knits into the back of it.  I'm making these symmetric -- m1L, k1, m1R.  Will it matter?  I don't know.  At some point, after the leaves have reached their final width and the increases are finished, the center line will be denoted by 2 crossed stitches.

The edges of the leaves are outlined in twisted stitches.  I am not twisting them on the intermediate rounds.  They seem to be there to indicate a separation between each leaf, in this area where the leaves abut each other.  I decided to leave this as a fairly soft separation by only twisting on the pattern rounds.  Was that the right choice?  I don't know.  Later, at the base of the flower, there is a big block of twisted knits.  I will probably twist those to create a stronger rib-like line.

As the area of hex mesh shrinks, I'm using directional double-decreases -- the indicated SK2P for a left-leaning decrease and K3T for a right-leaning decrease.

Even without yarnovers for the next dozen or so rounds, I'll be kept busy with more make-1 increases, twisted knits, crossed stitches, and a big decrease (K5T) when the hex mesh area finally closes up for good.  When the yarnovers start up again, it'll be time to watch for pattern repeats that begin and end with yarnovers, which will happen off and on until round 200 or so

There are more stitches than strictly necessary, but it's not too ridiculous yet.  I suppose the extra stitches are needed in order to give the lace fabric enough stitches to be able to stretch and compress around the stacked increases and decreases.

I'm on my second partial ball of vintage Big Ball #30.  Hopefully they'll all be similar enough to look reasonable in one project, and hopefully I have enough to complete the project.  I will no doubt keep saying that until the doily is finished and blocked.

I think that's all I wanted to write down.  The knitting is not going particularly quickly, probably because there aren't long stretches of plain stockinette.  I keep messing up parts of the pattern repeats, but so far, I've noticed and fixed them pretty quickly.  There's one spot that I think is still there that is too much of a pain to completely fix, but it won't be noticeable as long as I don't mess up the rest of that motif. 

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Brioche all the things!

That was my knitting group's unofficial motto for a while.  My friends were all doing brioche and I was inspired to join in on the fun.  Not only do I easily succumb to temptation, I knew that brioche can break up the weird striping, stacking, and pooling that can happen with variegated yarns.  Sometimes that's what one wants, but other times, it's not.  I had some small batches of variegated yarn that weren't quite fitting with any of my ideas and I wanted them out of my stash.  So, I knit a brioche scarf and then a few circular-knit cowls.  Then I dithered about what to do next and got distracted by something else.  Luckily for me, I wrote down how I did the cowls.

Brioche knitted cowl

Cast on a likely number of stitches.  Cast on loosely since the brioche is going to be very stretchy!  For the cowl in the photo, I think it was 74 stitches because I used a long-tail cast-on and that's how many stitches I got before the yarn tail ran out.

Set-up rnd: k1, sl1yo

Rnd 1: sl1yo, brp

Rnd 2: brk, sl1yo

Notice the 2 yos that occur next to each other at the end of rnd 2 and the beginning of rnd 1.

sl1yo = slip1 as if to purl, yarnover (can be done as a single maneuver)

brp = purl the slipped stitch from the previous round together with its yarnover.

brk = knit the slipped stitch from the previous round together with its yarnover.

When ready to cast-off:

Final round: k1, p1 (doing the brp or brk as necessary)

Then cast off in pattern.  Again, keep the cast-off very loose to match the elasticity of the brioche.

Hmm, maybe I should go fishing in the stash for suitable yarn and make a few more brioche things, whether cowls or scarves or something else entirely.  I still have some fun variegated yarn that I haven't quite figured out what to do with.  Brioche is a possible answer.

Giant wool/mohair frisbee (aka unfelted cat bed) is accepted by the local felines

I finished the cat bed I'd been working on for the past few weeks.  I put it down for a minute and a cat immediately crawled in.   She's all curled up and still sleeping in it.  I guess I'll felt it at some point...

What I did is barely a pattern.  It is based on a lot of free cat bed patterns I found on Ravelry.  I took the basic concepts and ideas and made it work for my yarn with little or no planning involved.

