Lace 104 - Lace Knitting Tips

Diagonal Fern Lace from Barbara Walker's A Treasure of Knitting Patterns

 1. Start with simple patterns. Lace patterns with wrong side rows that are just purled or knit. You get a break, a "rest" row. Also patterns with fewer stitches in the repeat are easier to work.

 

 

2. Use stitch markers at borders, where there are always increases and if there are pattern changes. Use a different type of marker for each of these. Some knitters will also place a marker between each pattern repeat. It is easier to examine one pattern repeat and spot a mistake than finding it somewhere in the row when you are off a stitch.

 

 



3. Correcting Mistakes -not sure how to correct the error? Then rip back - one stitch at a time picking up the stitch before unraveling it off the needle. Be careful to pick up all the stitches in the decreases.

•    If a stitch is dropped and you cannot figure out how to get it back in a pattern then put a locking stitch marker and rip back to that stitch to restore it back into the pattern.
• You can figure out where you are in the pattern by looking at the row below or the beginning of the row you are working.
• If you missed a yarn-over on a row or two below - those can be picked up without ripping back.

 

 

 

4. Use a Lifeline -  a little insurance against dropped stitches and major errors. Every few inches of work, or at the end of a pattern repeat, thread a waste yarn (called a lifeline) through the row of stitches that are on the needle. Then continue knitting. Nothing can run past this lifeline. If you drop a stitch or find an error, just pick up the stitches on your lifeline and unravel everything above it. You only lose a few inches of work instead of starting over.  

 

 

 

5. Find the Rhythm: In the beginning a lace pattern seems choppy as you read stitch by stitch. After a few rows or pattern repeats you will find the patterning that may or may not follow the knit pattern repeat. This may go something like this: yarn-over, knit 1, yarn-over, knit 5, yarn-over, knit 1, yarn-over, knit 5 – again and again across the row only changing at the end. It may take working several repeats of the pattern before this falls into place for you but watch for it. Recognizing the pattern makes knitting lace a joy. Charts help you “see” the rhythm too.

 

 

 

 

6. Watch the Row Below:  Be mindful of how the stitches line up with the ones on the row below.

• Magnetic boards are great for this as is the highlighter tape that can be removed without damaging the paper. Place the marker above the row you are working on.
• Notice when working a decrease that it usually is worked above a decrease below and creates a line that slants to the right or left. Now you have a line to follow.
•  See how the yarn-overs may fall on either side of a yarn-over below. Note pattern of the yarn-overs and the lace pattern emerging.
• Anticipate where the decreases and yarn-overs should be. If not knitting them in that anticipated order, check to see if you are off pattern, or maybe there is an error in the pattern. Whatever the case, you can fix it before getting to the end of the row.
• Admire your work every few inches. This boosts your confidence and helps you find mistakes sooner. 

 

 

 

Russian Join

 

Joining New Yarns: In a garment join new yarns where the seams will be. With shawls and scarves, joins are done in the middle of the work. Try to do the joins in an area free of yarn-overs. With wool, wool blends and other protein fiber yarns, one option is to join the new yarn by knitting it together with the old yarn for a few stitches and go back later and weave in the ends.

 

For slippery yarns and non-wool yarns, a Russian join is the strongest although it creates a little thick spot. The Russian join is done by looping the new yarn around the old and with a sharp needle sewing the tails back into each yarn for a few inches.

 

 

4 ply yarn ready to splice here. Thankfully most lace yarns are 2-ply

 Another join that does not cause a thick area in the knitting is the splice join (AKA the spit join). With this technique, the plies are separated and cut to overlap. Hopefully some will twist back together but what holds it together is friction and moisture from your hands (or spit), rolling back and forth between the palms until the join is holding. This felts it slightly so it will not come apart. This works best with fibers that will felt such as wool and alpaca.

 

And finally, lace needs to be blocked to reveal its true beauty and it is incredibly satisfying to see this happen. See the kiwi blog on blocking – September, 2012.

 

 





Lace 103: Cast-ons and Bind-offs for Lace Knitting

Knitted lace grows – sometimes astonishingly. You cannot always tell how much when it is on the needles but once you wash it… Oh, my!

