My interest in weaving started more as a way to reduce the amount of yarn I had but now it has grown into a genuine interest in this craft. Weaving dates back to the paleolithic era and is much older than knitting or other fiber related crafts. In 2019 when I got a rigid heddle loom, I found myself learning about warp and weft** and trying out various combinations of plain weaving first with whatever yarn I had on hand and then with yarn bought specifically for weaving.
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Since weaving has been around for so long, there are many different types of weaving patterns other than plain weaving. Other weaving patterns with a rigid heddle loom include soumak, leno, tapestry, and many more. The loom with two heddles and pick up sticks makes double width weaving as well as various twill weave patterns possible. I’ve just begun to discover all these various weaving patterns and combinations.
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I find weaving to be much faster than knitting or crocheting. Large projects such as blankets or wraps can be woven in a matter of days rather than months. Weaving has also reduced my yarn stash. Although I still prefer knitting sweaters, hats etc., it is a relief to be able to weave the larger projects quickly. Since I have only one rigid heddle loom I can only weave one project at a time.
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Weaving, however, requires more finishing afterwards than knitting or crocheting. For someone who likes seamless knits with minimal finishing, finding the motivation to finish the woven pieces can be quite a task. Also, unlike knitting or crocheting where most of the leftover yarn is left intact, discarding some of the warp yarn still bothers me. Even with these minor drawbacks, I find the craft of weaving very interesting and look forward to learning more about it.
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** warp yarn runs lengthwise and is held under tension whereas the weft yarn runs side to side and is inserted by the weaver.
Most summers my sweater knitting with wool or other yarn slows down. I usually weave more or try to knit with cotton yarns during this season. Although this season is more a time for yarn and a loom for me (more details in the next post), I have knitted a few dishcloths including these Summertime Dishcloths. Summertime dishcloths are knit flat from bottom up in a combination of garter stitch and twisted seed stitch pattern.
The Summertime Dishcloths Pattern (text and images for personal use only)
Yarn: Loops & Threads Capri in Apricot colorway for the dishcloth 1 Yarn: Premier Home Cotton in Jelly dots colorway for the dishcloth 2 Knitting Needles: US #8, and US #10 circular needle for the dishcloth 1 Knitting Needles: US #7, and US #9 circular needle for the dishcloth 2 Crochet hook: 4.5 mm for the dishcloth 1; 4.0 mm for the dishcloth 2 Gauge: garter stitch pattern – 18 stitches/ 4 inches for the dishcloth 1; 17 stitches/ 4 inches for the dishcloth 2
Abbreviations:
K: Knit
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
wyif S1: bring working yarn to the front before slipping the next stitch (in this pattern slip the last stitch)
K1B: Knit one stitch below the stitch that is on the left needle
[….]: repeat of stitch pattern within a row
Cast on 31 stitches with US #10 needles for the dishcloth 1 or US #9 for the dishcloth 2. Then with US#8 knitting needles for the dishcloth 1 or with US#7 knitting needles for the dishcloth 2 knit as follows:
Row 1 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 2 (RS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 3 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 4 (RS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 5 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 6 (RS): K2, [K1B, K1] till 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 7 (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row 8 (RS): K1, K1B, [K1, K1B] till 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Repeat Rows 1 to 8, 7 more times ending with Row 8
Row (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row (RS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row (WS): Knit all stitches to 1 stitch before last, wyif S1
Row (RS): Bind off loosely in knit stitch pattern with a US #10 knitting needle for the dishcloth 1 or US #9 knitting needles for the dishcloth 2
Insert a 4.5 mm crochet hook for the dishcloth 1 (or 4.0 mm crochet hook for the dishcloth 2) in the last remaining stitch and single crochet all around the dishcloth.
(Optional) – For the hanging loop, chain 15 and slip stitch into the next single crocheted stitch on the crocheted border. Finish the dishcloths by washing, blocking and weaving in the ends.
The many different shapes in which shawls or wraps are knitted can be a lesson in geometry. Shawls can be rectangular, squares, circular, triangular or several combinations and variations of these shapes. So, it was inevitable that after knitting several rectangle wraps, square blankets and dishcloths I would dabble in triangular shaped shawl design. Triangular shawls, similar to other shaped shawls, can be knit in several different ways. They can be knit sideways, top down (like the The Sheltering Tree Shawlette), or bottom up like this Unexpected Find Wrap.
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The Unexpected Find Wrap pattern is a simple triangular shaped shawl knit bottom up with a two row repeat brioche honeycomb stitch pattern. I happened upon the yarn for this wrap at Joann Fabric and Craft Store. I wasn’t looking for this yarn but once I saw it, I just couldn’t walk away without purchasing it. After casting on a few stitches, the wrap is increased two stitches every other row till the preferred length is reached. This cotton blend wrap is great for those cool summer evenings and also for those overly air conditioned places.
