Machine Knit Wool Soaker/Longies

So, faithful readers, you do realize that when I say "tomorrow" that the blogland definition of tomorrow is different than the real world? :)

Back to the machine knit soakers/longies. I prefer shorts or longie style because they were never worn as daywear, and I think wool soakers are a bit much to wear under pants, and I just couldn't get a good fit on Meg with traditional soakers. Just by extending the legs a little, they became shorts, which are also better at dealing with diaper blowouts.

This is a sketch of what the machine knit longies look like before sewing up. Hopefully you can click on the picture to make it bigger. I'll go through it set by step.

Make a large swatch and wash it. Yes. Or else you won't know what will happen to the soaker when you wash it! Figure out your row and stitch gauge, and measure your baby over their diaper...waist, hips, thighs, rise (front and back). Figure out how many to cast on (you don't need much ease over the diaper, but a little is good).

Use waste yarn and an open cast on and cast on. Knit for about an inch using just a slightly tighter gauge, then decide how you want the fold of the casing to be...picot edge? garter edge? nothing requiring extra work? Work your turn row, then switch to the 'real' tension/gauge and knit the same number of rows as the first half of the casing.

Pick up the open stitches of the cast on, remove the waste yarn and using a larger tension (ie T9 instead of T5, or KP4 instead of 3), knit one row to 'seal' the casing.

Knit another inch at the main tension. Now, we're going to do some short rows to raise up the back waistband. The short rows will be in the middle section only, which is the back 'bum'. I find it helpful to mark on the needlebed where the side edges (hip) will be. The middle bum in '0' and the center front seam is what ever your outer stitch is, so the hip 'seam' is halfway between. So, if you casted on 100 sts, from 50L to 50R, the hip 'seams' are at 25L and 25R.

If the carriage is on the left, put all the stitches from the hip seam to the right edge in hold/D position (all the way forward). Knit across. You need to take the yarn under the first needle in hold position (the one next to the one in working position) and bring it back up between the first two needles in hold position (make sure it stays in the carriage). This is just like 'wrapping' a short row in handknitting. Now, put the same needles in hold on the other side--from the hip seam out to the edge--and knit across, again wrapping the first hold position needle that you came to.

Now...you can get fancy and do math, or just eyeball it. It's a diaper cover! Just eyeball! You want to do about 1 to 2 inches worth of short rows, what is your row gauge? You've already done two rows, so subtract those. How many short rows are now needed? How many sts do you have in work position (hint--half of what you cast on, as we're working on the backside only now). You want to work short rows so you put in hold about 1/3 of the needles on each side of the backside. I mark this on the needlebed too. So, the back side is 25L-0-25R, so that means 1/3 of that is about 16sts. I'd work short rows until you have 16 more needles out of work on each side, and 18 needles in work in the middle. If you want 10 more rows, you will put 2 needles out of work on the side opposite the carriage before knitting across, but on a few of the rows, just do one needle out of work. So, a bit of math, a bit of eyeballing :)

(If you need help with short rows, just holler, or look for Diana Sullivan's videos on YouTube).

After doing the short rows, put the needles in hold, back into work, on the side opposite the carriage, and go slowly across. Repeat for the other side. Then continue to knit straight until you get to about 2" above where the crotch seam will be. Here, I do short rows again, but I do them like a wedge...

Start like the earlier short rows, and when you get down to 1/3 sts in work, instead of knitting all the way across, do increasing short rows by putting 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 needles back into work on the side opposite the carriage. Again, you're making a diaper cover, not a wedding dress. Finish off by knitting to the length required (it's easier to measure along the front seam, but good idea to check the center back too. You can take it off on waste yarn or just do your best on the machine...or, if you had done the swatch and know your row gauge...)

Now, to work one leg at a time. Cast off, on the side next to the carriage, one inch (a little less for small sizes). This is "A" on the sketch. Put the needles on the far side of 0 to hold/D, but keep in work "A" on the other side of 0.

What this means is, if the carriage is on the right, cast off one inch; let's say that's 5 sts. Still going with our 100st example, put all the sts to the left side of 0 into hold position, except 5L-0. Knit across (you'll knit from 45R to 5L). Now, cast off that one inch of sts that was on the far side of 0 (L5-L1), as well as another one inch worth continuing in the same direction (R1-R5). This means, now that our carriage is on the left, cast off 5L-0-5R then knit across. You'll now be working on 6R-45R.

Work the leg for the length you want. Or, take the yarn you have left and split it in two even balls, and work till you have a few yards left for seaming. You can rib the bottom, do seed stitch, garter stitch, let it roll, whatever. You'll need to add claw weights to the side that's in hold position.

To make other leg, have carriage on left, and cast off "A". You should now have 45L-6L in work. Finish this leg like the other one!

I'm sure this all seems very wordy and complicated. Just go step by step, and remember...it's a diaper cover! And, it's made quickly, so you can rip it back, re-knit, and still be done faster than if you handknit it!

Let me know if you need more info!

Soaked

I was doing so great at finishing up projects, new and old, until we got a puppy, in April. Suddenly, my great run of machine knitting ended as I couldn't go down there for more than a few minutes. Puppy couldn't come into the TV room either unless directly supervised and it's hard to knit while stopping a puppy from eating everything. But, he's calming down, and has a pretty predictable routine, so I'm getting back on track too.

Back at the May meeting of my local handknitting guild, someone was showing a baby outfit, and someone else mentioned that new moms today probably don't even know what a soaker is. I suppose I'm not a 'new' mom, but I didn't get the chance to insert my experience in the conversation. I haven't really written much about soakers here either, so I thought I'd do a post.

