Le Tissier Designs

Of Larks and Linnets and Flying Fingers

Tag: I-cord Bind-off

  • Squared Off

    Squared Off

    A square is a pretty simple shape, but it hold so many possibilities. For a knitter a square is often a nuisance, an “I told you so!” and “…really, do I have too!”

    And yes “Really you do! Or should!”

    I swatch a lot. As a designer it is really important to understand the yarn chosen, what it can and cannot do and make sure before you start that the results will be as expected. So I swatch. And I make a lot of squares to find the perfect yarn for the project in my head.

    Sometimes my swatches are not square – they are round! They are hats! Loads and loads of hats! Elizabeth Zimmermann often swatched a hat to test out a circular gauge. Someone always needs a hat! But most of my swatches are square.

    This morning I finished another swatch. This one isn’t just square. This one has dimensions, this one has “POUF!” It is a Poufy swatch for a Poufy Vest. A new Spring Class that I am developing! While knitting this swatch and thinking about the class I came up with a couple of ideas for using this particular swatch. So I have created a little pattern to go with my list of uses!

    The Gallery below might help with your process as you try one of these squares out!

    I hope that you give this a try. It has been fun and wait till you see what this is a swatch for!

    Happy Knitting

    Lynette

    These are the East Coast Mittens – don’t they look like fun. Click on the photo below for the Ravelry link.

  • I-cord Bind-off

    I-cord Bind-off

    Companion video for the Beach Bucket hat pattern.

    An i-cord bind-off creates a very defined edge with almost no give. It is perfect for adding stability any edge that needs a little extra something to keep everything together. It is also a very strong edge and was often used in traditional sweaters, such as Fishermen Ganseys, at shoulder joins to help those seams keep their shape.

    In the Beach Bucket pattern I am using the I-cord bind-off in a contrasting colour to both highlight the edge and define its shape.

    The video will give you an understanding of how to create the I-cord to start the bind-off and the basic steps of the bind-off.

    Happy learning, happy knitting!

    Lynette