For my upcoming pattern (one that shall be published in the next week) I needed a different approach to work the renown i-cord bind off, the professional looking edging we already cherish and love...

I wanted something, that allowed this very neat border to flow discreetly in and out of the fabric, whenever I should choose for it to do so.... this means that I wanted to allow the cord to get to its full volume and shape after having worked some rows of it and not right from the very beginning (as is the case when we immediately cast on the 3 needed stitches for it) and also to subdue softly at the end of it's cording existence.

Whenever the i-cord bind off is not worked in a complete and eternal, grafted circle, it starts and ends abruptly with a thick wulst when constructed in the common way. In these sad cases one often tries to hide it's bulk by sewing parts of it into place and pulling some sections out of the way while doing all kinds of stuff that are never really too efficient in hiding all of it's hideousness!

So!
Fast forward to today...
In the case that you are one of my fellow knitters that had similar unfortunate i-cord experiences before when finishing your (otherwise) hand-knitted masterpiece, you might be happy to try out this tutorial I just uploaded.

Hopefully my suggestion for a softly starting and discreetly ending i-cord bind off can help you keep those edges of your very own masterpiece as neat as possible!
​
Click on this link, to checkthe revisited i-cord BO photo-tutorial out. 

What is an i-cord loop, you ask?
It can be used for many things, but here I show it in the form of a hat finishing.
​One that is cute, easy to make and practical:

I don’t know about you, but I like for most of my hats to have some kind of a little something at the top: Some time ago I liked pompoms more than anything (and I still do), but they were always so cumbersome and long to make and I often didn’t have enough of the suitable yarn to make a good sized, fluffy pompom!

And this one has become my favourite finishing now. What I like most about it is it's practical aspect: One can hang it on any kind of peg and keep the hats out of the way and organised without folding them! 
​(I first used this finishing on my Casazul hats, that are seen hanging below)

The i-cord construction is truly quick and easy to make and it uses very little yarn...
In the Casazul pattern I had added a photo-tutorial to showcase the construction of the i-cord loop, but I thought that for my newest pattern a video would be in order, to really showcase the construction of this loop in an easy to follow manner, so as to enable everybody to try the tiny little loop out to finish their hats!
(Of course this exact same method can be used for any kind of knitted loop that you might need, in any size and form --- for any project!)

After having used this wonderful method of adding horizontal pockets to my latest knitted jumper, I thought that a quick walk-through of the needed steps - together with some pictures - might be of interest to some of you.
​Not everybody has yet tried this easy peasy way of adding pockets in knitted garments.

The idea is to have the pockets arranged at a flattering position, depending on the style one wants to achieve. If they are going to be functional and not simply decorative, they have to be at a comfortable height to put one's hand inside (preferably without resorting to acrobatic movements).
​At the same time they need to be wide enough to comfortably fit the wearer's hand as also deep enough to fulfil their purpose.
But careful: We do not want the lining to be peeking below the hem when we use them! We all know how much give in length a knitted fabric can have and pockets can "grow" to nearly double their length when lounging hands are pushing downwards.

That's actually all there is for the pocket placement itself!
​After finishing the rest of the garment, we can go back and work on the lining of the pocket:

For a seamless lining we need to pick up the stitches worked in our original yarn, on top and below the waste yarn row with the right side facing us. I am using circular needles here because it is easy to simply pick up the same amount of stitches at both sides of the opening: One needle tip sits at the row above and one at the row below. 
​Be careful to not twist the stitches and do try to always pick the right "leg" of each stitch.

Then just remove the waste yarn and pull the right needle tip out enough to start working the thus exposed stitches of the lining in the round in the magic loop style (or simply change to a shorter circular needle or DPN). The needle size should be the same as the one we used for the project itself.

Close up the lining-tube by following the linked tutorial on the 3-Needle BO: It is perfect for this job, because it provides a good looking, sturdy seam that has the same elasticity as the knitted lining itself and is worked quickly during the binding off process!

Before you ask:: The jumper shown here is a new pattern called La GeKka (worked in Magasin Duett yarn Blues) and to be launched on the 25th of August 2018..... 

*¹Footnote: A true after-thought method would be to just cut into the middle of any row and carefully unravel to both ends of the pocket (after having picked up the stitches above and below of course). But for the sake of the article let us stick to the "official" and non-pirate version of doing things!

