Pussyhat Project

For the past few weeks I've been knitting hats with the Pussyhat Project for women who will be walking in the Women's March On Washington (or Boston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago .....)

The Pussyhat Project aims to:

1. Provide the people of the Women's March on Washington D.C. a means to make a unique collective visual statement which will help activists be better heard.
2. Provide people who cannot physically be on the National Mall a way to represent themselves and support women's rights.

The Pussyhat Project provides a free pattern but, of course, I had to find and tweak a pattern to fit my personality. I found this delightful free pattern for a child's cat ear hat. I was immediately drawn to the shaping done in the crown of the hat and the stitching which define the ears. I changed the center cable pattern and that necessitated adjusting the crown shaping but otherwise the pattern is essential the same.

Here are the notes and pattern for my hat. I think I've knit this hat enough times now that the pattern is accurate. It is not pattern tested, tech edited or have a chart. I also have not yet taken the time to explain stitches but if you're an experienced knitter (especially with cables) you should have no problem.

Gauge: Resizing the hat to fit an adult head was an easy fix by substituting a larger weight yarn. I used aran weight yarn (Red Heart Super Saver & Lion Brand Vanna's Choice both worked well) with size 8 needles but you can use any yarn and needles that will give you a gauge of 16 stitches for every 4".

The pattern is written for an adult small. Follow the numbers in (parenthesis) for a medium/large hat which fit most of the adult women who have tried it on.

Pattern (4 rows):
Row 1: (K16(20), p2, C2B, C2F, p2, C4B, C4F, p2, C2B, C2F, p2) twice
Row 2: (K16(20), p2, k4, p2, k8, p2, k4, p2) twice
Row 3: (K16(20), p2, C2F, C2B, p2, k8, p2, C2F, C2B, p2) twice
Row 4: Repeat row 2.

Hat Body:
Cast on 72(80) stitches, join to knit in a circle.
Work 1 x 1 ribbing for 5 rows.
Next row: M1 after every 9(10) stitches. 80(88) stitches.

Repeat pattern rows 1-4 8(9) times and then work Row 1 once more before beginning crown decreases.

Crown decreases:
Row 1: [K16(20), *p2, k4, p2*, ssk, k4, k2tog, repeat from * to * once more] twice. 76(84) stitches.
Row 2: [K16(20), *p2, C2F, C2B, p2*, ssk k2, k2tog, repeat from * to *] twice. 72(80) stitches.
Row 3: [K16(20), *p2tog, k1, k2tog, k1, p2tog*, ssk, k2tog, repeat from * to * once more] twice 56(64)stitches.
Row 4: [K16(20), *p1, k3tog, p1,* k2tog, repeat from * to * once more] twice 46(54) stitches.

Knit 8(10) Flip hat wrong side out & 3 needle bind-off.
Sew ears.

Hue Shift Afghan

There haven't been a lot of blog posts this past year but it's not because I haven't been crafting. My daughter Sarah got married in July and both she and I crafted away for the event! The coming series of posts are about my handmade things for this milestone.

It's a tradition for me to make afghans for big life events like going off to college, first apartment and getting married. When I saw the Hue Shift Afghan pattern I knew that it was the perfect one to celebrate a wedding.

The Hue Shift Afghan pattern is addictive knitting . Each mitered square took about an hour to knit and every time I finished one square I had to start the next one --"just to get it going". It was often hard to stop. Even though it's a big and time intensive project, it doesn't feel that way while knitting it (until after the first 100 hours, that is).

There are major pros and cons to consider before starting this project. Consider them VERY carefully before starting , this is a reminder for me as well as a warning for you! Most of the time this pattern has to be purchased but Knit Picks occasionally offers it for free.

