09-09-2023

• My goal was to knit a relatively simple shawl for a longer span of time than usual - given that the yarn is lace-weight - and to use yarn from deep stash.

• I found that my transition from knit blocks to purl blocks wasn’t optimally tidy so I started working a kind of technique that I heard about a while ago - I think it may be “Eastern” style knitting but I’ve never researched that method so I could be incorrect. When I get to the first stitch of the new segment (either knit segment or purl segment), I insert my needle as per normal, with the yarn in back for knits/in front for purls and then I wrap the yarn around the right needle backwards - which is to say the yarn moves towards the left-hand needle. I’ve heard about people suggest doing this on the last stitch before the transition to the new segment but that wasn’t working for me, perhaps because I’m knitting flat…

• This results in a couple of things (in addition to tightening the first stitch of the next segment): It re-positions the stitch backwards on the needle so you need to knit through the back loop on the next row and it makes the stitch before the one you’ll knit through the back loop more taut - which is good for indicating where the segment is about to switch from knit to purl or vice versa.

• FWIW, found this article: https://ysolda.com/blogs/journal/tighter-purls. I think I’m effectively doing this because when I turn the work around, the purl on the last row becomes a knit on the next. (But seriously, my brain is finding this difficult to interpret thus far. Fortunately, I’m going to have a lot of opp to figure it out as this shawl gets longer…)

• Middle Part: Note that you work the repeat 1x, then repeat it 6 more x, then you repeat R1-20 once more - 7.5 repeats in total.

• As of the start of the 4th repeat (out of 7.5 repeats), I had 21g of ball 1 remaining and 51g of ball 2. That was 72g remaining from the original 101g. So it took 29g to work from CO to the start of repeat 4.

• Now to confirm how much yarn each 40R repeat uses. I sense it’s ~8-9g. Once I know this, I’ll know how much yarn I’ll need to get through to repeat 7.5 - aka 4.5 more repeats - because I’ll be able determine how much yarn it took to complete the CO plus intro (minus the middle part repeats).

• So it takes exactly 8.5g to do one 40R repeat. And as of the end of repeat 4, I have 64g of yarn remaining.

• 8.5g x 3 = 25.5g: So the first 3 repeats of the middle part took 25.5g. Given that, before I started repeat 4, I had used 29g, the CO and Intro sections took 3.5g of yarn. Let’s call that 4g, just to be safe.

• Having reviewed the Ending section, which is 131R (vs the 27R to CO and do the intro), the CO and intro use 20% of the number of rows as the ending, using the same number of stitches per row. I’ll need 20g to get through the Ending section. Let’s call that 21g.

• 64g, what I’ve got as of the end of repeat 4, minus 21g gives me 43g of yarn remaining to work middle section 40-row repeats. 43g/8.5g= 5.06g: So technically I can work 5 more repeats, as of the beginning of Repeat 5, before beginning the Ending section. As instructed, I should work 3.5 more repeats (repeats 5, 6, 7 and 7.5). Because I must end on R20 (a half-repeat), I can work one additional 40R repeat. The final half-repeat will be repeat 8.5.

• I will have more than enough yarn left over at the end given how I’ve padded my estimates (I anticipate somewhere in the neighbourhood of 7-9g), but not necessarily enough to do an extra full repeat. While I do have more of this yarn, it’s in a diff dye lot so I’d prefer not to lose at yarn chicken and have to rip back both the Ending plus an additional 40R, aka the final 40R repeat. Update: on further reflection, I thought I might be able to work an additional repeat because the Ending has a segment of decreases that I didn’t consider. But in the end I’m glad I opted to stop at 8.5 repeats because I finished this project with 7g of yarn - not quite enough to have worked an additional 40-row repeat.

• Note also that each 40R repeat gives 3” (pre-blocking and pinning, which will open up the fabric a lot, maybe even to 4” in the end). While I don’t estimate that it will be huge, I do think I’ll get as far as necessary to make this shawl/scarf a good layering piece for 3 seasons on less than 100g of lace-weight yarn knitted on US3 / 3.25mm needles.

• 29g (where I’m at at the end of Repeat 4) is probably exactly 30% of the way through the knitting…

• So I opted to work on this monogamously and, alas, it’s a really boring project. It’s in no way difficult - it becomes entirely knowable after the first couple of 40-row repeats, which makes for good TV knitting (but not talking knitting given that it’s lace-weight 10x10 rib on tiny needles so it takes a certain kind of focus). I’m optimistic that the end result will be an elegant, light-weight wrap that can work in all seasons, but particularly on Canadian spring and summer evenings. But I’m looking forward to the knitting (and blocking) being over.

Final Thoughts:

• If you’ve got 100g of lace-weight yarn and you’re wondering what to do with it, this may be just the project. This does create an eminently usable, elegant FO but the process is tedious because it’s a boring knit. It would be esp lovely to use a special skein to maximize pleasure in knitting, given that the knitting process itself may not thrill.

• I def would use a 2- or 3-ply yarn to maximize even stitches and a bouncy end result. Wouldn’t work this in a single given that it would likely bias. In truth, I used what I had but a 3-ply would have been optimal.

• I do think it’s key to figure out how to go from the knit blocks to the purl blocks in such a way that the first stitch of each knit block isn’t observably loose. Given the gauge of this fabric (and I went down 2 needle sizes to create a fabric that had a gossamer vibe without being too loose/messy), and the nature of ribbing, it’s likely going to occur to some extent, even if you generally knit ribbing without rowing out.

• Note that, despite going down needle sizes, I still got to the desired measurements with firm blocking, but I did do an extra 40-row repeat.

• This is one of those objects that (IMO) must be blocked assertively with pins and wires, and with an emphasis on symmetry. Won’t lie, the blocking process was no more fun than the knitting process, and took more than 30 min. But really opening the fabric also improves the look of the first knitted stitch after the purl block.

Pre-blocked Dimensions: Length: 68” hanging / 58” flat x Width: 7.5”

Note that there’s a lot of give in this fabric I’m pretty confident that it will block with wires/pins to the instructed dimensions of 75” x 15”

Post-blocked Dimensions To be included / along with photos when I’ve had a chance to block this FO. It did pin out, with wires, to the desired dimensions.