Tag: garter stitch

The In-between

After finishing a large project, what do you do?

Walk away from knitting for a bit? No, no, no, of course not. You cast on something else.

I was thinking about a small project, but what jumped onto my needle was a shawl. Not a small project, sigh.

It wasn’t actually as straightforward as that. I had some navy, hand-dyed sock wool and cast on for socks. A small project, at least small in size, to carry around.

The yarn had cashmere in it, and after I knit the cuff, I thought maybe cashmere is sort of wasted on socks, so I ripped it out and here I am.

This is the Magic Symmetry Shawl, knit starting at the side with 3 stitches with increases worked on the leading edge.

This usually makes an asymmetric shape, but this is going to be symmetrical when it’s done, wider than it is tall. To my mind this makes it so much easier to wear.

I figured out a new stitch to add to the pattern. Doesn’t this show off the contrast colour?

I thought I would knit eyelets in the contrast colour rows. I  worked [Yo, K2tog] and found I liked the wrong side better. So now I knit the right side row and on the wrong side row work [Yo, P2tog]. So happy with how this looks.

It’s not such a large project after all.

Cheers Deb

Gauge-free and Any Gauge patterns by Deb

Deb on instagram

Build A Vest is Done

My goal this year was to knit fingering weight garments. I’m finding it a slow go. So this is a short post to celebrate. I’m so happy to have it finished.

This is my first one. A vest version of the Build A Bigger V. There are fewer changes for the vest than I had thought at first. The biggest change is no sleeves, of course, so the final bit was knitting out to the sides to get the correct fit around the body.

It fits well, it’s light weight and did I mention, it’s Done.

I’m so excited. I just had to show you (over and over again, apparently).

Now it’s time to finish up some small things. They are soooo satisfying after finishing a bigger project.

Are you busy with small knitting or longer projects? I hope it’s going well.

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

deb.gemmell on instagram

Geeky Short Row placement

As I have been knitting away on my vest version of the Build A Bigger V cardigan I have been thinking about the armhole. They are rather a big deal when knitting a sleeveless garment, right?

My other concern was getting some extra bust width on the front. Short rows to the rescue. The mods pages for the cardigan has instructions for short rows to make an A-line cardigan. I used the same idea except for where I began my short rows.

I want the extra width to begin high up so I get an outward slant to the line from the shoulder. High on the front (the top pine) and lower on the back (lower pin).

I worked the short rows with 2 ridges in between. I think it worked.

I can almost see it finished now.

Almost!!!

Hope your knitting is going well too, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

Build a Vest: joining Front and Back video

Progress is being made on my vest version of the Build A Bigger V cardigan, and yes I am knitting like a crazy person. The Front is knit as a pullover. Nice and easy since it’s just the Back again without the beginning triangle at the neck. Done.

Now I have to attach them together so I can knit out to the edge of my shoulder.

Both the Front and Back have a 2 stitch I-cord worked along each edge. I’m going to use those I-Cord stitches for the pick up. Hang on, it’s a tricky ride.

Ta, da. Phew, done. Not hard to do. It’s just lots and lots of stitches.

Bye for now, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

deb.gemmell on instagram

Why all the markers?

I’m working on the back panel of the Build a Vest with all those markers in place. What are they doing down the centre? I thought you’d never ask.

The first Build a V that I worked on was the baby version.

As you can see it also starts with a front and back panel, then is worked sideways for the sleeves.

The back panel looks like this.

See that nice little pointy V at the bottom? I didn’t want that pointing at my derriere on my vest. Would you?

So … all those markers. They indicate x number of ridges as I worked down the back.

This is my Build A Bigger V cardigan, and you can see that the point has been taken away, creating a rounded bottom to the back panel. At every marker I moved the increases further away from the centre marker.

This is my finished back panel of my vest.

The centre section gets wider and wider. As I approached the bottom I started widening the centre section a little more often.

I think this would work for a triangular shawl too, if you didn’t want that sharp triangle point. What do you think?

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

Markers, how I use them

I am using several markers for this project. Only one is required by the Build a Bigger V pattern. That’s the white marker in the centre. The rest help me keep track of the shaping and remind me when and where to do things.

There are 7 more markers here which are all for me. Yes, there are quite a few. Yes, they are different colours and types of markers on purpose.

Marker for Right Side of fabric: That orange marker on the right is pinned through the fabric to tell me this is the beginning of the right side row. It is especially helpful at the start of the project when there aren’t as many other things to tell me I’m on the right side. It’s a removable marker so I can move it up as I knit.

Markers for length: The orange, green, orange sequence up the middle are for counting ridges so I don’t have to keep counting from the cast on. I am placing the first orange marker after the first 2 ridges, then every 8 ridges as I continue down this front panel because something happens every 8 ridges in this particular pattern.

Markers delineate: The two metal markers on either side of the centre marker (white) show me where the middle section is. You can place markers on either side of a stitch pattern or some section you need to keep track of.