Pros:

• Stunning and gorgeous looking afghan.
• The yarn used in the pattern, Knit Picks Brava sport weight, is very economical. If the yarn is bought on sale the total cost for the afghan can be as low as $25.00.
• The afghan is worked in four panels of 25 mitered squares which break the knitting into manageable sections. There is a sense of accomplishment when each square and block are finished.
• Easy pattern. How a mitered square is made can be quickly understood and memorized. Also, how the color shifts occur isn't difficult to grasp.
• Minimal amount of seaming. The mitered squares are started by either casting on stitches or picking up stitches from other squares so the only seaming is stitching the four panels together.
• There are negligible amounts of yarn left over. Each color uses all but a few yards of the entire skein of yarn.

Cons:

• It will take a LOT of total time to knit.
• Gauge is important with this project. The amount of yarn left over for each color is only a few yards and if there is ANY variation in your gauge or if the amount of yarn in the skein is short by the slightest amount you will not have enough to finish. I ran short by about 10 yards on only one color but that particular color was backordered for months. Luckily, a kind knitter on Ravelry answered a plea for help and I was able to forge ahead.
• The techniques needed to make this afghan are not difficult but they are fiddly (getting corners just right, picking up stitches, seaming, stretchy bind-off.)
• Yarn is only available online from Knitpicks.
• While Brava is an inexpensive yarn, it has a few problems: The plies split easily and the yarn starts to shred if pulled apart and reworked. Some colors felt thinner than others but interestingly that did not translate to a change in gauge (go figure!)
• Because it's an acrylic yarn the afghan is washable but the ends don't want to stay tucked in after being woven in.

My Knitting Notes:

• I worked the sections in this order: #1, #2, #4, #3
• Swapped the colors C (wine) & D (fairy tale) because I have a preference for the light to dark shift over the red to purple.
• I started by using a marker for the center stitch but after a few mistakes I also double checked the stitch count before and after the three stitches of the center decrease. After a while, I stopped using the marker and just counted.
• Used the backwards loop cast-on and considered it the first row. This gave a clean edge when picking up the border stitches.
• Picked up and then knit stitches from the right side.
• When knitting the first two rows of each square, I worked the three stitches at the corner tightly . This helped keep the center of all the connected corners flat.
• Watch for a smooth connection between squares when picking up stitches, especially at the beginning of rows when casting on. It makes a difference when picking up stitches to knit the border.
• "If square 2 begins with the same color, consider this last remaining stitch the first picked-up stitch of the next square." This instruction from the pattern initially confused me because it only occurs at the first square of section 3. That's a pretty specific general instruction for something that happens just once in the pattern! However, each row has one color that runs its entire length and I carried that color.
• I knit the panels with size 5, the border with size 6 and bound off loosely with size 7 needles.
• After I knit the border I took needle and thread and with a few stitches straightened some crooked corner connections.

 Ravelry Project Page - Hue Shift Afghan

Knit Flower

It's taken me a very long time to make the knitted version of my crochet flower but here it finally is:

Step 1: Starting with a 12" or longer tail, cast on 3 stitches and work 22" of i-cord using a knitting spool or double pointed needles.

Step 2: K1, work a bobble stitch (How to Knit a Bobble Stitch), K1.

Step 3: Bind off, leaving a 12" or longer tail.

Step 4: Keeping the bobble unattached and out of the way, fold the length of i-cord like a fan into five petals, arrange into a flower shape and using the starting tail, stitch together.

Step 5: Position bobble over the center of the flower and using the yarn from the end of the bobble, tack down.

Looks almost identical to the crocheted version. Now you can enjoy it both ways!

Crochet Flower pattern

A Knitting-Book of Counterpanes

The Knitting Collections held by the University of Southampton Library has a treasure trove of digitized 19th century knitting manuals. Among the selections that have been put online is A Knitting-Book of Counterpanes**.

image courtesy
University of Southhampton Library Digitization Unit

Finding this was the perfect opportunity to use a vintage pattern and reproduce a knitted piece for a counterpane like the ones I wrote about in Anne of Green Gables - Cotton Warp Quilts.

