FO: Basic Anklets — Cuff Down

After doing two pairs of the “Fancy Feet” Anklets, I came to the following conclusions:
1) I really, really do not like to knit socks of any type toe-up. (I know that may shock those of you that swear toe-up is the only way to go — but there it is. I just don’t like to knit ’em that way.
2) I don’t like the repeating short rows that make the heel on this pattern. I don’t care for it’s depth or it’s shape.
3) I prefer using the German Short Row method over the “Wrap and Turn” method.

As knitters, we do have the right to our preferences. These are some of mine.

That said, I got out my needles and some leftover sock yarn and started working on a basic anklet pattern, cuff down. I have now finished my first pair and my notes are a bit sketchy — so I will need to knit a couple more pairs before I put out my basic pattern. But here a couple of pictures of the completed anklets:

Details:
Yarn: Leftover Serendipity yarn in colorway Amethyst
Needles: US 2 (2.50 mm) circulars, 48″
Magic Loop method. Pattern has a basic rib cuff and a short-row heel. Knit in stockinette stitch.

You will note the pooling on this yarn. I wrote about how this variegated yarn pools depending on the size of needles and the number of stitches back in 2010. If you’re interested here’s the link: A Study of Pooling in a Variegated Sock Yarn

Related Post

How to Knit a Helpful Swatch – Part 3 Swatching in the RoundHow to Knit a Helpful Swatch – Part 3 Swatching in the Round

It took me a good bit of time to decide if I thought it was necessary to knit swatches in the round if I was knitting an item in the round rather than flat. The practice of knitting sweaters flat in pieces that are sewn together versus knitting sweaters in the round is, in itself, a whole topic with proponents for each practice.  I may take this topic up at a later time, but for now I will focus on knitting a swatch in the round.

First, there are many knitters and designers who only use gauge swatches knit flat to determine their stitch gauge even if the pattern is knit in the round, and second,  most patterns do not state how the gauge swatch was done. All you see in the pattern is the gauge statement.

Do you know if your gauge is the same if you knit in the round as when you knit flat? There’s a good chance that it’s not. As I’ve said before, gauge is a measure of how an individual knitter knits.

Think about how you knit when you knit in the round. One of the biggest differences is that you only knit on the right side of the fabric when you knit in the round. Using stockinette stitch as an example: When you knit flat, you knit one row (right side) and then turn your work and purl the next (wrong side). When you knit in the round, you join the stitches to make a circle and then knit every round.

Now, if you are one of the many knitters whose purls are looser than their knits, there is going to be a difference in tension between something you knit flat and something you knit in the round. Plus, you may modify your technique for knitting when knitting in round from when you knit flat. If you use straight needles when knitting flat, then switch to using circular needles or double point needles (dpns) to knit circular – your gauge may be significantly different. This is why I have come to the conclusion that it is good practice to swatch in the round when planning a project that will be knit in the round.

So how does one knit a swatch in the round? The first method is to cast on a enough stitches to give you a knitted tube that will be at least 4+ inches when laid flat. This could be the start of a sock or a hat. (Elizabeth Zimmerman said that “a hat makes a good swatch”.) Once you have a tube knitted of sufficient length for a good  measurement, you treat this swatch the same way you would if your swatch that was knitted flat – i.e. measure, block, re-measure.

The second method goes by a couple of different names: “Speed Swatch” and “Circular Swatch with Floats” are two that I have found in my research. In this method, you use a circular needle and cast on the same number of stitches you would if you were knitting flat. But instead of knitting a row and then turning the swatch and knitting back to the end of the row, you slide your stitches to the needle on the opposite end and strand the working yarn loosely across the back and start knitting the next row. You keep repeating this process until you have a long enough swatch for good measurements. See pictures below:

Once you have the swatch completed, you treat it the same way as any swatch – measure unblocked, block, re-measure. A note about measuring this swatch: Some sources suggest that it is easier to measure this swatch after cutting the loose strands so that the swatch will lay flat. Others simply say to measure the swatch by laying it as flat as you can. Logically, you are not going to want to cut the strands if you plan to reuse the yarn in the swatch. I’ve tried both ways and did not find a significant difference in measurements.  Here are pictures of the swatch above after I blocked it and cut the floats to take the measurements:

So if you plan to knit a sweater in the round, please do your swatch in the round.

