Turning lace patterns upside down

This post isn't news to the knitting world, but since there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about it on forums when you google "knit lace pattern upside down" or somesuch, I thought it was worth a post.

Lets say (like me) you want to knit a seamless cardigan from the top down, but you want to include an all-over lace pattern.  Most lace charts are written bottom-up, at least in the stitch-dictionary on my shelf.  Maybe instead you are knitting a lace scarf and don't want to knit two shorter ones with a graft in the middle.  What to do?

Some A lot of posts on forums breezily suggest "just turn the chart upside down and replace decreases by increases!"  Don't listen to them, my friends.  While this may work for some lace patterns, it won't work for all.  And it may well look different from the lace knitted right-way-up, so I wouldn't try to match the two.

It is true you can expend a lot of brainpower and swatching time to devise an upside-down chart that retains most of the design features of the original pattern, but it might well not look the same in some key features.  There's a reason to graft your scarf in the middle!

Here comes an example:

This cute pattern of three holes is called "little flowers" in my stitch dictionary, or perhaps it's really little hearts.  Either way, it's cuter this way up than inverted ("little stack of bowling balls"?)  The chart is thusly:

Knitted bottom-up, you make the middle yarn-over (yo) on row 1, then the two yo on the next knit row 3.

Now turn the chart upside down.  You will make the two yo as your first pattern row - you can either make the decreases outside them, or switch to one centred double decrease in the middle.  By the issue comes when it's time to stack that last yo symmetrically on top of and between the lower pair.  There's a single stitch where we want our yo to go.  Where to put it?

The most obvious is to k2tog before the yo, or else yo then ssk.  Both these options lead to a "fat" bit between two of the holes, one side or the other, depending on which side you "got rid" of that central stitch to.  For clearer diagrams of this effect and how you can use it to make deliberate lace patterns, see here.

Here's my swatch:

Looking at the swatch above, the lowest motif is the original lace pattern worked from bottom up.  The next one up is the chart knitted upside down with a centred double decrease between the two yarn-overs.  Note that the pattern is no longer symmetrical - there's a fat bit between the bottom right hole and the central hole on top, due to the ssk before the last yo on row 3.

How do we get rid of the fat bit?  I tried two options.  The top motif in my swatch is the following chart:

I make one extra stitch on the purl row 2 by purling into the front and back of the central stitch, then I get rid of it again by doing symmetrical decreases around my top yo on row 3.  Symmetry is restored, but the pattern is less delicate - instead of a little yarn twist between the holes, there are fat bits on both sides where stitches have been knitted together leaning in both directions.

The second motif down is a bizarre non-standard variation on this theme, where the top hole is created by making the central stitch on the purl row very loose*, then on row 3 knitting into both sides and the top to pull it open.  I don't recommend it, and it looks much the same as my other symmetrical option which is easier to describe and execute.

* Insert needle into stitch to be knitted, yarn round needle twice, pull through stitch.  Like making a yo part way through the stitch.

The essential difference is that stitches are shifted by 1/2 stitch knitting top-down relative to bottom-up.  Think about the shift in the peaks vs troughs in a wave, or the number of fingers on your hand vs. gaps between them.  So, there's no easy way I can think of to exactly replicate the effect of knitting bottom-up while knitting top down.

In summary, I will be knitting my lace cardigan bottom-up with the original chart.

Socksssss

Going back in time a little bit here, because I never posted the BEST SOCKS EVAR (capslock totally necessary).  Knitted toe-up, two at a time with Trailing Clouds Nimbus Self Striping Sock, in colourway "Mind the Gap".  Ravelry project page here.

There is nothing better than socks in the colour of the London Tube lines.  This yarn is the BEST.

Last on the list

I cast on for this little jumper the night before my planned C-section for Baby B.  Since I was scheduled last on the list, I figured I'd have lots of knitting time while waiting my turn and potentially being bumped for emergencies.  I needed something to distract me from my rumbling hungry tummy!

Anyway, I did get lots of knitting done before and after the birth, because Baby was an easy and sleepy little mite on the postnatal ward.