I purchased a tube of white Maysville 8/4 cotton warp. It is the kind of cotton warp yarn that would have been available when A Knitting-Book of Counterpanes was published as well as the Anne of Green Gables stories.

The book has patterns for square, triangle and stripe pieces and some of the square patterns were knit on the bias (knitting on the bias involves starting with one stitch and evenly increasing each row until the desired square size is reached and then evenly decreasing back down to one stitch). I chose a bias knit square called The Cable Square Pattern (page 8) and got started.

I began knitting with size 3 needles but that gauge was too loose. I restarted two more times before being happy with the result from size 1 needles. The terms used were different from current terminology but explained well enough that I was able to match them up. For example, plain=knit, pearl=purl, M=knit in the front and back and T=knit two together. The pattern was remarkably easy to follow. When finished the piece looked more like a parallelogram than a square! However, it did block into a very nice 6"x6" square.

There are a couple of considerations when knitting a square on the bias:

Knitting on the bias does not initially produce a square. The piece has to be blocked into a square shape. Did 19th century women block individual pieces before stitching them together into a counterpane? It wasn't difficult or time consuming to block one square but it takes dozens of squares to make a blanket and that seems like a bit too much work.

Symmetry of design. Increase and decrease stitches do not look the same and when the shape or design is mirrored by using them the look is different and slightly off. On this square you can see it in the middle with the chevron design and along the edges.

Ravelry Project Page - The Cable Square Pattern
Final Thoughts: I initially thought I would like to make a vintage counterpane but it would take a lot of time and work so now I don't think so! However, I did very much enjoy working this piece and might work more samples from the book just for fun.

**As of 10/3/2015 this book is no longer included in their collection. At some point, the University of Southampton revamped how their digital collection is displayed. Hopefully, they will have it back soon.

Knit Kitchen Hand Towel

Ravelry Project Page - Knit Kitchen Towel
My reworked version of a classic knit kitchen hand towel pattern. I smoothed out the transition from the body to the top and rewrote the top to be wider and adjustable for desired length.

Kitchen Towel

Materials: 100 grams cotton yarn; 9 needles. 5/8” button

Body
Cast on 64 stitches.
Knit 3 rows
Row 1: K7 (P2, K4) across to last 3 stitches, K3.
Row 2: K3, P4 (K2, P4) across to last 3 stitches, K3
Row 3 to 6: Repeat rows 1 and 2 alternately.
Row 7: K3, P4 (K2, P4) across to last 3 stitches, K3.
Row 8: K7 (P2, K4) across to last 3 stitches, K3.
Repeat Rows 1 to 8 seven more times.
Repeat Rows 1 to 6 once more.

Top
Row 1: K3, P1, P2tog, P1 (K2, P1, P2tog, P1) across to last 3 stitches, K3. (54 sts.)
Row 2: K6 ( P2, K3) across to last 3 stitch, K3.
Row 3: K6 (P2tog, K3) across to last 3 stitches, K3. (45 sts.)
Row 4: K3, P3 (K1, P3) across to last 3 stitches, K3.
Row 5: K3, K2tog, K1 (P1, K2tog, K1) across to last 3 stitches, K3. (35 sts)
Row 6: K3, P2 (K1, P2) across to last 3 stitches, K3.
Row 7: K3, K2tog (P1, K2tog) across to last 3 stitches, K3 (25 sts)
Row 8: K across.
Row 9: K1, K2tog across. (13 sts.)

Rows 10-36: K across.
Add or subtract rows here to fit where the towel will hang.

Row 37: K2tog, K4, YO for buttonhole, K2tog, K2, K2tog. (11 sts.)
Row 38: K across.
Row 39: K2tog, K7, K2tog. (9sts.)
Row 40: K across.
Row 41: K2tog, K5, K2tog. (7sts.)
Bind off. Weave in ends.
Sew button to middle of row 9.