Improv Cat Bed:

Cast on 8 stitches.  Knit 1 round.  Next round:  *K1, m1 (the backwards loop increase), place marker* .  Next: k 1 round.  Next:  *k to marker, m1, slip marker*.  Etc.  Repeat these last two rounds (i.e., increasing 8 stitches every other round) until the bottom is big enough.  Well, for me, it was until I used half my yarn, and I had 25 stitches between markers (200 rounds total), not that it matters.  Then I knit without any more increasing, to make the wall.  When I had about one-quarter of the yarn left, I switched to k2p2 because I was tired of the rolling stockinette.  When I was almost out of yarn, I cast off in knit.

It used almost all of 4 skeins of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride Worsted (85% wool, 15% mohair, single ply).  I used it 2-stranded with the largest needle size I had that came in a long length.  So I guess I knit roughly 375-380 yards (760 yds total).  The yarn is variegated in shades of brown.  It's also some kind of seconds yarn, so there are a few knots and a few less than perfect spots.  For a cat bed, it won't matter at all.

I plan to felt it once I get a chance.  No rush, apparently.  The cats seem content with it as is.

I like how the yarn works up two-stranded.  I wonder if I have enough to make something for me?  A vest, perhaps?  Dunno if there would be enough for sleeves.  This is from a friend's destash -- several colors of Brown Sheep Lamb's Pride, but only 2-4 skeins of each color.  I've used a fair amount of the yarn already but there's still some left.  Heck, maybe it'll mostly get turned into cat beds.

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I think I've decided on my next doily.  It is an FdA pattern and has every indication of being a Herbert Niebling design.  It uses motifs that are used in some of his other patterns and has that very characteristic thing of rounds beginning and ending with yarnovers.  It's a bit more than 100 rounds.

I'm also thinking about doing one of the doilies from Lavori 7 if I have enough thread in the stash.  I could always order more, of course.  Or do Gloxiniaeflora and then the Lavori 7 doily.  I'm pretty sure the Lavori 7 doilies I'm considering are Niebling designs -- they have things like familiar-looking flower motifs and lots of big decreases and crossed stitches and hex mesh, and charts with pattern motifs that start and end with yarnovers.

I do seem to have a thing for Niebling's designs.  Not on purpose -- I'm not a snob.  But there's something about the way he designs and the fun of knitting his patterns that I enjoy.  Not all of his patterns, though.  Some are annoying or entirely too weird.  I do enjoy other designers' patterns, too!  Many talented people have come up with gorgeous and fun designs.

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I also need to start a few more knitting projects.  I have a couple of shawls started.  One is a potential travel knitting project -- one of those sideways-knit asymmetric triangles.  I'm doing it out of one of those long-variegation sock yarns.  It's mostly garter stitch with faggoting/lace stripes every now and then, quite similar to shawls I've done in the past.

The other is a lace design by Sharon Miller.  I have to remember what the chart quirk was since I don't seem to have written it down.  I'll probably remember the next time I pick it up.  But will I remember to write it down this time?  Who knows?  In any case, although it is pretty straightforward, it won't lend itself to travel knitting.

Both of the above have been sitting for a while.  So it's possible one or both will be unraveled and I'll try something else.  Plus there's the next use-up-small-bits-of-handspun project to plan out and start.

I want to make a sweater for myself, too, since it's been a while.  I keep starting and then abandoning different things for various reasons.  Something will stick eventually.

And then there are always the quickie hats, mittens, cowls, and socks.

I'm probably going to start another spinning project soon, too.  I keep dithering about what to spin first, so nothing has gotten started at all.

Sea Urchin Mitts (aka Garter Rib Fingerless Mittens)

I was commissioned to make "something" from a single skein of Mini Mochi yarn.  Hmmm.....  In spite of the plethora of patterns out there, nothing appealed.  I wanted something simple, since the yarn is variegated and wouldn't work well with most stitch patterns.  I wanted something easy, since I am lazy.  The yarn is fingering weight and there's not much of it.  Furthermore, it's a single ply yarn and can't take a lot of abuse, either in the knitting or the wearing.

