Saturday, November 04, 2006

Beowulf: For Your KNitting Pleasure

So as I said, I'd write up my Beowulf pattern. I'd just like to say that this IS my first written pattern, and I misplaced a few of my notes (for the Tapered End Caps), so I'm sure there are a number of errors. I fear there are also mistakes in the Cable Repeats B and C, but I THINK I did it right... Oh whatever, if you can udnerstand my pattern at all, you're smart enough to figure out any mistake I may have made. That being said, if you find any errors, from typing to gross pattern, do let me know? I wish I had photos to illustrate some things, but it's been raining nearly non-stop for the last three days, I have no idea when it will stop, and I don't want to wait to put this up. Please only use this for personal use, yadda yadda and... Happy knitting! As an(other) aside, if anything needs clarification, further explanation or anything, leave a comment either here or e-mail me, and I'll try to help. Lemme know what you think!

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PATTERN
Beowulf

SIZE
Just the one, assuming you follow all directions. It is very easy to make longer or shorter. Width is tricky to change.

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Length: Looks like somewhere in the 6’6” range.
Width: ~6” (but it stretches out really wide, I am a highly inexperienced blocker)

MATERIALS
2+ balls of Van Dyck in red. There wasn’t much used of the 3rd ball. (Gosh, I hope it wasn’t one more than I remember…)
I think… 6mm needles?

GAUGE
About 4sts/1.25” But honestly, it’s a scarf, the dimension are large enough that even it shrinks by a foot, or maybe even 2, it’s not a disaster.

PATTERN NOTES
-The whole project was fairly made up as I went, so the directions I’ll give with result is (hopefully) a nicer looking scarf.
-This might not be the best pattern to learn how to cable on, but I did, so who knows.
-You will need to use a provisional cast-on of some sort, be it knit or crochet. Well, I’m sure some clever person out there can figure out how to do it without, but I tacked on my tapered end caps as an afterthought, so this is how I did it.
- On my scarf, I was a moron. I worked those 3 outside stitches in stockinette. I realized my error too late, so continued with the “design element”, and at the end “flattened” the sides by flipping the stockinette over onto itself and seaming it down. In the end, I really like the extra weight added by the “rolled edge”. In this pattern, I’ve written them do knitted in garter stitch, which will give you a wider scarf (by about an inch I imagine), though you can be like me and choose to alter it after.
- The cable is really meant to be repeated. The result of this is that the ass-end of the cable will be left uncabled unless you adjust the design (which I have included). Again, I noticed this too late and it became a “design element”, as such I will include 2 different designs: my scarf, and what I actually had in mind. Although I sort of prefer mine.
-The alternate (correct) version only differs in the End sections (1 and 5), and is marked by the “correct” repeat bolded and in parenthesis.
-Cable Repeats are written out at end of pattern.

DIRECTIONS
Cast on 32 stitches using any manner of provisional cast-on. (Optionally, just cast on flat if you do not want any sort of ends)

Section 1 (End)
Work Cable Repeat A (B)
Work 8 rows of ribbing (knit the knits and purl the purls as you see them)
Work Cable Repeat A (B)



Section 2 (Long boring ribbed section)
Work 80 rows of ribbing, cabling each 8th (RS) row. Here I flipped a coin for some “chaos theory”. I flipped for each of the 3 cables to decide whether to cable then, and if so, then again to decide which direction left or right). This gives a result of certain cables being snaked, some cabled, some going for long straight stretches, etc… Yes I fudged it now and then. It would look excellent with a more structured system as well, although I would not suggest cabling more often than every 8th row, as the design is structured around 8-row repeats. But then again, it might look amazing.

Section 3 (Neckband) (the same for both patterns)
Work Cable Repeat A
Work Cable Repeat B
Work 8 rows of ribbing
Work Cable Repeat B
Work 8 rows of ribbing
Work Cable Repeat A
Work Cable Repeat B

Section 4 (Long boring ribbed section #2)
Same as Section 2

Section 5 (End #2)
Work Cable Repeat C (B)
Work 8 rows of ribbing
Work Cable Repeat C (B)

Section 6a (Tapered End Cap)
*note* C4B every 4th (RS) row (3 times) on the knit portions (there are 3, they are the cables)
Work in ribbing as set, K2tog at the start of each row for 8 rows
Work in ribbing as set, K2tog at the start and end of each row for 6 rows
BO fairly loosely, as the scarf has a lot of stretch, might as well try to keep it uniform

Section 6b
Pick up 32 stitches from provisional CO
*note* C4B every 4th (RS) row (3 times) on the knit portions (there are 3, they are the cables)
Work in ribbing as set, K2tog at the start of each row for 8 rows
Work in ribbing as set, K2tog at the start and end of each row for 6 rows
BO fairly loosely, as the scarf has a lot of stretch, might as well try to keep it uniform


FINISHING
Weave in your ends.
Optional: Pull a me and seam the edges over. Not at all necessary.