The yarn is WI branded (for what that's worth) and is a acrylic 4 ply and wonderfully soft.  There aren't too many acrylics I'm prepared to knit with and this is one of them.  I suspect it's a cousin of Patons Smoothie?

The pattern is "Beyond Puerperium" and my notes are here.  It ended up as a baby gift for my little niece.  Hope she likes it!

I knitted a jumper very quickly

This jumper was finished in November last year, I'm behind on my posting!

In the search for yarn that's (a) cheap (b) soft (c) wears well, I recalled the Patons Smoothie DK that I remembered doing a baby jumper in.  Turns out the only reason it didn't pill was that baby grew out of it before it had been washed too much.  This jumper in the same yarn pilled pretty much straight away.  Boo hoo.

See my ravelry notes here, the pattern is the child's placket neck pullover, changed to be knitted top-down (instead of bottom up) and with a stripe pattern and colour based on someone else's project knitted to a different sweater pattern.

I should always do a tension swatch and this jumper is why.  Gah.  At least toddler big boy likes it, and the actual knitting went quite fast (at least, when it wasn't languishing on a shelf).  It's my third time to knit this jumper pattern, I still love it.  It's so easy to knit and wear.

Pretty cardigans for meeee!

I knitted a pretty cardigan for meeeee!

The pattern is Hetty, a super-duper all-over lace cardigan, knitted in the round with set-in sleeves in a cropped length.  I've been admiring the pattern for a while and finally bought it.  Because I am my mother's daughter, I used the same colour yarn as the designer.  You can't improve on perfection!

The yarn I bought from that stall at the London Knitting and Stitching Show.  You know, the one where they just have a big old pile of yarn packets on the floor and you literally just wade in and pull out a bargain.  If you've been, you'll know the one I mean.  Black Sheep Yarns, I think.

It's Rowan Softknit Cotton Aran, which is a braided yarn.  It was such a pleasure to knit with as it can't split at all.  I probably have half the packet yet, so if you're expecting a baby, also expect to receive a green knitted item... ha ha.

It's not supposed to go with this spotty dress, but it's the best I can do for now.  The cardigan is so snuggly and warm and soft in the thick aran yarn.  I had to take it off right after the photos because it's August and not actually raining today.

Look at the buttons on that!

Eugh you can see what I meant about the neckline on the dress - bad bad bad.  It would also look better lower, but for now I can't because sad nursing bra peep-age.  But enough about the crappy dress, CHECK OUT THE CARDIE.

I procrastinated for too long about the buttons but then I hit the jackpot on Ebay - £2 for 10 painted wooden buttons that look like little clocks!  In 5 different designs!  I have died and gone to cardigan heaven.

I think I need:
(a)  More of these cardigans in every colour
(b)  More novelty wooden buttons in my life (There are bicycle ones!  Bicycles!)
(c)  More of these dresses in darker and less obnoxious fabrics, with a nicer neckline

I also need another entire lifetime to make all these things.

A little gift for a little lady

My clever crafty friend had another little girl!  I made her a few things.

Firstly a little cotton cardigan with vintage buttons, details here:

Also, I got excited and made her a little sign to hang in her room.  I found fabric in my stash!  It's got roses and rose-buds on it!  I thought I was being really clever, but probably everyone else has had this thought also so she'll be inundated with floral stuff.  Hey ho, sorry Rose.

The letters are fabric appliquéd on to a felt background.  I attached the fabric with double-sided fusible and stitched with a zig-zag for good measure.  The letters are hand-sewn to a ribbon with buttons on the ends.

Welcome to the world, little Rose!

A little catch-up

On my sewing table

I've been making a new summer dress out of some spotty blue and white cotton I bought on my honeymoon (so it's only been in my stash 7 years).  I was holding off on making clothes for me for ages because I'm breastfeeding, but then I read Gertie Sews Vintage Casual and I thought: centre-front zipper!  Hel-looooo baby!

I'm using my own self-drafted pattern and it would have gone together really quickly were it not for a hiccup with the overlocker which ceased to proceed.  More of which later.

