Shades of Grey - Toe Up

There are two directions you can knit socks. One way is from the cuff down to the toes. My first socks (Ripple Stitch socks and Beaded Eyelet Rib socks) were knit this way. The other direction is from the toe to the cuff. There are two big advantages for working socks starting from the toe: 1) If you are knitting a pattern with a charted design then the chart is read in the usual manner of bottom to top (working from the cuff down you the chart is read backwards) but the biggest advantage for most knitters is that 2) after dividing the yarn in half and knitting the feet and heels the remaining yarn can be used for additional length in the body and cuff. Socks knit from the toe to cuff heel usually work a short row heel (a heel flap can be done but it takes a little finagling) so sock knitters who prefer a heel flap or those who are avoiding the short row heel usually knit from the cuff to toe.

My last project for this independent study was to knit a pair of socks from the toe to the cuff. I used the two shades of Pearl Grey yarn (see Dying Some More Yarn.) My main reference book was Toe-up Techniques for Hand-knit Socks by Janet Rehfeldt

Here are the details for the Shades of Grey socks:

Yarn: Fingering weight superwash merino/nylon blend from KnitPicks.com.
--I like the softness and shine of the merino/tencel blend used in the Beaded Eyelet Rib and Ripple Stitch socks better than this yarn. It figures, because the merino/tencel is twice as much ($6 a skein vs. $12)! << Sigh >> I always like the expensive stuff better.

Colorway: Rit Liquid Dye - Pearl Grey
--The toe, heel and cuff were knit in dark grey. The foot and body were knit in light grey.

Gauge and needle sizes: I used size 2 needles for everything except the top 4" of the body where I used size 3 needles to increase the gauge (to fit my calf) without having to increase the # of stitches. My gauge on size 2 needles was 8 stitches per inch.

Direction knit: Toe up.
--It took a few attempts to get the toe started properly and I don't think I really did it the way shown in the book but the end result looks fine! I cast on 10 stitches and I applied the same technique I frequently use to start a circular crochet project -- I picked up 10 stitches in the bottom of the cast on and then began increasing every other row . I used the M1R and M1L increase method from the book and my first impression is that a standard toe shaped with increases is better looking than one shaped with decreases.

Cuff pattern: K2, P2 for 2"

Body pattern: Stockinette stitch for 8". The bottom 4" of the body were worked on #2 needles and the top 4" of the body were worked on #3 needles.

Heel pattern: The Sherman Heel (see Ripple Stitch socks for details.)

Foot pattern: Stockinette stitch.

Bind-off: The bind-off was the only part of this sock that I struggled with. I worked three different bind-offs before I found one that I liked. I felt like Goldilocks:

This one was too tight (even using the trick of binding off with a larger needle size): Simple Rib Bind Off

This one was too loose: Russian bind-off variation by Wendy Knits

This one was complicated (it takes time and is very difficult to take apart): Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Stretchy Sewn Cast-off

This one was just right!: "Work 2 sts in pattern (either knit or purl). Move yarn to back (if the last worked st was a knit, this is already the case). * Transfer the 2 worked sts to the LH needle, and k2togTBL. Work 1 st in pattern (move yarn to back if it was a purl), * repeat between *." and I found it here.

I don't know yet which direction of sock knitting I prefer. I'll just have to keep knitting more socks until I figure it out!

Spiral Rib Hat

This hat was knit with the plied Shetland handspun (see spinning) and worked on size 10 circular needles. The stitch pattern is K2,P2 ribbing for 4 rows and then the pattern shifts by ending the 4th row with a K2,P1 (stopping one stitch short.) Reset the row marker and start the next row with that last stitch (in other words, the stitch which should have been purled at the end of the 4th row is now the start of the K2,P2 ribbing for the next 4 rows). The complete hat pattern is copyrighted so I can't give more details but it's not any more difficult than working the stitch pattern for the desired length and following the usual decreasing instructions for the crown of a hat (google the keywords -- knit, hat, decrease, crown).

