Knit for Brains dot Net

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Edie wrote to me and asked about yarn-overs in Portuguese style knitting. Glad you asked, Edie. Thanks for writing. A yarn-over is very easy in PK.

If you want to do a yarn-over between purl stitches – P YO P – you already have the yarn under the right needle. To make a proper yarn-over lift the working yarn up your side of the right needle and then back down the far side so it is back where it started. You will notice that Read the rest of this entry »

How to save the planet with Knitting.

More and more lately I’ve become irritated by the prevalence of plastic in my life. Even when I try to buy less plastic, more of it comes home with me. I’ve been trying to use less, as well as shift to BPA-free containers. I stopped drinking out of the large plastic tumblers I’ve been using for years now. I won’t store food in plastic unless it’s just in the freezer, and I’m no longer buying Read the rest of this entry »

Got a little yarn for a tiny project? Do you like to carry crystals or other lucky/healing stones in your pocket or purse, but don’t want them damaged by coins and other hard things in there with them? Knit a crystal cozy! These would make great mini-gifts for friends as well.

They are about 2.5 to 3 inches long. Make yours to fit your stone plus and inch or more so the ribbing can close the opening

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve written some about my frustrated experiences with trying to recycle yarn, but I ran across this idea for another way to give new life to old, ruined wool sweaters: full/felt the hell out of them and turn them into knitting baskets, basket liners or bags! If you have one or find one at the thrift store that you like but it doesn’t look like a good candidate for frogging to reuse the yarn, just reuse the whole thing. Throw it in a pillow case and put it through a hot, soapy wash and then cut and stitch to make your new item. I was going to knit a few such projects and full them myself but this is a great, time saving alternative, and it gives new life to a sweater someone will probably never buy or really want to wear if they do buy it. Less wool in the landfills?

Check out the inspiration for this idea.

To my readers and subscribers: I do enjoy your “patronage.” If you like my blog, please forward some links to my site to your knitting pals. Thanks!

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Hey there, sorry my blog was down for a few days. Here are a few amusing knitting songs to make it up to you.

The lyrics to the Fraggle video are below:

It’s neat and it’s sweet.
It’s a ding dong treat,
Knittin’ socks for little feet.
Just sittin’ with your knittin’ all day long.

You know, knittin’s friendly,
And knittin’s fun.
Knittin’s good for everyone,
And that is why we sing this knittin’ song.

Well it’s knit one pearl two.
What’s a Doozer gonna do,
With a gol-darn,
Ball of yarn?
It’s stitch three drop four.
Pitch that knittin’ out the door right now.

There’s a green, there’s a red.
There’s a knot in my thread.
A knitter needs his noggin read,
So don’t come ’round and speak to me of yarn.

You can k-nit all day and k-nothin’ fits.
‘Cause only k-nitwits like to k-nit,
And k-nittin’ k-needles just ain’t worth a darn.

Well it’s knit one pearl two.
What’s a Doozer gonna do,
With a gol-darn,
Ball of yarn?
It’s stitch three drop four.
Pitch that knittin’ out the door right now.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere I’m working on a Glengarry hat for my kilt wearing times, so here is the results of my second test knit with pattern changes. The pattern was inspired by the one in Folk Hats by Vicki Square, and I’ve made a bunch of changes, so I may publish the pattern in then next month or so.

One thing I did was make it shorter in the back, as that is what I see in some “authentic” ones on the web. I also expect to be wearing my intended black version in a New England July at the Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival in my home town of Northampton, Massachusetts, so I have worked in ventilation by putting yarnover “lace” holes in the top. There is also some texture added as I tried to put in diagonal lines with purl bumps but missed or misplaced a few, so it looks rather sloppy/rustic/whatever. This one is just a test of various pattern changes I made anyway.

Here are a bunch of pictures of this version. My black one may be made with single ply wool. I’m also considering upsizing it then felting it down again to fit to see what that does to the fabric.

I knitted this half Continental style (stockinette side) and Portuguese style when I was working with purls facing me, since purls are very easy with Portuguese style knitting. See my article on better short row methods also. It’s listed in Techniques and on the Site Map tab on the menu bar above.

And I invite your ideas and comments!

From the side.