I know I know...
It seems as if I have been in a sock knitting frenzy lately - but my sock ramblings shall be kept in check for the next year (here you have quite the original New-Year resolution)!

But I really had to post this follow-up article on my latest one,  the free SpiralSock Pattern!

My good friend and tech-editor Kate, actually made a great suggestion after she checked the first version of the pattern ( the one published this Christmas). There was not time to rewrite the pattern back then, but I really wanted you guys to know about Kate's great idea!

(Quick disclaimer:... It seems that her idea is a known adaption to heel-less sock patterns, but we both didn't know about it and re-discovered what others will most probably already know for decades!)
Anyway, since I know that there must be other sock-ignorant people out there like me, who are very entertained by this kind of knitting-technology, I still thought that this follow up post and addition to the pattern itself, might interest some of you.

So, well... Kate's new and improved method was to work a Star-Toe (or also a round toe) with the SpiralSock, so that it can be worn without having to adjust the toe in any way, since there is no need for any adjustment in any direction because there simply isn't any - the star toe is the same on all sides, as is the tube for the heel-less sock!
With this toe, one would be able to keep the heel part of the sock even longer in shape, since it never will be put on in the exact same way and therefore the whole area will be worn out over a longer period of time.
Cool, isn't it?

So I played around with a star-toe with a progressive ratio of increase and even rounds and of course I have updated the sock pdf and now there are both toe variations in there for you to choose!

To work this star toe though, we need to cast on our stitches in a circle and there are many ways to work the same circular cast on techniques: One is the crochet technique, which uses (as you have already guessed) the extra tool of a crochet... not a problem in itself, if you can be bothered with looking for it in your messy studio (not that I speak out of experience here....)
Or then there is the excellent "disappearing loop method" by the famous techknitter, whom I consider my biggest teacher and mentor, that also uses knitting needles only and is using a similar technique as for the tubular or invisible cast-on.
 
But I do prefer the one I am showcasing below, since it not only has the advantages that no extra tools are needed (and the messy studio can be sufficiently ignored) - but it also does immediately provide the knitter with two casted on rows. Therefore there is an actual "lower row" stitch to work into right away - a feature, which is especially handy for hidden increases in the very first round after casting on.
(Here I like the hidden increases because they provide a discreet way to work immediate repeat augmentations - on every stitch and/or directly on top of each other on subsequent rounds, as we are doing here to provide a less pointy toe)

On another note: I wonder, do you guys prefer my printable photo-tutorials (which I find are easy to reference later on or to file) or do you like videos better?
Is there one medium you strongly prefer over the other, or does it all depend on the technique itself (like in this case, where the tutorial is easier to understand when actually seeing the movement)?
Please do tell me and I will try my best to adapt to what you guys like most!
oh...
​...and have a wonderful and strong New Year! ✨⭐️

After having gifted a very special hand-knitted item to a beloved receiver, the most dreaded thing for a knitter to hear, is: "Oh... it's so cute, I love it - but I have to admit that I never wear it because it really doesn't fit / is too big / much too long / not really my size...! Well, thanks anyway"
- I had the pleasure to hear something similar after asking my mother if she wears the ShellSock in yellow I gifted her about a year ago. I made her this pair because she liked the ones I did for myself (based onthis free pattern here), but I never saw her wearing the socks, when I visited.
So... after wondering why she didn't tell me sooner and without me asking about them, I immediately started "The Operation ShortSock".
It's nothing groundbreaking in terms of newness or innovation. No, it's simply a cut-and-graft shortening of the sock's foot-tube. But since many knitters seem to be afraid of such "invasive treatments" and since I thankfully remembered to take pictures during "surgery" (a rarity in my case), I thought that I might show you the complete procedure below - step by step - and maybe it will seem less daunting to some! It's the idea of cutting that frightens more than the act itself, believe me.
​
So - first of all we had to do an evaluation-field trip: Mum tried on the sock and we established how much exactly we would need to shorten it, so that it'll fit comfortably.
​Try to keep in mind here that the fabric is elastic and that it will stretch a bit, but avoid to take out too much and make a sock that will be too snug and tight. Just fold over a section, try it out and mark the extent that needs to go.

Then I cut into one stitch of said contrast round in white (the first round of the section we intend to remove right above the needle of the toe area) and proceeded to take the whole round out stitch by stitch until the toe was separated completely from the rest of the sock.
You can click on the pictures to see a bigger version of them, if you like.