Pidge - 99% natural & 100% handmade

A pidge is a short scarf closed with two buttons and it was the perfect project for my handspun corriedale. (see Spinning). I wanted to use a natural dye for this project so I tea dyed 203 yards with an entire box of Twinings Blackcurrent tea.





I was also trying to make all the components of the pidge natural and handmade, including the buttons and I was inspired by this idea for handmade wooden buttons. We have 3 oak trees and 2 maples on our little suburban yard so finding branches to experiment with wasn't difficult. Hubby helped by cutting the branches and played around with sawing them at varying angles. I didn't like the idea of using oil on an object that is going to be used on a garment so I deviated at this point from the original tutorial. To finish the buttons I applied stain and polyurethane. My daughter Sarah pointed out that I lost the ability to call it 100% "natural" when I used the polyurethane. She's right. I should have used shellac. Oh well, it'll have to be 99% natural and 100% handmade!






To begin the scarf, the number of stitches to cast-on must be a multiple of 4 plus 1 and the pattern for each row is a simple *K2,P2*, repeating *to* and ending with a K1. Knit until you reach approximately 2" from the desired length. Make 2 buttonholes of appropriate size for your chosen buttons and knit an additional 2".

My inconsistently handspun yarn, filled with slubs and many thick and thin areas knit easily and beautifully into a pidge!

Notes:

Size 6 needles and 29 stitches.

The finished scarf measures 24½" long and 4½" wide.

For a nice finished edge I slipped the last stitch of each row purlwise.

Beaded Eyelet Rib Socks

I love these socks. They came out better than I envisioned (and that doesn't happen often!) and they look and fit fantastic.

I dyed the yarn with wine colored Rit dye and tried to achieve a Faux Ikat (see previous blog entry). I mismanaged the timing of the dye bath and the result was yarn that was basically a solid color. There were a few small light areas which gave a slight heather effect in the stockinette stitch of the sock foot but doesn't show at all in the eyelet pattern of the sock body.

Yarn: Fingering weight superwash merino/tencel blend from Mind's Eye Yarns

Colorway:Rit Liquid Dye - Wine

Gauge and needle sizes: I used size 3 needles for the cuff and 7 pattern repeats for the body and size 2 needles for the remainder. My gauge was 8 stitches per inch on #2 needles.

Direction knit: Cuff down.

Cuff pattern: P2, k2, p1, K2 for 1"

Body pattern:

Slip bead: Move yarn to the front (as if to purl) and slip bead down, slip next stitch purlwise and move yarn to the back.

Stitch pattern in multiples of 7
Row 1: *P2, k2 tog, yo, k1, yo, ssk; repeat from * to end of row.
Row 2: *P2, k5; repeat from * to end of row.
Row 3: *P2, k2, slip bead, k2; repeat from * to end of row.
Row 4: *P2, k5; repeat from * to end of row.

The total length of the body (including cuff) is 8" ending with row 4.

Heel pattern: The Sherman Heel (see Ripple Stitch socks for details.)

Foot pattern: The foot was knit in stockinette st.

Toe pattern: The Round Toe from the book Folk Socks by Nancy Bush.

Notes:

The cuff could also a pattern of K5, P2

The standard way to do a ssk is: slip 2 stitches as if to knit then k2 tog through the back loops. An alternate way to work the ssk is to slip 1 knitwise, slip 1 purlwise then k2 tog through the back loops. The claim is that the alternate way lays flatter. For this sock I worked the standard ssk and the way the stitch lay didn't strike me as an issue, but it's something to keep in mind for future patterns.

Dying some more yarn

Bouyed by my success of dying with Kool-Aid I decided to experiment with some dying techniques using Rit dye. I attempted the Faux Ikat Dyeing Technique described in the book The Yarn Lover's Guide to Hand Dyeing by Linda LaBelle.

Because Kool-Aid is food safe I was able to work with my kitchen pots and pans but with Rit dye I moved to the basement and used pots that aren't used to cook food. I rigged this table to make a longer skein (don't you just love duct tape?!)