Red Scarf Project - Foster Care to Success

The Foster Care to Success Red Scarf Project has a number of programs which provide assistance to college bound foster youth. One of them, The Red Scarf Project, gives students a Valentine’s Day care package that includes a handmade red scarf. Knitters and crocheters from the faculty, staff and students of Framingham State University recently sent a donation with over a dozen scarves and the package included two scarves that I made.

Ravelry Project Page - Red Scarf Project - Scarf #1

Yarn: 2 skeins of Lion Brand Heartland - Redwood
Needle size: US 10.5
Pattern: Cast on 35 stitches. Work Mistaken Rib pattern.

Ravelry Project Page - Red Scarf Project - Scarf #2

Yarn: 2 skeins of Lion Brand Heartland - Redwood
Hook size: L (8.0 mm)
Pattern: Chain 33. I used the Corded Shells pattern (#211) from 280 Crochet Shell Patterns by Darla Sims but any crocheted shell pattern would work just as well.

The Power of Photos

Ravelry Project Page - Baby Hat

My cousin is a gifted photographer and takes exceptional portraits. A while ago she asked for knitted hats to use when photographing babies and I made a few different types. She photographed her granddaughter in them and the results are stunning!

Her photos are such a cut above my usual static shots and they certainly add polish and sophistication to the end result. I so wished she lived closer because I would beg her to photograph all my work.

Ravelry Project Page - Bumblebee Hat

Ravelry Project Page - Munchkin Hat

Tilted Duster

The Tilted Duster (Ravelry pattern page) is a popular sweater pattern which was first published in Interweave Knits, Fall 2007.

Almost everything about this sweater was difficult and a challenge. Many of the complications were because of my own choices and pattern changes but there were plenty of fit and knitting challenges as well.

I started the Tilted Duster early in 2008, finished it in 2011 and I'm blogging about it now in 2014. I procrastinated with every step of this project! If you decide to knit this sweater, save yourself from headaches and frogging by researching the experiences of other knitters and what they've done. Begin with the Tilted Duster project page at Ravelry. You won't regret it.

Here are my contribution to the research:

My Ravelry project page is here.

First, check gauge. Proper fit is important with this design so do not skip making a swatch. Second, measure yourself and use accurate measurements. The Tilted Duster has an modified empire waist and it is NOT flattering to have the skirt of the sweater start mid-breast.

Webs did a knit-along with this pattern in 2007 and their tips and tricks were extremely helpful. A keyword search using Tilted Duster at their blog will return a page with links to posts and podcasts where the knit-along is discussed. There used to be a link to an electronic file containing the notes from these podcasts but now I can't find it (if you happen to know where this link is please let me know and I'll post it.)

When binding off I used the sloped bind-off method and on the skirt side panel I used paired increases of make one right and make one left. Knittinghelp.com has videos on all of these of these techniques.

I made a checklist to keep track of the increases, decreases and number of stitches between the markers while knitting the skirt.

I completely reworked the sleeves. The tightness of the sleeve design was frequently mentioned by other knitters so I knew I was going to have to make alterations. I knit the sleeve in the round and made a looser fitting sleeve with these adjustments:

-- Cast on 36 stitches
-- Knit rib for 4" - ending wrong side.
-- Increased every 6 stitches - 42 stitches.
-- Increased 2 stitches every 6 rows until 60 stitches.
-- Worked sleeve cap shaping for size 44 (I was working everything else in size 36) and I also added a couple of extra rows in the sleeve cap for additional length.

Other knitters used various techniques to prevent the skirt front from rolling (garter stitch, crochet, I-Cord) but I thought they all spoiled the clean design. I simply steamed and ironed the bottom edge of the sweater using a plush towel to help prevent compressing the yarn.