I came up with these garter stitch rib mitts, complete with thumb gusset.  The recipient liked them a lot.  Someone saw them and gave me another skein of Mini Mochi, and I made a second pair.

We noticed that these look good whether they're worn right-side out or right-side in.  The texture reminds us of sea urchins, and thus we are informally calling these the Sea Urchin Mitts.

Sea Urchin mitts (right side out)

I plan to make some from a thicker yarn that isn't Mini Mochi.  I can probably use the same number of stitches for a looser fit.  And of course it is entirely easy to reduce the number of stitches.

Because this is my own pattern, loosely inspired by many existing patterns but my own nonetheless, I am sharing what I did.  I might add this to Ravelry at some point.  I might even turn it into a pdf or a free Ravelry download.  But for now, I'm offering it on my blog.  Do with it what you will.  Well, anything except taking credit for this pattern and/or selling the pattern.


Sea Urchin Mitts (garter rib fingerless mittens)


Yarn:  one 50-gram skein of fingering/sock weight yarn.  I used Mini Mochi, but any sock weight yarn will do.  You'll use about 2/3 to 3/4 of the skein.

Needles:  Uh.....  Use something a size larger than you would for socks.  You don't need an extra-tight gauge.  These mitts fit snugly but with plenty of stretch to them.  The approximate gauge is 7 stitches per inch, but a bit tighter or looser than that is fine.  Feel free to use dpns, magic loop, 2 circulars, whatever.

Both mitts are identical.

Garter Rib stitch pattern

round 1:  *k2, p1*
round 2:  k

Pattern

Cast on 48 stitches.  Join, being careful not to twist.  Work in garter rib until the mitts are 3" or desired length to gusset.  (I did 36 rounds, which was slightly more than 3".  The rounds are easy to count because all you need to do is count the purl bumps in the garter rib.  So I did 18 purl bumps.)

Start the thumb gusset.  I did the thumb gussets at the beginning of the round because it is easy.  I did k2, p1, then did the increases around the second purl column of the round.

I like to use M1L and M1R instead of the other way around to give a better definition to the thumb gusset.  If you prefer the other way, don't let me stop you.  I did the make-one increase where you put your needle in the running yarn between two stitches and then knit or purl into the back of it.  You are of course free to use whatever kind of increase you like.

Round 1 of gusset:  k2, p1, k2, place a marker, M1L, p1, M1R, place a marker, continue in the k2,p1 pattern to the end of the round.

Round 2 (and all even rounds) of gusset:  k

Round 3: work in pattern to the marker, M1L, k1, p1, k1 M1R, continue in pattern to the end of the round

Round 5:  work to marker, M1L, k2, p1, k2, M1R, continue to end of round.  Notice that the increases in this round are purl stitches, and that will happen every third increase round.

Round 7: work to marker, M1L, p1, k2, p1, k2, p1, M1R, continue to end of round

etc., until you have 17 stitches for the gusset (17 stitches between the markers), ending on a k2.p1 round.

If you are using thicker yarn, working for a larger hand, etc., you may want to do more or fewer stitches for the thumb gusset.  This is a pretty customizable pattern.

Anyway...

On the next round (an all-knit round), put the 17 thumb stitches on a holder, cast on 1 stitch over the gap, and keep knitting to finish the round.  You can remove the markers while you're at it.

Continue in the garter rib pattern for another 2" to 2.5" or desired length, then cast off on a knit round.  (I did 24 rounds or 12 purl bumps for one pair, and 28 rounds or 14 purl bumps for the other.)

For the thumb, pick up the 17 stitches from the stitch holder, the cast-on stitch from the hand, plus one stitch from each corner (20 stitches).  This will be a knit round, luckily.

On the next round, a k2, p1 pattern round, decrease away the corner stitches  (I did ssk, p1, k2tog around the stitch that was cast-on, if that makes sense).  Continue in pattern for 1" to 1.5" or desired length of thumb, then cast off on a knit round.  (I did 8 rounds or 4 purl bumps for one pair, 10 rounds or 5 purl bumps for the other)

If you finish the ends neatly, these end up looking good no matter which side is the outside.