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Materials Needed: Yarn: K + C Element Yarn (50 grams each) in Colorway: Pink (Any other worsted weight cotton or cotton blend yarn can be substituted for this yarn) Knitting Needles: US #8 circular needle Gauge: 14 stitches/ 4 inches after blocking
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The Unexpected Find Wrap Pattern (text and image for personal use only)
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The Yarn Over Washcloth is knit corner to corner with a two row slip stitch pattern. Two stitches are increased every other row and then two stitches are decreased every other row. The washcloth has yarn overs all around between the stitch pattern and the border edge stitches. One stitch is cast on and through a series of increases and decreases this washcloth is worked in one piece ending with a two stitch I-cord hanging loop.
Yarn: Lily Sugar’n Cream in Colorways: Soft Ecru and Butter Cream Ombre Knitting Needles: US #7 circular needle Gauge: Not needed for this project Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
Kfb: Knit front and back (knit one stitch first in the front and then knit the same stitch in the back before slipping it off the left needle) – 1 stitch increase
K2tog: Knit two stitches together on the left needle – 1 stitch decrease
ssk (left-slanting decrease): slip slip knit (slip 2 stitches to right hand needle then insert the left needle in front of the two slipped stitches and knit them together) – 1 stitch increase
rsd (right-slanting decrease): knit 1 stitch, slip one stitch knitwise, return the slipped stitch and the knitted stitch back to the left needle, pass the slipped stitch over the knitted stitch and then return the knitted stitch back to the right needle – 1 stitch decrease
sk2p (left-slanting double decrease): slip the next stitch knitwise, k2tog the next two stitches, then pass the slipped stitch over the decreased stitch – 2 stitch decrease
rsdd (right-slanting double decrease): slip one stitch knitwise and knit the next stitch. Pass the slipped stitch over the knit stitch. Return this decreased knit stitch back to the left needle and pass the second stitch on the left needle over the decreased stitch. Transfer the decreased stitch back to the right needle – 2 stitch decrease
pm: place marker
rm: remove marker
sm: slip marker
wyif S1: with yarn in front slip one stitch purlwise, wrap the working yarn around the front of the slipped stitch and move the yarn to the back
yo: yarn over – knit one stitch and then bring the working yarn over the right needle before knitting the next stitch (1 stitch increase)
The Yarn Over Washcloth (text and images for personal use)
Cast on 1 stitch with US #7 circular needle
Row 1 (RS): Kfb
Row 2 (WS): K2
Row 3: Kfb, Kfb
Row 4: K4
Row 5: Kfb, K2, Kfb
Row 6: K6
Row 7: Kfb, K4, Kfb
Row 8: K8
Row 9: Kfb, K6, Kfb
Row 10: K4, pm, K2, pm, K4
Row 11: K4, sm, yo, K2, yo, sm, K4
Row 12: K4, sm, K1, p2, K1, sm, K4
Row 13: K4, sm, yo, K1, [K1, wyif S1 then move yarn to the back] to 1 stitch before marker, K1, yo, sm, K4
Row 14: K4, sm, K1, purl till 1 stitch before marker, K1, sm, K4
Repeat rows 13 and 14 [repeat section] till 48 stitches on the needle.
Double Decreases:
Row 1 (RS): K4, sm, yo, sk2p, [K1, wyif S1 then move yarn to the back] till 3 stitches before marker, rsdd, yo, sm, K4
Row 2 (WS): K4, sm, K1, purl till 1 stitch before marker, K1, sm, K4
Repeat these two rows till 14 stitches left on the needle.
Row 1 (RS): ssk, knit to 2 stiches before end of the row removing markers, rsd
Row 2 (WS): K10
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 till 4 stitches left on the needle.
Row (RS): ssk, rsd (2 stitches left on the needle)
Make an I-cord hanging loop (about 10 to 12 rows) with the 2 stitches on the needle (several tutorials on knitting I-cord are available on YouTube) and bind off.
Attach the I-cord bind off end to the wrong side of the washcloth and weave in ends.
The Sheltering Tree Shawlette is knit with Urth Yarns that I purchased a few years back. Urth Yarns have partnered with Trees for the Future to plant trees for a positive impact as stated in their label below:
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The Sheltering Tree Shawlette (text and images for personal use only)
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I’ve made mitered square dishcloths (July 2020 post ) by casting on a specific number of stitches and then knitting the double decreases every other row to create the mitered square. The Upside Down Dishcloth is a garter stitch mitered square dishcloth knit flat and in reverse. The advantages of knitting a reverse mitered square include fewer stitches to cast on and an avoidance of playing yarn chicken. With this reverse mitered technique dishcloths can be knit as large or as small depending on the yardage of yarn available. It’s also a great way to use up leftover over yarn from other projects. For the Upside Down Dishcloth, a few stitches were cast on and the mitered square dishcloth was knitted with double increases every other row.
