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Tag: knitting

  • The Wow! Scarf

    The Wow! Scarf

    As you may have gathered from my Twitter or Instagram accounts this past weekend, I attended the 2015 Knitters Guild NSW Camp at Stanwell Tops. When I registered for the Camp earlier in the year, the confirmation message invited me to enter the Mystery Scarf Competition. The details were very vague–basically, you were supposed to knit a scarf of a certain size out of black and either white or cream. Inspired by my Ignite talk, I thought it would be fun to try to knit an actual mystery into the scarf. So I started doing research, and I came up with several interesting possibilities:

    • The Beale Ciphers – Very National Treasure, right?! And they could literally point you to an actual horde of gold!
    • The Kryptos Sculpture – Bonus points because it actually looks kind of like a scarf.
    • The Phaistos Disc – This would look better as a circular shawl, right?
    • Tamám Shud – *shudder* Too creepy.
    • Rongorongo – I feel like this would be neat as fairisle motifs.

    In the end I settled on the Wow! Signal. This was a strong narrowband radio signal detected by Jerry R. Ehman on August 15, 1977, while he was working on a SETI project at the Big Ear radio telescope of The Ohio State University. When he saw the spike on the printout, Ehman circled it and wrote “Wow!” in red pen in the margins. The signal lasted for 72 seconds. It came from globular cluster M55 in the constellation Sagittarius. It looks pretty much exactly like what we’d expect an interstellar transmission to look like. It’s never been repeated, and we don’t know what it means. I like to think it’s an alien civilisation saying “Hello!”. So I knitted it into a scarf.

    The scarf is knitted as a tube out of Morris Norway 10 ply in Cream using a 5mm circular needle. Starting from the left edge of the printout, I incorporated about 15 columns of numbers by duplicate stitching them on as I went. Once the scarf was long enough, I stopped the numbers and knitted in plain white to leave a space for the “Wow!” which I embroidered with red wool. I also embroidered on some additional pen marks, like the circles around the signal itself and some of the other numbers. As a final step, I added some tassles out of the remaining black wool.

    I’m really pleased with how it turned out! I didn’t end up winning the contest, but that’s okay. I took the “mystery” aspect more literally than most of the other contestants did. (The winner did an amazing double-knitted scarf with a photo of her cat on it.) My scarf is exceptionally warm and nerdy, and I had a lot of fun making it.

  • Self-Replicating Mittens

    Self-Replicating Mittens

    After giving a talk on geek knitting in 2012, I was inspired to try my hand at knitting a QR code. The code on these mittens actually scans and points the viewer to the pattern on this page so they can make their own. Hence, self-replicating mittens!

    Edited on 16/03/2025: Google are killing the URL shortener in 2025, which means at some point the QR code – http://goo.gl/9XJgR – will stop working. Bastards.

    These mittens are knitted in the round, so you’ll need to know how to use double pointed needles. Alternatively, you can always use the “Magic Loop” method of using one long circular needle, or – my personal favourite – using two circular needles.

    Materials:

    • 2mm straight needles
    • 3mm needles – either DPNs or circular(s)
    • 3.75mm needles – either DPNs or circular(s)
    • 8ply/DK wool for the mittens (100g should be plenty with leftovers)
    • 3-4ply baby wool in two colours for the QR code (just scraps)
    • darning needle
    • QR Code Chart (PDF)

    Sizing: I made these to fit my own hands, which are normal adult women’s size. To adjust bigger or smaller, simply change the number of stitches you cast on and how many you increase for the thumb.

    Tension: Come on, it’s a pair of mittens! You’ll notice that these are knitted with slightly smaller needles than you would normally knit 8ply/DK wool. That’s to make the fabric more dense and keep the air out.

    Instructions

    Using the 3mm needles, cast on 44 stitches in your 8ply/DK wool and join for knitting in the round.

    Knit 28 rounds of K1P1 rib.

    Switch to 3.75mm needles and knit 2 rounds plain (stocking stitch).

    Now we’re ready for the thumb increases. Your thumbs are on opposite sides of your hands, so you need to knit each one differently!

