TintiTypes

Chemo Hat – crochet-knit hat

A friend of mine has recently been undergoing chemo. I went in search of patterns to make her some hats and found that I didn’t really like the pointy start to knitted hats. That, plus all the complicated increases involved since knitting and circles aren’t really that compatible without a lot of fuss.  So, I thought to myself, why not start out by crocheting the initial circular part and then picking up stitches and knit the rest of it, since crochet and circles are very user friendly. And that is what I did.

This pattern is super easy and it takes only a few hours to make. I would like to make some recommendations as to what yarn to make a hat for the purpose of someone who is undergoing chemo.

Use a soft, non-scratchy yarn. Also, make sure it breathes. You want something that wicks, therefore I recommend a natural fiber or blend of fibers. You also want something that is washable. Hand washable is okay, but you don’t want something too fussy, or for that matter, fuzzy.

You want something smooth. This is not the time for knobby yarns or anything that would cause discomfort. My friend said she liked the hat to sleep in. So keep in mind that you want something comfortable: soft, breathable, non-scratchy, and non-lumpy.

Also, a pure cotton yarn wouldn’t work because the hat has to be stretchy. It has to be able to fit comfortably, to do that it must be able to stretch. Cotton doesn’t stretch. A blend of cotton and wool would probably be fine because the wool would lend some stretchiness to the finished product.

Materials:
The yarn I used for this particular hat was Sublime-Cash Merino silk (color: sage). This yarn was a blend of 75% extra fine merino; 20% silk; 5% cashmere. It is extremely soft and gave the finished hat a tremendous amount of stretch. I used about 175 -200 yards. So you will need 2 skeins of this particular yarn.

Size 5.5 crochet hook

Size 8 – 16 inch circular knitting needle.

Crochet Abreviations:
ch – chain
sl – slip
st – stitch
dc – double crochet

Row 1
Ch 4, sl st to join and form circle. Ch 3 (counts as one dc) dc 11 into circle for a total of 12 dc. Sl st to join.

Row 2
Ch 3, dc into same top of the dc as where the ch 3 is. You will then dc into each top of dc. You are increasing to end up with double the number of stitches. You will have 24 dc at the end of this row. Join by sl st.

Row 3
ch 3 (counts as first dc). Just as in row 2, you are going to dc 2 st. into each top of the dc to double the number of stitches. You will have 48 st. at end of this row. Sl st to join.

Row 4
ch 3 (counts as first dc).  You again, are going to double number of stitches by 2 dc into top of each dc stitch.  Sl st to join.  You now have 96 stitches. 

Now you are going to knit.  With 16 inch circular needle you are going to pick up 96 stitches (the top of each crocheted st.  (see photo).

Place a marker at the end of picking up the stitches so you will always know where you row begins.  This is important because you are going to be knitting in the round.  From here on just knit to desired length of hat.  The measurement of the hat I knitted was 12 inches from the top of hat.  Since this hat is done all in stockinet stitch, it will curl at the bottom.  This is good because then the person can pull it as low or high as they want it to fit.

Bind off very loosely.  You want this hat to be as flexible as possible.  I bound off with a crochet hook because that way I could control that the bind-off would be even but very loose.

 

 

Entrelac Shawl -- A Thing of Beauty

This shawl made with an entrelac stitch turned out gorgeous. The pattern I sort of used (I say sort of because I didn't follow the pattern the way it was written) was from Jojoland, desiged by Lijuan Jing, but, as usual, I made some changes to the original pattern that suited my taste better. The yarn is Jojoland's Rhythm, color 09. It is a self-stripping yarn that makes for a beautiful effect with the entrelac pattern.

The original pattern called for 10 balls, but the shawl actually took 12. So beware. If you have knitted an entrelac pattern before and are familiar with the technique to achieve this entrelac/trellis effect, then you probably won’t have trouble with the pattern the way it is written. However, if like me, you had never before ventured into the land of entrelac, the pattern did nothing to enlighten me or allow me to knit this shawl. Faced with this dilemma, and having made the investment in the yarn and the pattern, and really wanting to actually knit the thing, I went on a hunting expedition to see if I could find better instructions on how to master this knitting technique. I hunted through my books and in the “Knitter’s Bible” by Claire Crompton I found some instructions that were more friendly, but I was still not able to quite wrap my head around how to do the thing.

So, I went looking on The Net and found a wonderful blog that had step-by-step instructions with pictures of every step along the way. That did the trick. The blog with these fabulous instructions on how to do entrelac is a blog called KnittyOtter, (just click on the link to go to her tutorial).  Her instructions are great. To make the shawl is a little different than to make a rectangle (which a scarf is).

