Newsletter Articles 2001

Selected articles from 2001 Reversible Scarves (October 2001) Dyeing in an Electric Frypan (March 2001) The Origins of Knitting (February 2001) The Language of Wool (February 2001)

REVERSIBLE SCARVES

Esther S. Bozak Copyright 1998 Esther Bozak. All rights reserved. This article may be copied and freely shared with others so long as it remains fully intact, including this copyright notice, and no profit is made from its distribution or use. One of the local charities I knit for is the Oswego chapter of the Red Cross. Last winter I discovered that scarves were among their most often requested cold weather accessories, and they get very few donated to distribute when such requests come in. This got me thinking about scarves, how to make them more fun to knit, as well as creating attractive, lightweight and warm fabrics. I came up with four criteria: Each scarf should be reversible, that is it should have no wrong side and preferably one whose two sides are identical or very nearly so; the pattern stitch must be easy to remember so I don't have to carry its instructions with me; the fabric must have some texture, in the form of pleats, welts or pockets, to help trap heat so I can use lighter weight yarns; and the scarf should be a bit out of the ordinary in looks. I found a number of patterns which meet these criteria. Here are four of my favourite reversible pattern stitches from this group. Using sport or DK weight yarn and the size needle you would normally use for this yarn, cast on 40-50 stitches (or around 30-36 for the Syncopated Brioche stitch) for a 12 .5 - 17.5cm wide scarf (un-stretched) and knit until you reach your favourite scarf length. Do not block; steam lightly only if necessary to retain as much heat-trapping texture as possible. Fringe is optional. MOCK KILTING STITCH Multiple of 7 sts Rows 1 & 6: *P6, k1; rep from * Rows 2 & 5: *P2, k5: rep from * Rows 3 & 4: *P4, k3; rep from * Repeat rows 1-6 MISTAKE STITCH RIBBING Multiple of 4 sts + 3 Every row: *K2, p2: rep from * to last 3 sts, k2, p1 SYNCHOPATED BRIOCHE STITCH Even number of sts Row 1 (preparation row): *Yo, sl 1 wyib, k1 rep from * Rows 2-7: * Yo, sl 1wyib, .k2tog; rep from * Rows 8-13: *Sl 1 wyif, yo, p2tog; rep from * Repeat rows 2-13 to desired length. Final row: *K1, p2tog; rep from *. GRAND PICOT EYELET Multiple of 3 sts + 4 edge sts Row 1: K2, *sl 1-k2tog-psso, [yo] twice, rep from * to last 2 sts, k2. Row 2: K2, *[p1, k1] into the double yo, p1; rep from * to 2 sts, k2 Row 3: Knit Repeat rows 1-3 TOP

DYEING IN AN ELECTRIC FRYPAN

Vivienne Ryan This method can be used for largish amounts of wool (Maybe not a whole fleece!), as the quantity is determined by the size of your electric fry pan. It Is very good for doing samplings or maybe even embroidery yarns. YOU WILL NEED: Glad oven bags (The larger the better!), Metal ties, gloves, wooden stirrer (NOT a wooden spoon used for stirring the jam!), a small mixing bowl, margarine container, glass jar, etc., powdered dyes ( Kraft color, Gaywool etc) and a teaspoon. Plus, you will need an old electric fry pan. Don't use the one from the kitchen; the dyes will make it poisonous. Also, you will need some fibre for dyeing. You can use wool, silk, angora, etc., anything that takes your fancy. Again, DON'T USE A KITCHEN ONE!!! The samples I am using weigh about 5g give or take. Use less than 1/4 teaspoon of powder dye to 1/2 a cup of hand hot hot-water. Add a drop of dishwashing liquid to the above. This acts as a wetting agent This Is what makes the wool or yarn absorb the dye stuff. Use a different pot or container for each color. Add dye powder to the very hot water with the detergent. Stir to mix dye up. Then add yarn or fleece (this should be clean or else the grease will act as a barrier), stir gently until completely wetted through with dye liquid. Lift out, and whilst still dripping, place into an oven bag. Seal tight with twist tie. Put about 1/4 full of warm water into the frying pan and bring temp. up to 250 degrees C. Add the oven bag(s) to the fry pan and cover with lid. Simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from fry pan, and rinse in hot water. WHAT TO DO WITH THE LEFT-OVER DYE LIQUIDS Take about 300g of fleece or yarn, wet it in water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar (Brown has a natural dye of its own), and a dollop of dishwashing liquid. Squeeze excess water out, and fluff up. Place this in an oven bag, and as you make your dyes, pour them randomly into the bag. When finished, DON'T agitate too much or else you'll end up with mud colored wool. Seal off the top, and cook as above. DYEING WOUND BALLS FROM SKEINS. Firstly, wind your skeins on a ball winder, but not too tightly. Wet the ball thoroughly with water and detergent. Squeeze excess out. Get the biggest syringe WITH needle attached, and inject randomly into ball. Don't think that you haven't put enough in; the steam from the fry pan will dissipate the dye naturally. When completed, bag it up, and simmer for 20-30 minutes covered. Rinse in hot water. And that's the famous Anna Sutcliffe "Dyeing in an Electric Frypan" recipe! TOP

THE ORIGINS OF KNITTING

Many people assume that all knitting must be derived from a single invention at a single time and in a single place. This assumption is unjustifiable and improbable. The evidence that crochet and Tunisian crochet are more recent inventions is so strong that theories suggesting that these crafts are the origin of knitting must be discounted. They resemble knitting in that knitting has often been done with a hooked implement and that both crafts work with the bight, not the end, of the yarn. Beyond that there is no resemblance. The structures are quite different. Similar considerations apply to suggestions that knitting was derived from sprang or netting. Nalbinding can produce a true knitted structure, but by a different method of manufacture. We have evidence of nalbinding much older than our evidence for knitting. We know that knitting was at an early point used to make footwear, in the cultural region where nalbinding was earlier used for the same purpose. Knitting may have developed from nalbinding in Egypt. It is not reasonable to attribute knitting to the Arabs or Arabia. In Roman Egypt socks were made in nalbinding. The work was tubular, starting from the point of the toe. The process was laborious and involved repeated splicing of the yarn. Eventually someone may have realized that the new loops could be pulled through the earlier loops with a hooked rod. The beginning of hand knitting with hooked 'knitting needles' is thus simply reconstructed. Hooked needles are used to this day in Egyptian villages. Eventually someone may have realized that the hooks were not necessary, and discovered that plain rods were more efficient. It is equally reasonable to suppose that the plain needle was earlier. TOP

THE LANGUAGE OF WOOL

Colour added to raw wool is DYED-IN-THE-WOOL: genuine. Taking FLEECE from a sheep is swindling a gullible victim. Stretched cloth was hung on TENTERHOOKS: suspense. PULL THE WOOL OVER ONE'S EYES: to hoodwink. Fabric made of reclaimed wool is called SHODDY: inferior. Wandering about collecting sheep tufts caught on bushes is WOOLGATHERING: daydreaming .

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