Running in Circles March 21, 2013 – Posted in: How to, Thursday This and That

No, not me. My knitting!
Ever since we received a shipment of Schoppel Wolle’s Gradient I had the urge to knit with it. Made of 100%  merino it is super soft and I do love the colour changes. As the name implies, they change gradually, so there is no abrupt end between two shades. I couldn’t see myself knitting another cowl or scarf (honestly, my mind is in Spring, though my wardrobe is not) so it took a while to get where I am now.
I’m knitting a necklace. Seriously. Look:

Gradient Necklace

I do think it is the perfect solution for when the days are not freezing anymore but are too warm for a ‘real’ scarf or cowl. I used Gradient #1701 – a mix of primary colours with some white. This is still a work in progress, I might add another loop or two.
There is of course another reason I am knitting on this particular design: It uses the knitted cast-on. While I usually prefer the long-tail method, it does not work for everything. So here we go with the instructions for the knitted cast-on.
The circles are knit making use of the fact that Stockinette Stitch fabric tends to curl. Other times you might be annoyed with that fact, today we rely on it. All  you have to do is cast on 120 sts, knit 5 rounds and then bind off 110 sts. 10 sts remain. Now you have to cast on for the second circle. (The ‘in progress’ pictures were taken using Gradient #2095.)

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110 stitches are bound off and the remaining 10 stitches are knit.

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To cast on more stitches you have to turn the work.

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Insert your right hand needle and knit.

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Instead of leaving the new stitch on the right hand needle, insert your left hand needle from below and slip the stitch on the needle.

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Then start again. Do this until you have cast on the required amount of sts.

There. Not hard to do if one knows how, eh?

The pattern works as follows: Cast on the required amount of stitches, work 5 rounds, bind off stitches until 10 remain. *Cast on until you have 10 stitches more than for circle just worked. Close to round and work 5 rows. Bind off until 10 stitches remain. Repeat from * until you have the desired number of circles. Then bind off all stitches. Weave in ends.

Happy Knitting, as ever!

– Mona