Yarn Noodles

This post rambles a bit. Whatever; it's craftemplation. :)

I've been working on three different knitting projects lately, which I'm loving, but I'm also starting to get the itch to do something different. This happens to me all the time. I'll get hooked on a particular craft, go at it like mad for a while, then get bored and want to do something else. Eventually I circle back to the first craft; it goes in cycles.

One of the knitting projects I've been doing is Slither, and I love it! It's the first thing I've knitted that wasn't just flat, and there are different kinds of increases and decreases, so I get to see how they work and why they matter. You can find my notes on my progress at my Ravelry project page (though you will need to have a [free] Ravelry account to see it.)

So, I'm nearly done with my Slither gloves, and I'm already wanting to plan another project, but I'm thinking crochet, which I've been doing far longer than I've been knitting. I started surfing the patterns available through Ravelry, and Oh My Gods, so many beautiful patterns, and so many of them available for free! There are some crocheted shawls and stoles I would love to try, but they look like the beginning chains are sooooo long!

The hardest, most frustrating part of any crochet project for me is working that first row into the stitches of the starting chain. I crochet with a really tight tension, so much so that I usually have to go up at least two hook sizes to match gauge on someone else's pattern. This means that while my work may come out the right size, I still have a hard time working the hook into those tight chain stitches. If I make the chain with a larger hook, this might give me the room to move that I need to not go crazy, though I would need to make sure doing that wouldn't adversely affect the project.

But what if, instead of crocheting a starting chain, I cast on the required number of stitches as for knitting, using a long-tail cast-on on a convertible circular needle? If I use a needle size to match the hook size, I'll end up with perfect little loops that stand up free from the bulk of the cast-on, resting loosely along a thin cable. If I take one needle off after casting, insert the hook in the first stitch, pull up a loop from the working yarn and start crocheting into each stitch while it still sits on the cable, the cable should slip out easily enough once the first row is done.

Hmmmm....

I'll let you know how it comes out.

Image borrowed from Patricia at Knitting for the Soul.

Getting Good Gauge

New knitters and crocheters usually start with projects that are small, flat, and rectangular, like dishcloths and winter scarves. Usually these projects completely ignore the issue of gauge, as it just doesn't matter. You knit or crochet until it's the size you want, and you're done. And that's fine, as long as you never want to make anything else.

Yarnologue posted an excellent explanation of knitting gauge, why it matters, and how to adjust to get the correct gauge. This information applies to crochet as well.

Gauge IS Your Friend.

There, now that you understand gauge, go forth and drown your parents in socks, gloves, and hats. Heap piles of plushies upon your nieces and nephews. Stop your sister's shivering with shawls.

Just don't knit a sweater for your boyfriend.

Want-to vs. Ought-to

In May, I was gifted with two hanks of Ullcentrum one-ply yarn (the website's in Swedish, but your browser may be able to translate it), one in Denim, the other in Heather. Lovely stuff. I've finally decided what to do with one of them.

I plan to make the Fall Silver Shawl, available for purchase from Ravelry (you'll need a Ravelry account to visit that link, but the account is free.) I have the pattern downloaded, I have the yarn, and my fingers have been itching to start for days, but I need to buy needles for this small yarn, and I have a custom order crochet project that's waaaay overdue, and I owe blanket blocks to seven or eight people from last year's swap, and I have multiple projects to finish for the AntiCraft, and flutter sleeves to make for my formal dress, and and and....

Sigh.

Someone kick me in the ass, please?

Narcissity

I have long hair, and I’ve decided to grow my bangs out. They just haven’t looked as good as I’d like for a few months. About the only way to grow one’s bangs out at all gracefully is to wear hairbands, but I have a problem.

I have a fat head.

On top of that, my head is really pressure sensitive. Oh, it’s not changing weather that gives me a headache, it’s anything squeezing my head that does it. It’s instant - I can feel the headache coming on within a minute of putting on too small sunglasses, which is all of them. I can’t use headphones that are connected to a band, only the ones that clip over your ears individually. (Earbuds are excruciating to me, too, so they’re no help.)

So buying hairbands is hard for me. Most of them are too small, which means they squeeze me into an instant headache. Sometimes I can stretch them out enough that they work for a while, but doing so inevitably pops some of the stitches, and they don’t last long after that.