Unfortunately, I didn't time things right and I couldn't achieve the desired results but I did get a very pretty wine colored yarn which made a gorgeous pair of socks (details next blog entry!)

After this dying experiment I discovered a personal dilemma. The amount of water used to wash the dye out of the yarn was enormous. Rit dye works on both cotton and wool and because I was dying 100% wool yarn, the unused additives and dyes intended for cotton were being flushed into the water supply. Dying your own yarn is NOT eco friendly. What to do? I had two packets of Rit dye and 7 skeins of bare yarn! I decided to use the dye on a few of the skeins but I resolved to use only natural dye techniques for any future projects.


Daughter Laura was home for fall break and willing to help!

Rit colors Pearl Grey and Scarlet. I achieved the variations in grey by simply leaving the skeins in the dye baths for varying amounts of time. The bonnet is for Laura's Halloween costume (the Sunmaid Raisin girl!) Unfortunately, the fabric must be a cotton/poly blend (there was no label) because the bonnet did not come out the beautiful red that the yarn did.

Spinning

I'll admit it -- my spinning, using both the spindle and the wheel, never really got out of the park and draft mode. However, at some point I felt I acquired a decent sense of handling the drafting triangle and was beginning to spin a more consistent yarn.
After my first spinning attempts I spun 8oz of corriedale cream top purchased from Alpaca Direct. This produced 279 yards of single spun yarn. I tea dyed 203 yards and kept 76 yards in the original color.

I also spun 4oz of shetland roving purchased from Iron Horse Farm. I did ply this yarn but the ply came out so loose that I don't think I did it properly. The skeined yarn hung remarkable balanced both before and after setting the twist but it looks just barely plyed -- more like just holding two single strands together. This produced 111 yards of 2 ply yarn.


I did like learning to spin but I never took to it. I love touching and handling yarn but that tactile enjoyment did not transfer over to roving.

Ripple Stitch socks

The wonderful thing about knitting socks is the ability to design them yourself. The dozens of ways that the cuff, heel and toe can each be knit combined with thousands of stitch pattern choices means that the possibility of designing a one-of-a-kind pair of socks are pretty darn good!

So here are the details for my Kool-aid dyed yarn and my first attempt at sock designing:

Yarn: Fingering weight superwash merino/tencel blend from Mind's Eye Yarns

Colorway: Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade Kool-aid dyed in a gradated pattern (see Kool-Aid dyed yarn post)

Gauge and needle sizes: I used size 4 needles for the first 4 inches of the cuff and body and size 3 needles for the remainder. My gauge was 7 stitches per inch.

Direction knit: Cuff down.

Cuff pattern: K1,P1 for 1"

Body pattern: Ripple Stitch from Vogue Dictionary of Knitting Stitches by Anne Matthews (1984). The total length of the body (including cuff) is 8".

Heel pattern: The Sherman Heel. The Sherman Heel is a short row pattern but does not use the wrap technique. Instead slip stitches and the techniques of knit and purl encroachment are used. My references for this heel pattern and how to work the stitches are:

A toe up sock pattern by Mary Lycan.
Knit Encroachment (k enc)
Purl Encroachment (p enc)

Foot pattern: The instep/top of foot (1/2 of the total stitches) follows the pattern for the body. The bottom half is stockinette stitch.

Toe pattern: I couldn't find a name for this --it just seems to be the standard pattern for toe decreases when working a sock from the cuff down.

The stitches are distributed as follows:
1/4 of the stitches are on needle #1 (the center back of the heel), 1/2 of the stitches on needle #2 (these stitches are the top of the foot), and the remaining 1/4 on needle #3.

Needle #1: knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1.
Needle #2: k1, ssk, knit to last 3 stitches, k2tog, k1.
Needle #3: k1, ssk, knit to end of needle.
Work an even round.
Alternate decrease rounds and even rounds until 8 stitches remain.

