I like a good I-cord bind off, and have used the technique quite a bit, most lately in my Kenneth Street Slippers and in my upcoming Octopus Slippers. (They’ll be out March 17; I’ll update this post with a link when there’s something to link to. In the meantime, here’s a sneak preview, showing the grafted bind off.)
On Mondays I sit down and figure out what I’d like to (or need to) work on in the coming week. I thought it’d be neat to take a photo of the plan, which is also a record of where each project is at.
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I’ve got a couple of designs coming out this fall that use a provisional cast on, so hey presto! Here’s a tutorial for the crochet provisional cast on I generally use.
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If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know that I’m on a bit of a stripey hat kick. I find these hats to be just the right combination of mindless knitting and creative play: they use up all kinds of leftovers and little skeins, and I get to play around with colour without worrying whether it’ll look good in sample photos or the stripes are perfect or the colours are maybe a bit weird.
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Update Sept. 27/19: The pattern–Porcupine Ridge–came out on Ravelry today. Click the link for full pattern details and to buy the pattern.
Three weeks ago I was in Whitehorse, up in the Yukon, visiting my sister. She took me to her local yarn shop, because she knows me. They had qiviut yarn, because it’s the North.
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A while back, I started playing around with purl ridges and came up with a simple stitch pattern that I really love.
What is it about this texture that grabs me so? I have no idea, but I find these graduated purl ridges deeply satisfying, no matter how many times I work them (and you are going to see them a lot in the next few releases). While noodling around with the ridges, I tried drawing a column of slipped knit stitches through them, and I liked that version, too.
I looked at the result and could picture it as a cowl: a big, generous cowl in a soft, lush yarn that would be as much of a pleasure to knit as it would be to wear. This design would be simple without being boring: a design to work on a lazy weekend, in stolen minutes during the day, or whenever you feel like knitting something satisfying and are not in the mood for a challenge.
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This is my usual cast on for toe up socks and slippers. I came across it years ago in Wendy D. Johnson’s book Toe Up Socks for Every Body, and it worked well for me, so I’ve stuck with it. I’m not going to tell you it’s the Best Cast On Ever, or even that it’s better or worse than any other toe up cast on out there, just that it works well for me and I kind of like the flippy motions of slinging the yarn around the needles like a very minimalist Cat’s Cradle. It’s the cast on I used in the Last Minute Travel Slippers, and I included this tutorial in the pattern. Here’s how you do it:
Note: This tutorial shows 2 circular needles. If you usually do your socks with Magic Loop or DPNs, do feel free to use your preferred needles. Obviously there’s no cord on DPNs, so if you’re using those you won’t be pulling your needles out to work the first round.
Take one tip from each of two circular needles. Hold the tips together, one (needle 1) below the other (needle 2). Arrange yarn so that the tail comes up over your index finger, over needle 2, between the needles, around your thumb from the outside, and from there over your palm to the ball of yarn. Use your other three fingers to hold the yarn ends firmly.
With your index finger, bring the tail behind needle 1, up around the front, and between the needles.
With your thumb, bring the working yarn behind and over needle 2, then back between the needles.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you have cast on the desired number of stitches, ending with step 2.
I usually place my marker after finishing this round.
Turn needles over so that needle 1 is on the top and the tips are pointing to your right. Pull the tip of needle 2 to the right so that the bottom stitches are on the cord. Make sure the tail is between the working yarn and needle 1.
Knit all stitches on needle 1.
Turn needles so that needle 2 is on the top. Pull needle 1 to the right so that its stitches are on the cord, then pull needle 2 to the left so that its stitches are on the needle tip, with the tip pointed to your right.
All the stitches on needle 2 except the first one will be seated backward, so knit the first stitch, then knit the rest of the stitches on needle 2 through the back of the loop.
And that’s it! This cast on is nicely invisible, looking rather like the grafted toe on a cuff-down sock.
Since releasing Fauxtarsia Wave I’ve had a few questions about yarn substitution: would other yarns work in this design? What kind of yarns would work best? What about yarns with more contrast? How about a variegated + a solid or semi-solid? While the short answers are “Absolutely!” and the ever-relevant “Swatch and see!” I really want to encourage knitters to experiment with this design, so I did a bit of swatching myself to show some of the possibilities.
E. Elliott Knits 