    R mitten:

    Increase Round 1: K1, M1, K1, M1, knit to end

    Increase Rounds 2-4: Knit plain

    Increase Round 5: K1, M1, K3, M1, knit to end

    Increase Rounds 6-8: Knit plain

    Continue in this pattern, adding 2 more stitches between the M1s each time until you reach 58 stitches.

    Knit 1 row plain.

    Now we need to remove the thumb stitches and set them aside for later.

    Next round: K1, slip next 15st onto scrap wool, cast on 3 stitches, continue to knit round.

    Knit 25 rounds plain.

    Time to start the decreases!

    Decrease Round 1: *K1, SSK, knit 23st, K2tog, K1,* repeat for other side of mitten.

    Decrease Round 2: Knit plain.

    Repeat in this pattern until 22 stitches remain.

    Use Kitchener stitch to graft closed and then weave in your ends!

    L mitten:

    Increase Round 1: K42, M1, K1, M1, K1

    Increase Rounds 2-4: Knit plain.

    Increase Round 5: K42, M1, K3, M1, K1

    Increase Round 6-8: Knit plain

    Continue in this pattern, adding 2 more stitches between the M1s each time until you reach 58 stitches.

    Knit 1 row plain.

    Again, it’s time to remove the thumb stitches and set them aside for later.

    Next round: K42, slip next 15st onto scrap wool, cast on 3 stitches, K1

    Knit 25 rounds plain.

    Time to start the decreases!

    Decrease Round 1: *K1, SSK, knit 23st, K2tog, K1,* repeat for other side of mitten.

    Decrease Round 2: Knit plain.

    Repeat in this pattern until 22 stitches remain.

    Use Kitchener stitch to graft closed and then weave in your ends!

    For each thumb:

    Put 15st from scrap wool on needles.

    Knit around all stitches, picking up and knitting 3st to close the gap at the top of the thumb.

    Knit 16 rounds plain.

    Decrease Round 1: *K1, K2tog* repeat around.

    Decrease Round 2: Knit plain.

    Decrease Round 3: *K2tog* repeat all the way around.

    Break off wool and run end through remaining stitches, draw up tightly and fasten off.

    QR Code (make 2 of these):

    Note – the QR code is knitted back and forth using the fairisle/stranded knitting technique. Yeah, you have to use two colours on the purl side, but it’s a small pattern and you’ll survive. Wherever there is a float longer than 5 stitches, I recommend “catching” the floating wool with the working wool. However, since this is going to be sewn to the mitten, it’s not crucial and you don’t have to do it. Just make sure your floats are loose enough not to draw in the design too much!

    Using the 2mm needles and your baby wool, cast on 33 stitches.

    Knit 4 rows of garter stitch.

    Keeping a 4st border on each side in garter stitch, begin working the QR Code Chart in stocking stitch.

    Once the chart is finished, knit 4 rows of garter stitch to complete the border.

    Cast off and weave in your ends.

    I recommend BLOCKING THE HECK out of your QR codes, otherwise they may not scan. I cut two pieces of paper exactly 3 inches square, then wetted my patches and pinned them out to this size. Once they are dry, simply sew them to the back of your mittens!

    QR Code

    Creative Commons License

    Self-Replicating Mittens by Kristine Howard is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

  • Two finished scarves!

    Two Scarves

    Finally some finished items to show! Both of these are with wool purchased at the Convent and Chapel Wool Shop in Rylstone a few months back.

    First up is the Zig Zag in Zauberball Crazy. I bought the wool without any idea what to do with it-“I just liked the crazy autumn colourway-but then I saw Gemma’s Show Stopper in the Easter Show last April and fell in love! So I asked her to share the link to the pattern, which she kindly did. (It’s here!) It’s a super simple three-row repeat and knits up gratifyingly fast. I basically just knitted until I used up every single bit of it. I love the way the horizontal ribbing lines up with the colour changes, almost like stripes. It’s also really smooshy and squishy and warm. Very satisfying project! You can see a close-up of the stitch pattern here. (Ravelry details.)

    Next is the Linen Stitch scarf in Marlyn Alpaca. This stuff is SO SOFT. I originally intended to knit something with long lengthwise stripes, but I saw a sample of linen stitch and I was impressed how classy it looked. I thought it might make a nice “businessman’s”-type scarf for the Snook. So I casted on a bazillion stitches and then started knitting random width stripes of the two colours. Man, linen stitch rows take FOREVER to knit! I basically just knitted until I couldn’t stand it anymore. Then I put some fringe on both ends to finish it off. Very nice! He wore it to work today. You can see a close-up of the stitch pattern here. (Ravelry details.)

