Bella Knitting

Toe Up Sock Experiment

Laura

Like Sarah, I’ve been playing with some sock ideas, playing with cuff designs, cast ons, bind offs, sometimes working cuff down and sometimes toe up with variations that will appeal to both experienced sock knitters and those looking to become sock knitters.

A lot of toe up sock patterns use a basic Make 1 increase, a less intimidating that a short row toe for many knitters. While I can appreciate the simplicity of this design I’ve never been a fan of using a series of Make 1 increases because in spite of every effort to work the previous knit stitches loosely I find when I work these stitches they are much tighter than their neighbors. And so I decided to try an experiment; working two sock toes (on two circulars using the fabulous Magic Cast on by Judy Becker from Knitty) with just a quick variation in the increase instructions as follows:

Make One Increases:
1.    knit round
2.    [k1, m1r, k to last st, m1L, k1] repeat on other needle

Yarn Over Make One Increase:
1.    k1, yo, k to last st, yo, k1
2.    knit across making sure to twist the yarn overs so the loop is closed.

The difference being an extra length of yarn is added on the prior row via a yarn over so the stitches are not pulled too tightly. And yes, the stitches can be worked leaning to the right and left based on which way the yarn over is worked.

I’m sure some of you may have tried working an increase with a yarn over before, Sarah illustrated the increase here, but I thought that comparing the results of these two types of increasing might prove helpful. Look, the shape of the toe is less distorted in every way:
•    The sides do not bow out
•    the base is not pulled up into a curve
•    the top is flatter
•    and the swatch is a bit wider since it is not constrained by the tight increase.

I have fun with this little experiment, next time I will be more careful working the Yarn Over Make One increases with the correct slant and I think a reverse Star Toe could be interesting.

A Plethera of Braided Color

Laura

School art projects are often times very 'interesting'. At least in my house where artistic talent seems to have passed us by. Give me some yarn and I can play for hours, give me colored pencils or paint and my attempts at art work will look like a kindergartener's first project, therefore,  what can I possibly expect from my gene-challenged children?

And so like many supportive parents faced with questionable school projects, we slap on impressed smiles, show our real enthusiasm and carefully pick appropriate adjectives; ones like interesting, creative, imaginative and impressive being careful not to use specific descriptions (like 'that's a fabulous dog honey" only to find out it was an elephant) or to use overly effusive praise that will only have them applying for art scholarships or trying out for American Idol in years to come. 

So imagine my surprise when I found myself coveting my son's art project the other day. No drawing involved in this project thank goodness just seven vibrant colors of yarn. Maybe I am the only one who has not seen this Japanese Braid but I just love this alternative to an i-cord or one of those funky knitting bobbin gadgets.

• Start with a cardboard circle about 3 inches in diameter.
• Cut eight slits to hold the yarn and a hole in the center.
• Cut lengths of seven colors of yarn at least a yard long
• Tie a slip knit at the end, drop it though the hole and attach yarn to circle slits.
• Starting at the blank spot, count three strands to the right (counterclockwise) and move than color clockwise to the empty spot. In this case the yellow will move between the orange and pink.
• Count three more strands from the new empty spot and move that yarn over. Here the green will go where the yellow used to be.
• Again and again making sure you pull the cord down as you go for even tension.

The result is a multi-colored intricately braided cord that is super easy to make. We've been taking turns while we watch TV. It's fun, hypnotic and great for all ages. Perfect party favor or carry along entertainment for parents with easily bored little ones. I may leave a few in the car in a zip lock bag.

Just look at how those colors all intertwine!

Remember those color palettes I told you about the other day?  How about digging through your stash looking for some of those fabulous combinations?  I think you'd have a lot of fun and you just might end up with a new purse strap, pillow trim, sweater edge, or curtain tie, towel trim, plant hanger, hair ribbon, belt  ... the possibilities are all there waiting for you to discover.

Design in Progress: Heritage Sock Yarn

Sarah

I was really excited when Laura said she was going to start carrying the Cascade Heritage sock yarns a while back. I mean, who doesn't love sock yarn? It sent my mind reeling with design ideas, although for me, nothing really firms up until I have the yarn on the needles. You can buy the yarn a la carte from Bella Knitting here; the color card is here.

I've been working on a sock pattern in the yarn using the "Forest" colorway (#5619) and I figured that since I now have some experience with the yarn, I should share some of my thoughts on working with it.

First off, the yarn has four plies, so it has a nice roundness to it, creating tidy, even stitches. I'm using a multicolor, and I was pleased with the way the colors stack up -- the colors don't pool in big blobs, but I've got a zippy little almost-stripe thing going on. Of course, these variegations are all pretty much in the same color family, so you'll get a different result with a shade like Londonberry, which combines green and purple hues for greater contrast. Overall, I think that the way the colors shift as you knit suggests that this yarn will work great in a pattern which makes the stitches move. That's what I'm doing, anyway, but the design isn't ready for the big reveal just yet. To give you an idea of what I mean, look at Cookie A's Monkey sock pattern -- the increases and decreases create a pleasing movement in the fabric which shows off yarns like these quite nicely.

I know that I haven't seen this yarn in any of my LYS yet, so you may not have had a chance to see it in person. If I were to compare it with other yarns in my stash which you may be familiar with, I'd say it is most like Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock and the Regia Design Line Kaffe Fassett yarn by Schachenmayer Nomotta. Both of those are constructed of 4 plies as well. Based on what's in my stash, it looks like the Regia yarn may have the most loosely-spun plies and the Lorna's Laces the most tightly spun, but I think I'd need a microscope to be certain. The Heritage sock yarn certainly seems to be of comparable quality, will stand up to a machine wash and tumble dry, and is definitely a good deal at $16.50 for a 100 gram, 437 yard skein -- enough to make a pair.