The Increases and Decreases Cowl

Posted in October 2020 by

The Increases and Decreases Cowl

Last year, I purchased a single skein of the Lion Brand ZZ Twist yarn in the Periwinkle colorway.  I wanted to see how this yarn spun with a “Z ” twist would knit up. I knit this Increases and Decreases Cowl (free pattern below) using a blanket rib knit stitch pattern. This stitch pattern is a two round pattern where all the stitches are doubled in the first round, and then decreased to the original number of stitches in the second round.

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Materials Needed:
Yarn: Lion Brand ZZ Twist yarn in the Periwinkle colorway
Circular Knitting Needles: US #8 and US #9
Knitting Needle: US #10 for cast on
Gauge: 16 stitches / 4 inches in blanket rib stitch pattern with US #8 needles

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Abbreviations:

The Increases and Decreases Cowl Pattern (text and images for personal use only):

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Striped Spiral Hotpad/Trivet

Posted in 2020, September 30 by

I knitted this Striped Spiral Hotpad/Trivet in the round with a series of decreases in a spiral towards the center. The trivet is knitted in the garter stitch pattern with 2 strands of yarn held together. The stripes in the trivet are made by alternating the two different yarn colorways for each garter ridge. I used yarn I already had in my stash from previous leftover projects so all the colorways may or may not be currently available. You can use any other yarn colorway to knit this trivet.

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The Striped Spiral Hotpad/Trivet Pattern (text and photo for personal use only):

Yarn: Patons Classic Wool Worsted (Colorways: C1- Cognac Heather; C2 – Natural Mix)
Circular Knitting Needles: US #8 and US #10
Crochet hook: I/9 or 5.5 mm crochet hook
Gauge: 16 stitches / 4 inches in garter stitch pattern (although not really necessary)

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Abbreviations:

  • K: Knit
  • P: Purl
  • K2tog: Knit the first two stitches on the left needle together
  • sm: slip marker
  • BOR: beginning of round
  • C1: Yarn colorway – Cognac Heather
  • C2: Yarn colorway – Natural Mix
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With a circular US #10 needle, cast on 120 stitches using the long tail cast on and 2 strands of yarn C1 held together

Transfer 20 stitches onto a size US #8 (5.00 mm) 16-inch circular knitting needle and place a stitch marker. Do this for the remaining stitches

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Slip a BOR marker and join the round making sure the stitches are not twisted and knit the following:

  • Round 1: With 2 strands of yarn C1 held together – [Knit till 2 stitches before marker, K2tog, sm,] 5 times, knit till 2 stitch before BOR marker, K2tog, slip BOR marker
  • Round 2: With 2 strands of yarn C1 held together – [Purl till 1 stitch before marker, K1, sm] 5 times, purl till 1 stitch before BOR marker, K1, slip BOR marker
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  • Round 3: With 2 strands of yarn C2 held together – [Knit till 2 stitches before marker, K2tog, sm] 5 times, knit till 2 stitch before BOR marker, K2tog, slip BOR marker
  • Round 4: With 2 strands of yarn C2 held together – [Purl till 1 stitch before marker, K1, sm] 5 times, purl till 1 stitch before BOR marker, K1, slip BOR marker
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  • Repeat rounds 1 to 4 till 12 stitches remain on the needles ending with yarn C2
  • With 2 strands of yarn C1 held together – [K2tog] (6 times) removing all markers (6 stitches remain)
  • Cut yarn and with a darning needle thread tail through the 6 stitches, pull tight and fasten off
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Starting at the beginning of the cast on, single crochet with hook size I/9 all around the trivet with 2 strands of yarn C2 held together

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Weave in the ends, wash and block the trivet

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For a smaller trivet, cast on any multiple of 6

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits, LLC. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

Harmony Wrap

Posted in September 2020 by

Knitting this gradient harmony wrap was soothing, quieting, comforting, and calming for me when it was most needed.

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits, LLC. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

Toward Center Mitered Dishcloth

Posted in August 2020 by
Toward Center Mitered Dishcloth

This mitered dishcloth is knitted in the round from the cast on edge, and then through a series of decreases moves towards the center. The seed stitch pattern is similar to the previous dishcloth pattern (July 2020 post) except that this one is knitted in the round and has four smaller mitered squares that merge in the center.

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Materials Needed:
Yarn: PREMIER HOME® COTTON CONE YARN Colorway: Jelly Dots
Knitting Needles: US #7 circular needles
Crochet hook: US size 7 or 4.5 mm crochet hook
Gauge: Not needed for this project

Abbreviations:

  • K: Knit
  • P: Purl
  • K2tog: Knit two stitches together
  • 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).
  • sm: slip marker
  • BOR: beginning of round
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Towards Center Mitered Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only)

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Knitting a seed stitch mitered dishcloth

Posted in July 2020 by
A Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth

In between large and lingering knitting projects (blankets, sweaters etc.), I find knitting dishcloths both appealing and interesting. I can explore and learn different stitch patterns using a particular knitting technique without spending too much time to finish the project. Dishcloths, of course, are useful to have around the kitchen and they also make great gifts. During one such in between period I knit this seed stitch mitered dishcloth (see a previous blog post “To knit a mitered square” for more information about this knitting technique). Below with photos and text (for personal use only), is the knitting progression of this mitered dishcloth in a seed stitch pattern.

