Thursday, March 19, 2009

Summer Lace



Not bad for three hours' work last night, eh? I was knitting while watching the very gothic season 2 of the BBC's mid-90s supernatural fantasy Hex. Ok, I did make some mistakes that way ("...k1, yo, k3, sl1, psso, k3... wait wait wait. Where did this @#$%^&*!!! 2-stitch HOLE come from?"). I actually ripped out 3 rows in episode 3 while Roxanne puts on a cross necklace to draw attention to her tempting cleavage and goes out to seduce her teacher, a young priest. By the time I had corrected myself and got the hang of the pattern, the deed was done and the priest was pondering his foray into sin.

Materials:
Addi Turbo circular needles, 4.5mm
1 cone Monaco beige glace "Raylon" (it's softer than you think, and has a nice sheen)

Horseshoe Stitch Pattern
["One of many beautiful stitches that originated in the Shetland Islands in the nineteenth century, when gossamer laces were a favorite form of knitting."]
(page 305, Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Needlework, 1979 edition):

Multiple of 10 stitches plus 1

Row 1: K1, *yo, K3, sl1, K2tog, psso, K3, yo, K1*
Row 2 and alt rows: Purl
Row 3: K1, *K1, yo, K2, sl1, K2tog, psso, K2, yo, K2*
Row 5: K1, *K2, yo, K1, sl1, K2tog, psso, K1, yo, K3*
Row 7: K1, *K3, yo, sl1, K2tog, psso, K4*

To make the narrow wrap, knit 10 rows of garter stitch, then add 5 garter stitches at the beginning and end of each row as a selvedge. My wrap has a cast on of 61 sts, although to make it wider, you can make it 71 sts.

I figure the blocked and ironed finished item should measure something like 9" wide and 60" long. Perfect for when you want to go to the movies and still have to brave the heat of our summer sun after.

2 comments:

Gene said...

That looks nice. Raylon? I see that everywhere, wonder how it would feel when crocheted...

The Gravelcat said...

That's what our lolas used to crochet with in the 70s because it was cheaper than 100% pure cotton.

It's suited to crochet, but for Una I'd rather you used mercerized cotton.