Monday, November 5, 2007

Exponential Growth

Where have I been? I've been sitting on the couch, learning the mysteries of the ruffle. My walks on the beach have made me wonder if I could make a scarf evoking the lacy patterns of sea foam on the shore.

Started with some handspun:


I thought I would do a triangular scarflett (size of bandanna or so) and edge it with a ruffle, and do just the last two rows with white.



Attempt number 1:
Row 1: *K1, yo* K1
Row 2: purl
Row 3: *K1, yo* K1
Row 4: purl
Row 5: *K1, yo* K1
Row 6: purl
Row 7: knit
Row 8: BO

That sort of increasing produces QUITE a ruffle. Like 1058 stitches worth.

The swatch looked good, but when I tried it on halfway through the bind-off row, it looked like I was being devoured by a giant sea slug. The stiffness of the fabric plus the way I wanted to wear the garment made the ruffle stand up enough that most of what was visible was the "wrong side" of the ruffle.

Look at that swatch picture again, see how the ruffle looks good "down"? Trust me, it does not look so good from other angles.

Attempt number 2:
Row 1: *K4, yo* K1
Row 2: purl
Row 3: knit
Row 4: purl
Row 5: knit
Row 6: purl
Row 7: knit
Row 8: BO

Theory: less fabric created initially, plus more plain rows to tame down the ruffle.
Result: no ruffle.

Attempt 3:
Row 1: *K1, yo* K1
Row 2: purl
Row 3: knit
Row 4: purl
Row 5: BO

Result: a nice row of eyelets in the increase row. Rest of the work rolls up and obscures everything.

Further thoughts: I think that my bind-off is contributing to the rolling. Will blocking fix it? Not sure. The white single I am using for trim also adds a lot of body to the edge, causing it to roll. Looks like rolling is the natural tendency. Should I just... roll with it?

2 comments:

Risa said...

What a fun idea. I like the 'white caps.'
How are you binding off? If you have access to the Swallowtail Shawl pattern (from Interweave Winter 06 I think) you might try the bind off it calls for. From what I remember it was a little tricky, but it seemed to mitigate any curling. Good luck!

Octopus Knits said...

How interesting! You are learning a lot about knitting topology : )