Since it's not done yet and there are no photos, I'll save more waffle on this for later.  Hold on to your horses, I bet you can't wait.  ;-)

On my needles

Lots of lovely people I know are having babies soon!  There's a bunch in June/July, and another bunch in Nov/Dec.  I must knit faster!  Some items have been completed already, and some are still planned in my head, but of course I can't post anything until the babies have their gifts.  So there will be a bunch of knitting posts through the rest of the year about projects I'd finished 6 months previously.

I treated myself to a set of ChiaoGoo Red Lace interchangeables with my birthday/Christmas money plus some proceeds from the sale of 20m of my mum's pink upholstery velvet (thanks, Ebay and Mum).  It's very decadent to spend that much on needles, but as my entire family say: "You never regret a quality tool purchase."  I think that might be a family motto.

Out of my toolbox

So, half-way through the summer dress my overlocker (US translation: serger) started to make noises even more alarming than usual.  If I put my foot down, it said CLUNK CLUNK BANG and then the threads snapped.  It was already pretty noisy, as toddler pointed out: "Mummy, use that 'chine: Uh-uh uh-uh UH-UH!"  It finally got to the point where no tension settings worked to make a nice finish.  I couldn't pretend any longer that it didn't need a service.

It's surprisingly easy to take a Baby Lock Prestige 750DS to pieces.  Much easier than my sewing machine.  Instead of stupid plastic lugs everywhere that must be carefully eased apart, the Baby Lock is just screwed together neatly.  The main carcass is metal and all components are easily accessible when the plastic casing is removed.  As usual, the cure-all was just a thorough dust, clean and oil.  The quantity of fluff was amazing, but probably unsurprising after the amount of fluffy nappy-related fabric that has been put through it.  Here I must thank my unendingly patient husband who volunteered to do the cleaning and oiling of the actual joints on the basis that he's more patient and methodical than I am.  I cleaned the tensioners by removing each one in turn and flossing it with a cotton fabric scrap.  For most bits, we used the standard light sewing machine oil, but I did splash out on a can of Lithium grease to use for one metal-to-metal sliding joint which looked like it had been greased with this before.

The whole machine hums happily now.  Splendid!  Another £70 saved.  Ker-ching.

For my next trick

Tomorrow the second ever outfit-along starts!

I'm taking part again this year.  Last year I missed the deadline by sewing in yarn ends and buttons.  Boo!  This year I'm almost ready to go.  I'm making Hetty and Simplicity K1653 (which is a v-neck mock-wrap dress) in this fabric/yarn combination:

I already washed my practice fabric which is black jersey and swatched the lace pattern for the cardigan.  The real dress will be made in the floral jersey in the picture.  £5 for 3m: score!

Wish me luck!

A knitting round-up

There was a long blog silence while I knitted a lot for people's impending babies.  This post has finally been made because all the babies have been born so I can finally not spoil the surprise.  (Unless you stalk me on Ravelry, in which case you've been nosy already.)

I had quite a bit of fun using the same hat pattern and churning out lots of baby hats with some funky intarsia.  I'm definitely getting better at knitting with both hands at once (that is, with a different yarn held in each hand, of course you need two hands for "normal" knitting anyway).

Firstly we have a hat with a pattern and colourway pinched from a WI magazine.  The pattern was printed for a blanket which called for oodles of posh yarn, rendering the whole exercise very expensive.  In any case, the blanket was stranded and not backed, so would have been expensive and delicate to boot.  I shamelessly copied it onto a hat for Zack who has the honour of sharing his birthday with Christmas Day.

Archie got a hat with space invaders on it.

George gets a hat with hearts.

I had a lot of fun making this squirrel cardigan for Phoebe.  I ordered the 100% wool yarn without having ever touched some and I was pleasantly surprised!  I did move the "nut piles" in the design to the front of the squirrels and away from the centre back.  I am honestly surprised that almost 70 people had made this cardigan before me and not commented on Ravelry that it looked like the squirrels on the centre back were having a poop.

