To all the women that read this post: When was the last time you had a mammogram? Are you overdue? I was one of those women that put off getting my mammograms done — and when I was diagnosed, I had just had my two years overdue mammogram done. Please ladies, if you are over due for your mammogram, schedule it and get it done as soon as possible.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I am celebrating my seventh year as a breast cancer survivor. I feel blessed and very lucky that I am cancer-free.
In honor of my being cancer-free for seven years, I am making a pattern for a turban style chemo hat that I created available on my website. I created this pattern because I have knit a number of different patterns for chemo hats, but I wanted something that was a little more stylish for an older woman.
I knit this hat using one of my favorite cotton yarns: Knit Picks Comfy Sport Weight Yarn. Chemo hats knit in cotton are washable and are very soft — they feel good on the head that is sensitive due to chemo and provide a degree of warmth as well.
The pattern is here: Turban Style Chemo Hat.
Please feel free to knit this hat for any loved one going through this experience with my blessings.
In the Knitter’s Almanac, Elizabeth Zimmerman suggests doing a Pi Shawl during the month of July as a perfect knitting project to take along with you on your summer travels. Well, I started a Pi Shawl following her instructions in the Knitter’s Almanac in July of 2008. Umm, yeah. July 2008. I took this project with me during that summer on various trips, including a trip to Spain in September. But then, for some reason I don’t fully remember, I set it aside — and left it sitting until July 2010.
As you can see from the above photo, I had made quite a bit of progress on this shawl. In fact, I had made it all the way to the last set of increases, with 576 stitches on the needles. If you are not familiar with the concept of the Pi Shawl — it is simply this: you start out with a small number of stitches (9 in this case) and double the number of stitches every so many rows. The number of rows between increases grows by 3’s or thereabouts and you end up with a circular shawl made up of a whole lot of stitches. (EZ writes that you can keep increasing as long as you wish — but she stops at 576 as it seems to be enough. I think I agree.)
So — after I figured out where I had left off, I started knitting away on those 576 stitches using the lace patterns given in the Knitter’s Almanac. When I started this shawl, my plan was to knit it per EZ’s instructions. Knitting the lace patterns required knitting 42 rounds and I decided to knit an additional 2 rounds after that. Here’s what it looks like at this point:
Here a two additional views. The first is looking down at the center of the shawl with the circular needle underneath and the other is looking down with the circular needles on top.
It looks like a big lacey bag at this point. And it is really difficult to tell exactly how large this shawl actually is. I’m estimating that it is somewhere around 60″ in diameter, but I really won’t know until I get it off the needles and get it blocked.
Now, getting the shawl off the needles is going to take some time. This is because I am knitting on a lace border and using up the edge stitches as I go. I am using the lace border pattern on page 82 of the Knitter’s Almanac. Now, this was a bit tricky to get started — because it doesn’t really tell you how to incorporate knitting off stitches when you knit the lace pattern. EZ does describe the basic process earlier in the chapter — but the specific directions are not given with the lace border pattern itself.
It took me a little while to figure things out — and since I don’t want to have an issue with dropping any of those 576 stitches, I started by putting in a lifeline. From this point forward, I am using the right needle of my circular needle and a dpn to knit the border, so I put a point protector on the left needle to prevent stitches from sliding off and cast on 11 stitches for the border:
The lace border pattern consists of 4 rows, and you K2Tog each time you knit back toward the shawl’s edge stitches, incorporating 1 edge stitch into the border. This means you use up 2 stitches every 4 rows of border. (Yeah…it’s gonna take awhile.) Here’s the start of the border after 20 rows:
I like the border… Only 566 stitches to go. I hope to finish this before the end of July. I will post pictures of the finished shawl when I get it blocked.
Swatches 7 through 9 are demonstrations of various decrease techniques.
Swatch #7
Swatch 7 demonstrates “Blended Decreases” using SSK (Slip, Slip, Knit) on the right edge and K2Tog (Knit 2 Together) on the left edge.
SSK is a left-slanting decrease and is made by slipping 1 stitch as if to knit, then slipping a second stitch as if to knit, then inserting the left needle into these two stitches and knitting them together.
K2Tog is a right-slanting decrease. K2Tog decreases are the basic decrease every knitter learns. You simply insert the right needle into two stitches on the left needle and knit them together.
I have had difficulty finding a reference that actually defines “Blended Decreases”. Through my research it appears that “Blended Decreases” are decreases that slant or slope in the direction of the desired shaping. In this swatch the left-slanting decrease on the right edge and the right-slanting decrease on the left edge slope in toward the center of the swatch.
SKP decreases are also sometimes written as S1, K1 PSSO in patterns. This is a left-slanting decrease and is done on the right edge of the swatch. Any decrease that requires you to pass a stitch over another one results in a somewhat uneven stitch due to the stretching that occurs when you pass the stitch over.
The KSP decrease was a new method for me. It is a right-slanting decrease that mirrors the SKP decrease and was knit on the left edge of this swatch. KSP is done by knitting a stitch, then slipping the stitch back on the left needle and passing the stitch over the next stitch with the right needle, then slipping the stitch back from the left needle to the right needle.