For the brown pair, each mitt was almost exactly one full color repeat.  The blue/purple/green pair had a longer color repeat.  I guess the variegation is a bit different from color to color!  I made them a bit longer than the first pair.  It's really easy to adjust that sort of thing.

The mitts are wearing well so far.  The top of the hand is showing a slight tendency to curl.  I didn't block them, so it's quite possible that blocking will take care of the problem.

And at some point, I will fight with Blogger to get the silly photos to show up where I want them to!

I will be correcting errors and typos in the pattern as I find them.  I may also someday give adjustments for those who want to use thicker yarns.  I have done DK-weight fingerless mitts that also have 48 stitches, and found that the ribbing of the mitts helps them fit pretty well.  But I have to check it out for myself!

Sea Urchin Mitts (right side out)

I may well give a more generic form of this pattern someday.  I like to work from templates or recipes rather than fixed numbers.  This is a 3-stitch, 2-round stitch pattern.  Really, it's not at all hard to adjust sizes in this garter rib pattern.  It's also easy to adjust the garter rib stitch pattern -- k3, p1 or k2, p1 or other variations.  But I like this one for now.

Sea Urchin Mitts (wrong side out)

The Very Vintage Bias Ribbed Hat

A long time ago, back before there was much in the way of the internet, let alone a rich online knitting community, I came across an interesting hat in the shop of an alpaca ranch.  The owner told me that it was an old pattern.  She graciously shared it with me.  I scribbled the directions as fast as I could while she described how the hat was made.  I ended up with a quickly drawn schematic on a torn scrap of paper, with two or three sentences to clarify small details.

Eventually, I shared the pattern in private e-mails with friends.  Somehow, my pattern description ended up on the internet, or at least on one of the knitting-related mailing lists that were in their heyday over a decade ago.

Here it is again, preserved for posterity.  Well, posterity by internet standards, whatever that might mean.

This is a vintage pattern.  I do not know its origins, only that it was considered an old pattern at least twenty years ago.  I've formalized the schematic from my quick sketch of long ago so that it looks prettier for the blog.

I re-knit it quickly to get some photos and also to make sure that the directions were adequate.  Yep.  They're adequate.  I didn't pay much attention to details and variations.  I'll discuss a few ideas after the basics.


Classic Bias Ribbed Hat

One of the nice things about this pattern is that gauge does not matter as long as you get a fabric you like.

Here is the schematic:

That's all you need, really.


Here is the pattern in words:

Cast on 3 stitches.  You'll be working in a k2p2 rib, so always stay in pattern.

Start by increasing 1 stitch at the beginning of each row.

When the sides are 12" long (the already knitted sides, not the side of active stitches on your needle), you'll be alternating increase rows with decrease rows.  On one side, you'll continue to increase one stitch at the beginning of the row.  On the other side, you'll decrease one stitch at the beginning of the row.

When the long side (the side with only increases) is 22" long, stop doing any increases.  Instead, decrease one stitch at the beginning of every row.

When you are down to 3 stitches, cast off.

Sew the short ends together.  Gather one of the long sides to close the top of the hat.  Hide the ends.  That's all there is to it.

You can wear it with the brim up or down.  If your finishing is relatively neat, it is quite reversible.

I used worsted-weight alpaca for the hat in the photos above.  It can be done in any yarn and any gauge, of course.

I didn't pay any attention to selvages or increase/decrease methods.  I increased/decreased in the first stitch of each row.  It looks OK.  I'm sure one could play around with different methods if desired.  Although I left the edges plain, I could have added a row of crocheting to the bottom of the hat, or otherwise decorated it up a bit.

If you want to make this hat seamless, the easiest way I know is to cast on the full number of stitches using a provisional cast-on.  Increase at one side and decrease at the other until the hat goes around your head (22").  Then graft the end to the beginning.  The advantage of this is that it is seamless.  The disadvantage is that you need to know your gauge and also need to know how deep you want the hat.  You also need to know how to do provisional cast-ons and grafting in pattern, both of which are quite common now, but which were considered somewhat more esoteric several decades ago.

Enjoy this vintage pattern!  If anyone knows more about its history, please feel free to add some details in the comments.