I'm not sure when I first learned about wool soakers. I had old knitting books, with baby "panties" and "soakers", but they went up to a 12 month size only. When Huey was born (he turned 10 last week!!), I looked into cloth diapers ("CD"), but we couldn't put out the money for the start up cost. And yes, I'm still kicking myself about that. I don't think I knew about soakers then though. When Meg was turning 2 (Nov 2007), I decided to ask on Freecycle for some cloth diapers and that was really the start of a new friendship with someone I had met in a parenting group but then connected with on Freecycle. Hi Sarah!! She told me that it was super easy to sew diapers. Oh my. She didn't tell me that it was addicting too. It's a whole new world of sewing. Specialty fabrics, notions, techniques...I'm not the best sewer (I'm impatient and don't always care about little details like matching thread), but I threw myself into it. I joined a Yahoo CD sewing group. There, many moms used "PUL covers" (like plastic pants, but it's a clear film bonded to fabric, often really cool, themed/licensed fabric). That's what I started with. Many moms though, were hooked on wool covers. Now, I'm a knitter, LOL, and knit socks, and know the many benefits of wool. But a wool diaper cover? I just couldn't quite get into it.

Eventually though, I wasn't impressed with PUL, esp. for at night. Many moms told me I HAD to try wool, esp. since I could knit. But instead, I got some old sweaters and tried sewn wool covers. I couldn't get the fit right for Meg--I think because she was already bigger than most patterns out there!

Finally, I decided to get some Peace Fleece wool as it was recommended and I could get it locally. I also had some plain blue yarn that seemed to be wool. I opted to do these longies (wool diaper covers that double as pants) on the knitting machine, and although they took awhile to get the sizing right, it was still fast. They were made in two pieces, with a seam at the center front and center bum. I added short rows to allow room for the diaper and bring the back rise up to prevent diaper crack, LOL.Rob thinks the striped longies look like hockey pants!

(Unfortunately, these longies had an accident--I was at my parents and they needed to be lanolized. To dry them faster I hung them over/next to the woodstove after a fire had been put out. The stove itself was pretty cool, but the metal trim stayed hot and burned the pants. I unravelled the leg to the burn spot, and re-knit using the rest of the yarn after cutting off the burned section. Then I unravelled the other leg to match the new shorter one).I had some yarn left over, so I tried the Curly Purly handknit soaker pattern. I wasn't thrilled with the fit, again cause Meg was bigger than the pattern (and built differently). Then I handknit the "Spare Ribs Shoaker" (not a typo) pattern, which caused a bit of headache to enlarge it. I liked that one, but the yarn I used felted very easily, so the benefit of the ribbing was lost. After that, I stuck to refining a machine knit longie.This bright orange one was Briggs & Little wool which we dyed orange. I think that was one whole skein of either Heritage or Regal. It faded quite a bit, but we still use it. I think I showed pictures before of a dusty rose longie I made, with cables up the sides, also in B&L. It's not the softest wool, but it's very affordable, esp. when bought at the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair.I decided to 'splurge' again on two skeins of Peace Fleece. I did them on the machine, but did hand manipulated ribbing up the center front/back. I love Peace Fleece so much, I splurged and bought some to make me a sweater!This pair is one skein of Lionbrand Fisherman's Wool, dyed with Kool Aid and Wilton's icing dyes. The rise looks really long, but over a nighttime diaper, it's actually not too high. Because of Meg's belly shape, everything tends to slip down really low, unless made extra tall. Plus, she often doesn't wear 'real' pajamas, so the longer body here helps for warmth. They come down to just above her knees.

During all this knitting, I realized, a few pairs back, that I could knit them in one piece. I could put the seam up the center front, or the center back (along with leg seams on the inside). I decided to do the seam at the center front for two reasons. This allowed me to work short rows across the back side, and not have to try to remember what I did on one side to match the second side. I could work back and forth across the entire backside. Also, I could leave the casing open at the center front to tie a drawstring.

I didn't get the crotch gusset quite like a handknit longie, but it's still good. Tomorrow, I'll post more details on how I actually made the one piece longies. It won't be an actual 'pattern' as I'm sure there's not many people out there that need a pattern for a 63lb 4 year old's longies, LOL, but it'll be a recipe instead.

One other piece of the puzzle that 'new' moms know about that 'older' moms don't, is lanolizing. None of my old patterns mention it at all. This is probably for a couple reasons. Moms probably had more soakers than we use so they were in less rotation, and they probably got washed more frequently. The wool also was less processed and probably had more lanolin left in it. As well, diapers were changed very frequently, instead of the 'how long can we get' mentality that disposables have created. Lanolizing though, is the little secret that make wool soakers the ideal night time diaper cover!

Another Biggie

One thing I finished up during my recent finishing spree was a shawl, Moonlight Sonata (http://www.elann.com/; free pattern). I bought the yarn, superwash BFL (blue face leicester) from The Sweet Sheep's "Boo Boo Bin" at the Sept 2008 Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair. It had some indigo spots that I thought maybe I could either just cut out, or hope they'd work into the pattern. I think it was $20, for 800(?)yds. Couldn't pass that up, even if the colours were ....challenging. In the skein it looked rather vibrant, magenta, lavender, white and grey.The first attempt (summer 2009) was a 1/2 round shawl, done with short row wedges, from Interweave Knits. Don't recall which issue, or the name, but it was a fairly recent pattern. I think I blogged about it. There was a 'mesh' section, and then a lace section at the edge. The mesh was fine in the colourful yarn, but the lace section looked all muddled. I spent a LOT of time examining shawls on Ravelry. I came to the conclusion that a colourful yarn works best in a couple different options:

1) garter stitch, which blends the colours
2) stockinette stitch, which allows the individual colours to show

3) graphic, bold, repetitive lace which can rise above the colourfullness.

The Moonlight Sonata offers all these options, while not getting TOO repetitive. And it's free, LOL. The first effort was a little loose, and I wasn't sure about the edge yarn overs. I got going though, and it moved along fairly quickly. It wasn't a totally memorizable pattern, but it was still easy to read.

