Mobieus Angora Ring: Easy Scarf

 

 

Used Cat Bordhi's DIY pattern, modified by making a “good” mistake. I cast on then increased using yarn overs, then knit the pattern.

The end result is a slightly more lacey “ring” rather than cowl. I love it.

What did I do?

I cast on per the pattern. Then I mis-read, and started on the "lace edging", doing this:

Lace edging:
Round 1: *[Yo, k1] 2 times, [yo, k2tog] 3 times. Repeat from * to end of round.
Round 2: Knit.

Then, I realized I had an error, but I was damned if I was going to rip a Mobieus out. So, I went forward with the simple diagonal pattern:
Begin diagonal lace pattern:
*Yo, k6, k2tog. Repeat from * to end of round.
Knit one round.
Repeat last two rounds 10 more times.  

Then, because I had but one skein of expensive 100% angora, I ran out of yarn. Not to worry. I knit the garter edge in black angora yarn. And, really, really, even if I had had enough yarn, I would probably have elected to do a black border.

I am not a huge fan of mobieus garments, but in this case, it's a winner. The way you knit a Cat Bordi mobieus is to actually knit it, rather than knit a rectangle and do a half twist, then join it. As a result, you knit one round, and you've knit in two directions - half knit side, half purl side. (You have to see it to believe it, and even then, you may not believe it.) For this scarf, this enables you to fold the circle in half and still have knit side facing. This was such a fast knit, I want to make more, more, more.
 

Got on the bandwagon

Like 2644 others before me (on Ravelry), I jumped on the bandwagon and knit "My So Called Scarf"  by Allison Isaacs with the only 2 skeins of Malabrigo in my stash.


I suspect that this single ply yarn will work well as a scarf, but never as a sweater (unless pilling is a design feature.)

That said, it is soft, soft, soft.

Spring, Photos soon, and Music for now.

I know I' ve been quiet, and I'm about to rectify this immediately. I'm photographing work today.

In the meantime, I've been working on music a bit. (I am a jazz singer too.)

Have a listen: click the arrow twice, then hover over a title and click it to listen to the full preview. Note: if you are not using Internet Explorer, the little red player below may not show up.

If you like what you hear, click here to view my page and go add some tags and comments. Thanks!


 

Well, maybe just one more....

Note: this video is silent. There's nothing wrong with your computer.

Need to know more? Check out the pocket wheel site:
http://gnoam.com/pocketwheels.html

Kauni Yarn Swatch (Hat)

Download this pattern here.
This is the experiment that came out of the Ruth Sørensen class (link to photos of the 20 Feb class in North Seattle). The students received their choice of two Kauni yarn colorways. We were to swatch with the yarn to get a feel it and see how the colors interact.

I started my typical top down hat, then decided I might need a plan to get to the finish line. So, I went to Excel and plugged a few simple geometric patterns for an impromptu chart. I decided to increase 16 stitches every 4 rows instead of my standard 8 increases every other row.

I had seen a fun slouch beret with a wide band at knit group last Wednesday, so I decided to do corrugated ribbing for a while to make a wide band. When the green yarn started to go neon yellow, I pulled the yarn out of the center pull ball until it was a more desaturated yellow. Broke the yarn on the hat, and restarted with the mellower yellow.

I then opted to use a traditional Nordic Braid (opens cool book worth the $8 download) for the edge (it's fussy!), then bound off with EZ's sewn bind off*, using both threads that were held to sew the bind off. This gives a very elastic but firm edge. The yarn is light, so the hat is not heavy, even though it is two strands throughout.

I loved how the hat looked on my head...then I blocked it. Now it seems more formal, and less slouchy. I photographed the tam in this "stand to attention" state, but I'm going to go soak it and let the edges soften back to it's pre-blocked state.

Quick Overview of the How

• Cast on 8, increased (in pattern) until I reached 200 stitches.
• Then, did a decrease row: K2, K2tog, all round, to reduce circle size by 25%.
• Knit corrugated ribbing for about 3 inches.
• Knit Nordic braid.
• Did EZ’s sewn bind off.
  
  What did I learn?
  • Take more time to think about how the patterns will look as they grow on a hat (where the wedges meet are less-than-elegant.)
  • I really like Kauni yarn (good thing, I have quite a stash of it now.)
  • It's time to knit a different colorway than blue and green.
  
  * Scroll down, way down on this Knitty how to page to find the example of Elizabeth Zimmermann's Sewn Bind Off