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Posts Tagged ‘double knitting’

Just Another Two-tone Honeycomb Purse

Posted in Knitting Projects, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 25, 2014| 1 Comment »

taylors purse

I recently finished the purse I was making for my grand-daughter, so thought I would give you a peek.

This time I knitted the honeycomb stitch in two colors.  You can see the blue peeking out from underneath the black.

This project was accomplished with a double knit for the body, with the flap knitted in the round.  To keep the gauge equal while knitting the flap, I knitted in the round only on the knit rows.  I will demonstrate how this is done, when I complete the pattern.  Below you can see the smooth result of this method.

 

taylors purse-flap lining-2

 

You will notice that I used an I-cord to complete the flap edge.  To keep it from stretching, I ran a piece of satin cord through the opening.  It worked great.

One thing that I have come a conclusion about is that you need to firm up the top of the purse edge with a traditional, non-stretchy bind off.  Next time I make the purse, I will bind off the lining stitches, then pick up new stitch in the bound off edge before proceeding with the flap.  This will insure that my flap will retain it’s shape, especially since the outer edge will be kept in tow with the I-cord.

Below is a photo of the closure.  No button to stretch, just a tab of ribbon to pull it open.

taylors purse- velcro illust

You will notice that the corresponding Velcro is about 1/2 inch above the top edge of the purse.  I find that this assures that the closure doesn’t have to be exact to be secure-especially for a 9 year old.  The tab of ribbon aids in opening the purse.

taylors purse-color close up

 

I love the two-tone version.  I think it would be really attractive if you used a variegated  jeweled tone under neath, perhaps even one with a bit of sparkle.  Hummmm???????

 

Just sharing- KT

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Double Knitting Two Different Patterns and Gauges

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on June 2, 2014| Leave a Comment »

I have been working on the idea of double knitting my Honeycomb purse design, but ran into an interesting problem.  The Honeycomb stitch I created with my #4 needle and Galileo sports yarn, worked out to have 5 sts to 12 rows per inch, and the stockinette stitch with the same yarn and needles worked out to 6 sts and 8 rows per inch- needless to say,that ain’t gonna work!  So… how to solve the dilemma?  I had to eliminate 4 rows somewhere.

I had to think about that one for a bit, but the answer was quite simple-slip every 3rd row, of the stockinette stitch.  I tried it and it worked.

 

Below is a sample of a solid color honeycomb pattern.

001 (7)

This sample is knitted in the round.

002 (8)

The above photo is what the inside of the sample swatch looks like.  I have slipped every 3rd round of these Stockinette rounds.

How do I know it works?  When I pulled out the needle the top of both side lined up perfectly.

003 (9)

In this photo, I was working back and forth in rows, and decided to pull out the needle to show you what happens.  both sides are the same.  With this discovery, my purse lining will always fit.  The flap will be flat, and Ican insert a woven interfacing to stabilize the shape before finishing off the edge.

I have charted this process for you to try.  There is a swatch chart for knitting it in the round, so you can make a purse or whatever, and there is a chart for a swatch for practicing using it in rows.  I have also upload a tutorial that illustrates the Honeycomb stitch.

 There are also instructions for a long tail  1 x1 ribbed cast on.  The purl cast on is illustrated here.   The knit stitch is created by the normal method of creating the stitch with a long tail cast.  These two methods are alternated, creating  what I call a “ribbed cast on.”  It works great for setting up double knitting.

I hope you give it a try.  I can see all kinds of possibilities for this technique.  Hummmm??????

Honeycomb Stitch Illustration

Honeycomb Pattern Swatch Charts

Happy Knitting- KT

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Knitted Cake Pan Jacket

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on May 23, 2014| 1 Comment »

Well- I promised I would work on this, so here it is.

cake pan jacket

I used cotton yarn(Peaches and Cream), and 1 inch elastic (non-roll).  I also opted for a variegated MC (main color) and used a solid black for my CC(contrast color).

In the process of working on this I also discover how to make a alternating color cable cast on, which is match on on the top with and alternating color cast off, both edges mirroring each other.  I think it is pretty cool.

The main body of the knit is done in double knitting, which forms the casing for the elastic.  The elastic band is knitted right in, so when you are done-your done!

Below I have uploaded instructions for this project, in which I have included instructions for the “alternate color cable cast on, and off.  There is a swatch practice for you to use for establishing your gauge and practicing both the cast on, and cast off.

If you are not sure why you should make one or two of these “pan jackets”  then check out this post

 

Cake Pan Jacket

Happy knitting- KT

PS-Because of my discovery, I also can use this method to make straps for my purses.  Having the casing open on both ends will allow me to insert a piece of ribbon into the strap, stabilizing the stretching, and…..I will have two pretty edges to boot.  Yeah!!!!

