Beginning of the End

I've started casting off my Hornpipe Bag today! :)

For those of you just joining in, my Hornpipe Bag is a double-knit drawstring bag, worked from the bottom up. I'm knitting it in Bernat Sox in the "Rainbow" coloway and Patons Kroy in the "Coal" colorway. It features a knotwork motif on the bottom and which is repeated four times around the sides on alternating backgrounds. 

As with all double-knits it takes longer than you originally think. You're literally making both sides of a two sided fabric at the same time; twice the number of stitches as appear on either side. Not quite twice the time to knit but it does add extra time to the process. Of course I have the added issue of having several projects on the go at once; some designs of my own, others by other designers that I want the item or it's perfect as a gift for the knit/yarn worthy in my life. I counted 10 works in progress last week, 6 being my own designs. Ah, the glamorous life of an independent knitting pattern designer ;)

If you're not familiar with double-knitting, I wrote a bit of an overview last year here🔗 on this blog, and I also recommend checking out Alasdair Post-Quinn's site (link in the side menu), Fallingblox Designs.

I'm using a bit of a different cast-off method with my bag, and I thought it would be fun to give a bit of a breakdown here for future reference. This cast-off looks decorative which makes it nice for the top of a bag, or really anywhere you'll be seeing the cast-off a lot, like a scarf end.

For the explanation below instead of alt-captioning the photos, I'll be describing them in detail below each photo for everyone. That way if I need more characters and/or words to describe things it won't be cut off.

So to start, this is a photo of what the first 8 or so stitch-pairs look like cast-off:

What's going on? The first section of my bag has a black background of stockinette on the outside, and all of my stitch-pairs are black/multicolored, a black knit stitch and a multicolored purl stitch. In the photo there are multicolored "blips" near the top edge, and a black stitch with a yellow one  collared with it. The collar is the last cast-off stitch. 

Let's back up just a tick. When double-knitting in the basic way with two colors your background will be one color on one side and the other color on the opposite side. Whichever color you knit with, you purl the other stitch of the pair with the other. So here I've been knitting with black and purling with the multicolored yarn for my background. The stitches alternate in the needle, black, multi, black, multi, etc.

Ok, now to work the cast-off. I'm using both yarns as one for the entire cast-off. Knit the first stitch, and purl the second. Now lift the first double stranded stitch over the second and off the needle; this is the usual movements for casting off that you're probably very familiar with. But with double-knitting you have twice the number of stitches and it could splay. (Which come to think of it, would be an interesting way to the shape the bottom of a cowl. I digress!)

What I'm doing on this bag (and other projects in double-knitting) is reducing the stitches to one side's worth and casting-off at the same time.

Ok, we've got one double-stranded stitch on the right needle, originating from one knit and one purl stitches. This is the point the above photo is at. 

Work the next pair of stitches the exact same way: knit one with the double strand, and purl one with the double strand. You have three double stranded stitches on the right needle now; right to left: the combined stitch from the previous stitch-pair, a knit stitch and a purl stitch. First you need to create a second combined stitch by lifting the knit stitch over the purl stitch...

... which leaves two double stranded combined stitches on the right needle. Next we cast-off the first combined stitch by lifting it over the second combined stitch...

... returning us to having one double stranded stitch on the right needle. From here we continue the process set out: knit, purl, reduce to one stitch, cast-off the first reduced stitch on the needle.

Using both colors of yarn leaves a neat sort of braided pattern to the top of the cast-off edge:

I think this a great decorative detail and it happens naturally, no extra work. Always a bonus! 

That's where I'm at with the Hornpipe Bag this evening. Once the cast-off is finished, I can start the drawstrings. Let's here it for i-cord! ;)

Yours in yarn and decorative edging,

Síle

Underestimating

Happily, I've been getting some design work done the last bit. And I'm oh so close to having my next pattern with my techeditor! 

But first I've got to get it cast-off and blocked. You wouldn't think casting off would be an issue, but when you're doing a bit of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants designing it really can turn out to be a thing.

I'm at work on a shawl I'm calling "Hap-Hazard", and it's one I've worked on, off and on, for nearing 6 years. I knit the original in an acrylic yarn and wanted to see if it was better in a blockable fiber. That plan took a small detour as I worked on other items. Finally I was able to acquire 5 hanks of my go-to wool from Briggs & Little, Heritage, and get to work. I don't work on only one thing at a time though so the shawl got put aside more than a few times.

This spring I've needed that comforting knitting though, so Hap-Hazard has been added back into my rotation of in progress projects. And it's nearly done. I posted a photo to my Instagram today showing just the small ball of wool and some of the stitches on the circular needle. Here's the photo:

(And before anyone asks, the stitch marker is by a clay artist in St. John's who sells them as Dawn's Creations; website: Dawn's Creations. I bought a set of her Jellybean Row Houses from Cast On Cast Off (lys in St. John's; website: Cast On Cast Off); this is the green one. I like green and purple together. You've seen my Rínce Fada scarf, right? Sorry for the tangent lol)

So I got the photo posted and returned to the cast off. I hadn't gotten too far when I realized that I was going to lose at yarn chicken by a large margin. sigh I did the only thing I could: removed the shawl from the needle and frogged back 4 rounds of lace knitting, tinked another as I replaced the stitches on the needle, and now I'm in the process of tinking the last round. My pattern has a 6 round repeat. More than enough wool to cast off properly now!

When I started working on this pattern, I had 3 charts adding up to 144 rounds of the border. I knit 70 when I realized that 1) it was going to be far bigger than I thought, and 2) I didn't have enough yarn to get much finished beyond the 70 rounds. Oops! Time to cast off! And then the aforementioned yarn chicken occurred. 1075 yds/ 5 hanks of my chosen wool seemed like the right amount to get for this design. Next time I go for the even half dozen! An extra hank of worsted weight is always handy for a hat or a pair of mittens. And then I don't need frog/tink more than normal! 

I've adjusted the charts and the written instructions already so once it's blocked and final measurements are added to the pattern, and photos are taken, I'll get the pattern off to be techedited and figure out how to run the test knit once it's done there. If anyone has any tips on holding testknits off-Rav, I'd love to hear them! I'm looking into YarnPond as a possibility but I'm open to anything except R*velry (for obvious reasons, like not being able to use it very long myself), and via email. I used to hold them over email but found it difficult for my testers to share with each other. That was a benefit of my R*velry group; everyone could see how each other's project was turning out, and could ask questions that were seen by everyone participating. Much more fun! Leave me a comment if you've had success with a certain platform or if you've participated in a testknit with another designer that you enjoyed where it was run. 

In Jakey news, the floofy boy is happy and healthy. The fur isn't quite fully grown in on his tail, but you'd never guess all the troubles he had these last few months. You can still use code Jakey to get 25% off any of my patterns (tab at the top of this blog), with monies after fees going to the remaining bill. Thank you to everyone who has bought patterns this spring! 

I think that's all the news around here for now.

Yours in yarn and chart revisions,

Síle