Then I found the tail of the grey main colour and just unraveled it until I got bored... and grabbed the cute little scissors I have from fringesupplyco to quickly cut all the excess away - without of course hurting any of the stitches already positioned on the needle - or myself - or others... 

Then the fun part began: The actual grafting and re-connecting of the toe to the foot! If you are one of those knitters that fear this step, rest assured that it is not at all hard to do. You just need to take your time and keep an eye on your tension, while following a good tutorial, if you don't already know the grafting mantra "knit, slip, purl... purl, slip, knit" by heart.

After neatly hiding all tails and such, the old-new shortened sock was ready to be worn for the first time and it successfully had been saved from a dark and boring life in the sock-drawer!
Both me and my favourite knit-recipient were quite glad about it...
You are welcome, mum! 

In Pictures:

This little post might be helpful if you need to work increases on the sides of an existing textured piece, a patterned shawl or any other project that wants to grow at the sides outwards  and you don’t know how to continue working your stitch pattern or chart when adding new stitches to each side of your work.
It might get especially difficult to work armhole increases in a top-down textured sweater that needs you to follow a chart with pattern repeats and extra stitches and edge stitches (as often encountered in flat knitted patterns).
Does this description already induce a headache? 
Well, lets say that you might encounter the following issues:

• How to continue working a given pattern or chart, while adding new stitches to each side and not loose the overview of your stitch pattern? 
• What shall one do with all these new stitches and how can those be integrated in the motif?

The whole process becomes quite easy if you visually separate your newly increased stitches with the help of removable markers until you can safely integrate them into your existing pattern repeat!
The idea is to use markers to separate the complete chart you have been following before (not only the pattern repeat itself, but the whole thing) from those increases that are worked gradually and over quite some rows, so that you can continue following the chart instructions without worrying about how to start each row, since you are increasing the needed amount of stitches on the outside of your chart.

So now you might wonder why in this first increase row the M1L and M1R increases are placed at the “inside” of the markers and not at the outside: It is so that those newly increased stitches can safely replace the edge stitches of the chart.
This allows you to just follow your chart as a whole and as written in between the two markers and to increase at the outer edges of the markers on the following rows: 

Like this you can actually see how many new stitches have been added at the beginning and the end, next to the markers. These increased stitches are worked in Stocking stitch until a whole pattern repeat is added at each side (in the pictures it’s a 4 sts repeat), which we can then safely integrate into our existing textured pattern and start again with the next set of increases, where the markers are placed once again as in step 1-4. 

So the whole idea is that with the help of the markers you don't bother about the increased stitches until you can add those to your growing textured section. The markers also help you to work the chart normally during the increase section (since they show you where to start and end the complete chart), so you don’t need to "read your knitting" at all and to guess which stitch goes on top of the other, if you aren’t comfortable in doing so.

While working the increased stitches next to the markers in Stocking stitch you get a wide and clean band on the sides of your work, as you can see in picture 6. If your pattern repeat is much more than 4 sts wide though, you might want to start getting comfortable with "reading your knitting" after all, so that you learn to immediately integrate the new stitches in your stitch pattern and don’t need to wait until you have enough new stitches to work with.

But that’s totally up to you, to work it as you like and feel comfortable with.

About two weeks ago I showed you a method of working a stretchy applied i-cord (or i-cord bind off) which doesn't involve going up a needle size or change the look of your stitches. 
That technique can also be used to work with finer yarn than the one of the main project. 
I called it the "spaced-out" applied i-cord and I am glad that so many of you liked it!

So, let's imagine that you finished up your i-cord bind off on your neckline, hem or cuff - and it thankfully looks great and doesn't pucker - and now you want to close it up to finally be able to try your garment on and admire your hard work...
What do you do? Don't say that you are going to sew the ends together like that, hoping that nobody will notice the harsh line or bump right in the middle of your perfect, smooth, round and even i-cord edge??!!??

Well, as the title already gave away, in this post you can find the answer about how to graft the two ends of an i-cord invisibly together. 
For the ones that aren't already familiar with this technique, I prepared the following photo-tutorial to round up on the i-cord subject (for now): 

(Click on the pictures below to read the high-resolution PDF and download it for further reference if you like and find more tutorials here)

So... no more unsightly sewing lines, gaps or bulky connections in our i-cord universe anymore! 
And no need to avoid i-cords in general. This method might take much more time than a simple bind off, but it is so much more beautiful, isn't it?