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Materials Needed: Yarn: PREMIER HOME® COTTON CONE YARN Colorway: Jelly Dots Yarn: Lily Sugar’n Cream in Colorways: Country Red (for the single crochet border) Knitting Needles: US #8 and US #7 Crochet hook: US size 7 or 4.5 mm crochet hook Gauge: Not needed for this project
Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
Kfb: Knit front and back (knit one stitch first in the front and then knit the same stitch in the back before slipping it off the left needle – 1 stitch increase)
rm: remove marker
sm: slip marker
wyif S1: with yarn in front slip one stitch purlwise
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
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The Upside Down Dishcloth (text and images for personal use only):
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This month has been quite overwhelming in terms of snow and icy temperatures. I’ve spent most of the month staying indoors bundled up in sweaters and other knitwear for warmth and of course keeping busy with knitting, weaving or crocheting. I had some of Malabrigo Rios yarn left over from knitting the “Goes with Everything Cowl” last month. There was just enough yarn leftover (about 27 – 28 grams) to knit the Goes with Everything Earwarmer.
The earwarmers I’ve knit in the past have been knit in the round. I wear them but I’ve found that they tend to curl up in the back when my hair is tied up in a ponytail or a bun. To avoid the earwarmer from curling up in the back, I knit Goes with Everything Earwarmer flat from one side to the other with a series of increases and decreases.
It is first knit in garter stitch pattern for a couple of inches, then increased by 2 stitches every other row for another inch or so (customizable) in seed stitch pattern. The earwarmer is knit straight in seed stitch pattern with no increases or decreases for a specific (customizable) length, and then decreased every other row to the original number of stitches. It is knit again in garter stitch for a couple of inches and then bound off. The two garter stitch sides are joined using the zig zag crochet method.
Goes with Everything Earwarmer Pattern (text and images for personal use only):
Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn – Rios in the RIO877 (Queguay) colorway Knitting Needles: US #6 and #7 for knitting the earwarmer. US #8 for casting on and binding off. Crochet hook: US size 7 or 4.5 mm crochet hook Gauge: 16 stitches/ 4 inches (this pattern is generic so gauge not so critical) Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
Kfb: Knit front and back (knit one stitch first in the front and then knit the same stitch in the back before slipping it off the left needle – 1 stitch increase)
K2tog: Knit the first two stitches together on the left needle (1 stitch decrease)
pm: place marker
rm: remove marker
sm: slip marker
wyif S1: with yarn in front slip 1 stitch purlwise
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
The seed stitch pattern: Row 1 (RS): *K1, P1*; repeat from *…* to end of the row Row 2 (WS): *P1, K1*; repeat from *…* to end of the row *Knit in seed stitch pattern: Knit the purl stitches and purl the knit stitches
With a size US #8 knitting needle cast on 9 stitches start knitting with US #6 knitting needle the following garter stitch pattern:
Row1 – Setup row (RS): K1, pm, K7, pm, wyif S1
Row2 (WS): K1, sm, K7, sm, wyif S1
Repeat Row 2 – 18 more times (about 2 inches in length)
Increase section (2 stitches increased every other row): With US #7 needles knit this section in seed stitch pattern
Row 1 (RS): K1, sm, Kfb, *knit in seed stitch pattern till 1 stitch before marker, Kfb, sm, wyif S1
Row 2 (WS): K1, sm, K1, *knit in seed stitch pattern till 1 stitch before marker, K1, sm, wyif S1
Repeat these two rows 5 more times for a total of 19 stitches (customize to your size by adding or subtracting these row repeats to the length that will cover your ears)
Straight knitting with no increases or decreases section (customize to your size by measuring the number of inches from one ear to the other and knit about 2 to 4 inches less for negative ease): Continue in knitting with US #7 knitting needle and seed stitch pattern
Row 1 (RS): K1, sm, *K1, P1*; repeat from *…* to 1 stitch before marker, K1, sm, wyif S1
Row 2 (WS): K1, sm, K1, *P1, K1*; repeat from *…* till marker, sm, wyif S1
Repeat these two rows till the knitted piece measures about 15 inches from cast on edge (add or subtract row repeats to your specific size)
Decrease section (2 stitches decreased every other row): With US #7 knitting needle and seed stitch pattern
Row 1 (RS): K1, sm, K2tog, *knit in seed stitch pattern till 1 stitch before marker, K2tog, sm, wyif S1
Row 2 (WS): K1, sm, K1, *knit in seed stitch pattern till 1 stitch before marker, K1, sm, wyif S1
Repeat these two rows 5 more times decreasing the number of stitches to 9 (if your stitch count was more or less than 19 stitches, add or subtract these row repeats till 9 stitches)
With US #6 knitting needle knit the following garter stitch pattern:
Row1(RS): K1, sm, K7, sm, wyif S1
Row2 (WS): K1, sm, K7, sm, wyif S1
Repeat these two rows 9 more times (about 2 inches in length). Bind off with US #8 knitting needle and hold the remaining stitch with a removable stitch marker.
