All three afghans in the pictures below were knitted by fellow
Bond List member Ann from Tennessee, aren't they just gorgeous?
The first one shows how beautiful "accidental plaids"
can look when they are incorporated into a garment. Unfortunately, not very
many variegated yarns will produce this pattern when knitted on a certain number
of needles. I sure wish yarn companies could produce a few such ombre yarns
each year to give us Bonders a quick way of making colorful afghans without
changing colors! Yeah!!
Scroll down to the bottom of the page for Ann's Instructions
for this Afghan!
Here is the second beautiful Afghan, this one was made for
a Wedding. Now you know this gift is going to make one Newlywed Couple even
happier!!
Here is Ann's newest afghan, this one is a gift for a 50th
Wedding Anniversary. Like the other two, this is another Masterpiece!
That afghan was made with a Caron ombre. I've had it make that
pattern a couple different times. I also had an ombre I expected to do it not
turn out that way. The teal/fushia/purple/navy combo was in a mill end 1-lb
bag, so I don't know which yarn it was, but it comes in Kolor Match, Sayelle
and Wintuk.
I also got the pattern with a Dazzelaire ombre that ranged
from the white to the very dark green. And I had a baby pastel color combo do
it. (I also had one yarn that was burgundy, navy, hunter green and white refuse
to do it. It gave me a pattern that looked like a flying saucer on edge alternating
with 2 of them up the panel. go figure! But I don't know that it was a Caron
ombre - again it was in an unlabeled bag of mill ends, but out of the same batch
I'd gotten the others in.)
I used KP3 and made the plaid panels 36 sts wide with the 2nd
st in from each edge left out of work to ladder so the joining loops that unravel
later aren't so long and floppy. I made the strips around 390 rows long or whatever
ends the cable nicely.
Bind off the sts between the needles left in NWP so the 2 on
the edges are loose. I had 1 lb of the ombre and I think the same of the solid
and had a little left of each, but not much.
Work 3 ombre panels. Work 2 cabled panels and use that color
for the outside edging strips and the trim on the ends. Leave a 15" tail when
you start and finish a panel and use it to make a bridge between the panels
after you join them for your edging to hang on across the join. Use a crochet
cast on and bind off and you can see the edge sts easily to pick them up for
the edging. The cabled panel is 36 st wide with the 2nd st in from each edge
left in NWP. Also I left the st on either side of the cable in NWP instead of
relatching it.
That cable in the picture was a 4 strand braided cable using
8 sts. *You cross sts 3,4 over 5,6 - then knit 3 rows, cross sts 3,4 over 1,2
and 7,8 over 5,6 - knit 3 rows, repeat the series from *. Start the cable at
least 3 rows from the bottom and you need WY so there is give for the cables.
It is also easier if you knit 2 rows past the crossing row and unravel only
the sts that need to cross, do the cross, then knit back the floats unraveled.
You never lose a stitch and you never have to fiddle with putting needles into
FWP, dropping them, having the carriage jam, etc. I just do 2 rows, then reset
the row counter to zero and remember at the end I have 2 rows more than I need
done. It is a lot less time-consuming to make a plain cable of 4 sts that crosses
every 10 rows. I'll probably never do that braid again, but I do the other a
lot.
The sides were done with a trim piece 6 sts wide. Work 1 piece
with needle 2 in NWP and 1 with needle 5 in NWP so they are mirror images. Make
the strip the same length as the panels. Join the edging reversed so that the
P side is forward and the edging will curl to the front against the curl of
the panel. I used 2 loops from each side in the joining since the loops are
shorter than the one in the basic book that uses 3 loops at a time.
At the ends, I worked a piecrust edging. Starting at one corner,
hang 3 sts of the end of the afghan on 3 needles with the back facing you as
usual. Work 6-8 rows (usually the weight of the afghan is enough to hold it
down, but you can use a small claw weight), then hang the next 3 sts along the
edge on the SAME 3 needles so there are 2 sts on each. You have started a tiny
strip, then tacked its end down right next to itself on the edge. Knit the same
number of rows again to form another tiny strip, then tack it down by hanging
the next 3 sts. Continue across the entire edge, planning your spacing as you
near the far edge so you end right at the corner.
Use the yarn tails to make a bridge across the woven join to
support the edging. I also do that when I crochet an edging on these woven together
panels. Just take a needle and go across the gap a couple times and pull it
so the gap is about what the weaving leaves. It will be shorter than the loops
because they slant. You can also chain a bridge with a crochet hook to go across
the gap.
To join the panels, take a latch tool, slip it under the ladder
between the edge st and the next st in. Pull up gently and several sts will
unravel across 2 rows to form a loop on the tool. Take 2 loops from one panel,
place behind your latch, then get 2 loops from the other panel and pull them
thru the first group of loops. Repeat all the way down the edge. DON'T try to
unravel any loops until you are ready to use them. They will disappear sideways
into the work unless they have a needle holder of some kind thru them.
Crochet cast on: Take a J crochet hook (it makes the loop exactly
the right size for the spacing between the needles.) Make a slip loop on it.
Reach between needles 1 and 2 at the far left edge, bring the yarn around the
outside of the end needle, over it and pull a loop down thru the loop on the
hook so a loop is formed around the needle behind the latches. Move the hook
over to the next space and pull a loop down thru it, so the next needle is encased.
You will have a single strand on the top of the needles and a chain will form
on the underside of them. Place the last loop on the last needle. Work the first
row by hand so you don't drop any sts. (Trust me, it is faster than trying to
repair lost sts or ripping out.)
Crochet bindoff: This is my style bindoff, but I think it is
quicker than any I've seen and matches the cast on, plus it gives and doesn't
draw up. Pull the needles out to HP with the work left in the hooks so you can
get your hand behind it. Take a medium crochet hook or latch tool, twist the
yarn tail around it to form a loop on the shank, then bring the yarn to the
back and insert the hook into the first stitch and pull a loop thru it to the
front. Move over to the next needle and do the same. Repeat across the row.
A chain will form under the hooks. When you remove it from the machine, that
chain will move down to the ends of the last row of sts, just rub them up with
your fingers. Pull the chain a little because your work will draw in some after
it comes off the machine and sets, so the chain needs to stretch just a little
as you work it. I usually use a G hook for that with worsted weight yarn.