  • Blackberry Cardigan and Argyll Vest

    Yesterday I picked up my entries from the Sydney Royal Easter Show Arts & Crafts Competition. I entered two projects: a cardigan for me that had been hibernating 90% done for over a year, and a hipster vest requested by the Snook at Christmas. I’m really happy with how both of them turned out. (I didn’t win any ribbons this year, but I’ve given up trying to understand the judging criteria. That way lies madness.) Anyway, the details…

    Blackberry Cardigan

    Blackberry CardiganThis is a cardigan I started knitting for myself back in 2013 but never finished. I love knitting cables, and I wanted something warm and snuggly to wear in winter (and in my freezing cold office). The wool is Filatura di Crosa Zara merino wool, which I’d previously bought from Reecie in a destash. I’d knitted a couple things out of it previously, and I knew that it would give great stitch definition yet be soft enough to wear directly on my skin. I hate sewing up, so I knitted the body in one piece up to the arm holes. Then I split the piece and worked the back and two fronts separately up to the shoulders before joining them with a three-needle bind-off. I also knitted each sleeve in the round up to the sleeve cap, which I knitted flat. At that point, I lost my knitting mojo and the pieces sat in my craft room for well over a year. When I unearthed them, I realised there wasn’t a great deal left to do. I picked up and the knitted the giant shawl collar (which goes all the way around and includes the button holes for the front), then blocked all the pieces before sewing them together. I found the buttons at Sew Make Create. I’m really, really pleased how it turned out. I’m wearing it right now, in fact! (More details over at Ravelry.)

    Argyll Vest

    Argyll VestOver Christmas we were having lunch at a cafe in Newtown when the Snook asked if I’d knit him a “hipster sweater vest.” He so rarely asks for knitted things, I got really excited and pulled up Ravelry that minute on my iPhone to start searching for patterns. When I saw katarina’s Argyll Vest, we both knew it was the perfect one. Happily I had the pattern book it’s from already in my collection! We walked straight up to The Granny Square and picked out the wool on the spot. We selected three different “heathered” colours of Morris Empire 4-ply. The only pattern mod I made was to make the body a bit longer, because Rodd has a very long torso. Since the neckline is meant to start at the top of a diamond, I had to decide ahead of time how much length I was going to add (so I could add it on at the bottom above the ribbing). And of course, you can’t knit intarsia in the round so I had to knit the front and back separately. I love the neat geometry of intarsia and had a lot of fun seeing the diamonds emerge. The diagonal lines – which I learned are called rakers – were embroidered on with Swiss darning. Then I just had to block it, sew it up, and knitting on the bands. He really likes it! I think it’s going to get a lot of wear this winter. (More details over at Ravelry.)

  • Photo post

    Selfie with Helen at the Knitters Guild stall. Come say Hi if you're at the Show!

    Selfie with Helen at the Knitters Guild stall. Come say Hi if you’re at the Show! @ Sydney Showground

  • Photo post

    The Faceless Large Bunny haunts my dreams.

    The Faceless Large Bunny haunts my dreams.

    My favourite item from the Show this year: Inexplicable Carrot Bolster

    My favourite item from the Show this year: Inexplicable Carrot Bolster.
    Me: “DAMMIT! It’s not for sale!”
    Random Lady: “What would you DO with it?!”
    Me: “Plop that sucker on my couch, of course.”

  • Photo post

    No love from the RAS this year. I'm cool with that.

    No love from the RAS this year. I’m cool with that. @ Sydney Showground

  • Photo post

    I couldn't drive through Rylstone without some stash acquisition...

    I couldn’t drive through Rylstone without some stash acquisition… @ Convent and Chapel Wool Shop

  • Photo post

    Blocking. (Did I mention how annoyed I am they killed the Intarsia category at the Show?)

    Blocking. (Did I mention how annoyed I am they killed the Intarsia category at the Show?)

  • Photo post

    Rakers are happening. This is the fun bit...

    Rakers are happening. This is the fun bit…