Sometime before Christmas, I set it aside. I was at the point where I had to go back online and print off the end of the pattern, which I thought would include another chart, and I was concerned about the amount of yarn left. As if procrastinating would make the yarn self-reproduce? After the April knitting guild meeting, I decided to get it out and finish it off. I was a little mad at myself when I checked the pattern and found that the edging consisted solely of knitting 8 rows of garter stitch!! I had it done in two days!!Unblocked lace wool looks like nothing. A tangled mess of colourful spaghetti.
I blocked the neck curve out using the memory wire, that was fun. Then I wired up the edges, but found I couldn't stretch them out far enough so that the bottom edge could be fully stretched. So some of the circles along the lower edge are a little dimensional. It's a little more than 6ft across (the squares are 2ft each, I think).It's a good size, and weight, and shape, and is reversible. See how the repetitive, graphic nature of the pattern stands out?
And this is how much wool I had left! Awesome!

Magenta Snuggy and the Knit Contour

I've been wanting to get this sweater posted for some time now! It was sort of an impulse knit. Back in February, I bought a bunch of coned yarns from a delightful lady in town who responded to an ad I placed on kijiji.ca (sort of like Craig's List). The white shrug I made was from her stash, and so is this sweater (I'm pretty sure). It felt like cotton, and once I washed the swatch, I noticed it had a shiny strand plied with it. Once washed, it bloomed and became very soft.My standard gauge knitting machine (Singer 327) is equipped with a built in "knit contour". Although I had read a bit about it, it still baffled me some. I decided since I learned how to use the ribber, I should learn how to use the knit contour, and to do so, I'd use a nice, but simple yarn, to make a nice, but simple sweater.


The knit contour uses paper patterns that show only the right half of the item--the needles to the right of 0. The patterns are 1/2 scale in both width and length (so, if the front of a sweater is going to be 20" across, the right half would be 10", and done in 1/2 scale, the pattern is only 5" wide). You start with a large swatch, wash it, and determine your tension setting and gauge. It's important to wash or steam it just as you would launder it. When making the swatch, you start with about 20 rows, knit two rows in contrast yarn, then 60 rows of the main yarn, 2 rows of contrast, and finish off with about 20 rows again. Half-way up the 60 rows, you mark st #21 on the left and the right of 0, so you have a span of 40sts between the marked sts.


You could also just knit a large swatch and using a standard ruler, count the sts and figure out for yourself how many are in 4". But we machiners have a secret tool. The "green ruler".I know that's not a great picture. This is the side used for measuring rows (you can tell by the "R"). You place the bottom of the ruler on the bottom of the first row of main colour after doing the 2 contrast rows. Where the next set of contrast rows meets the ruler, you read the number that's on the ruler. And it tells you--without any math--how many rows are in 4", even though all you did was knit 60 rows! The other side of the ruler is used for stitches, and you place it along the row of the two marked sts, and it tells you, based on the 40sts, how many sts are in 4". Cool! For this sweater, I got 26st and I forget how many rows, LOL.
Next thing you do is insert your pattern into the roller of the knit contour (this is on the left end of my knitting machine), line it up nice and square. Then you find a ruler marked "26" (or whatever your gauge is; they range from about 22st/4" to something like 40 or more) and place it in the ruler holder. The left edge of the ruler shows 0, and the numbers go up to the right (in single digits, even though they are multiplied by 10, for some reason). There are multiple sizes on the pattern, and where your size crosses the ruler, that's how many sts to cast on. In this picture, you can sort of make out that the largest size needs 38sts (the largest size is for a 40" chest which created a 41" sweater, slightly small for my front half, but too big for my back).
There is also a dial which you set for your row gauge. In front of it is a lever that the carriage trips everytime it goes by, and this moves the pattern up automatically, the correct amount for the gauge you set. The sleeve is angled, but you increase a stitch on both edges (you mirror the left side of the pattern) each time the line for your size crosses the ruler at the next whole number (because you can't have 1/2 a stitch). No more reading confusing wording like "dec 1st each side every 4th row 6 times, then every 6th row 4 times" etc. When the line meets the ruler, you should have that many sts. While doing the sleeve, I noticed that the increase happened every 9 rows. If I had set the row gauge dial differently, then that interval of increases would change too. For the sleeve cap shaping, there will be a horizontal/slight angled line. You cast off that many, and then every row take a look and see where the line is to know if you need to dec 1 or 2 or 3 sts. If I had a different stitch gauge ruler in, these numbers would be different too. This means that the one paper pattern can be used with ANY yarn suitable for that machine, ANY stitch pattern, ANY gauge that there's a ruler for.
For example, if I chose a thinner yarn, and get 40st to 4", I'd put in the 40 ruler, and the 20" piece of knitting would need 200 needles (or, the whole needlebed!). I'd use the same pattern, and it'd fit exactly the same, but the gauge is different. Wow!

So, back to the sweater. The paper pattern was for a crew neck, but I wanted a V neck, and changed my mind at the last minute. I wanted a deep, shallow V that widened out at the top. I drew this on the pattern and followed the lines. I didn't have to read "shape underarm by doing xyz and AT THE SAME TIME, shape neck starting at row 231..." (we've all been there, where we get to the shoulder and realize we forgot to do the "at the same time" instructions). You can visually see what and when to do things. However, when I got the pieces all finished (basically, one piece per day--or 4 days for the main knitting!), and got it sewn together, I found out the V neck was too deep and the top of the neck spread out way too much. Not the look I was going for! I have a tank top pattern that has a neat neckband, and I copied it for the sweater, to try to hold the neck stable. It works, but the V is still too deep. I need to get some pretty lace and fill it in (I'm braless in this photo though, and would never wear it like that; it was just for the photo).
I did have some issue with the 2x2 ribbing bulging; I didn't want it to pull in, but perhaps it's too loose (yes, I didn't swatch the ribbing!).
I REALLY wish I had learned to use the Knit Contour before making the sweater for my mom. I could have easily drawn out the schematic in 1/2 scale (the mag. provides good schematics just for this purpose), and used the ruler for the gauge I got, and not have to do all the math and guessing that I had done. Then, I would also have a pattern so anytime I found a yarn perfect for her, I'd just have to swatch it and I wouldn't have to do all the math again.

I already made adjustments to this pattern and knit a second sweater (cardigan) using the pattern but it still needs to be sewn up. This time I got daring and used a punch card as well!