Cable Repeats
Cable Repeat A
Row 1: k3, (p4, k4) 2 times, p4, k3
Row 2: p3, (c4b, p4) 2 times, c4b, p3
Row 3: Same as row 1
Row 4: p2, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, (sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 form cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn) 2 times, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p2
Row 5: k2, p2, k3, p4, k4, p4, k3, p2, k2
Row 6: p1, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p3, c4f, p4, c4b, p3, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p1
Row 7: k1, p2, (k4, p4) 2 times, k4, p2, k1
Row 8: p1, k2, p3, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 form cn, p3, k2, p1
Row 9: k1, (p2, k3) 2 times, p4, (k3, p2) 2 times, k1
Row 10: p1, (k2, p3) 2 times, c4b, (p3, k2) 2 times, p1
Row 11: Same as row 9
Row 12: p1, k2, p3, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from sn, p3, k2, p1
Row 13: Same as row 7
Row 14: p1, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p3, c4f, p4, c4b, p3, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p1
Row 15: Same as row 5
Row 16: p2, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, (sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn) 2 times, sl 1 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p2

Cable Repeat B (note, this is just Cable repeat A, with Rows 1&2 added onto the end)
Row 1: k3, (p4, k4) 2 times, p4, k3
Row 2: p3, (c4b, p4) 2 times, c4b, p3
Row 3: Same as row 1
Row 4: p2, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, (sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 form cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn) 2 times, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p2
Row 5: k2, p2, k3, p4, k4, p4, k3, p2, k2
Row 6: p1, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p3, c4f, p4, c4b, p3, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p1
Row 7: k1, p2, (k4, p4) 2 times, k4, p2, k1
Row 8: p1, k2, p3, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 form cn, p3, k2, p1
Row 9: k1, (p2, k3) 2 times, p4, (k3, p2) 2 times, k1
Row 10: p1, (k2, p3) 2 times, c4b, (p3, k2) 2 times, p1
Row 11: Same as row 9
Row 12: p1, k2, p3, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from sn, p3, k2, p1
Row 13: Same as row 7
Row 14: p1, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p3, c4f, p4, c4b, p3, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p1
Row 15: Same as row 5
Row 16: p2, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, (sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn) 2 times, sl 1 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p2
Row 17: k3, (p4, k4) 2 times, p4, k3
Row 18: p3, (c4b, p4) 2 times, c4b, p3

Cable Repeat C (note, this is just Cable Repeat A, with Rows 1&2 moved to the end)
Row 1: k3, (p4, k4) 2 times, p4, k3
Row 2: p2, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, (sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 form cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn) 2 times, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p2
Row 3: k2, p2, k3, p4, k4, p4, k3, p2, k2
Row 4: p1, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p3, c4f, p4, c4b, p3, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p1
Row 5: k1, p2, (k4, p4) 2 times, k4, p2, k1
Row 6: p1, k2, p3, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 form cn, p3, k2, p1
Row 7: k1, (p2, k3) 2 times, p4, (k3, p2) 2 times, k1
Row 8: p1, (k2, p3) 2 times, c4b, (p3, k2) 2 times, p1
Row 9: Same as row 7
Row 10: p1, k2, p3, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from sn, p3, k2, p1
Row 11: Same as row 5
Row 12: p1, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, p3, c4f, p4, c4b, p3, sl 1 st onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p1
Row 13: Same as row 3
Row 14: p2, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p1, k2 from cn, (sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p2 from cn, sl 2 sts onto cn and hold at front, p2, k2 from cn) 2 times, sl 1 sts onto cn and hold at back, k2, p1 from cn, p2
Row 15: k3, (p4, k4) 2 times, p4, k3
Row 16: p3, (c4b, p4) 2 times, c4b, p3

2 comments:

Lexy Girl said...

That is one heck of a pattern fella. Very nice, I just might give it a try.

Michael said...

I'm hoping to get some useful photos tomorrow (no more rain! but I have work all day in a few minutes). I also intend to chart out the cables.