 

In general lace knitting spreads more sideways - just where most of the cast ons and binds offs cannot accommodate a 30% stretch.



A long tail cast-on - broken in blocking



Traditional lace knitters such as those of the Shetland lace fame avoided cast-ons and bind-offs altogether. They did this by casting on with a waste yarn (also known as a provisional cast-on) that was later removed for a knitted lace edging to be attached to the live stitches.

 

 

I love this approach. There are several ways to do a provisional cast on. Use whatever cast-on you like but start with a yarn planned to be removed later. Pick a yarn that is smooth, a similar size as the project yarn and a contrasting color. With most cast-ones this yarn will have to be picked out – a sometimes annoying procedure.

 

My favorite provisional cast-on is the crochet cast-on as it unravels when you are ready to remove it. This is also an elastic cast-on and can be used as “the” cast-on for lace without removing later. If you want a How-to on this cast-on scroll down to a previous blog on the Crochet Cast-On.

 

 

Add a few picots and it is decorative and even more elastic. Another lovely thing about this cast-on - there is a matching bind-off.

 

 

 

Another lace cast-on that is also decorative but not removable is this lace cast-on. It is worked separately to the number of stitches you want minus one. Then with the one stitch on the needle you pick up the stitches along the side. It won’t match the bind-off but that is not necessarily important.

Here is how you work it: Cast-on two stitches. Bring the yarn forward, slip the first stitch (keeping the yarn to the right of the slipped stitch) then knit the next stitch and pass the slipped stitch over. This is basically a yarn over, followed by an SSK. Turn and repeat for the number of stitches needed minus one. This cast-on will work for any lace and creates a nice edge.

 

Try to avoid bind-offs too but If you have to bind off use an elastic one. This is a yarn-over bind-off. Here is how it is worked:

Knit one, yarn-over, knit one; pass yarn-over second knit stitch, pass 1^st knit stitch over second knit stitch; repeat from yarn-over.

 

 

This is another bind-off I like. It is easy to do and more importantly easy to remember how to do it.

Here are the directions for this bind-off: Purl two together. *Place stitch just made from the purl two together back onto the left needle. Purl two together. Repeat from *.

 

Happy Casting On!

Lace Knitting 102: Reading Lace Knitting Charts

"Handsome Shawl" Pattern in Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby


The yarn-over creates the open holes in lace knitting. It also adds a stitch. Thus a yarn-over is usually paired with a decrease such as knit-two-together or slip-knit-wise-times-two then knit-together through the back. The decrease stitch can be next to the yarn-over or several stitches or even rows later.

Cat paw motif

In the chart above the yarn-overs or "holes" are shown as an "O". The decreases are the slanted lines - slanted in the direction of the knit-together either to the right or to the left. The chart looks like the lace will when knitted.

 

Knitting charts have a key to explain what the symbols mean. With the key you can now read the chart.

Reading Lace Knitting Charts

• Each square in the chart represents one stitch.
• Start at the bottom right square - row 1, column 1. Read across from right to left just like knitting a row.
• If knitting in the round continue to read from right to left. In flat knitting the back side (AKA wrong side) has to be read from left to right - the reverse of the right-side.
• In most charts the right-side rows are numbered on the right side of the chart starting with 1. Row 2 is on the back side of the knitting and numbered on the left side of the chart and read from left to right.
• Important note and good news: Many lace patterns have a "rest" row - a knit or purl back row with no yarn-overs or decreases. Lace charts may or may not include these rows. When these rows are omitted from the chart, there will be only one set of numbers usually on the right side and generally the odd numbers.

Even rows are not included in chart. Knit all even rows.

Are you ready to knit some lace? Here is a simple lace edging to try. Lace edgings are a great place to start. The pattern is repeated so many times you will soon memorize it. Notice the rhythm of the lace and begin to "read" the knitting - how the yarn-overs and decreases relate to the ones below. Knitting lace will be easy for you then.

Lace edgings are great fun to add to clothing, tea towels, pillow cases, purses. This edging was knit with a silk yarn and added to a Sabaku T-shirt by sewing the straight side of the knitted lace to the bottom of the shirt with a simple whip stitch by hand. Have fun knitting this edging or try the cat's paw motif. The key works with both charts.

Next blog - cast-ons, tips and tools for knitting lace.