Happy Birthday Mommy!

Back at "Christmas" (held in mid-January), I took all my KnitWords magazines and had my mom casually browse through them, to get an idea of what floats her sweaterly boat. She took a real hankering to the shawl collar of one, called Dudette (I think). A fairly simple sweater, knit in one colour, on the standard gauge machine and using the ribber for cuffs and the shawl collar. Labelled "Advanced Beginner", I knew I could tackle it as a surprise birthday present...a month away.
I had some Headwater Wool in the Gauja weight from when I had first gotten the LK150 and thought I was going to make a cardigan with vertical fair isle front bands...and then we put the house up for sale in the middle of it....I was sure I would have enough of this denim blue colour, although one skein turned out to be slightly--but enough--different. I also had white and light blue.I spent a lot of time with my swatch and a calculator. Mom didn't quite fit the closest size, and my swatch didn't quite meet the gauge. At first it didn't seem to be too far off, but some math indicated even 1st over 4" (and whatever the row gauge was off by) was enough to mean that I couldn't do the pattern exactly as written. So much for beginner and quick.The first two pictures I think are to show the difference that blocking can make to the armhole shape.
The knitting, for the most part, was indeed, easy. No patterning, but there was side shaping which I had to do math for. I realized once I got to the armhole that I should have done the side recalculating differently, but it worked out in the end. The left side is blocked, the right side isn't. The dark spots are water spots from my iron.
Feeling confident, and on schedule, after doing the back, I got going on the front. For some reason, right from the start, the front had an attitude. Finally, I got towards the top (doing the neck shaping at the same time as armhole shaping....Oy. If this is Advanced Beginner, then I should move back down to beginner). I think I re-knit the top of the front twice, and then decided I was not going to have enough of the main blue to finish the front, and work it into some sort of pattern for the sleeves/collar. So, I ripped the front back out, down to the start of the non-shaped portion in the middle. I did some more math, and created a striped pattern to go across the narrowest part of the front--to draw the eye to the narrowest part. Got the front finally finished, and there seemed to be more than enough blue now.
I got to work on the sleeves, creating another striped pattern that reflected how much of each colour I had, LOL (I had also edged the front and back with the 'almost' blue). Well, because I combined even and odd number of rows, I was constantly having to take the carriage off and put it back on the other side. And remember to carry up the unused yarns. There were 4 different colours in the sleeves, although the darkest blue is only one row and doesn't show well next to the 'almost' blue.

Next came the shawl collar. OMG. My ribber was having serious attitude problems. I was having serious technical problems. I knew the math would be off, but didn't know how to fix it until I got it knit, and it just would. not. knit. In the middle of all this, the day BEFORE the birthday party, there was a suddenly eruption in family relations and I was caught in the middle, trying to calm sisters-in-law while figuring out how to get the party to happen and how to get the collar to work out. I was not a happy camper. I gave up several times. I knew there was absolutely no hope in having a seamed and finished sweater. I decided to do what any self-respecting knitter would do, and wrap it up nicely anyway. I carefully folded it all up in the box, hiding the waste yarn, and tucking the shawl collar into place, hoping my mom would pick it up by the shoulders to pull it out of the box.Instead, she picked up the collar. Here she is, above, pulling the collar off the sweater...And here, realizing that nothing was attached!Being a good sport, and the experienced mother of a knitter, she took it all in stride.
For awhile, the sweater stayed in time out. It had behaved badly and needed to learn its lesson. Eventually I got back to task, and refigured the collar. Then, refigured it again. During March Break, I did most of the sewing up, hoping to have it finished while we were up there visiting, but didn't quite get it all done. I thought we might go up for the day over Easter, so I cracked my own whip, and got it done.

I was quite please, in the end, at how it turned out. Not what I had envisioned to start with, but I was happy. I didn't give it a bath though, and it's a little itchy, LOL.

We finally got up to my parents yesterday and I presented it to her. I was so glad it fit! LOL. She did find it a little scratchy too, but a vinegar soak should help.

The next sweater I tackled on the Singer 327, was to learn the Knit Contour, so it was to be really simple too. It turned out to be such a great way to knit a sweater, I really, really, really wish I had learned it before taking on this project, as this would have gone a LOT easier if I had known how to use the Knit Contour. However, now I can take the measurements from this sweater, and make a sample pattern just for my mom!!

Wow, Some Finished Projects!

Since the last time I wrote, I have finished THREE sweaters!!! One crocheted, and two on the standard gauge machine. I'm almost finished another top I started a long time ago too!

I'm going to spread these projects out though, LOL. Got to get some mileage out of them. I'll start with the oldest of the projects.

Last year, the Orangeville Community Band was scheduled to play an outside concert during the Blues and Jazz Festival. Knowing that it would be dark by the time we finished, I decided I needed a white cardigan. I searched Ravelry and found a crocheted cardigan that everyone said was easy and quick. I believe I did that on Friday, May 29. I swatched all weekend, and got started, but things just weren't going right. According to the date printed on the pattern page, I printed out another option on Monday, June 1. Somehow, this:

turned into this:

Yeah, not exactly a white cardigan. The really strange this is, I remember starting it/swatching while at my parents...and we were not there in June. We were there in March and April, and maybe May....or perhaps it was the August long weekend (it was a very busy summer, LOL). Or, perhaps I'm thinking of an earlier attempt with this yarn. Doesn't matter.

I had some serious issues with the white cardigan, and gauge, and it just not going as quickly as the pattern said it should. The concert turned out to be a hot, humid, day and I certainly did not need a cardigan after all.

I struggled with this pattern a bit too. Gauge. Argh. I have such a hard time with crochet gauge! It didn't seem to be fitting as I was going along (I might have forgotten there was a wide button band), and I switched up hook sizes. Then, it seemed to be getting too big, so I went down again. I finally decided it was long enough, and had to go back to the sleeves.

Well. It sat, and waited. I looked at it once, but couldn't really figure out where to pick up for the sleeves. Then, I couldn't remember exactly which hook size I had been using at that point in the sweater (it's a top down design). There were always other projects 'more urgent' especially once the weather turned cold and a hole-filled cardigan seemed a little impractical.