This particular shawl is a triangle. The way you accomplish this is by not doing the side triangles as you would to make a scarf, instead you are binding off the last square on each side so that you eventually end up with one square, thus, forming a triangular shawl. This shawl is not a project for a beginner. In fact, I am an experienced knitter and it took me quite a while of fooling around with the instructions until I figured out what I was doing. Once I figured it out though, it really was a piece of cake. It is the initial trying to wrap your head around the whole doing one square at a time and then picking up stitches on the side of that square and then working that until the next one that is complicated at first but then becomes second nature. I know, I know, what I just wrote makes no sense if you are not familiar with the technique. And I am not even going to try to explain the technique here since the KnittyOtter site does such a great job of doing it, so I am not going to attempt to reinvent a wheel that is already rolling. 

The other thing that I did totally different from what the Jojoland pattern called for is that the pattern calls for knitting the ribbing separately and then attaching it to the shawl. The only reason for this is that they have these goofy loops on the bottom of the ribbing. Frankly those loops seem like knob catchers to me. I could see myself getting caught on anything and everything, that plus the whole idea of knitting the ribbing separate and then doing a whole attaching it to the body of the shawl by sewing it was totally not appealing. Instead, I used a 60 inch circular Audi needle and picked up stitches at the edge of the shawl and proceeded to do the ribbing. It is a much easier way of doing things and I didn’t want the annoying loops on the bottom anyway. So, my finished product, in fact, turned out gorgeous and with less fuzz than the pattern called for. I purchased both the pattern and the yarn from “Webs”  Webs is a great site for yarn and other knitting supplies. They also have a paper catalogue that they send out every so often, plus if you sign up for their e-mails they keep you posted on their sales and new yarns, etc. Happy knitting and I hope that my comments, tips and photos here are of help.

Bias Knitted Drapped-Front Cardigan

This cardigan was inspired by a vest that I purchased at Chicos. The shape of the cardigan is pretty much that vest, except that I added sleeves to make it into a cardigan. You could just as easily make this into a vest by omitting the sleeves.

The idea for working on the bias was inspired by a sweater-coat a friend of mine designed. I chose a variegated, hand-dyed yarn that would show off the bias knitting, which adds interest.

The softness of the yarn I chose, Lorna’s Shepherd Worsted, which is a 100% superwash wool, has a fabulous drape, which, for a cardigan that is supposed to drape at the front is essential. So, make sure that you pick a soft yarn with a good drape for this project.

The cardigan is formed of three equal squares knitted on the bias, sewn to join at the shoulders, leaving a 3 inch opening for the neck, and then forming the sleeves by picking up stitches along 20 inches and knitting them to desired length – could make them a three quarter sleeve or long sleeve, depending on your preference.

The measurements I give here are very generous, so you can adjust according to your size. I wanted the finished cardigan to be very loose fitting and flowing, so the size here would fit a large or extra large size. So, make a swatch, check your gage, do the math and adjust accordingly to fit your size.

 

MATERIALS:

10 Skeins Lorna’s Shepherd Worsted Hand Dyed Yarn – Watercolor 18. (approx 225 yards per skein) # 7 Needle (s) Size G crochet hook

HOW TO KNIT ON THE BIAS – HOW TO MAKE YOUR SQUARE (You will be knitting the square in a garter stitch --but if you like a stockinette stitch instead then adjust stitch accordingly.)

 

 

· Start with 3 sts.

· Row 1 (right side =RS) – K front and back of the first stitch (Kfb), Kfb of 2nd st. K1.

· Row 2 (wrong side) and all even rows – P.

· Row 3 and all odd rows – Kfb of first st, K to 2nd stitch from the end and Kfb of that stitch, K last stitch.

 

 

You are forming a triangle. Increase until you have the width you want – in my case I increased until I had 141 stitches, which is the diagonal across the square.

Once you have reached this point you will start to decrease to form your square.

 

· On RS – K 1, K2 together from back of stitch, K the rest of the row until 3rd stitch from the end K 2 together, K1.

· P all odd rows (wrong side).

Repeat these decreases until you have 3 stitches left on your needle.

Bind off.  You now have a square.

Make three equal squares.

Sew shoulders leaving three inches in middle for neck opening.

 

Pick up 80 stitches evenly for sleeves over 20 inches (10 inches front and 10 inches back).

Knit in garter stitch for desired length of sleeve.

Sew together bottom of sleeves and the sides of the cardigan.

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Twinkle Scarf

 

MATERIALS 2 skeins of Twinkle yarn (58% nylon, 40% Acrylic, 2% polyester – 92 yards per skein.

GAUGE: 4 sts = 1” with #9 needle) – color #34. # 9 needles.

TWISTED DROPPED STITCH: insert needle into stitch as if to knit, wrap yarn around both needles once and then wrap around the right hand needle once and finish the stitch as you would normally for a knit stitch.