Crochet join (optional):
Insert a size 7 or 4.5 mm crochet hook in the remaining stitch, chain one, and align the two sides facing RS of the knitted piece together on the RS. Use the zig zag slip stitch crochet join method to join the two sides together (several online video tutorials are available on YouTube for this crochet join method).
Alternately, the two sides can be joined with any other join method of choice.
Hello fellow knitters and crocheters, welcome to my first blog post of 2021. It’s common to write about one’s knitting and crocheting goals for the year, but I will skip all that. Instead, I will write about how I knit the Goes with Everything Cowl. I chose this name for the cowl because the yarn colorway seems to go with everything I have in my wardrobe. I purchased this yarn (one skein) a couple of years ago on a wonderful summer vacation trip. This cowl was a quick and simple knit and I’m satisfied with how it turned out. I’ll be wearing it quite a bit during this frigidly cold winter.
The cowl is knitted flat in a rectangle from one corner to another. The two shorter sides of the rectangle are then joined to make a warm and comfortable circular cowl. You begin with casting on one stitch and increase two stitches every other row till the desired width is reached. The cowl is then worked on for the desired length with no net increase. Lastly the cowl is decreased two stitches every other row till one stitch is left on the needle. The shorter sides of the knitted rectangle are then joined together using the zigzag crochet join method.
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Materials Needed: Yarn: Malabrigo Yarn – Rios in the RIO877 (Queguay) colorway Knitting Needles: US #7 Crochet hook: US size 7 or 4.5 mm crochet hook Gauge: 16 stitches/ 4 inches (this pattern is generic so gauge not so critical)
Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
Kfb: Knit front and back (knit one stitch first in the front and then knit the same stitch in the back before slipping it off the left needle – 1 stitch increase)
K2tog: Knit the first two stitches together on the left needle (1 stitch decrease)
pm: place marker
rm: remove marker
sm: slip marker
wyif: with yarn in front
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
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Goes with Everything Cowl Pattern (text and images for personal use only):
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2020 has been quite a year hasn’t it? It will not be forgotten any time soon. The coronavirus pandemic with the stay at home order, minimal social gatherings, travel restrictions, ongoing family and personal health issues, hurricane, hailstorm, power outage, milestones and events not celebrated etc. pretty much describes 2020 for me.
And yet I am grateful for all the positive things that did happen this year. Births happened, weddings happened, culinary adventures happened, bread baking happened, gardening happened, neighborly and community kindness happened, knitting and crafting happened, and the courage to design and publish knitting patterns happened
Free patterns available on my July 2020 to November 2020 posts
Corner to corner knitting is another technique that can be used to knit square dishcloths, blankets etc. I like this technique because it’s worked flat and starts with a cast on of just 1 stitch. That 1 stitch through a series of increases and decreases ends in a square dishcloth or a blanket. The dishcloth pattern below is my version of the corner to corner knitting technique using the seed stitch pattern.
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The Corner to Corner Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only):
Yarn: Lily Sugar’n Cream in Colorways: Potpourri Ombre and Country Red Knitting Needles: US #7 Crochet hook: US size 7 or 4.5 mm crochet hook Gauge: Not needed for this project
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Abbreviations:
K: Knit
P: Purl
Kfb: Knit front and back (knit one stitch first in the front and then knit the same stitch in the back before slipping it off the left needle – 1 stitch increase)
K2tog: Knit the first two stitches together on the left needle (1 stitch decrease)
ssk: slip slip knit (slip 2 stitches to right hand needle then insert the left needle in front of the two slipped stitches and knit them together)
pm: place marker
rm: remove marker
sm: slip marker
wyif: with yarn in front
RS: right side
WS: wrong side
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The Corner to Corner Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only):
The seed stitch pattern: Row 1 (RS): *K1, P1*; repeat from *…* to end of the row Row 2 (WS): *P1, K1*; repeat from *…* to end of the row *Knit in seed stitch pattern: Knit the purl stitches and purl the knit stitches
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With a size US #7 knitting needle cast on 1 stitch with the Potpourri Ombre colorway.
Increase Rows:
Row 1 (RS): Kfb and turn to the WS row
Row 2 (WS): K2
Row 3 (RS): Kfb, Kfb
Row 4 (WS): K1, pm, K2, pm, wyif S1
Row 5 (RS): K1, sm, Kfb, Kfb, sm, wyif S1. Place a removable stitch marker for the RS row.
