Cable and Bobble Beanie

A long time ago in a land called Unique One-land, I used to give classes to knitters. Once I gave a class on cables and bobbles, and I needed a pattern that they could use, but nothing was exactly what I needed, so I created a hat pattern with cables and bobbles in it. This is the hat. Originally it was knit in Classic Elite Wool Bamboo (50% wool, 50% bamboo), but of course it has long since been discontinued. Any DK weight will work though!

 

 

Cable and Bobble Beanie

Materials:
◘ 200 yards DK weight yarn
◘ US size 3 (3.25mm) & US size 5 (3.50mm) straight needles (this hat was designed to be knit back and forth on straight needles *only* because I originally was designing it to be used in a cables & bobbles class I was going to teach, and I wanted the students to get the back-and-forth- ness of cable patterns, like they would use in knitting a sweater. Realistically, I would much rather have designed this for circular knitting, avoiding the seaming. You can certainly adapt it to that, if you know how to do it.)
◘ Cable needle

◘ Tapestry needle

 

Twisted Rib pattern (2 sts + 1):

Row 1: *K 1 through the back loop, P 1*, repeat from * to last stitch, K1 through back loop.

Row 2: *P 1, K 1 through the back loop*, repeat from * to last stitch, P1 through back loop.

Cable and Bobble Pattern Stitch (9 sts):

 

Row 1: Knit 9.
Row 2: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.
Row3: Slip 2 sts to cable needle and hold in back, k2, k2 from cable needle, k1, slip 2 sts to cable needle and hold in front, k2, k2 from cable needle.
Row 5: Knit 4, (k1,p1,k1,p1,k1) all into the next st, turn, p back over these 5 sts, turn, k5, slip the first 4 sts one at a time over the end of the needle, leaving one knit stitch remaining [bobble made], knit 4.
Row 7: K3, make bobble, k1, make bobble, k3.
Row 8: Work as for Row 2.

Right Twist Cable Pattern Stitch (10 sts):

Row 1: P2, k6, p2.
Row 2: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.
Row 3: P2, slip 3 sts to cable needle and hold in back, k3, k3 from cable needle, p2. Rows 5 & 7: P2, k6, p2.
Row 8: as for row 2.

 

Hat Pattern Stitch (133 + 4 sts):

 

Row 1: P2, (work cable and bobble pattern over 9 stitches, work right cable twist pattern over 10 sts) seven times, p2.
Row 2: Knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.

Directions for knitting:

With smaller needles, cast on 101 sts. Work twisted rib for 8 rows, increasing to 137 sts in last row of ribbing. Change to US size 5 (3.50mm) needles. Work in Hat Pattern for 5 pattern repeats. Decrease as follows:
Row 1:P2, (K2 tog, p2, k2, p2, k2tog, work right cable twist pattern over 10 sts) 7 times, p2.
Row 2 and all even rows: knit the knit stitches and purl the purl stitches.
Row 3: P2, (p2tog, p1, k2, p2tog, p1, work right cable twist pattern over 10 sts) 7 times, p2.
Row 5: P2, (p2tog, k2, p2tog, work right cable twist pattern over 10 sts) 7 times, p2. Row 7: P2, (k2tog two times, work right cable twist pattern over 10 sts) 7 times, p2. Row 9: P1, (p2tog, work right cable twist pattern over 10 sts) 7 times, p2.
Row 11: P1, (p3tog, p1, k6, p1, p3tog, p1) 7 times, p2.
Row 13: (p3, k2tog three times) 7 times, p2.
Row 15: (P1, p2tog, k1, k2tog,) 7 times, p2.
Row 17: (p2 tog, k2tog) 7 times, p2tog.
Work Row 18 as Row 2.

 

Break yarn and pull it through all stitches. Pull tight to close the top of the hat. Sew up the seam.

 

Enjoy your hat! I got thinking maybe I would redesign it in fingering weight also, and in the round. It'll be fun!

 

Still a bit chilly out, Pogo is gonna sleep till it warms up.

Ribbed Leaves Lace Scarf

This lovely pattern was on display at my shop, Unique One in Camden, Maine for years, and it was always very popular. It is a reversible pattern, which made it great for a scarf. It is basically ribbing with some left and right leaning decreases and a few eyelets thrown in to make it look lacy. Because the left and right decreases are done over ribbing, you have to use a cable needle to move the stitches to be next to each other so the ribbing  won't be discomposed.

It was originally knit with 3 skeins of Frogtree Fingering Weight Alpaca (215 yards/skein), now sadly discontinued. Alpaca made it feel luxurious, soft, and drapey, but you could use 645 yards of any type of fingering weight yarn, even bamboo or tencel or silk or cotton!

I have made one change to the original pattern in that I have started it with two rows of ribbing, as the way it was originally written was a little tricky to do on the first row, and I ended it with two rows of ribbing also to make it symmetrical.  Have fun!