Notes and observations:

It took a couple of swatch samples to select the right pattern for the self-striping effect of the yarn. The stitch pattern was written to be worked flat using two needles but was easily converted for circular knitting.

I decreased the toe down to the recommended 8 stitches but I think I like a wider toe and will try 10.

Kool-Aid dyed yarn

The easiest way to dye some yarn is to use Kool-Aid. The upside is that you don't need a separate set of pots because Kool-Aid is food safe. The downside is that you are working with a limited set of very bright colors (to some dyers this is not an issue) So for my first dyeing attempt I decided to give Kool-Aid a try.

My spinning has yet to produce a quantity large enough to knit or crochet something with so I've been scouring the Boston area looking for yarn suitable for dyeing (known as "bare" yarn) and finally found Minds Eye Yarn, a gem of a store, over in Porter Sq. in Cambridge. This place is a yarn spinner and dyer delight! What a find. I purchased a couple 4oz. sock weight skeins of a Merino/tencel blend (added bonus - it's a superwash) along with some merino roving.

I thought finding bare yarn was going to be the hard part but it turned out that finding Kool-Aid was just as challenging! I needed to find the old-fashioned packets where you add the sugar. The local grocery stores in my suburb of Boston only carried the sweetened varieties of Kool-Aid and I didn't even try the multitudes of health food stores -- after all, if this stuff dyes yarn what are we doing drinking it?? I finally found a good selection in Natick at the Super Stop and Shop.

For my first dying attempt I was going for a gradation of a single color. I followed the technique used in this Gradated Dyeing Tutorial found at Knit Picks (they are an internet resource for bare yarn.)

My Notes:

This is just one of multiple ways to get gradated color. I had a great deal of difficulty managing the bulk of yarn at the top in the beginning dye phases. I ended up holding it with my hands instead of using the bar because I could not get the yarn to behave with clothespin clips alone.

I left the beginning sections in the dye bath too long so that once I got to the final section there was very little dye left to be absorbed. The counter to this is to add more dye each time you drop a section but I had mistakenly added ALL of my Kool-Aid packets in the beginning and I was now left guessing how long to leave each section in the dye bath before dropping in more. The result was that the last area to be dyed has a minimal amount of dye. Not what I was intending to achieve but this lesson was learned:

"Happy mistakes". The really nice thing about dyeing is that unless you have a muddy mess of color just about anything you do results in a "designer" dyed yarn!!! It differs entirely from knitting or crocheting where you can rip out your mistakes and redo. No-can-do with dying (well actually, you can over dye but that may be even riskier.) What really happens is you learn to be make good and be happy :)

I used 5 packets of Ice Blue Raspberry Lemonade

I did use vinegar. When dyeing with Kool-Aid some people do and some people don't. There is a lot of debate about this on the dye forums. I figured it couldn't hurt and would possibly help, so I added vinegar.

I used the following references for Kool-Aid dyeing:

Dyed in the Wool by Kristi Porter

Dyeing Protein Fibers with Kool-Aid: Basic How-to

Koolaid Dyeing - using the kids' drink to dye your yarn

Wool Works: dyeing fibers

Kool-Aid Dyeing Tutorial

My first project with my hand dyed yarn is a pair of socks. Details on the designing of these will come when I'm finished but I think I found a good stitch for this first batch and I'm getting a striping affect as well -- So far it's looking fine!

Setting the Twist

After yarn has been spun you need to distribute and balance the twist in the yarn. The simplest way to set the twist is to soak the yarn in warm water. Here are the notes that I've collected on setting the twist:

Wash
--Fill a sink or bucket with warm to hot water and add ph neutral dish detergent (Dawn or baby shampoo).
--Immerse skein and soak for 15 to 20 minutes.
--Press the soapy water out of the skein gently but don't twist or agitate.
--Fill sink again with warm to hot water, adding distilled white vinegar (about a "glug") and soak again.
--Fill sink again and rinse again.
--Gently squeeze out excess water by wrapping the skein in an old towel.
--Snap the skein between your hands to even out the twist and straighten the strands.