From the back angle

Front view. I wonder if felting will help it keep a better shape.

Top view. See the ventilation? Smart! To wear it in winter I could knit a liner.

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I mentioned previously that I am working on a Glengarry hat for my kilts and I have finished the second test piece. The first one I did was in gray wool and followed the pattern exactly as found in Folk Hats by Vicki Square  so I could figure out how to do all the short rows, check the size and see if it all worked out like I want.

And I have pictures… Read the rest of this entry »

I’m working on a Glengarry hat from the book Folk Hats by Vicki Square. I want it to wear with my kilt on occasions, and I find it an interesting learning experience. It’s also my first major encounter with short rows as they are used to shape the curved top of the sides of the hat.

This is a fancy, commercially made Glengarry hat.

Short rows are stopping short in a row and turning the work to knit back in the other direction. To do this you have to anchor the working yarn or you will get a hole where you stopped. Most books teach the wrap-and-turn method, which I tried and find seriously lacking. What you do is slip the next stitch, wrap the yarn around it and slip it back, then turn and knit. Problem is that it usually pulls the loop it’s wrapped around and makes a hole anyway. And even if you work the wrapped yarn with the loop it’s wrapped around (on your way back across) it is visible as a diagonal strand of yarn. I don’t know why this method is in books.

So I got to thinking and reasoned that if I just knit or purl into the loop below the next loop after my stopping point, then slip that loop up onto the left needle so they are nested like spoons then you have a nice secure anchor. The doubled loop is not so visible, especially on a knit side, and you don’t get a hole. Once you turn the work pause to make sure the loop you just made isn’t loose. Snug it up normally, then start knitting in the other direction.

Again, what you do is, if the next stitch after your stopping point is a purl, insert your right needle from the back through the loop below that next stitch, wrap your yarn and push the loop through to the other side. Lift that new loop and put it on the tip of the left needle, turn your work, snug it and start working in the other direction.

If your next stitch shows as a knit on your side, insert your right needle through the loop below it from the front – your side – and wrap the yarn, pull a loop through. Now it’s a bit different: insert your right needle knit-wise into the last loop on the left needle (the one above the one you just pulled a loop through) and slip it off the left needle. Then back up and slide both of these loops back onto the left needle in the same orientation – don’t turn them – but with the new loop behind (to the left) of the loop you just slipped off the left needle. You’re just sneaking the new loop in between the last and second to last loops on the left needle. Both loops are now on the left needle, with your last loop nearest the tip of the needle and the new loop behind it. Turn the work, snug the new loop and start knitting in the other direction.

This is very easy and quick. I did a search after I thought of this and found that there are several methods of turning short rows. I found a slight variation on my method on http://techknitting.blogspot.com/search?q=Short+rows%3A+method.
There is a good method called yarnover shortrows explained nicely at http://www.cocoknits.com/info/tutorials/shortrows.html but you have to recognize your yarnover on the way back and work it together with the stitch beyond it to close the gap. With my method the two loops are spooning each other and you can’t miss it. Japanese short rows are supposed to be good but I haven’t tried them.

Here are a bunch of links. Enjoy!

http://sameknit.blogspot.com/2007/04/yarn-over-short-rows.html

http://www.cocoknits.com/info/tutorials/shortrows.html

http://nonaknits.typepad.com/nonaknits/2005/04/japanese_short_.html

http://www.woolywonder.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6828&page=2&highlight=unwrapped+technique

http://www.cosmicpluto.com/blog/as-promised-a-short-row-heel-tutorial/

A subscriber to this blog, a gentleman from Oregon, asked me how not to twist stitches when knitting backwards and forwards, meaning without turning the work. Without careful examination it’s easy to mess up. This article will give you an exact understanding of loops and what they do when you do things to them.

This will also help you understand what it means in any instructions when you are told to “knit into the back of the loop,” which is a rather hazy instruction if you ask me.

While knitting backwards is certainly a challenge to one’s skills I think Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve worn my share of heavy socks and found that its like walking on beads or gravel. If you are tender footed like me and need heavy socks for cold weather you know they are a bit uncomfortable, especially when you first start walking around in them. It feels like something is gnawing at your soles. Even after you get used to it the irritation is still Read the rest of this entry »