If you would like to see a video on this technique, here are three helpful ones:

Nancy Wynn,  “How to do a Circular Gauge – Speed Method”: https://youtu.be/1W9XYgd3s7I

HowToCast: “How to Knit a Circular Gauge Swatch”:  https://youtu.be/E1z2pbRmddY

11 Gauge Swatch Secrets PLUS How to Swatch in the Round | Off Our Needles S3E1: https://youtu.be/tv7uy0HetrI

Part 2: Freeing Yourself from a Pattern – Step 1, Take Good MeasurementsPart 2: Freeing Yourself from a Pattern – Step 1, Take Good Measurements

In my last post, I outlined how to use EZ’s Percentage System to design a sweater. Today, I will spend some time answering a question from Amanda, who asked, “What do you do when the pattern does not have instructions for YOUR size?”

This is very frustrating for those of us who are either smaller or larger than the range of sizes given by the pattern designer. I have never fully understood why some designer’s only develop their patterns for “Small, Medium, & Large”, though the trend seems to be to at least go up to “Extra Large” in current knitting publications. But, if your measurements do not correspond to the designer’s definition of “medium”, you may still find yourself with a sweater that is not well-fitting.

Isn’t that the goal for all of us? To knit a well-fitting garment? So, once again, the answer is to use the pattern as a general guideline and develop your own sweater according to your own measurements. Your measurements are your starting point.

There are two ways to take your measurements:
#1: Take measurements from a sweater that fits you the way you like/love.
Lay the sweater out flat on a table or other flat surface and take the following measurements:

The Chest Measurement [CM] – this is the widest point of the sweater, usually right below the underarm. Measure from side seam to side seam. Remember that since you are measuring with the garment laying flat, that the actual chest measurement is twice this amount. (Important if you will be knitting in the round).

Shoulder Width[ShW] – this is the measurement across the shoulders from the seams or the point where the arm meets the body. This measurement is important for a proper fitting sweater.

The Neck Measurment [NM] – measure this for both the front and the back and note if the garment has shaping that creates depth – due to a difference in the front neckline from the back.

Armhole Depth [AD] – measure from the top of the sleeve at the shoulder seam down to the underarm.

Sleeve Length [SL] – measure from the top of the sleeve at the shoulder seam to the beginning of the sleeve.

Wrist Measurement [WM] – measure the width of the wrist at the bottom of the sleeve.

Sleeve Width [SW] – measure the widest part of the sleeve.

Side Seam Length [SSL] – measure from the bottom of the sweater to the point where the sleeve meets the body at the underarm.

Back Length [BL] – at the center of the back – measure from the center of the back neck edge to the bottom of the sweater.

Front Length [FL] – at the center of the front (or front edge if a cardigan) – measure from the front neck edge to the bottom of the sweater.

Other measurements that you may want –
width of sleeve at the elbow
width at waist (if sweater tapers in at the waist)

I am including a diagram that you can use to record these measurements – click here: Measurements Diagram.

#2 – Take your measurements using your body.
Note – this is best accomplished with the help of a good friend. Measurements to be taken are the same as above, only taken directly from your body. You will need to figure in “ease” when calculating your pattern changes.

Now a few words about “Ease”. Ease is an extra amount of fabric that provides a garment with movement and shaping. When you take your measurements from your sweater – they will include the ease of that sweater. When you take actual body measurements, you will need to add in an appropriate amount of ease.

Close fitting garments have less ease and in some cases have negative ease, while loose fitting garments may have a significant amount of ease. Generally, the guidelines are that a classic fit has 7-10% ease, a close-fit will have a negative 7-10% ease and a very loose fit may have up to 20% ease.

So, now you have all the measurements you need. Take a look at the pattern you are wanting to use – hopefully, there is a diagram in the pattern that gives the finished measurements for each size. If not, you may want to use my diagram to write them down. Make note of the differences between your measurements and those in the pattern.

Also, make note of any textured stitch patterns or colorwork patterns used in the pattern. You need to know what the base number of stitches is for the pattern repeats. This is usually something like: “7 stitches over 9 rows” or “7 stitches, plus 1 over 9 rows”. Write this down – you will need it later.

That’s enough for today. Next post: Step 2 – Analyze the pattern.