chrisknits
Aran Knitting Tutorial
posted Monday, 26 February 2007
Not a full blown one, just more a quick hit.
In my effort to get rid of some UFOs that have been hanging around I have picked up Celtic Dreams again. I am 7 rows from being done with the front and then I will pick up for the back.
Here's the progress so far. Trying to get a shot with more texture sure washes out the color. It's more a grass green, see photos below, than a yellow green. Beautiful Donegal Tweed. The set up of this pattern includes 6 st braids, 8 row 4 st rope cables, Raveled Braid, and a Center Panel. The modifications I have made so far are to mirror the braids and rope cables, I'm just wired that way. It turns my cable!
As I am nearing the last 7 rows, of the 2nd repeat, of the 24 rows, I can see how the cables are shaped and just need to refer to the chart to check myself. As I approach the Braids, right side of photo, I look to see which direction the last row caused the cable to twist. Imagine you have a napkin in your hand. Twist the top of the napkin to the right. Look at how the fabric folds right side under left side. What was once the right side of the napkin is now the left side. But to get that twist in the fabric you had to take the right side to the back and under the left side. See the point? If we want our cable to "appear" to twist to the right, you will take the sts to the back and then left of the other sts. This causes a pleat of fabric that seems to twist to the right. So, as I approach the Braid and see the last cross made a fabric pleat twisted right, I know I will use the twist method to create a left pleat, C4F or C3L. The braid actually reads over a 4 row repeat: Row 1 - C4F, k2. Row 2 - purl 4. Row 3 - k2, C4B. Row 4 - purl 4.
OK, but on what row!! The rope cable, above photo on left, is a 4 st cable that is twisted every 8th row. By working through one repeat of the pattern I can glance at the neighbor cables and the previous rope cable to gauge when I am ready to cross the rope. It's just that simple. By watching what's around the cables I am determine when a certain twist needs to be done. Now the Raveled Braid, at right, and Center Panel, shown below, are just a mite trickier than the simple Braids or Ropes. They involve something else entirely.....twisting knit and purl sts!!
Oh my! But it's really not that scary. The thing to keep in mind with twisting purls and knits is, What is before and after the twisted sts. If I am knitting purl sts up to the traveling sts, I know I will be slipping the next 2 purl sts to the back and bringing the next 2 knit sts in front. You would not likely put the purl sts in front. They are background and should know their place! So if the next 8 sts look like this, remember reading right to left, kkkkpppp, I will knit 2 purl sts, slip 2 purl sts back, knit 2 sts, then purl the slipped sts and then knit 2. The new order will look like this: kkppkkpp. If you look at the center panel you will see lines snaking and braiding up the panel. To mirror that traveling st I would see the following sts: ppppkkkk and the transfer of sts would be k2, slip 2 sts in front, purl 2, knit slipped sts and then purl 2. The result would be: ppkkppkk. Remember read it right to left.
Here's the progress so far. Trying to get a shot with more texture sure washes out the color. It's more a grass green, see photos below, than a yellow green. Beautiful Donegal Tweed. The set up of this pattern includes 6 st braids, 8 row 4 st rope cables, Raveled Braid, and a Center Panel. The modifications I have made so far are to mirror the braids and rope cables, I'm just wired that way. It turns my cable!So, I am immersed in the pattern enough now to practically knit it without looking at the chart. As to the chart, it is one I created in Excel by stringing along the individual charts from the booklet. The green highlighter tape shows where I am at in the knitting - long piece- and where I wil stop at the armholes. Then I will join the front and back with side stitches, broken rib. Anyhoo. As I approach each twist and turn of the cables I need to be aware of 2 things: A) how many sts are being turned, twisted, and B) which direction do I go. One of the cables is called a C4B, or C4R(ight). This means we Cable 2 sts by holding them to the Back. C=cable, 4=total number of sts being twisted, and B is back. A C4F, or C4L(eft) would mean cable 2 sts holding them to the front.
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When we slip cable sts we can use several means to "hold" those sts. I prefer a cable needleless method, but will talk about a few ways. The first and foremost is to use a cable needle. Cable needles are small dpn like needles that have a ridged or shallow area in the center to keep the slipped sts on the needle while you manipulate the cable. When knitting a C4B you will slip the 1st 2 sts, as if to purl, off of the left needle. Then you will lay that needle to the back and knit the next 2 sts from the left needle. Now go to the cable needle and gently pull it to the left of the right needle tip and knit the 2 held sts from the cable needle onto the right needle. You will line up the cable needle tip to the right needle tip just as if you were knitting from a set of needles. Be sure to not turn that cable needle and twist the orientation of the 2 sts. Other devices to hold sts are longer dpns, but they can impede the knitting. A short circ, again, might get in the way. A hair thingy, a chop stick, a darning needle, a toothpick, etc... Anything that is double ended would work.
The other method of holding cable sts is to not hold them at all! Cabling without a needle is not as scary as tight rope walking without a net. It really is freeing after you get the hang of it. Now, look at the cable to be worked. If it's a C4B we need to have the 1st two sts held out to the back. This means we take the RIGHT needle tip in front of the sts on the left needle and skipping the 1st and 2nd sts, slip the tip into the 3rd and 4th st from the left needle tip. Now, take a deep breath.....and slide all 4 sts off the left needle! But be sure to pinch the base of the 1st and 2nd sts with your right hand. When working in wool you have no real fear of losing the sts, as long as you have a hold on them. Now, take the left needle tip behind the right needle and insert the tip into the lost sts. Slide them to the left and make room to slide sts 3 and 4 onto the left needle also. You will see that the 4 sts have now paired off and traded places. What was once 1st and 2nd is now 3rd and 4th. And vice versa. Now proceed to knitting them off of the left needle in the order they appear.