It was hard to persevere and see this sweater to completion. It wasn't that far from being done when I lost patience and threw everything into a bag and the corner of a closet. The Tilted Duster became an UFO (unfinished object) for over two years before I got back to it with fresh eyes and renewed energy. I'm glad I didn't give up on it. It's a creative and different design, a challenging knit and a great sweater.

Blue Wrap Sheath Dress

Every two years the Fashion Design and Merchandising Department at Framingham State University hosts a design competition to make garments and accessories by recycling "Blue Wrap". Blue Wrap is a highly durable polypropylene fabric that is used to wrap medical supplies and instruments. The event is held primarily for students, but faculty and staff are encouraged to contribute, to showcase their work. Last time, I experimented with making "yarn" from Blue Wrap, and I designed a knit purse, made with this yarn, that you can read about here. This year, I was thinking bigger, and I wanted to make a dress.

I chose to make a classic sheath dress, which seemed to me to have the perfect fashion silhouette. However, throughout the process, I strugged with myself to keep it simple. I repeatedly had to restrain the impulse to add cables, lacework or other embellishments -- just because I could -- rather than letting the textured knitting that was created with the Blue Wrap yarn speak for itself.

I do not draw well so I do not have sketches. However, in my mind I saw a sleeveless, close-fitting dress that accentuated the waist and tapered from the hips to the hemline. When everything was finished, it was one of the rare times that the design vision in my head was executed exactly as I had visualized it. The addition of cap sleeves was the only important deviation from the original inspiration.

Usually when I make an item, it is intended for a specific person. But in this case, because I had no idea who would need (or want) a dress made out of Blue Wrap, I fit the garment to a size 8 dress form. I also had NO idea how much Blue Wrap yarn the dress was going to require, so I cut, and I cut, ........ and I cut. 100g is frequently the amount supplied in a commercial skein of yarn. So it was an interesting coincidence to find that a sheet of Blue Wrap measuring 35" x 35" produced around the same 100g of yarn. It took 3 1/2 hours to make each ball of yarn, and I didn't feel secure about starting to knit until I had made nine of them.

I liked the knit fabric that was produced in my previous project, so I used the same needles. Just to verify that I would get the same gauge as I did last time, I worked a new sample. Once I had a new knit gauge sample and measurements from the dress form, I started to calculate and to knit. I have not written a pattern for the dress (and, as of now, I don't intend to) but here are the major design and shaping details:

The dress was knitted in one piece from the hem to the shoulder seams.

The dress has only one seam from the end of the zipper to the top of the slit at the center back.

There is a 4" slit at the back of the dress to help the tapered bottom of the dress to fit over the hips.

There is 0 ease -- the dress was knit to the measurements of the dress form.

I made a muslin mockup of the top right half of the dress to determine the neckline placement and it was at this point I changed my original idea of a sleeveless garment to one with a cap sleeve.

I took the knitting off of the needles and made fittings at three major junctions: the hips, the waist and the shoulders (just before grafting the shoulders together).

There is a 22" zipper hand sewn into the center back.


The knitting was fairly straightforward:

The entire dress is knitted in stockinette stitch. The yarn has tabs made by the fused ends of the Blue Wrap. Although I used these tabs as an embellishment on the purse, this time I chose to hide the tabs by pushing them through the fabric to the inside.

The shaping for the body of the dress was done in the side seams, with paired increases and decreases.

The front and back of the dress were grafted together at the shoulder seams.

The edge of the hem was finished with a row of single crochet. The neckline and sleeve edges were finished with a knit selvage edge.

The dress used up a little less than 400g of my Blue Wrap yarn supply, which was less than half of the amount that I had cut.

People often ask me how much time an item took to make, and I rarely know the answer. The same was true of this Little Blue Wrap Dress. I am willing to design and redesign, to work and rework something until I am happy with the result, regardless of whether that takes 2, 20, 200 or 2000 hours.

I love this Little Blue Wrap Dress. I may have to use the leftover yarn and knit one to my own measurements!