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Materials Needed:
Yarn: PREMIER HOME® COTTON CONE YARN Colorway: Jelly Dots
Knitting Needles: US #10 and 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
  • K2tog: Knit two stitches together
  • 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.
  • rm: remove marker
  • sm: slip marker
  • wyif: with yarn in front
  • RS: right side
  • WS: wrong side

The Seed Stitch Mitered Dishcloth Pattern (text and images for personal use only)

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To knit a center out blanket

Posted in June 2020 by

A center out knit blanket



Yarn used: Lion Brand Pound of Love® Yarn


This garter stitch blanket is knit center out with two different colors of yarn I already had. Compared to the center out crochet blanket I posted about in February 2020 which was completed within two months, knitting this blanket has taken me longer than six months to complete. This is because as the blanket grew larger, I could only knit a few rounds in one sitting due to issues with hand fatigue. There were close to 800 stitches on the needle at bind off. 

The number of garter ridge stripes for are based on the Fibonacci sequence till the last stripe for both yarn colors. I did not have enough yarn left so the number of garter ridges for the last stripes are shorter than the next Fibonacci number in the sequence. The blanket was finished with a single crochet border and diagonal crochet duplicate stitches for the four corners. Although I like how the center out seamless knit blanket looks, I still find the process of crocheting a center out seamless blanket more appealing. 

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits, LLC. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

To knit during a pandemic

Posted in May 2020 by

Four years ago my May 2016 blog post was about “The Simple Elegance of the Garter Stitch” and how with this stitch pattern we can create several beautiful and elegant knits. This year amidst the stay-at-home order due to the coronavirus pandemic, I would like to add that I’ve also found knitting with the garter stitch pattern both meditative and comforting.

A Garter Stitch Wrap

I used the Zaden Spring Shawl pattern by Staci Perry of Very Pink Knits as inspiration and also to learn the bias knitting technique for a wrap. I modified the pattern by using a different stitch count, sock yarn, and knit the wrap using just the garter stitch pattern. 

May knitting bring you comfort!

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits, LLC. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

A knitted or crocheted border for a woven blanket

Posted in April 2020 by

I wove these two baby blankets using a rigid heddle loom. I didn’t want any fringes for these blankets so I added a knitted border to one blanket and a crocheted border to the other blanket using the warp yarn.

Woven baby blanket with knitted border
Woven baby blanket with crocheted border

The warp yarn for the blanket with the crocheted border was sport weight while the warp yarn for the blanket with the knitted border was worsted weight. The two different weft yarns used for both blankets were super bulky (yarn weight of 6). 

Both the knitted and crocheted borders work well in taking care of managing the fringes of the warp yarn but I found the crocheted border for the baby blanket easier to manage and less time consuming.

How do you take care of the fringes of the warp yarn in woven baby blankets?

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits, LLC. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

 

When life gave me yarn

Posted in March 2020 by

When life gave me yarn, I became an avid knitter.
I started a knitting blog and embarked on a journey paved with intricate designs, colors, and textures.
Thoughts of becoming a fiber artist crossed my path several times.
On this path I also picked up the yarn related crafts of crocheting and weaving.
All throughout the journey recurring dreams of someday designing my own yarn related items beckoned me towards more and more yarn.
Now, despite my efforts to the contrary, the yarn in my life keeps growing and growing.
So tell me my friends is this yarn in my life just a temporary haven or is the yarn calling me?

A woven prayer shawl/wrap

Keep safe everyone from the coronavirus pandemic!

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits, LLC. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.

The crochet moss stitch and bulky yarn

Posted in February 2020 by

Since my post “To crochet or knit center out” I’ve crocheted several dishcloths and a worsted weight baby blanket using the center out technique. A baby blanket with bulky yarn (yarn weight: 5) and the center out moss stitch pattern can be crocheted in a matter of days.

Crochet Moss Stitch Baby Blanket with bulky yarn

I also started knitting a center out garter stitch baby blanket. Knitting a center out baby blanket in one piece with worsted weight or bulky yarn is a bit more challenging in terms of hand fatigue. This is because the growing blanket with the increasing number of stitches gets heavier since the weight of the whole blanket rests on the circular needle and your hands. Needless to say that the center out knitted baby blanket is still a work in progress.

Not so with a crocheted center out baby blanket. There is only one stitch on the crochet hook and the weight of the growing blanket rests on your lap or sofa/chair etc. By using bulky yarn or holding two strands of lighter weight yarn together a blanket can be crocheted very quickly with varying combinations.

This makes center out crocheting more appealing and versatile to me than center out knitting – at least for large seamless projects made in one piece.

~coffeeteaknits.com

© Coffee Tea Knits, LLC. All text and images for personal use only. All Rights Reserved.