Dry
--Singles will still be kinky and curly. Hang skein up to dry and put a weight on it (spray bottle filled with enough water, not too much weight, works well)
--Plied should hang nicely (be balanced) after snapping -- hang without weight.

Admire!
I don't know if these first spinning attempts will be useful for anything other than samples (not not mention, there isn't a lot of it!) but I hope I can conjure up a cute little something to make.

Niddy Noddy

A niddy noddy is a tool used to make skeins from yarn. Skeining is required for both singles and plied yarns in order to set the twist and efficiently manage the yarn if dying it. You can skein yarn around a chair or your arm but using a niddy noddy is one of the handiest tools a spinner and dyer can own.

Here are my notes on how to wind skeins on a Niddy-noddy:
1) Wrap the yarn around each arm of the niddy-noddy without crisscrossing the strands
2) Tie a length of scrap yarn to bridge the gap between the ends
3) Make 4 ties -- one on each side -- and cross the scrap yarn through the skein in the shape of a figure 8. Knot to secure (but not so tight as to create a resist)

My brother-in-law Ray made this very special niddy noddy for me. By listening to my description of what it needs to do and looking at pictures of commercial niddy noddy's, he came up with this ingenious design which incorporates every feature you want in a niddy noddy!

It's made of wood and there are two different sized central bars that can be used. The large central bar measures 77" for one wrap and the small central bar measures 43" for one wrap AND when you pull out one of the end pins out the cross bar drops 1/2" and allows you to easily remove your skein!!!


♥ Thank you Ray! ♥ -- This is something special.

First Spinning Attempts

After the spindle and I decided to take a break from each other, I took a spinning wheel class at Iron Horse Farms. Ahhhh, this is more like it! The spinning wheel and I are kindred spirits.

Here are my first attempts before setting the twist. They are all single ply except for #4 which is a small sample from the plying lesson done during the spinning class.

The details:
#1 Is the yarn I spun using a top-whorl spindle. The roving was given to me by the seller of the spindle and I don't know what kind of wool it is. My first spindle spinning was so bad that I also have a mangled ball of fiber and semi-spun yarn. Maybe I can comb it out and try again? I'll have to research that.

#2 Oh my! This is my very first batch fresh off the bobbin. Seriously, seriously, seriously over spun! The roving was supplied from the spinning class and I don't remember what kind it is. My problem is that I can't draft the fiber as fast as I'm spinning the wheel. It's what to work on.

#3 My second batch of spinning. Looking better! but still over spun. This is 100% Shetland.

#4 The plied sample from class. Since this is the work of my very first wheel spinning and plying .... I LOVE IT! My very own "Designer" yarn. While over spun and under spun, both in the plies and in the plying, it's my first and that's always special.

#5 My third batch of spinning. This was also some sample fiber provided from the spinning class and is a mix of llama and some other wool. While still over spun, this yarn is my most consistent yet. I also found it easier to spin but I don't know if that's about the fiber or experience!

Sally

The spinning wheel that I am learning on is an "Ashford Traveller" and it is on loan from Framingham State College. Sally (I have no idea if she has another given name but Sally is the one she'll be going by this summer!) was a little run down from long periods of inactivity and years of teaching many different students so I took her in to Debbie at Iron Horse Farm for a check-up. Her joints are beginning to separate due to dry wood (she needs to be polished regularly) and the threads on the drive band tension knob had been stripped and needed to be rescored but that was the worst of it. Oiling, tightening nuts and bolts, replacing the whorl tension spring and placing a tack between the drive band knob and wood table took care of the rest of it. Sally is a sturdy and functioning spinning wheel.

I'm ready to learn to spin!

This is the best video I found for wheel spinning:
Spin Worsted-style - The Short Draw

Spindle Spinning

All the books and websites I read recommend that you start learning how to spin by using a drop spindle. Drop spindles have a number of advantages-- they are: 1) Low tech. You don't need a manual to learn how to operate them. 2) Low cost. Spindles can be bought or handmade cheaply. 3) Easily portable. You can toss a spindle and some fiber in your work bag along with your knitting and crocheting.