...an i-cord edging!
I don't know if you ever had this problem of working either an i-cord bind off or an applied i-cord all around your magnificent, wonderful project just to find out (after 3 hours of uninterrupted labour) that it was worked too tightly and that instead of providing the most professional finishing for your hand knitted marvel, it is now sitting tensely on the edge, puckering and firmly drawing the fabric in.
This is not a nice experience, believe me (especially not when one ruins perfectly well fitting necklines like this)! 
After talking (and lamenting) about it numerous times with knitting friends I thought about a way to counteract this tight i-cord edging phenomena:

So... another tutorial was in order and here it is: Say hi to the spaced out, applied i-cord!
As always you can click on the pictures below to go to the high resolution document and actually be able to read this thing (or download it as a PDF).

This method to space out an added edging and to provide length and therefore more stretch can be used for all i-cord edges (not only the applied kind that is showed here on the sides of a knitted fabric, but also for binding off live stitches at the end of one's work).

One could even use a totally different, lighter weight yarn for the i-cord and cast off a project worked in DK with fingering or lace weight in this way...
...just play around to find out!

I do hope that now there are even more possibilities out there for you to stash bust, since you get more options to combine yarns and use your luxurious one skein of sock yarn only for the neckline and cuffs, for a really professional finishing this time.
Even if you'd need to work quite a lot of i-cords to diminish your stash, I am sure...
;)

Oh... and if you haven't seen my other tutorials you can always find all of them here.

...or how to have a good excuse for playing around with balloons as an adult!

I just finished my new hat yesterday and thought I'd try out this trick I remember reading about somewhere. It allows you to block out stitch patterns on a hat, without getting folding lines at the sides (something that usually happens when laying it on a flat surface to dry after washing). 
Entrance.... 
The balloon!

And now the real fun begins! Wet the hat up until it's completely soaked in water!!!

After the wool is completely dry, fluff the badly treated pom-pom up a little bit with your fingers before taking the air out of the balloon.... And then admire your hard work: Bloomed stitches and a neatly blocked out hat without folding lines!!!!

The hat is worked in Shibui yarn (Maai) and will probably become a pattern soon...
The pom-pom was made by following my latest tutorial crush in this youtube video.
The balloon on the other hand has been thrown away quite unceremoniously...

These are the short-rows I always use as a knitter, but I suggest them also in my own patterns as a designer. Whatever the instructions may be... the german short-rows simply are the most discreet and incredibly easy to work, in my humble opinion at least!
Until recently there was this great tutorial on the socktopus website about how to work this rather amazing technique. I used to put the link to said tutorial in all my patterns that used the german short-row method (as a quick explanation for knitters that weren't familiar with it) - but recently the domain went down and this had as a result that all my patterns were pointing to a "blank" page!!!

I myself have made some tutorial in the past and I generally prefer to make photo-tutorials that showcase something new, something that is not already to be found on the internet: usually about innovative methods that I have came up with or, in some rare exceptions about already known methods, where I couldn't find a tutorial that was clear and concise enough. 
For one, I think that there is no point in having a ton of different tutorials about the exact same technique on the net. But I also believe that it is a nice gesture of appreciation for the hard work of knitters that create informative tutorials and videos to link their sites in patterns or on personal blogs and to provide traffic and make them known to a wider audience.
That's what I thought until recently.... (and I still do)...
But I didn't think of the possibility that these great tutorials can just simply disappear, like in the case of the german short-row technique on the soctopus-site... 
(RIP soctopus and thank you!!! It was a great informative read)!

Well.... Since I will need to change all the related links in my patterns in the next days, I decided that I'd have to write up my own tutorial about this method - which hopefully will stay online for a looooooooooooooooooong time!!! 

Edit: If you choose to work this technique by following a pattern that uses the Wrap & Turn method (which is a different short-row technique commonly used in Anglo-Saxon regions), you would need to work one stitch more than indicated in your pattern:
The slipped stitch of the German Short-Rows is equivalent to the W&T stitch.
(thank you Love2stitch for this clarification!)

Click on one of the images below, to open up a big, high resolution version of the Tutorial.

As usual, you can find this tutorial together with a bunch of others on this page here, where each PDF is also downloadable for further reference.

...And on a completely unrelated note: there is an interview Robin did with me on her blog. 
And I am very excited about this!!!!
You can find it here if you are interested to read something about me!