Swatch #9
Swatch 9 uses the K2Tog and SSK decreases but is different from Swatch 7 in that the K2Tog is done on the right edge and the SSK is done on the left edge.
TKGA refers to this swatch as “Full Fashioned”. I have not found a specific definition for the term “Full Fashioned” in my references. However, two of my sources refer to full fashioned decreases as decreases that are done with 2 or more stitches on the edge, making the decreases more visible and part of the intended design of the knitted fabric. In this swatch, the K2Tog decrease on the right edge slants to the right and stands out against the slope of the fabric. Likewise the SSK decrease on the left edge slants to the left and stands out against the slope of the fabric on that side. These decreases are more visible than those in Swatch 7.
First, a definition: A Helpful Swatch is a swatch that gives you, the knitter, information that helps you in the planning, preparation and construction of your knitting project. It tells you a number of things that are essential for successful completion, among them:
Your stitch and row gauge with the yarn and needles you have selected for your project
The type of fabric produced with your yarn and your gauge.
What happens when the yarn is washed and dried.
What adjustments are needed to make a garment that fits the way you want it
How a given stitch pattern looks when knitted using your selected yarn.
In addition, you can use your swatch to test out different techniques such as decreases or increases that you might want to use during construction. Full disclosure here: You’ll need to knit more than one swatch to get a helpful swatch. This is why most experienced knitters will tell you that you should buy an extra skein of yarn just for swatching.
One of the first issues new knitters encounter when doing a swatch is not knitting a big enough swatch — they tend to cast on only enough to knit a 4 inch square. In most cases, this isn’t big enough to provide helpful information. So, how big does a swatch need to be? The short answer is: Big enough to get a good sense of how the project will knit up. Elizabeth Zimmerman wrote that “a hat is a good swatch” – which is true if you are planning to knit your sweater in the round. Some knitters use a sleeve as their swatch, others knit a swatch that is at least 6 inches wide by 6 inches high. I would say that the 6 X 6 swatch is a good starting point – but you made need to make one that is even wider.
GAUGE: Here’s one inescapable truth about yarn, needles, and gauge: “Your Mileage May Vary”. Meaning that gauge is a very personal thing – it’s yours and yours alone. It is a measurement of the fabric YOU produce when you knit. So doing a swatch to identify your gauge is important to your success.
Before you start your first swatch you need to decide what size needle works best for the project. Yarn labels usually have a recommended needle size and gauge listed. Some manufacturers state a range on the label, others use a symbol to indicate the recommended gauge. Either way, this is just the starting point. A pattern may also include information about the yarn, needles and gauge the designer used to create the pattern. Both sources provide you with a starting point for selecting the size needle you need to use to obtain the knitted fabric you want to make.
Gauge written on label
Symbol showing gauge
Here are the steps I follow to make a Gauge Swatch:
Select 3 sizes of needles – if the recommended needle size on the yarn label is a US 7, I use a US 6, US 7, and US 8 for this swatch.
Cast on enough stitches on the smallest needle size for a width of at least 6 inches. (To estimate the number of stitches to cast on, I use the recommended gauge on the yarn label. For example, the label states 20 stitches in 4 inches, that’s 5 stitches per inch, so I’d cast on 30 stitches for 6 inches.). Knit in stockinette stitch for at least 3-4 inches ending with a right side (knit) row.
Knit the wrong side row to indicate where the change in needle size occurs.
Change to the US 7 and knit in stockinette stitch for another 3-4 inches.
Repeat steps 3 & 4 with the US 8. Bind off loosely. (You can also just put the live stitches on waste yarn).
Take stitch and row gauge measurements for all needle sizes and make note of these before blocking per step 7.
Block this swatch using the care instructions on the yarn label.
Once the swatch is dry, take stitch and row gauge measurements for each needle size and write them down in your project notes. These are your “finished gauges”.
Select the needle size by looking at the fabric produced by each size needle. Which one gives you the best fabric? Do you like the stitch definition? Do you like the way it drapes and feels? Is one better than the other two? It’s your choice – but this helps you select the needle that works best with you and your choice of yarn.
Measuring the Swatch for Gauge:
Stitch gauge is expressed as “number of stitches in number of inches (or centimeters)”. You may see this as “20 sts/4 in (10cm) or 5 sts/in. To determine your stitch gauge you need to count the number of stitches in a horizontally measured row of stitches. This measurement should be taken using a ruler and marking the starting point and ending point away from the edges.
Row gauge is expressed as “number of rows in number of inches (or centimeters)”. You may see this as “28 rows/4 in( 10cm) or 7 rows/inch. To determine your row gauge you need to count the number of rows in a vertically measured column of stitches. Again, the measurement needs to be taken using a ruler and away from the top and bottom edges of the swatch.
Note that it is not necessary to measure just 4 inches horizontally or vertically. If you measure more than 4 inches, you may get a more accurate gauge because it will give you a better average – yes – gauge is actually the average number of stitches or rows per inch. And, math is required to determine gauge.
There are any number of YouTube videos available on measuring gauge swatches to determine stitch and row gauge. I recommend the following ones for more detailed explanation:
