Purlside Increases

I spent the better part of the week getting my handouts ready for the conference in Charlotte.  Thanks to Laura Farson who convinced me to use a nostepinne to wind the balls of yarn for class.  Center pull balls are so much easier to work with.  It did take bit of time but I think I've got it now.  This is one of the kits.  I'm providing all the yarn needed for the course.  I've learned the hard way that some students can bring in yarns that are not quite right.  I've put in tags and a packet of the dental elastics as well.

I have also committed to doing homework for the finishing classes in case there is a last minute registration.  Generally I close my classes by this time.  We will see if it is worth it.

STUDENT NEWS
I received several lessons to review but no new students.  Just a reminder....I will be here all next week but the following week I will be in Charlotte.  I am traveling quite a bit in October.  I will also be gone the weeks of October 12-18 and October 25- November 1st.  If a lesson arrives during those weeks, I will review them when I come home.  I will not be posting a blog during those weeks as well.

TIP OF THE WEEK
This week's tip was a request.  When I did the videos for the double yarnover variations of the eyelet buttonholes, there were some questions about how to work increases on the purlside.  Whenever you work increases on the purlside, the first thing to ask yourself is if the purlside is the RS of the work, say for a cabled sweater.  If this is the case, you don't need to worry all that much.  It is difficult to tell the difference in different types of increases in purl stitches since the "slant" that is so obvious in knit stitches is obscured.  In the photograph below I have labeled the different type of increases (ignore those at the top for now.)  You have to look very closely to even see the increases.  Select the technique you like keeping mind that all you have to do is work the increase purlwise instead of knitwise.  So for a bar increase you would purl into the front of the stitch and then purl into the back.  For M1 increases, since the slant is hard to see, select the one you want.




You will rarely need to make increases on the WS of the work. You may run across a pattern that specifies increases to be placed every 3 rows or 5 rows. This means some of these increases will be on the WS. For the yarnover buttonholes, the yarnovers are worked on the WS.

If you are working an increase on the purlside but it is not the RS, you need to be more selective. For example, if you are working lifted increases, work the right slanting one on the right side purlwise and a left slanting on the left side. They will appear correctly on the RS.

 

What triggered this topic was how to work the double yarnovers for the eyelet buttonhole variations.   Since you work the yarnovers on the WS you need to think about how you want them to look.  Most instructions say to knit in the front and then in the back but I think this produces a fairly ugly buttonhole.  I like to work two M1 increases.  My preference is for the appearance of the one at the top left.  The video shows this:  Purlside Increases

KNITTING SALON
Salon will be on Saturday from 1:30-3:20 pm.  Hope you can make it.

CURRENT PROJECTS
I put aside my blue sweater once I had worked the buttonholes.  I did not want to try and figure out what I had done in three month's time.  I started on the twin set.  I have to say, this is the softest yarn I have ever worked with.  It is so luscious.