 

 

 

 

INSTRUCTIONS Cast on 24 sts. – I always use a needle two sizes larger to cast on because that way I am assured that it is not tight and it will then look much more even.
K first three rows (garter stitch). RS (right side) and every 4th row knit a row of twisted drop stitch.

K three rows (garter stitch) Do this for eight rows of the twisted drop stitch. Then, continue in garter stitch until you finish your first skein of yarn.

Attach your second skein and continue knitting in garter stitch until a couple of rows before the twisted drop stitch should start (when you fold the scarf in half). Start doing your twisted drop stitch, remembering to do so on the right side of your work. Repeat the instructions that you did to begin your scarf, then bind off. I also bind off with a needle two sizes larger to insure that it is a loose bind off. Voila, you have a lovely scarf that is easy as pie to make.

Note: You can, of course, make this a longer scarf if you want. After all, you are doing the knitting and it is your scarf and your creative genius at work, so by all means, make it your own. Any worsted weight yarn will work for this pattern, just make sure to check your gauge, and again, you can make it as narrow or wide as you feel suites you.

How I Learned to Knit - My first knitting project

I learned how to knit when I was ten years old. It happened on one of my vacations spent in Detroit visiting family. During that time my grandfather had to have a surgery. It wasn’t a serious surgery, but in those days even minor surgeries called for a several day hospital stay; an unheard of concept in today’s world of drive-by surgeries, even for pretty serious stuff. Consequently, my aunt and I spent quite a few hours in the hospital waiting room. To occupy our time and fight the resulting boredom, we decided to teach ourselves how to knit.

We went to a dime store to purchase one of those how-to booklets that have basic stitches and simple patterns and the yarn and supplies we would need for our project. For those of you who don’t know and have never heard of a dime store, they are nothing like the dollar stores we have now. No, dime stores were wonderful places. They had plank wooden floors that were hollowed out in the traffic spots from the wear of thousands of feet walking on them, and had a comforting, homey creak when you walked on them. They sold all sorts of wonderful things, from sewing notions to knitting and crocheting yarn and paraphernalia, candy, to basic necessities, and usually had a soda fountain somewhere on the premises where you could grab a bite to eat. As the typical kid I was, I always ordered the same thing: spaghetti. I’m sure that it probably came out of a can, but I was a kid, and kids love anything with noodles and don’t have sophisticated taste buds. I loved it.

Back at the hospital waiting room, equipped with all the necessary yarn, needles and instructions, my aunt and I proceeded to try to decipher the instructions for the two basic knitting stitches: the knit stitch and the purl stitch. The instructions had drawings demonstrating each step of where to insert the needles and how to wrap the yarn, and the accompanying word instructions under each picture. Between the two of us, after many trial and error attempts, we figured out how to do the stitches, and we were off and running. Well, maybe not running. We did a lot of baby steps as we fumbled with too many fingers and needles that slipped out of the stitch and out of our hand as we tried to figure out how to hold the thread and the too many needles and the …. well you know how it is when you are learning a new skill. Everything seems way too complicated and certainly difficult. But we persevered. Our first project was a pair of knitted slippers. I still remember the pattern to this day. I will post the pattern and a picture of a slipper with this. It is a drop dead simple pattern, and it does make a fun little kick around the house pair of slippers. The perfect project for a beginner. 

I never took a knitting class in my life, except for recently when I took a class to learn how to knit a mobius, which is a weird eternal circle type of thing that is hard to wrap one’s head around how to do. I guess that figuring out how to make that first knit and purl stitch taught me that with a little bit of patience, time, and a good set of instructions, you can figure out how to do any stitch or read any pattern. It is how I learned, and continue to learn. There are many wonderful “how to” knitting books out there, and lots of books and magazines with tips, ideas and stitches galore for the knitting enthusiast. And for those who don’t want to or feel intimidated by trying to follow instructions, most knitting shops today offer knitting classes for all levels of knitting abilities.

VERY EASY KNITTED SLIPPERS

Materials:

One skein of heavy worsted weight yarn
#10 knitting needles Tapestry needle

Instructions:

CO 32 sts.
1st Row - K (right side= RS)
2nd Row - K10, P1, K10, P1, K10 (wrong side= WS)
Repeat these two rows until piece measures 6 inches
On WS - P11, K10, P11
On RS - K
Repeat these two rows for 3 ½ inches
You should now have a rectangle. Leave about 24 inches of yarn to sew seam and cut.
Thread through tapestry needle and slip the stitches with the tapestry needle.
Tighten to bring all the stitches together tightly.
Sew the top of the slipper (the 3 ½ inches of stockinette stitch).
Remember to sew from the right side of your work, you get a nicer/neater looking finish that way.
Sew back of slipper.
You are done.

You can decorate with a knitted or crocheted flower or a pom-pom if you like, or leave it plain.