Interesting Question

Yesterday Marcia asked about the K2P2 rib I posted about. She wants to use it on a hat where the brim is worn folded up. She’d like to have the pattern visible on the flipped up part, and wants to have the twists on the hat body and brim oriented with the same leg on top.

I haven’t tried this, but I think that if this stitch were worked two-sided – with crossings on both sides, Marcia’s effect would be achieved. To do this you need to make it a six-row rather than a five row pattern. Marcia was also concerned with the leg direction, but if the thing is worked two-sided this way, when flipped up the reverse will display the cable twist crossings going in the same direction as the front. (Try it by making slash marks on both sides of a piece of paper, then folding it.)

To do it flat, I’d work:

Cast on a multiple of 4 stitches

Round 1: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 2: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 3: (Right twist using this method: [K2tog, leaving unit on left hand needle. Re-insert right hand needle tip into stitch closest to end of left hand needle. Knit this stitch. Slip entire now-twisted two-stitch unit to right hand needle], p2), repeat
Round 4: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 5: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 6: (Right twist using this method: [K2tog, leaving unit on left hand needle. Re-insert right hand needle tip into stitch closest to end of left hand needle. Knit this stitch. Slip entire now-twisted two-stitch unit to right hand needle], p2), repeat

In the round I’d work:

Round 1: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 2: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 3: (Right twist using this method: [K2tog, leaving unit on left hand needle. Re-insert right hand needle tip into stitch closest to end of left hand needle. Knit this stitch. Slip entire now-twisted two-stitch unit to right hand needle], p2), repeat
Round 4: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 5: (K2, P2), repeat
Round 6: K2, (Right purl twist using this method: [Skip the first stitch but retain it on the left needle and purl the second one, also retaining it on the left hand needle. Then purl together both the skipped stitch and the second stitch and move the resulting two-stitch unit to the right hand needle], repeat

Of course another way to deal with the problem is to knit the cuff area using the pattern as described yesterday. When it was deep enough, you’d add three rows of purls to make a welt (the fold line); then reverse direction and knit the cap part, using the opposite twist stitch wherever the original called to use one. That would put the right side of the cuff showing when folded up against the hat body.

Another Interesting Question

FeliciaSix says “Wow. Eyes. Monitor. Bright. Hurt. Why did you pick that most unsubtle of color combos for the Fingerless Whatevers?”

Because it’s cold, dark and dreary in the winter and I wanted to wear the opposite.

Annoying Questions

None of them are worth repeating. Some days I wish every computer came equipped to display this error message:

You can build your own error messages, too.