Finally, I decided to just give it a go. I knew I had been using the green crochet hook near the beginning, so I started with that one. I couldn't even remember what size it was supposed to be to know how many st repeats there should be. I just did my best. As I went down the sleeve, I went down in hook sizes too, but this time, I used a marker, and then switched to the other sleeve to get them back at the same point. A funny thing happened as I got near the wrist and was at a fairly small hook.

The yarn started to pattern in almost perfect vertical lines. I was surprised at HOW much smaller the sts were, but the vertical lines also add a neat touch. I never bothered with the button band, or the tie. I have a short, dark wood shawl stick to keep it closed if I need to. Lucy wanted to know what the point of a holey sweater is. LOL. I have a couple t-shirts and tanks that will look good under this, and maybe I'll make a new sundress in plain brown. It does have a bit of a strange feel to it, I don't know if it's the crochet-ness, or something about the fit, or the pattern. The next time I'm wearing something suitable, I'll put it on and take a picture!

The yarn is Cool Crochet by Bernat, an interesting cabled yarn of cotton and nylon. Discontinued, but I have some more in other colours in my stash. Although I don't think there's enough for a cardigan--this took 266grams, or 5 1/3 balls. Perhaps I should use up the last ball and make it just a few rows longer....but what hook size did I end with.....

February is for Finishing

I've been trying really hard to think of a project I've finished lately, to write about. During March Break, I made two 'cast socks' for my niece who broke her ankle. Made them in an afternoon using my parent's Ultimate Sweater Machine (Bond), while we were all staying there. Didn't take pictures though.
I decided a while ago (ahem, I think it was after February, but the title sounded better, and had been my intention) to clear out my 'time out' project drawer. The things that need buttons, sewing up, etc. I got a good start, but couldn't find the buttons I knew I had bought a long time ago. Several projects needed buttons. One top for me just needs a small amount of sewing together and the neckline/armholes trimmed. I ripped out the little Fisherman's Rib sweater that I made when I first started the ribber. As I went to sew it up, I just felt the mistakes were too obvious, too annoying. I had already made pants to go with it (that are just waiting for me to sew the tubular bind off...), so I tried the pull over pattern that goes with the pants. The collar/button band is in three pieces and needs to be sewn on. Should have picked up sts instead. I think I'll handknit a hat to go with it.
I've got two pairs of socks on the go...one pair from "Favorite Socks" using Elann's "Fixation" a stretchy cotton, and one pair of Cookie A.'s patterns, in pink Kroy 3ply. Neither one is a 'brainless' project (now I want to knit all my brainless socks on the knitting machine), so I started a baby sweater. I'm still sewing up my mom's birthday sweater, and I finished another sweater on the machine that now needs to get sewn up.
My first pair of socks really have a whole now. Another pair--Drunken Bees--are threadbare in the heel. They are in Kroy 3 ply, and I'm really surprised at how quickly this happened. I will darn them by duplicate stitching, as all the sts are still intact.
So, I'm not getting any further ahead. Start, pause, rip, start, switch, sew, pause....

Happy Socks

Last fall, I went to the Toronto Creative Festival (formerly the Creative Sewing and Needlework Festival). I had not been in a long time, preferring to go to the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitter's Fair. But having moved, it's easier for me to get into Toronto now by commuter train. When I had gone in the past, I was getting more and more frustrated by the irrelevant booths hawking sponge towels, etc and I was led to believe this was not an issue anymore. Well, there were still some booths. And, there were so many non-knitting booths to weed through. I don't mind the sewing stuff too much, although I sew a little, there wasn't anything I saw that I needed for the price. And no more fabric until I sew some of what I have! What wore me out were the endless scrapbooking and beading booths. I know those are hot, but when you're not in to them, it's annoying, LOL. I did do some scrapbooking 10 years ago, and back then, it was really hard to find supplies. Now, I'm not doing it and the stuff is EVERYWHERE.

Anyway, I did find the yarn booths, and even ran into a member of the knitting guild I used to belong to! I also got to meet Wise Hilda. Although I had been doing really well about not buying yarn, I did find a few balls there that I picked up for a good deal.

One ball was some Austermann Step (the one with aloe and jojoba!) for $10. It's a crazy colour, but I couldn't resist the happiness radiating from the ball.

Right at this same time, the Hat Heel Socks came out on www.knitty.com . Since one of the yarns used was Step, I figured this was a sign. I got a good start on the socks, but it always seemed that when I needed a brainless project, these were in a 'must follow directions' stage.

Finally they got done....Oct 24 to March 20! They are unique, but like a lot of other posters on Ravelry, I don't know that I'd make them again. They do fit well around the heel, but they feel odd. Especially in my skates. Like, there's a slingshot around my ankle. I've learned how to adapt a short row heel to fit my heel for toe up socks, so it's not a huge concern to me anymore. And, I've been knitting enough socks that I can pretty comfortably knit them top down without worrying about running out of yarn (esp. with Step. That yarn has a LOT of yardage). However, I just started a Cookie A. pattern, top down, and am working with a limited amount of Kroy 3 ply......

A Little Filler

I just received a comment on an old post about learning to knit using one circular. Now, I'm not quite positive on what is meant by the question--knit in the round on one circular, knit "magic loop" style on one circular, or knit two items at the same time on one circular. So, hey, I'll just address all the possibilities. Beats folding laundry anyway!

I do not know when I learned to knit circularly on one circular needle. Fairly early in my renewed knitting experience (having learned to knit as a child, I didn't accomplish ANYTHING until my 4th year of university when I wanted to show up my housemates who were learning to knit. That was the fall of 1993) I followed the pattern's instruction to use a circular needle to pick up stitches for neckbands. I'm sure I was probably confused as to how to knit back and forth on one circular, LOL. Just the concept of holding the needle with the 'work' in the left hand, and the empty needle in the right hand, could confuse me. I'm sure there's instructions on the internet on how to knit flat with circulars and obviously I figured it out.

Knitting circularly on one circular needle. I'm not sure when that happened. However, I know that in March and April of 1999, I took a class on knitting socks, and I'm pretty sure this was the first time I knit on dpn and knit circularly. Wow. I'm surprised it took me that long. Really? When I knit Rob's long, fair isle stocking cap, I knit it flat. I don't recall many of my projects from back then--some sweaters, an adorable dress for my niece, her Christening outfit too...yeah, they were all knit flat.
Back in 1999, there wasn't a whole lot on the internet (in general). Digital cameras were not popular, so forums rarely had pictures; blogging was in it's infancy; there was no Facebook, no Ravelry. The library was still a primary source for information, and all too often these days people seem to forget that the library is still a great resource.
So, I started knitting socks, and got immediately hooked. Bought dpns like they were becoming extinct. My first sock, during that class, was knit inside out for the leg. I got corrected the next week, and now can't even figure out how to do that again, LOL.

So, when did I first knit circularly on circular needles?! Mmm. Maybe when I was on a hat binge (but when was that?). Maybe when I made some LionBrand Homespun hooded pullovers...that was early 2002. I think I might have made them circularly. Indeed, I just checked the one that got handed back down to my son, and there are no side seams. If I could find my old knitting photo album, I could find out more.
Learning how to do this though? Knowing myself, I can only imagine the mental block I had. "Join, being careful not to twist stitches". No one tells you that knitting the first st that you cast on, onto the right needle, is how you 'join'. I was trying to find some way to 'join' it, and then knit the row. I think the way you cast on determines how easy it is to get this concept.
I couldn't even figure out what that really meant by the 'do not twist' until one time, it happened, and I unknowingly knit a few rounds of a mobius. I did find that even if you get to the end of the first round, and find a twist, it's unlikely to show in some yarns, LOL. On dpns you can untwist the last needle, but you can't on circulars. So then I learned to knit one or two rows flat, then join into a round, and sew up the tiny seam after. In order to join the cast on row without twisting, I would usually sit on the couch, put my knee up in front of me, and spread the knitting around my knee, aligning all the sts. And knit like that.

Magic Loop. It wouldn't surprise me if I had 'accidentally' done Magic Loop before I knew it. Sometimes, the cable connection gets kinked and sticks out all on it's own while you knit. I'm sure I also got frustrated with knitting the top of a hat, and not wanting to get off the couch to find the dpns, I stretched out the cable to see if I could knit just a bit more. I did 'officially' learn Magic Loop in May 2007. But it wasn't all smooth sailing. I know that link takes you to the first post, but if you click on the "May 2007" or other months that summer, you'll see some other examples. It took me a long time before I could cast on this way, and for knitters who want to try Magic Loop, I do recommend starting the project however they normally do, and switching to Magic Loop once it's going well. Depending on your cable length, you can just pull out the extra cable on the right needle before starting the round, or you can pull out the cable at the mid-point too (for shorter circular needles). Be careful with marking the start of your round though; you won't be able to tell from your cast on tail as the knitting naturally spirals. There are lots of websites that tell you exactly how to Magic Loop, so I won't bother, but I think those two tips can really help.

Two at once. This can be done on one circular, or two circulars (I won't write about knitting in the round on two circulars as if they were 4 dpns; it's a fairly straightforward idea). I still have trouble casting on, and still recommend casting on separately and knitting about an inch. Then, if you've done Magic Loop, it's fairly easy to see that you'd have 1/2 the sts of the first item, then all the sts of the second item (pulling out the cable at the mid-point), then the second half of the sts from the first item. That's the hardest part for me (esp. if actually trying to cast on for both items at once). If someone has good instructions for how to cast on two items on one circular, I'd like to know! It might be easier to cast onto two circulars, but then you have more ends flopping around. And, of course, to do magic loop for two items at once, you do need a really long cable. So, quite often, I might start as magic loop, but then as the toes of the socks increase, it gets harder to do Magic Loop and I switch to two circulars.

I'm sure I haven't answered her specific question, LOL. I say, just Google it, or go to the library. There are tons of videos on YouTube as well, for knitting!

Clarifying

Jemajo left a comment asking about how I got the patterning on the sock leg. It was a handknit sock, from "Interweave Favourite Socks". I have been thinking about if it's possible to do patterning while knitting tubular on the machine. I don't think you can--you could have it on the main bed, but there's no way to transfer the design from the punchcard to the ribber carriage. Also, as the main carriage is coming back but not knitting--what will it do after having picked up the pattern for the next row?
I have been thinking about tuck rib lace (ribbed lace tuck? lace tucked rib?) though. It'd be knit flat, but that's okay. Has anyone knit socks using something other than a rib or plain tubular?

More Happy Knits!

First off, those socks of the last post...not so happy. They really sag. The leg was knit with increasing tension setting (looser knitting) as you go towards the ankle. That totally went against my intuition. I like the socks that I 'designed' myself better. But I still love that yarn.

Okay, on to the next projects. Whenever I perform with the concert band, my feet get cold. Don't know if it's from sweating, or from my blood going to more important parts of my body, or what. I've wanted to knit some black socks for awhile to wear in concert, but the thought of knitting in black....it couldn't be lacy, and many patterns just wouldn't show up. But I went through my Interweave "Favorite Socks" and found that I had the actual sock yarn for this pattern, "Undulating Ribs". I started off with the recommended needle size, but as I went down the leg, I kept switching to smaller needles. I also found out that some of my needles aren't really the size that is etched on them.

I made them nice and tall so I wouldn't have to worry about my legs showing if my pants rode up, LOL.It's really hard to get a picture of the pattern; the flash is too intense up close. I made them two at a time, cuff down; sometimes magic loop, sometimes 2 circulars depending on what needle length I had in the different sizes. I also noticed at one point that I had changed from it being an 8 row pattern, to doing the change row, then 8 plain rows. But, by doing them both at the same time, they are at least both the same, LOL.