The little whale cardigan has been sent to Alfie.  My intarsia has definitely improved from the top of the whales toward the bottom - oops!  Turns out 100% cotton is not the most forgiving yarn for this kind of work.  I hope he won't mind.  Also the cardie turned out massive.

For my dad (not-a-baby!) I made this grey beanie hat for his birthday.  The crazy super-bulky yarn felt like knitting with worms, and I don't recommend teaming that with cheap plastic Pony 6mm needles.  Bendy!  I hope it fits.

Finally, for my own brand-new baby Button, I used up some of my left-over knitcol from this jumper to make a norwegian-style yoked number.

If you are interested in any of the gory pattern or yarn details, you can browse my Ravelry project page here.

What happened to July?

The summer seems to be racing by and with hardly a blog post in sight!  I'm a little shocked that I didn't post for a whole month, but I'm still going to tell you what I did.

Mostly, I looked after toddler Button who is reaching new levels of excitement and energy.  I also did some paid work.

After making my ruffle dress, I decided I wanted a matching yellow cardigan, and said as much on the knitting network Ravelry.  Some kind soul (who I don't even know in real life) saw my comment and had the kindness to message me with a link to the perfect yarn she had searched out!  People's generosity on this site amazes me.  I bought the yarn she suggested (Sirdar Simply Recycled) in yellow for 59p/50g ball, which is an incredible price and cast on for Miette by Andi Satterlund.  Fortunately her group "Untangling Knots" was running an outfit-along at the the same time, where you sew and knit a co-ordinating dress and cardigan, so I thought I'd enter.  Sadly I missed the deadline by a matter of hours, but nevertheless I still have a matching dress and cardigan which I love.  Behold:

If I look manic in this photo it's because I was trying to make the toddler standing in the doorway laugh and therefore not toddle out of the house in his slippers.

This manic knitting exercise took pretty much the entire last two weeks of July.  Before that, I was drafting this dress which I have yet to test.

Since the cardigan, I had to crochet some DNA.  This is for a WI competition (don't ask) and I'm afraid I've had a bad attitude about making it.  At least it contains glittery yarn, even if the nucleotides look a bit like suppositories.  The pattern is my own, but I'm not sure I can be bothered to publish it; I'm not feeling the love for this project.

Now I'm back to my sewing machine again, this time to make a gift for someone in the month of September.  I can't say more than that until the gift is given, so you'll have to wait.

Two new babies

By the time you read this post, it will be very old.  I'm writing it before I've given the gifts away, but I'll not post it until the little recipients are here.  (Currently they're probably 9 weeks away.)  I've been knitting.

For little girl, we have:

The pattern is "in threes" by Kelly Herdrich.  The yarn is Fleece Cottage Yarns Merino DK in colour "slowly eating custard pudding", as mentioned here.  I had a whole skein untouched with which I made this cardigan.  I must still have almost a skein left over!

For the little boy, we have:

The pattern is a mix of "poseidon" by Amber Bertram, and "owl baby vest" by Jodi Haraldson.  I used the size and construction of poseidon, and just switched the cabling for the owl cable from the second pattern.  I just preferred the shape and neckline of the poseidon sweater, so that's why I went for that.

By complete accident, the dark sections of the yarn ended up just above and below the owls, making them stand out (which was lucky). I did put a bit more thought into how the colour would change when I picked up the armholes and neckline, but I didn’t bother unwinding yarn to reach the right part of the colour-change: that would loose half the ball as the colour changes are so slow!

This was my first time to try steam blocking acrylic by pinning it out dry, then blasting it from 2cm above with my iron. It worked, actually! The photos don’t do justice to the delicious forest green-ness of this yarn, which looks much better in real life.  It's soft and slippery, but has a slight haze at the same time.  I made TButton a jumper from this when he was a baby, which he wore and wore.

So there we have it.  Two jumpers completed for two babies ahead of due date, and using up left over yarn skeins.  I'm feeling very organised and smug now, but I'm sure it won't last: I'll probably forget a birthday next week and spend too much on more yarn.

Slowly knitting custard pullover

I finally finished the cabled top I was making for Toddler Button!  Hooray!

