WIP: Cardigan & Romper for New Grandson

Okay — I swatched some more on this cardigan project. Earlier I had posted about Things Learned from a Swatch. Well, I continued to be dissatisfied with my color selections — I really just do not like that light aqua color for this sweater. So, I went back to my LYS and bought up all the teal color they had — which is the color I really wanted for the main color on the cardigan. The problem is that there isn’t enough of this color to do both a cardigan and a romper to match.

So, standing in front of the yarn bin at the store, I decided that I’d try using a combination of the teal, the red AND a darker blue. There was enough of the darker blue in one dye lot to do the romper and there was 1 ball of another dye lot left. Since I only need 1 ball of the darker color to do the alternating 3 color pattern in the cardigan, I bought this ball as well because the color variation is not that different between the two dye lots and since it will be mixed in with the other colors, it should work out okay.

Swatch_Cardigan3 Here’s my swatch with the new color scheme added. The darker blue color definitely shows up better than the lighter blue against the teal color that I want for the main color. I have started knitting the romper in the darker blue and I think I’m going to really like the coordinated outfit that will result. This project is a bit challenging because I am knitting on size 0 and size 1 needles to get the right guage. Lots and lots of small stitches…

Related Post

Three Stretchy Bind-off’sThree Stretchy Bind-off’s

All of us know the standard bind-off (K2, pass first stitch over, *K1, psso, repeat from * until all stitches are bound off). This is a useful bind-off and it works well for any number of knitting projects where you need a nice firm edge. You can occasionally have trouble with it, however, if you do it too tightly and most of us have experienced the frustration of a too tight bound off edge. Most often to correct this you simply need to bind-off more loosely by pulling your stitches out a little more when doing the passing over of the stitch.

Then, there are those projects where you simply need a much more elastic – or stretchy – bind-off. I discovered a couple of these stretchier bind-offs as I was looking for a different bind-off for my Crazy Zauberball Shawl. And I thought I’d post them here for future reference with some of my notes.
You see, I tried them all in the process of finishing the shawl and ended up doing the standard bind-off anyway because I was at the very end of my yarn and all three of the bind-offs used up more yarn. So, one thing to keep in mind with these more elastic bind-offs is that they are stretchy because they use more yarn.

The Elastic Bind-off
This is a very nice, stretchy bind-off. I will probably use it for toe-up socks and ribbed necklines.

To do the Elastic Bind-off:
Knit first two stitches, then * slip them back onto the left needle.
Then knit these two stitches together through the back loop.
Knit the next stitch and repeat from * until bind off is complete.

Here is a You-Tube video of this bind-off:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Da40Z_YVr0Q&feature=related

The Lace Bind-off
This bind-off is also known as the Decrease Bind-off. It produces a very nice elastic edge that really looked nice on the edge of my shawl, but it takes about 2-3 times more yarn to complete than the standard bind-off. I would use this bind-off with any lace shawls or scarves.

To do the Lace Bind-off:
Knit together the first two stitches on the left needle, through the back loop.
Then slip the stitch now on the right needle back onto the left needle.
Repeat these two steps until the bind-off is complete.

Good pictures and explanation at Knitty.com. Here’s the link:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEsummer06/FEATsum06TT.html

Jeny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off
Many sock knitters swear by this bind-off. It does produce a super elastic edge, but I don’t think I would use it on a lace shawl.

This bind-off is nicely explained and demonstrated in an article on Knitty.com. Here’s the link:
http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall09/FEATjssbo.php

If you haven’t tried any of these bind-offs, I recommend that you do. It’s always nice to have more than one method of finishing off your lovely knitted item. I’d love to hear from any of my readers about any other bind-offs they like/love to use. Just leave me a comment (and a link if you have one). Thanks!

Happy Knitting.

A Blanket for CharlotteA Blanket for Charlotte

As I did for her big brother, I knit a blanket for Charlotte using cotton yarn. For this blanket, I used “I Love This Cotton!” yarn from Hobby Lobby. This is a lovely yarn that knits up into a soft fabric with wonderful drape. It’s machine washable — which is a must for baby items.

Charlotte's Blanket

The pattern is Leafy Baby Blanket by Leyla Alivea. It is a free pattern available on her blog, Silk & Wool and also on Ravelry. It’s an easy lace pattern — and as you can see — I got great stitch definition with the yarn.

Other details: Yarn – I Love This Cotton! in Colorway 74 Pink, 180 yds/skein. Used 5 skeins(900 yds)
Needles: US Size 8 (5.00 mm)
Finished measurements: 36″ X 40″

German Twisted Cast On (a.k.a. Old Norwegian Cast on)German Twisted Cast On (a.k.a. Old Norwegian Cast on)

The German Twisted Cast On, which is also known as the Old Norwegian Cast On, is a variation of the standard Long Tail Cast on. This cast on has an extra twist in the working yarn. This makes it more elastic than the LTCO and it also uses a little more yarn.

The cast on has a nice edge that looks good on both the right and wrong sides of the fabric.  It is a very good cast on to use for cuffs, mittens, gloves, and hats.

Link to video on Twisted German Cast On.

Link to slow motion video for Twisted German Cast On.

Suzanne Bryan (Master Hand Knitter and excellent teacher) has developed a new variation for a stretchy twisted long tail cast on. Link to video: Twisted Long Tail CO in Pattern.

This post ends my series on cast ons for now. I hope my readers have found this information helpful.