Does the pattern say C4F? Same process on both methods, it's just reversed in how you hold the held sts and how you slip them. When using a cable device of your choosing, slip the 2 sts off of the left needle to the FRONT of the knitting. Then knit the next 2 sts and then bring the cable needle up to the left of the right needle and knit off the 2 sts. On the non cable device method you will slip the right tip into the 3rd and 4th sts by going behind the knitting. Slide all the sts off of the left needle and pinch those 2 loose sts. Then slip the 2 loose sts back to the left needle and replace the slipped sts in front of them. Knit all sts off in the new order.
Clear as mud? I know photos would help, but I haven't the time or oomph to accomplish that right now. Maybe tomorow.
OK, now how do I free myself from looking at that chart every row? Easy. The best way to set up your cable knitting is to use markers that separate background sts from cable panels. Most all cables pop better when they have purl sts on either side of them. In my current Aran knitting I could set up markers after st #4, 10, 12, 16, 18, 30, 32, 36, 38, 60, 62, 66, 68, 80, 82, 86, 88, and 94. There are only 4 sts left after that. Those sts separate the different cables and their background purl sts. But man, that's a lot of markers! So, what I would do is use the chart to set up the first few rows and get familiar with the cables. The rope and braid cables do not travel beyond their initial st count. But the Raveled Braid and Center Panel do. Once I get used to the stationary cables, I can mark off the ones that will twist into the purl background. So ultimately I would only use markers at st # 18, 30, 38, 60 ,68 ,80. Those markers will isolate the Raveled Braid and The Center Panel. The rest is easy to memorize.
Not only do cables have a set number of sts that are involved in the cable, they also have a row repeat for when those cables are crossed. Most design will be set up for each repeat to be divisible by a common number. The Celtic Dreams pattern has a 24 row repeat on the Center Panel, 12 rows on the Raveled Braid, 8 rows on the rope cable, and 4 rows on the Braid. The smallest row repeat is 4 and all of the repeats are divisible by this number. Not all design must follow this rule, but it makes for easier knitting if your repeats all work together. You will be amazed at how easy it is to memorize when the cables need to be turned on all the different cables. We know they will not fall on a wrong side row, so that eliminates half the rows right there. Once you work through a full repeat of the largest cable panel, you can pretty much just glance at your knitting for clues. Watch the direction the cables travel or cross over. Be aware of the sequence in the cables.
As I am nearing the last 7 rows, of the 2nd repeat, of the 24 rows, I can see how the cables are shaped and just need to refer to the chart to check myself. As I approach the Braids, right side of photo, I look to see which direction the last row caused the cable to twist. Imagine you have a napkin in your hand. Twist the top of the napkin to the right. Look at how the fabric folds right side under left side. What was once the right side of the napkin is now the left side. But to get that twist in the fabric you had to take the right side to the back and under the left side. See the point? If we want our cable to "appear" to twist to the right, you will take the sts to the back and then left of the other sts. This causes a pleat of fabric that seems to twist to the right. So, as I approach the Braid and see the last cross made a fabric pleat twisted right, I know I will use the twist method to create a left pleat, C4F or C3L. The braid actually reads over a 4 row repeat: Row 1 - C4F, k2. Row 2 - purl 4. Row 3 - k2, C4B. Row 4 - purl 4. OK, but on what row!! The rope cable, above photo on left, is a 4 st cable that is twisted every 8th row. By working through one repeat of the pattern I can glance at the neighbor cables and the previous rope cable to gauge when I am ready to cross the rope. It's just that simple. By watching what's around the cables I am determine when a certain twist needs to be done. Now the Raveled Braid, at right, and Center Panel, shown below, are just a mite trickier than the simple Braids or Ropes. They involve something else entirely.....twisting knit and purl sts!!Oh my! But it's really not that scary. The thing to keep in mind with twisting purls and knits is, What is before and after the twisted sts. If I am knitting purl sts up to the traveling sts, I know I will be slipping the next 2 purl sts to the back and bringing the next 2 knit sts in front. You would not likely put the purl sts in front. They are background and should know their place! So if the next 8 sts look like this, remember reading right to left, kkkkpppp, I will knit 2 purl sts, slip 2 purl sts back, knit 2 sts, then purl the slipped sts and then knit 2. The new order will look like this: kkppkkpp. If you look at the center panel you will see lines snaking and braiding up the panel. To mirror that traveling st I would see the following sts: ppppkkkk and the transfer of sts would be k2, slip 2 sts in front, purl 2, knit slipped sts and then purl 2. The result would be: ppkkppkk. Remember read it right to left. OK, I hope I have not muddied the cabled waters. All I can say is find a nice simple cable design and try it! I am always thrilled when a new student sees how easy cabling is. It's all just knits and purls, and how we set up the order of working them. Don't be afraid to try it, you will open yourself up to a world of patterns and designs that will thrill your soul!
Blessings: Texture in knitting. It drives me just as much as color.
Bonus shot I finished the front last night and go the oick up/set up for the back done. I am just worried about the size of that neck!
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