Friday, September 26, 2014

Stretchy Enough Cast-On

Throughout the process of developing the crimped stitch patterns, I have run into the problem of how much they spread. This means that cast-ons and bind-offs need to  be r-e-a-l-l-y stretchy. I can usually bind off loosely enough; I just concentrate on stretching the edge as I go along. The cast-on is a problem, in part because you can't really know in advance how much the pattern stitch will spread.

So I went looking for elastic cast-ons.  Here is the video I settled on. This cast-on is meant for k1, p1 ribbing and you can see in the photos how well it works. But, I thought it looked skimpy for a pattern stitch where the cast-on is distorted by the stitches that are drawn up through it.

So I worked out a fix, wrote some notes, and proceeded to get swamped with other things for a couple of months. I started re-swatching to get myself back up to speed and now I can't imagine why I thought the original is anything but adorable. I can see that it also has some extra potential for being embellished. So, that is next. Until then . . .

PS: If you do try the cast-on in the video, note that every other stitch sits twisted on the needle and needs to be worked through the back on the first row.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Yes, I'm Still Here!

I have been swamped the last few weeks! While I'm catching my breath, I want to remind everyone that it's almost October and my free Jack-o-Lantern Cup Cozy pattern is here and the instructions for seaming it are here.

Also, with just over three months to go until Christmas, you might want to check out my Vintage Christmas Stocking. It's a free Ravelry download available here. Be sure to note the correction in the pattern notes.

I have a whole list of technique things I want to share with you. With any luck, I'll have something new posted by the end of the week. Until then . . .