 

Ribbed Leaves Lace Scarf

Materials: 645 yards (589.79 meters) light fingering weight yarn; US size 6 (4.00mm) needles, cable needle, tapestry needle

Finished size: 72 inches (182.88 cm) long X 7.5 inches (19.05 cm) wide

Directions:

Cast on 66 sts. Work K 1, P 1 ribbing for two rows. Work in Ribbed Leaves pattern as follows:

Rows 1, 3, 5, and 7 (RS): * K 1, P 1, yo twice, [K 1, P 1] twice, K 1, R2dec, [P 1, K 1] 5 times, P 1;  from * to end.

Row 2 and all WS rows: Work in K 1, P 1 rib, working double yo's as 2 stitches (i.e., K1, P1).

Rows 9, 11, 13, & 15: * [K 1, P 1] six times, L2dec, [K 1, P 1] twice, K 1, yo twice, P 1; repeat from * to end.

Row 16: Work as for Row 2.

Repeat these sixteen rows for Ribbed Leaves pattern.

Work in Ribbed Leaves pattern until scarf measures just shy of 72 inches long, or desired length. Work 2 rows K 1, P 1 ribbing. Bind off loosely. Weave in ends. 

Abbreviations used:

K = knit

P = purl

yo twice = yarn over twice (wrap the yarn two times around the needle; treat this as a knit stitch AND a purl stitch in the next row)

R2dec (Right decrease) = with yarn in front, slip the purl stitch to the  right hand needle, slip the knit stitch to the cable needle and hold it in front, slip the next purl stitch to the right hand needle, slip the knit stitch on the cable needle back to the left hand needle (2 knit sts are together now),  slip the 2 purl stitches back to the left hand needle, purl 2 together, knit 2 together

L2dec (Left decrease) = with yarn in back, slip the knit stitch to the right hand needle knitwise, slip the purl stitch to the cable needle and hold in back, slip the next knit stitch to the right hand needle knitwise, slip the purl stitch from the cable needle back to the left hand needle (knit stitches and purl stitches are together now), knit two stitches together through the back loops, purl two stitches together

 

Simplest Scarf in the World

 

Basketweave Scarf

Materials:

4 40g skeins Noro Cashmel (discontinued) or 150 yards of worsted weight soft yarn with a bit of drape. 

Size 7 knitting needles

Tapestry needle & scissors

Gauge: 20 sts and 28 rows = 4”

Finished measurements: 8” X 72”

Directions:

Cast on 35 stitches.

Rows 1, 3, 5, 7: Knit 5, (purl 5, knit 5) across
Rows 2, 4, 6, 8: Purl 5, (knit 5, purl 5) across
Rows 9, 11, 13, 15: Purl 5, (knit 5, purl 5) across
Rows 10, 12, 14, 16: Knit 5, (purl 5, knit 5) across

Repeat rows 1 - 16 for 72". Bind off loosely. Weave in & trim ends.

 

 

It's Finally Spring! Sort of.

Right now the wind is howling around my house and it was freezing when I got up at five, though it is sunny now and promises to be 39° today. But it will be 54° on Saturday! 54° and raining! Oh well, April showers bring May flowers I guess.

I knit a cowl over the weekend with some great speckled yarn from On the Round by Rachel Jones, who is in Rockland. She makes good yarn. The yarn was the sock club yarn for December and is called Festivus. It is always fun to see what her sock club yarn looks like every month! The pattern was Naranj by Hilary Smith Callis; it is on Ravelry and is very lovely.

I also did Knitters Brewing Company Mystery Sock 11 by Wendy Gaal!

I can't believe these Mystery socks have been going on for eleven years. I haven't done all of them, but the ones I have done were wicked fun and challenging, though Wendy has video tutorials to help and everyone is so good at helping in her group also. The pattern for these are Mystery Sock XI: It Goes to Eleven by Wendy Gaal, and the theme this year was Eighties Music. The yarn I chose is Knitters Brewing Company Sock-aholic II in the color Graphite Gueuze.

I have been knitting a simple scarf for my husband since the mice chewed up the one I knit him a few years ago, and it is almost done, five and a half feet out of six feet total length. Or it may be a bit more, but thereabouts. I don't have a picture, but I will write down the very simple drop dead easy pattern, slap the photo on it, and post it on my blog so you can all have it forever. I am using worsted weight cashmere that I purchased back when cashmere was slightly affordable, in the early 2000's or so. But really, if the mice are going to eat it, any worsted weight would do! I hope their little mouse nests are comfy and warm if they are cashmere lined.

(photo courtesy of Clipart Library)

And finally, I have started my beloved dragon sweater that I fell in love with on Knitty when it came out. The pattern is Drachen by Heddi Craft in Issue 65 Deep Fall 2018 of Knitty.

I have always loved dragons since I read Anne McCaffery's Pern books back in the early 1970's, reading about five of them over the years as I recall, and after my stroke, I read the whole series of 22 Pern books. Hey, I couldn't knit much at the time.

Drachen is a simple, boxy style of sweater in a T shape, but I will make it a bit longer than the pattern, maybe 14" to the underarm instead of 11.5". I am using Swans Island Washable Wool DK in the colors of Sangria, Curry and Sunlight (not pictured):

It's a beginning!