The pattern is called Poseidon and it was my first effort at cabling and provisional cast-on.  I'm a huge fan of the construction method; it's completely seamless thanks to the provisional cast-on and circular knitting needles.  I don't think I ever want to seam knitting again!

Behold: I can cable, apparently!

The yarn is soft and bouncy and such a fun colour.  It was a custom dye-job from my friend Mrs Fleece Cottage Yarns.  She managed to create the just colour I was describing to her and it's called "Slowly Eating Custard Pudding".  I still have 1 1/2 skeins left for more custardy knitting.  I have just cast on for an adorable baby cardigan with the remainder.

No photo of the top on TButton as it's still too big for him (phew), so you'll have to make do with the "before" shot:

In other news:  Mrs Button Ship in sudden quilting enthusiasm shocker!!!  I've just got out my quilt from hibernation in a bid to finish free-motion quilting the last 112 squares.  I should note that this is motivated by us starting to decorate our bedroom, where the quilt will live.  Pleasingly, I appear to have improved in my quilting skills since I last attempted it 18 months - 2 years ago, despite no practice during that time.  No photos of that, either, as I don't have the space yet to unfurl the beast in all its enormous glory.

Slowly eating custard pudding.

I'm so excited!

I'm just casting on for a new top for Baby Button (hereafter, "Toddler Button").  It's the Poseidon tank top by Amber Bertram.  Toddler B already has one that my friend made and it's so useful and excellent that I used the excuse to make another one.  What is exciting is my new yarn:

Isn't that just the scrummiest?  Yellow is Toddler's favourite colour (he only colours with yellow crayon, builds yellow blocks and only sorts yellow shapes etc.), and it's so sunny and happy.  Also, it goes with blue jeans, and all boys clothes from the shops are blue, grey or brown.  Boooo-ring.

The yarn is a custom order from my friend Mrs Fleece Cottage Yarns.  It's a 100% merino superwash DK yarn in colourway "Slowing eating custard pudding".  (see here).  It's delightfully squishy and looks like it should make my stitches appear super neat.  We'll see how that goes...

Did I mention I was excited to cast on?

The entire month of October

Check out the sidebar on my blog and you'll notice the month of October last year has a record number of posts, and not in a good way!  I posted a big-old ONCE.  Maybe you enjoyed the break from my sewing/knitting prattling on.  After Christmas, I can finally show you the present I spent all my waking hours on in October.

It's the Morticia MKAL (mystery-knit-along, dudes) for Hallowe'en by Boo Knits.  For those not into Ravelry (I'm looking at YOU, Mr S Knowles, ha ha), the designer releases one clue a week.  You try to keep up with the other people knitting around the world, and gradually the pattern reveals itself in time for 31st October.  Exciting times for a knitter!

After you finish knitting what looks like a holey dishcloth, you soak it for three hours and then stretch and pin it out to dry in your son's playpen.  Because that's what playpens are for: keeping your baby away from your knitting.

Check it out: there are beads to be placed with a tiny crochet hook!

There are dingly-dangly bits and a picot bind off!  This shawl has it all, but it didn't get my house cleaned for me while I was knitting it.

I used 100% mulberry silk undyed yarn, and size 6 beads that are supposed to look like pearls.  A shout out to the lovely Fleece Cottage Yarns, who sourced the lot for me, corrected my horrific yarn-overs and knitted along too (see here).  You should totally go there and buy her lovely lovely yarn.  I'm going to pay a visit with my Christmas pennies... ;-)

Another little gift...

I had some Patons Smoothie DK left from some jumpers I made for Baby Button a while back.  I really like this yarn because although it's 100% acrylic (shocker) it's actually very smooth, soft and quite chunky for a DK.  It's actually hard to tell it's 100% acrylic.  It has none of the horrid hairiness you get with the really cheap acrylics, and it's still quite reasonably priced.  Plus, washable!

I made a little hat and mitts set for a little friend in the village who is 1 year old.  I hope they fit and he likes them.  The blue is not as bright in real life as it seems in this photo.