Markers – do something here: The metal markers on either side of the centre marker also help me find where I need to work increases. The instructions say to work an increase x number of stitches before the centre marker (white). I don’t have to keep looking ahead for those x number of stitches if I put a marker in. I work one increase before the metal marker, knit across the middle section to the other metal marker and work an increase after it.

Markers – pay attention: I have a lot of trouble remembering to do things at the ends of the rows. So the blue marker on the left edge is telling me to pay attention and work a decrease, duh. I know it’s supposed to be there but I have merrily knit right past it so many times, I needed a marker to remind me. It’s a rescue marker.

I have collected several different types of markers for this very purpose. They help me reduce the stress of paying attention, cut down on the amount of ripping back I have to do, and therefore, make my knitting so much more enjoyable.

Hope this is helpful, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

Gauge-Free, Build A Vest

This vest, and the cardigan I’m modifying it from (Build a Bigger V), will be Gauge-Free. No swatch needed. No talk about gauge at all, none, throughout the entire pattern. How freeing is that?

How can it possibly work?

Start with a couple of stitches and build a triangle with increases worked on either side of the centre marker. Work until the solid edge of the triangle is the width of the Back of Neck. Mine is 8″ wide.

Width of Back of Neck is 8″.

That sets the number of stitches for the Back Panel. You need to count the number of stitches you set up with at this point but we don’t care how many stitches per inch you are getting here. Any number of stitches will work.

Now, I will keep the same stitch count as I knit the back panel.

The shaded part here is the Back Panel. The triangle begins at the Back of Neck and the Back Panel is knit down to the desired length.

The decision will be how long I want this vest to be. Lots of knitting for the next week.

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

Build A Vest, ready, set, go >>>

This is a photo of the Build A Bigger V cardigan before I knit the sleeves. This could be a vest as it is in this photo. It has 9″ of ease so if it was a little more fitted … it could work.

But I sort of like the idea of cutting in the armhole, for a sleeveless look (white line).

Better?

At any rate, I’ve started. This is the beginning of the Back Panel. I’m knitting in fingering weight yarn (80/20 fingering by Shelridge Yarns – colour Iris). Yes, this will be a lot of knitting but here I go.

The idea of Building a Vest using the Build a Bigger V cardigan intrigued several knitters. Thanks for voting. Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge and Gauge-Free patterns by Deb

Deb.gemmell on instagram

Jigsawing away

I’m obsessed! I can’t seem to stop.

Do you find that you deep dive into some projects? I do if I’m learning something new. This Jigsaw blanket is a modular workshop for me. Working with 2 strands is also new to me and coupling colours together for the marl affect is an adventure.

Have you taken on something intriguing?

I am finding that some of my pairings didn’t work well. This is a beautiful blue green with a speckled beige sock yarn. The blue shade is gone, and to my eye, it looks hunter green now with speckles. Not a fan of that one.

I love the coral and red together. I was using really tiny left over balls as the second colour. Ran out of red so added a small ball with a bit more yellow in it and the bottom is a multicolored bit with some orange in it.

Isn’t this one beautiful? Teal green and teal blue together. Yummy.

Blue plus a blue-green handpaint. This is lovely too.

Now I think I have a better idea of what’s going to happen when I pair up two colours. I’m trying not to be too smug, ha. I’m probably headed for a fall. Still quite a long way to go yet.

How are your projects coming along?

Cheers, Deb

Gauge-free and Any Gauge patterns by Deb

Purl Back Backwards: New Year, new 2023 challenge

It definitely feels like this year needs something new. So I have given myself a challenge: videos. The first one is purling back backwards (near the bottom of this post).

I’m ok with amateur-hour videos as I figure this out. But videos there will be. Let’s begin as I intend to continue, with my first 2023 project with videos.

I was gifted 2 large bags of fingering weight wool by my sister Lyn, of Shelridge Yarns. Yup, this is a lot of excellent wool.

It’s burning a hole in my project bag. Is this even a thing? You know what I mean, right? I need to use it, lots of it, right now!

I’ve chosen to work Stephen West’s Jigsaw Puzzle Blanket. It has a lot going for it. Two strands of fingering are held together throughout. It’s worked on nice big needles and it’s modular too, yahoo.

So far I am on my third section and I can already see that the turning, turning, turning for the garter rows is going to be a drag as this gets bigger.

Purling back backwards is coming to the rescue. You work it with the right side facing (no turning to the wrong side). It gives you the garter stitch bumps needed.

Here’s how it’s done. (You can skip to the video below if you want to.)

With yarn in front, insert the left needle into the back leg of the next stitch, from back to front.

Wrap the yarn around the front needle, counterclockwise.

Push your front needle through the stitch to the back. Purl bump made.

Do you want to see it in real time?

Make purl bumps of garter stitch made with the Right Side facing, no turning needed.

I am going to be soooooo good at this by the end!

Hope you have chosen a gorgeous new project to get you started on 2023.

Cheers, Deb

Any Gauge patterns by Deb https://www.ravelry.com/stores/debgemmellmods

Deb.gemmell on Instagram