My other concert dress issue is being cold during warm-up/prep, but hot during concert. I have a white shawl, but it's not a warm one. I'd been wanting to knit a shrug, but I've had a hard time finding a pattern I like. I've done a LOT of research, LOL. I wanted one that was significantly cut away at the front, not a shrunken sweater. If I knit it cuff to cuff, I didn't want a pattern that would create horizontal lines across my back. But cuff to cuff is the easiest way to knit this, in the style I wanted. If I chose a tuck pattern, or something, I'd have to make sure it looked the same in both directions. And then there is the issue of matching gauge to the yarn I had, etc. It seemed like I'd never get a shrug I liked.

Then I remember about a shrug pattern 'generator' on www.btyarns.com. Those links don't seem to work anymore, but I found the pattern now--you just have to do the work yourself! http://helengs.blogspot.ca/2015/07/the-purple-shrug.html
 The picture with the pattern is not very good; and there weren't very many on Ravelry. And I wasn't sure about the sizing, except that I wanted to wear it over my band shirt. I swatched, washed it, and put in the numbers. I knit it up, thinking it'd just be a test piece. The number of rows in the inc/dec sleeve portions did not add up right, but only by 2 rows. I used eyelet increases, so for the decreases, I had to move the sts over to leave one open for the eyelet, and do two decreases. The pattern called to inc every 5 rows X times, then every 6 rows Y times, but on the way down the other sleeve, it was written dec every 5 rows, then every 6 rows. I switched those around so the every 6 rows was first. I started and ended on waste yarn as I had a vision for a ruffle cuff, it it all worked out.

I basted it together and tried it on. And golly, wouldn't you know, it fit perfectly! I don't really like the parts you have to sew together, but it's kind of hidden next to the underarm.

Using the ribber, I set out to make a ruffled cuff. OMG. I felt like a total knitting retard. I could do NOTHING right anymore with my machine. I won't bore you here; some of you read my tale in the Yahoo group. It's not as ruffly as I was hoping; perhaps a full needle rib instead of 1x1?

I'm not fond of the rolled top and back edge, but I can live with that as it's the fastest way.

I can really see knitting more of these in other colours! Maybe a little longer sleeves too.

Anyway, it's nice to have a finished result that I can wear in public and like!!

Worth The Wait

Sometimes I amaze even myself. Way back when I was still part of the "Georgetown Group" (The Halton Hands in Motion Knitting and Crocheting Guild), the owner and guild prez, often brought in new items to meetings, and I saw this sock yarn and immediately coveted it. Now, I thought I had bought it in July 2007, on my way back from a follow up after my surgery. Apparently not. According to my blog, I bought it in April 2007. Well, actually, in re-reading that post, I see that the guild meeting was April 12, but it seems that's not when I bought it. According to a picture I posted on June 11, 2008, the ball of yarn was in my stash, and still intact. Oh, but by August, I had knit the socks. Two and a bit times? Gee, I wish I had read that post before I tried again.

So, apparently these socks have been languishing in the 'mid-term UFO' drawer. You know, those projects that are not 'current' but not totally hibernating. Having a little time out. A year and a half is a little time out, no?

Just after I made the green pair of socks that I recently posted, I received some back issues of KnitWords magazine. And, gee...there was a pattern for 2x2 ribbed socks! LOL! They're made slightly different than the ones I figured out myself.
I made the first one I showed in the last post, and felt it was too big. Well, yeah, even though I got a tighter gauge than the pattern, they were 72st (I think) and I had written in the post in 2008 that 64sts were too many. I sized down a bit for another try, but in order to get the end needles arranged like the pattern recommended, I think I ended up with 68sts.
Optical illusion? Is one foot really that much shorter than the other? :)

Pulled up nice and tight and freshly washed I thought they were perfect.

It didn't take long though, for the saggin' baggin' to happen. The sock is clearly too loose in the leg, and I think I need more rows of plain knit before I start the short row heel. I think I want the ribbing to end just above the ankle bone. I've never liked short row heels because I seem to have a deep heel. But on the machine, this is truly the easiest way. Not the only way, but I'm not sure that the amount of work needed for a heel flap would be worth the work. I could take it off and knit the heel by hand faster, then put it back on to knit the rest of the foot.

The foot is also on the looser side. I could tighten up the gauge, but I"m already getting 32st/4" (and the pattern called for 30st/4"), and I like the fabric. I can use fewer sts, but then I have to recalculate the foot length as fewer sts would mean fewer rows in the heel and toe. The pattern row gauge was 36st/4" but I got 44 rows/4" and I like the fabric.

I haven't matched row gauge in any pattern yet. I seem to get too many rows. But I like the fabric.
And I'm not re-knitting these socks again! When I enter them into Ravelry, do I put August 2008 as the start date?!

How Close Can You Go?

The Knitter's version of Limbo:

One sock knit on the machine, using Trekking XXL, but not a perfect fit yet. The scale reads 46grams (from a 100gr ball).

The remaining yarn (scale was zero'ed with an empty roll on it). It reads 48grams (yes, for some reason that does not add up to 100gr).

You know how swatches can lie? The scale can too sometimes. I would have totally not been surprised if I had started the second sock and managed to run out a few rows from the end! But, I had to rip the sock anyway as the fit was not perfect, and since it takes only about 2 hours to knit a sock (if all goes well, LOL), I wasn't going to put up with an imperfect sock. Especially since they'd already been knit once imperfectly and were sitting in the UFO drawer for two years, LOL.

Hoot!

In January, Lucy said she was going to be invited to a classmate's bowling party. She wanted me to make something as a gift. The girl had an owl hat and really liked owls, so Lucy thought some owl mittens would be good. I wasn't actually going to start until I got a 'real' invitation, but I did the research and got ready, just in case. I knew the owl 'cable' was really popular so I figured I could figure something out, but a search on Ravelry revealed "Have a Hoot Mittens". They used slightly larger yarn, so it was fairly easy to get them the right size, considering how much I have used Patons Decor to make kid's mittens. Nonetheless, I still had plenty of issues making these. Won't bore you with those though. Used 4mm needles and 33sts for the start of the hand--one extra on the palm (not in the thumb increases), and one on either side of the back of the hand. Made them two at a time on one circular. That's both a bonus and a pain.