Oh,just an observation-

I washed my jacket, squeezed it out, put it on my pan, blocked it out and let it dry.   Then  I  observed that the cotton yarn holds the moisture quite a bit longer than wool, so  I finally, tossed it in a low dryer.  It didn’t hurt it a bit.  I can’t wait to bake with it.  I will let you know the results.

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Latest Honeycomb Purse

Posted in Kniting Acessories, Knitting Projects, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2014| Leave a Comment »

black hand bag

The Gallileo yarn from Knitpicks really brings out the beauty of this stitch, even in black.  This particular purse measures 9 by 5.  Unlike the one I posted before, I chose to finish the flap edge with single crochet, stopping at mid point to chain up a loop for the button closure before moving on to the main body of the purse.  I similarly joined the lining and main body together, slipping in the strap ends before closing.  It worked great.  No sewing.

The button was worked on a plastic ring, single crocheting around the circumference, then adding an additional round (with increases) to make it a bit larger.

The strap on this particular purse is 40 inches long, worked as a single I-cord.  I contained the stretch ( to 45 inches)by inserting a strand of yarn through the tube and fastened it to the main body of the purse.  Once set, it seems to hold it’s length very well.  You could also insert a piece of any kind of piping or cording to accomplish the same thing.

I particularly like this length as I can wear it around my neck and drape my purse on the side of my hip, having it available at my finger tips.

black hand bag- lining

You will notice that I used the silver lining yarn as my main color in the two tone coin purse.  This is not as hard as it looks.  It comes down to setting up with the MC (in this case silver), knitting the knit rounds of the pattern in black, and the purl rounds in silver.  Yes, this is a magic loop knit, no seams in either item.

black hand bag and coin purse

 The companion coin purse measure about 4 by 3, and has a squeeze frame closure.

black hand bag coin purse-squeeze frame demo

I found the squeeze frames at “Hardware Elf.”   They have them in large and small for coin purses, and also have them for larger openings, as for the entire top of a purse.

 Everywhere I go with this purse I have had may compliments.  It only weighs 3.6 ounces.

I am working on the pattern and hope to have it available for you to upload soon.

This pattern includes working double knit on the flap, which give you the opportunity to connect the lining with the right side to avoid slippage.  By knitting a dotted lining pattern, your outside flap will hold it’s shape.  I didn’t do it on this one, but I have experimented and found I had better results with the double knitting.

This purse flap was simply stitched together by weaving in between the layers with one ply of the yarn and a sharp needle.  I did try to insert some light weight plastic mesh, but I didn’t like the results-to stiff.

Just sharing-

Happy knitting!

KT

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Double Knitting- Even Tension Tip

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on April 13, 2014| Leave a Comment »

There is nothing more disheartening than to be working along with two colors on a double knit and discover that you have an uneven row on one side or the other, creating an unattractive line across the face of your knitted surface.   Some people call this “rowing out.” Who wants that??

As a rule I knit very evenly in stockinette, but when I double knit I have run into this problem.  What’s the answer?

I tried knitting with the yarns carried in one  hand, but soon knew that this was definitely NOT the answer.  Next, I tried using both hands, just as I do when color knitting.  It worked much better, but the purls were still  a bit loose.  Then, I took the time to work just a few stitches (about 16) in a swatch, examining every row.

I soon discovered that I needed to take up more slack when I purled the alternate color.  The results were stunning.  The trick- look for the purl bump.  Raise it up so that you can see it near the top of your needle.  You might even feel the yarn taking up the slack as you make the lift-I did.

If you are knitting Continental, and purling English the “purple” on the right-hand index finger below will be raising the “purl bump” toward the top of the needle.

double knitting tension 1I you are knitting English and purling Continental, then your left-hand index finger will be lifting the purl bump into position before the right hand swings the yarn back to begin the next set of yarns in the sequence.

double knitting tension 2

 

 

The results-

double knitting sample 1

No ridges

double knitting sample 2

My advice- practice this.  See what results you get.  I works for me, maybe it will work for you.

One more thing.  I don’t know if you have noticed but when you are double knitting the gauge changes.  In my experience, I find that it usually runs 6 stitches to 8 rows, instead of the 6 stitches to 9 rows that I knit in a flat pattern.  Because of this, I have uploaded both charts, as one can be used for regular color knitting and the 6 by 8’s can be used for DK knitting.  These charts are in on my “Free Patterns” page.

double knitting sample 3

As this is the first block of my “Idaho Memories Afgan”  I did not want to be dealing with this problem for 30 blocks of the design.  Now I don’t have to.  Yeah!!!!