The patterns are free (and not by me either, bonus).  The hat is the "Simply Spring Beanie" by Megan Grewal, and the mitts are "Fun Freebie Baby Mittens" by Amber Perry.  Clicky linky, my friends.

Speedy woolly things.

Whoa.  I know I've not posted for an age, but I've been in a self-enforced exile as I put aside all blog-posting, housework and general life in a bid to keep up with the MKAL!  (That's Mystery Knit Along, to the un-ravelrised.)  I finally finished it a few days after the deadline (so I lose), but I'm back in the real world now.  It was fun, but you don't get pictures until after Christmas.  ;-)

Before the MKAL begun, I started things rolling on our house-decorating by moving my sewing room 8ft in the downwards direction: (0, 0, -8)ft for those tagging along with this blog for the maths.  The living room looks much better for the addition of sewing and wool gubbins, but I'm still working on child-proofing it.  The ex-sewing room will be painted this weekend.

In addition to the sewing room moving, I speedily finished most of Hello Chameleon except his eyes.  I'm writing up the pattern with LaTeX because I'm a massive geek.  I'll probably get the pattern tested as soon as his limbs are attached and I've finished typing it all up, then I'm thinking of offering it for sale.  I also took some pictures to do a few crochet how-tos, which should help people follow along with the non-standard way I construct my crochet toys.

Right now I'm making a crochet turnip (that's right), and a bunch more fenland veggies for a friend.  The patterns will probably be free unless I'm unexpectedly delighted with the results.  Turnip is pretty simple so far, but it's always a joy to make purple vegetables.

Right, that's all for now, and I'm sorry for the lack of pictures.  I promise more soon, perhaps when Hello Turnip is complete!  ;-)

Knitty rainbow fun!

I've been neglecting my chameleon crochet and trouser making recently, because the chameleon is on its 5th pattern iteration, and the trousers had stupid errors in (see earlier mumblings).  I didn't feel too inspired.

I did feel inspired to finally finish the rainbow jumper for baby B with the amazing Adriafil Knitcol.  I chose quite a plain pattern (child's placket neck pullover by Joelle Hoverson), to show off the epic wool.

Pretty jumper front

The jumper pattern is fun to knit, but it's done top-up rather than bottom-down, which I find a bit peculiar.  It was my first time to use double-pointed needles (something I swore I'd never do), and my first attempt at magical Kitchener stitch.  I would totally make this pattern again, perhaps in plain wool for fun.  I read on Ravelry that this pattern can come up small, so I made size 2-4 years, and hopefully it will fit giant-baby at 1 year this winter.  Otherwise we must wait even longer to see the jumper on the model.

Jumper back

The knitcol is very fun to knit with.  I confess I stole the idea from my lovely friends who have also made knitcol baby jumpers/cardies.  I'm a bit late on the knitcol bandwagon, really.  I think the wool works best for children's clothes: they're small enough that the colour lengths go almost all the way across the body.  The result is a fun stripy effect, rather than the more mottled look you'd get on a bigger garment.  I was a bit fussy with the sleeves: I started a new ball for the second sleeve just so I could have the stripes exactly matching, rather than the almost-matching effect I was going to have if I didn't.  Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered, as the stitch direction reverses when you get to the placket, so the shoulders will never match each other anyway!

Mmmmm.... knitcol

I need to save some pennies to buy more epic knitcol.

A wooly week

Whoops, I've not posted in over a week!  That's not good.

What's on my sewing table is nothing, because I spent the week knitting.  I got scared because baby outgrew his last hand-knitted hoodie, so I rapidly had to finish the next size up, which only had half a sleeve left to go.  Just as well, because there isn't much growing room left in it!

After the hoodie, I got excited to knit with some Adriafil knitcol, so I bought some with my birthday pennies and started a jumper.

Finally, I finished adjustments on my Blooper shirt pattern.  I really need to draft a waistcoat and trouser pattern now; we have a wedding to go to in August!  I bought the fabric for the shirt and trousers today.

I really need to get on with patterns and stop being distracted with wool...