They need some strong blocking, and a 'better' wool would work better, but at the time, I couldn't find a superwash 100% wool (I've always wondered if superwash wool holds the blocking like non-superwash wool). I wish the Patons Decor had a higher wool content.

We spent a long time at Michaels' looking for owl eyes. I thought we'd find eyes for making stuffed animals there, but no. We were too tired to bother with FabricLand, so while watching the Olympic opening ceremony, I stitched the eyes with floss. Oh, I hate doing that! As we were driving home, Lucy saw "Hooter's" and the owls on the signs. She suggested we go there to find owl eyes! LOL!!!!!

The little girl and her mother love them and the mom says she has all kinds of yarn around the house but doesn't know how to knit or crochet and they might like to learn. Maybe the school needs a knitting club?

"To Save Time..."

C'mon now, everybody, finish it with me:

"....Take time to check the gauge".

The baby sweater I made on the ribber recently was a great example of why doing a gauge swatch can be very helpful. Then, there are times when "close enough" is good enough. There are times too, when a swatch can lie. And then there are times when swatching really pays off.

I'm working on a project, and the pattern gauge was 29st/35 rows for 4". I got a decent fabric with 28st/30 rows. Now, 28 to 29 sts...that doesn't sound like much, does it? But, hypothesize...that's one stitch too big for every 4". On a 40" sweater, I would be 10 sts too big. Those 10sts, in my gauge, add up to 1 1/2". Depending on the fit and design of the sweater, that could be huge. The row gauge is funnier. The difference between 30 and 35 sounds big, but at the inch level, it's 8.75 vs 10 rows per inch. That's just 1.25 rows per inch difference. Not much? Over a 25" sweater, that's like, 34 rows difference.

I thought at first I'd make a smaller size. But my gauge is not proportionally different than the pattern. So, I pretty much had to re-write the pattern, which wasn't too bad because there are really good schematics. But more work than I wanted to do, especially while I had a sinus infection.

However, when I've pinned out each piece to steam it, they are EXACTLY the size they should be!

Now, I just hope the measurements I was given are accurate!

A Little More

I wanted to thank everyone, here and in the Ravelry Machine Knitting group and the Yahoo Knitting Machines group, for the encouragement with exploring my ribber! Despite things like, taking 20 minutes to cast on for the second sock, it has been fun.
I also wanted to add that you can see the info and origins of the yarn for the baby sweater if you click on 2008 then August 2008. I had used it for a tuck st baby blanket on the LK150 (pattern in an old KnitWords) and thought the Fisherman's Rib would be a nice option for a sort of matching sweater. I followed Diana's pattern for the smallest size, and, um, it turned out a fair bit smaller. I think it took about 200gr and I still have 180grams of that original skein. Enough for a plain little sweater, or could I try little pants?
And, I just wanted to also add, that those socks, although full of imperfections, are very cozy and soft after being washed. For so long the loose ply and "Sportivo" name had me fooled, but they turned into great socks.

I decided to try another pair of socks, with 2x2 rib for the leg. Found the instructions in my manual, and there was an ambiguity about the tension. Took a guess, tried casting on. Well, first I tried a swatch and had problems casting on, then I tried the sock (different yarn) and had trouble. Ended up casting on both socks by doing the zigzag row by hand.
Flew through the ribbing (although I wasn't sure how to set up the end needles so that when I sew it, it would stay in pattern).

Then I got to where you transfer 1/2 the sts to the ribber bed and 1/2 the sts to the mainbed. In 1x1 ribbing, it's "every other needle" (EON) on both beds, so they just transfer to the empty needles. There are two versions of 2x2 ribbing, and I did the first one, that does xxoxxoxxo on both beds (o being an empty needle). So, you end up having extra sts. In 1x1 rib, you cast on 34 sts on each side of 0 (middle) on both beds, but because you're using EON, you end up with 68sts in total. This time, I pulled out 68sts on both beds, then put every 3rd needle back out of work on both beds. Anyone see where this is heading? There's extra sts that need to get doubled up, and the ribbing ended up with something like 80-odd sts.

At first I thought I was doomed. But it's really odd. Although it's made as a 2x2 rib, it's spaced differently than if you did it by hand. Remember that a purl st is just the back side of a knit st? I really don't know how the machine does it in this configuration, LOL. The ribbing turned out perfect. If I had pulled out 68st in total then the ribbing would have been too small.
I got the sts re-arranged and continued on down the sock. I added a few extra rows this time, and did a 'wedge' toe with decreases like handknitting.It's Lana Grossa Meillenweit "Arizona". Same tension as the first pair of socks, but I used 66 st. They're much greener/olive than these pictures.
I started the needle set up differently for each pair--after I had done the first one, I didn't think I had set it up right for seaming well. But, in the end, they pretty much looked the same once seamed, although inside, one is flatter. I also noticed that I should write things down. I think, for the first sock, I did 60 rows ribbing instead of 50, then I did 10 rounds tubular before the heel. For the second sock, I did 50 rows, which I didn't realize, but then I did 20 rounds before the heel. I realized that, and thought I'd rip back a few rounds, but after about...one or two...I gave up and decided they'd just be different.
So, in actuality, they are almost the same length after all. Whatever. I also decreased the heel down to only 12st instead of 14 and that helped the fit.
Also, with the toe, when I handknit, I do the dec. on every other row until 1/2 the sts are gone, then I do every row. Well, I forgot that and when I took it off the machine, there was a l-o-n-g toe. I tried it on and it didn't look too bad, but was a little short. Of course I had made both before I tried it on. Trying to get those little sts back on the double beds...must try hard to not have to do that again!!
I washed them today and they softened up, but they're not a 'fluffy' sock yarn. They are a better fit overall, but I think the next pair will have a heel flap! I know it can be done! However, my printer is out of ink and I don't want to write the pattern by hand, LOL!