These are the videos I found most useful for spindle spinning:
Introduction to spinning, Part 1 (Abby Yarns)
Introduction to spinning, Part 2(Abby Yarns)
How To Spin Yarn With a Drop Spindle

So I took the advice and started learning how to use a drop spindle. I tried both the low whorl spindle and the high whorl spindle but I never got out of "park and draft". I spun some yarn but most of it was useless. The drop spindle and I are not friends but we have not given up entirely that a relationship can be developed. Currently we have an agreement that I "go have an extended visit with the spinning wheel and then come back to see if we're compatible".

There are a few reasons why the relationship didn't get off on a good foot. One reason is that I didn't care for the manipulation of a low whorl spindle and my high whorl spindle may be too light for a beginner. Also, I could have given the spindle a little more practice and patience. However, I think the real reason the spindle and I didn't get off to a good start is that I'm a gadget/machine person and I just really, really, really wanted to start playing with the spinning wheel!

Getting Started

I am a huge believer in reading everything I can get my hands on whenever I start a new project. Along with the how-to's, I enjoy reading about the practices and opinions of people doing the craft. I like reading what experts have to say and the tricks that years of experience have taught them. I also like reading what crafter's just starting to learn have done to achieve their "aha--now I get it" moment. Here's a list of the books and websites I used to get started with spinning and dyeing yarn.

Books:

Spinning and Dyeing the Natural Way By Ruth Castino

Spinning Designer Yarns By Diane Varney

Start Spinning: Everything You Need to Know to Make Great Yarn by Maggie Casey

Spinning in the Old Way: How (and Why) To Make Your Own Yarn With A High-Whorl Handspindle by Priscilla A. Gibson-Roberts

Spin to Knit: The Knitter's Guide to Making Yarn by Shannon Okey

Yarns to Dye For: Creating Self-patterning Knitting Yarns by Kathleen Taylor

The Yarn Lover's Guide to Hand Dyeing: Beautiful Color and Simple Knits by Linda LaBelle

Creating Knitwear Designs (Guild of Master Craftsman) by Pat Ashforth and Steve Plummer

Websites:

Fiber Arts Video

ICanSpin.com

Abby's Yarns

The Joy of Handspinning

Social Networking

Ravelry

Ravelry is about the only social networking I use for fiber/needle arts and I found several useful groups for spinning:
Spinner Central
Beginning Spinners
Spindlers

Capstone Experience

The Liberal Studies Program at Framingham State College requires an interdisciplinary research paper or project known as a Capstone Experience. This paper or project is chosen from one or both of the two areas of academic concentration required for a Liberal Studies degree.

Here is the written proposal for my directed study:

Objective of course:
The student intends to explore how yarns were spun and dyed in historical, pre-industrial settings. At present, a number of crafters and hobbyists use non-mechanized, labor-intensive techniques to produce such yarns. Starting with pre-carded fiber, the student intends to carry out the various steps required to produce yarn, and then to use the resulting yarn in the original design and construction of a garment

Description of proposed study:
Spinning:

The student plans to learn how to use drop spindles and spinning wheels to convert fiber roving into both simple yarn and plied yarn that would be suitable for knitting or crocheting by hand. Yarn will be produced in quantities sufficient for both the dyeing experiments and the garment design project.

Dyeing:

Space-dyeing is the name of a technique for producing multicolored yarns, wherein the pattern of color that results is adjusted by varying the lengths of the segments of yarn that are dyed in each of the chosen colors. The student plans to research how the method of dyeing affects the resulting pattern. Space-dyed yarn will be produced in quantities sufficient for the garment design project.

Design and Construction

A garment will be designed and constructed that highlights the characteristics of hand-produced spun and dyed yarns.

So that's what I'll be working on for the rest of this year. I thought I'd throw in a computer element by blogging about my adventures and experiences ..... Yarn-on!