Lace Knitting 101

Lace knitting is so beautiful and looks so intricate some knitters fear trying to knit lace.  That is unfortunate as knitting lace can be a joy. There is rhythm in lace while knitting and a great sense of accomplishment every time a piece is finished.  It is also easy with practice – just like knit/purl stitch patterns or cables.

Lace is a series of yarnovers (an increase stitch) and knit two stitches together (a decrease stitch) that creates a pleasing pattern of overwork contrasted with solid areas.

 

The yarnover is the basic stitch of lace. Most knitters have made yarnovers if only by accident that create a hole in the knitting.  It also happens that if a yarnover is made incorrectly it disappears. This is the way to make a yarnover that leaves a hole:

• In stockinette, on the knit side the yarn starts in the back.
• Pass the yarn between the needles from the back to the front.
• Then pass the yarn over the top of the right hand needle leaving an open loop on the needle.
• Now the yarn is in the back again ready to knit the next stitch or knit two together – whatever the pattern calls for.

 

Note how the loop lays on the needle. The front leg should be ahead of the back leg -the same orientation as the knit stitch when it is on the right needle.

 

 

 

In a purl fabric, a yarnover feels like wrapping the yarn around the needle.

• The yarn is in the front if you are purling.
• To make the yarnover, the yarn has to go over the needle to the back,
• Then the yarn goes between the needles to return to the front and ready to purl.
• The loop is now on the needle in same orientation as the yarnover described in the knit above in the knit yarnover.

Practice some yarnovers in plain stockinette and reverse stockinette. You may want to match them with a decrease or you will end up with a much wider swatch than you started with. The next blog will be about reading patterns and charts for lace and a little pattern to try.

 

 





Upcoming Classes

It’s a great time to take a knitting class. I am amazed at what I learn from a class. I almost always pick up something new. Here is a lineup of the classes coming up this week and next at Kiwi Knitting. If you cannot make one of these we can always schedule a private lesson. Check out the classes at www.KiwiKnitting.com for more. Classes are listed under Knitters Kamp and in the Newsletter.

 

Felted Clogs – These fun slippers will become a favorite of the whole family! Materials: 100 –

200g of worsted or chunky 100% non-superwash wool for a child or 300 – 400g for an adult; 16” & 24” US13 circular knitting needles; & Fibertrends pattern AC-33 or CH-38. Cost: $48.

Teacher: Jill Holbrook. 1 – 3 PM Tue Feb 26 – Mar 12. (3 sessions)

 

 

Lace Scarf -- You’ve learned the elements of lace knitting and are ready for your first project.How about a graceful scarf? The first week will get you started with a provisional cast on, tips and tricks of knitting lace and the rhythm of lace knitting. The second week will be all aboutedging and finishing the scarf. Materials: 400y (or more) lace weight or fingering weight yarn in a light color – much easier to see your work; US1, 2 or 3 knitting needles for lace yarn or US3, 4 & 5 for fingering (preferably circulars); crochet hook (2 - 2.25mm); stitch markers; scissors; a small amount of light weight contrasting yarn; and pencil & paper. Cost: $32. Teacher: Jill Holbrook. 1 – 3 PM Wed Feb 27 & Mar 6 (2 sessions)

Fair Isle Knitting -- Are you intrigued by the beauty of items made in patterns with 2 or more colors? Learn the techniques to start creating your own! Materials: small amts of 2 different colors of yarn & appropriate needles. Teacher: Jill Holbrook. 10 – Noon Thu Feb 28

 

 

Block by Block Afghan – Here is a fun class where you can experiment with different stitch

patterns & embellishments then finish with a unique conversation piece for your favorite chair or

sofa. Materials: 600g light, worsted yarn in MC; 200g in 3 CC’s; 100g in 2 more CC’s; US 7

knitting needles & US 6 DPN; & access to patterns from Knitting Block by Block by Nicky

Epstein. Cost: $16/ sessions. Teacher: Holly Harper. 10 AM – Noon Mon Mar 1, 18, 25,

April 1 & 29 (other sessions may be planned by the group).

There are lots more classes in March and April including beginning knitting and beginning crochet classes. If you do not see what you want please let us know. Suggestions are most welcome.