Clearly, the solution is to make my own. Clearly I have to make them using my most recently acquired crafting skills, in this case, knitting. Clearly I can’t follow someone else’s pattern, because then it wouldn’t be all about me, and I would seem less cool as I told you all about how I did it.

Tell me, do I seem narcissistic, or am I really that good? ;)

Design Notes: The sizing for Narcissity is determined by actual length, rather than by stitch gauge. (You’ll need to keep a ruler or measuring tape handy.) It can be made in any yarn with needles appropriate to the yarn, however, the thickness of the yarn will determine the width of the band. Sock yarn will produce a very narrow band. A thick-and-thin yarn will give you an uneven band. A band made from bulky yarn will serve as an ear warmer, too.

A yarn with some elasticity will fit and stay on your head better than 100% cotton, linen, or silk.

You should be able to get at least two Narcissity hairbands, possibly more, from one average sized ball or skein of most yarns.

The main decoration in Narcissity is a simple 2x2 cable, so you’ll need a cable needle, as well. This is a good project for your first attempt at cabling since the cable is so simple, and the project is small enough to not be heartbreaking if it doesn’t come out well the first time.

NB: I don’t care for the purl bump that the standard knit-front-and-back gives, especially in a project this small where every detail makes a difference. I have discovered that knitting the back loop first, then the front loop, gives me a smooth front surface, with the increase looking more like natural growth than cut-and-paste. The notation I have used for this increase is kbf.

Terms and Stitches Used:
co = cast on
RS = right side (front of fabric)
WS = wrong side (back of fabric)
stockinette = fabric that shows only knit stitches on the right side of the fabric. When working back and forth on flat fabric, this means that you will alternate rows of knit and purl stitches.
k = knit
p = purl
kbf = knit back and front (see NB above)
p2tog = purl two together

If you don’t know how to perform any of the stitches, just do a search for them on Google or another search engine. There are lots of good tutorials for knitting on the web. Searching for “knit front and back” should help you understand my “knit back and front.”

Measurements are given in inches. To convert to metric, remember that one inch is approximately equal to 2.5 centimetres.


INSTRUCTIONS:

FIRST TIE

Co 4.
Work in stockinette for 6”, finishing with wrong side (WS) row.

INCREASE SECTION

Row 1:(RS) k1, kbf twice, k1 (six stitches)
Row 2:(WS) purl across.
Row 3: k2, p2, k2
Row 4: p2, k2, p2
Row 5: k1, kbf, p2, kbf, k1 (eight stitches)
Row 6: p2, k1, p2, k1, p2
Row 7: k2, p1, k2, p1, k2
Row 8: repeat row 6
Row 9: k1, kbf, p1, k2, p1, kbf, k1 (ten stitches)
Row 10: p2, k2, p2, k2, p2
Row 11: k2, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 12: repeat row 10
Row 13: k2, p2, kbf twice, p2, k2 (twelve stitches)
Row 14: p2, k2, p4, k2, p2

MAIN (CABLE) SECTION

Measure the length of your Increase Section. Subtract this length from 20 inches. Work Rows 15 through 18 until your Increase and Main Sections combined measure this amount, or as close as you can get, finishing with Row 17.



Row 15: k2, p2, slip next two stitches from left needle onto cable needle, and bring to front of work. K next 2 stitches on left needle. Return stitches from cable needle to left needle, and knit them. P2, k2.

Row 16: p2, k2, p4, k2, p2
Row 17: k2, p2, k4, p2, k2
Row 18: repeat row 16


DECREASE

Row 19: p2, k2, p2tog twice, k2, p2 (ten stitches)
Row 20: k2, p2, k2, p2, k2
Row 21: p2, k2, p2, k2, p2
Row 22: k3, p1, k2, p1, k3
Row 23: p1, p2tog, k1, p2, k1, p2tog, p1 (eight stitches)
Row 24: k2, p1, k2, p1, k2
Row 25: p2, k1, p2, k1, p2
Row 26: k3, p2, k3
Row 27: p1, p2tog, k2, p2tog, p1 (six stitches)
Row 28: k2, p2, k2
Row 29: purl across
Row 30: knit across
Row 31: p1, p2tog twice, p1 (four stitches)


LAST TIE

Work in stockinette for 6”. Bind off. Block as needed, but leave the ties alone to curl.

Thanks go to Rogue at Rogue Knits for testing my first ever knit pattern. You rock, Girlfriend!