Hope this helps-  KT

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An Oop’s Turned into a Blessing

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2014| 1 Comment »

nordic rose knee high finish 1

When I finished these “Nordic Rose” knee highs, I found that they were a bit loose for me.  At first, I just washed them in the washer and put them into the dryer to shrink them a mite.  That helped a little but they were still a tad to big around the ankle.
To compensate, I pulled them up higher, which left me with a ribbed band that was a bit long.   The fix-fold it over, encasing  1/8 th inch elastic bands to secure them around the top of the calf.

nordic rose knee high finish 2

Because I had striped the ribbing, I was able to use a crochet hook to slip stitch the opposing purl bumps  that formed the black strips together (top of photo) to form a casing for the joined  elastic band.  The next step was to slip another elastic ring over the sock in into the area just under the first casing.  Using the crochet hook again, I slip stitched the top edge of the stocking to the base of the ribbing.

The real lesson here is that because the stockings are a bit looser, and they have the elastic rings in the top to pull them in, they stay up all day.

The next time I make this design, I will plan my casings in the ribbed( using #2″s)  area, use the #3 needle for the calf area before the decreases, then return to the #2 to finish the stocking.  That extra stitch per inch in the calf area, allows the knitting to move with you, without seeking a path of least resistance to the ankle- just like water flowing down hill.  The secret is to make them long enough to have the elastic ride above the largest calf portion, so that it pulls in just below the knee.

Below are the charts for this stocking.

Nordic Rose Knee High Pattern

Nordic Rose Knee High Chart

Nordic Rose Heel, Toe, and Border Charts

Happy Knitting-

KT

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Honeycomb Handbag Work Samples

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on March 23, 2014| Leave a Comment »

Since my last post, I have been playing around with the idea of double knitting the handbag. Below is a sample of my efforts.

Double Knit Hand bag Sample

Right side- Honeycomb

Wrong side = Stockinette

double knit honeycomb sample

Above is the outside (or right side) knit in the honeycomb stitch.

double knit hand bag inner lining

Here you can see the lining of the handbag in white.  It is knit in  the stockinette stitch.  It really wasn’t as hard as I thought it might be.  You only have to work with both yarns every other round.  The second and fourth rounds require that you work the yarns separately, as the honeycomb stitch is purled in those rounds.

The Stuffed I-cord

Now, the next sample is the result of working out the idea of a “stuffed” I-cord.  This creates a true cording that will stand up along the edge, and is worked from the back side of the fabric.  In this sample I cast on 3 extra stitches, connecting the 4th st with the 5 fth by knitting them together through the back loop.

stuffed I-cord

*I just knit this up on the spur of the moment so I knitted the I-cord onto a swatch I had been working on, so that’s why you see the wrong side of the fabric.

Before bringing the yarn across the back I inserted 3 strands of the purple.  To keep it in its proper place, I only had to make sure to bring the working yarn(white) under neath the 3 strands before pulling it across to knit the next section of the I-cord.

stuffed I-cord - 2

Here is a top view.  You can see that the tube is nicely rounded.  I am definitely going to try it on one of my pillows.

I will also use the same color yarn to fill the center, that way nothing will show through.  You could also use commercial cotton cording if you prefer.

Just thought I would share.

I can’t wait to get the yarn for the final version of my handbag.  🙂

KT

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Keeping the Yarns in Order

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , , on March 5, 2014| Leave a Comment »

In my last post I illustrated in photos my understanding of one-handed  double knitting- meaning carrying both yarns in one hand.  That say,  today I wanted to share with you what other little gem I observed as I was in the middle of finishing up my double knitted heel.

I noticed that if I was careful to move my wrist and index finger as one unit when “throwing” the yarn (English), my yarns stayed in place, making the purl stitch much easier to complete.

keeping the yarns in order 1

As you can see in the above photo, I have just completed making my knit stitch in red.  You will also see that the alternate (black) is to the right, as it should be.  Now in order for this to be in the same order when I bring my yarns forward between the needles, I must lift my index finger up and to the left to go around the needle, but at the same time I need to turn my wrist and follow it, instead of just giving the yarn a toss.

keeping the yarns in order 2

In the photo above you can see that not only my finger, but my whole hand is turned toward the left.  Now when I come down between the needles the yarn is still in the same place, and ready for me to purl the second half of the double knit by slipping the needle tip between the yarns as I demonstrated in the previous post.

