Alternating Twists from Cables & Arans
I
am a stitch geek. I'm fascinated by the different ways that the humble
knit stitch and the unassuming purl stitch get together and make a
gadzillion different glorious combinations. My stitch dictionaries are
stained with the love born of long and constant use; they tend to be
found strewn around my living room, adorned with dozens of colorful
stickies, rather than neatly lined up on my bookshelf.
A good stitch book can be the knitter's equivalent of a
well-stocked spice cabinet: Take a familiar recipe, add a dash of lace,
or a pinch of texture, and the result is something uniquely yours.
Stitch dictionaries can be especially helpful if you are not quite
ready to jump off into designing your own sweaters (yet!), but you want
to add your own special touches to your knitting.
Which stitch to use where?
Scale: Just like spices, some stitch patterns are strong; a
little goes a long way! Others are subtle; you can use them all over a
large bag and not have it overwhelm the bag. (Think of the difference
between a small, delicate floral print that works well on a blouse,
versus a large, colorful floral print that might work better on your
sofa.) However, if you are in love with a large-scale pattern, you can
get a really interesting effect by using a single repeat in unexpected
places. For example: Remember the cute pink Knitting Needle Knitting Bag
from last week? What if you knitted that bag all in stockinette stitch,
with just a single band of a cable stitch or lace pattern across the
front? That way, you could make as many of the bags as you wanted to,
and no two would be alike.
Gauge and sizing: Be aware that some stitch patterns will
draw in your knitting a bit (cables, twisted stitches), while others
will expand the fabric a little (lace and eyelets). A single repeat,
used as a design element, will affect the finished size a little; an
all-over extravaganza of pattern will affect the finished size a lot!
The best way to get to know a stitch, and the effect it will have on your knitting,
is the same approach used by cooks when faced with a new spice: look at
how the unfamiliar "ingredient" is used in other recipes, and then
experiment for yourself.
Yes, I am talking about swatching. Yes, I know: Booorrrring.
But what if you thought about the swatches as squares for an afghan?
Small pillows to spice up your bedroom? Pockets? Washcloths? You can
even do what a friend of mine does with her swatches: She carefully
blocks them and frames them and hangs them on her wall. How about that
for knitterly art?
Do you have a creative way to put your swatches to use?
Stitch of the Day page
New Feature!
Starting this week, you'll notice a new button off to the right: Stitch of The Day.
Click on that button, and Monday through Friday, you'll see a different
stitch pattern every day—lace, cables, eyelets, textures, ribs, you
name it—one by one, they will all show up on the Stitch of the Day page. One new stitch each weekday; five new stitches total a week, second star to the right, and straight on until morning.
This new feature is our way of celebrating the newest member of the Interweave family: The Harmony Stitch Guides. Think of the Stitch of the Day as a party favor!
Please note that each stitch will appear for ONE DAY ONLY (except
for the Friday stitch, which will be up over the weekend). You can
print out the stitches for your own personal use, even make a binder
for them if you like! However, there will not be an online
archive of the stitches, and so unfortunately, if you miss a stitch, we
cannot send it to you. (We made a special copyright arrangement with
the original publisher, and those are just the rules.) The good news is that there we have enough stitches excerpted from The Harmony Guides to keep the Stitch of the Day running on Knitting Daily for more than an entire YEAR.
Sandi Wiseheart is the editor of Knitting Daily.
What's on Sandi's needles? I finished a UFO! Whoo! Done are the Waving Lace Socks
that are destined for Michelle (shhh, don't tell her yet!). The yarn
for Nicholas' cabled pullover is due to be delivered tomorrow...