I also tried this using Continental style knitting while carrying both yarns in the left hand.  The only difference is that the primary or MC needs to be the one on the bottom.  And… in this case you only need to move straight forward between the needles to pick up the back yarn to create your purl.  Either way, with practice, the even tension in my double knitting has become very evident.

One more thing- if the pattern requires a change in colors, I reach under the previous MC, to retrieve the new one.   In doing it this way, the alternate color falls into its proper position.

It works for me.

KT

 

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Double Knitting with Yarns in One Hand

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , on March 3, 2014| Leave a Comment »

While double knitting the toe and heel on my Nordic Rose stockings, I decided to try holding the yarns in one hand.  Why?  Because, all methods so far, have always yielded an occasional uneven stitch.  I don’t like that. 😦    There are  instructions on the net for holding the yarns separated on one hand, but for me it was very awkward.

After thinking about this problem for a while, I started really paying attention to how the yarns lay in my right hand, and I discovered that if I made sure that my main color(black) for the knit stitch was to the left of the alternate color on my right index finger(or on top), I was able to move right along, smooth transitioning from knit to purl, while maintaining an even stitch tension.

Below are some photos of the process I used.

dk knitting-setting up for new row

In the photo above I have just slipped the knit and purl of the short row of my heel, and am preparing to work on the right side row.

dk knitting with one hand -1

Since black is my main color, I made sure when I picked up the yarns with my right hand that black was to the left of the red, or on top.

dk knitting -knitting the first stitch

You can see in this photo that I am picking off the black for the first stitch.

dk knitting- setting up for purl stitch

Now that the knit stitch is completed, both yarns have been moved to the front in preparation for the purl stitch in red.

dk knitting -picking up yarn for purl

To pick off the red yarn to complete the purl stitch, the right needle tip passed between the two yarns, as my right hand move to the left to wrap it on the needle to complete the purl stitch.

dk knitting - finishing purl stitch

The purl stitch is now completed.  Once done, both yarn are moved to the back, between the needles.

Also- I decided rather than working with the balls of yarn in each pocket of my stranded knitting bag (see free pattern page for upload), I opted for single strands about 2 yards long.  Why?  It makes it easier to refresh your yarn position in the right hand (English), or left(Continental).

When your strands are not attached to their respective balls, they get less tangled, and it only takes a few seconds to pull out a single strand to straighten everything out.  Then the strands get down to about a foot left, I simply “spit” splice on another addition.

*Note- the one thing I noticed when using the “one handed” method is that you need to make sure that the yarn from your knit stitch (MC) is laying over the purl yarn when they are swung to the back in preparation for another set of stitches. If not, then you caught the MC when you attempted the purl stitch.  The solution-take it out and do it over.  I have done this many times.  Now I quickly glance at the yarn position before I move on.

Hope this is of some help.

KT

PS-thought I would upload the photo of my results.

dk knitting - results from one hand method

Quite often when knitting double knitting with two hands, every other row is tighter, resulting in ridges in your knitting.  To me, the method above seems to bring a much better result.

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Double Knit Nordic Short Row Heel

Posted in Knitting Projects, Knitting Tutorials, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on January 8, 2014| 2 Comments »

After completing the Nordic socks, I ventured to come up with a double knit heel to replace the two I knitted in the original design.  Below is a photo of the results.

double knit short row heel-1I began this heel “test” with a provisional crocheted chain of waste yarn, ( as I do all my experiments),then picked up 37 sts using the MC, then set up my double knitting row.  Setting aside the 5 stitches in the center, I worked a alternate checker board design for the rest of the heel.

I treated the short rows the same as I would if I were working with a single thread, except for the fact that I brought both yarns to the back when slipping the front knit stitch, and both yarns to the front, before slipping the back purl stitch.

Below is a photo of the inside.

double knit short row heel-2

Here is a photo of the completed turns.

double knit short row heel-4

double knit short row heel-5

Both sides are completely finished and ready to complete the rest of the sock.  You can also use this method to make you toe section.

double knit short row heel-6

I closed the short rows in the same manner as I use in J’ Short Row Heel instructions, using the appropriate color to retain the design.  The only difference is that you will be working one side at a time.  After completing the knit side closure, I  bring the yarn to the front, then turn the work around. With the left needle tip, I pick up the slipped st in the row below the stitch to the right of the slipped st, place it on the needle, then turn the work again back to my original knitting position, then purl the two stitches together.  The rest is the same.

I have charted this design, you can upload to practice with in the near future, but for now, it’s something you might think about trying.  The instructional PDF includes several charts for you to choose from. I have also included some illustrations.

Double Knit Short Row Nordic Heel

I definitely will be using this in my next knee high stocking design, and my husbands socks as well.

Happy knitting !!!

KT

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