My First Real Pattern!

#1

First let me just give a collective thanks to everyone that has been helping me for the last week or so. I’d be so lost without all of you. :hug:

So as many of you know, I’m a beginner. Lately I’ve been working on a K2 P2 ribbing scarf pattern. Things have gone fairly well, and I’ve learned a lot with this piece. The scarf is nowhere near finished, but I never really intended to finish it - I just wanted some practice. There are really too many mistakes/holes in the work and I feel that spending more time finishing it as a wearable piece is a waste of energy.

Last night I picked up a pair of US 9 (10") metal needles to replace my US 9 (9") bamboo needles. I just couldn’t handle the grabby nature of the wood. The metal needles have been absolutely wonderful thus far.

I’d like to start fresh with a serious piece that I actually plan to wear, so I’ve been looking for scarf patterns.
I managed to find this gem: http://smariek.blogspot.com/2007/06/miranda-scarf.html
I very much enjoy the look of the scarf, and I don’t think it will pose too much of a challenge for me. I’ve viewed the KH cabling videos and I’m pretty sure I can handle it.

But first, a few questions. (You all knew this part was coming.)

  1. The pattern calls for a DK weight yarn using US 7 needles. I don’t really want to ditch my US 9’s already, so would it be possible to increase the yarn weight and just use my current needles?
    I’ve been wanting to use some of the “chunky” yarns I’ve seen - do those count as worsted weight or bulky? Would that type of yarn be suitable for this pattern using US 9 needles?
    (I’m open to any and all suggestions regarding yarn type/brand/etc. I don’t know a lot about yarns so I’m not entirely sure what to look for. I just want something soft and not boring. Is Alpaca yarn hard to work with? It’s so soft!)

  2. The whole WS/RS thing. I’m not sure I understand what it means by “wrong side” or “right side”. If I’m working an entire row from the “wrong side” does that mean I’m just entering the stitches from the back of the knitting? Or am I supposed to be holding my needles in a different orientation?
    Also, the pattern only specifies WS/RS for the first two rows of each section. Does this mean that the remaining rows are assumed to be worked from the “right side”?

  3. Cabling. The pattern explains what “BC” and “FC” mean, and I understand the cabling process, but I’m still slightly confused about the definition in the pattern.
    When it says to slip 2 purl stitches from the cable needle to the left needle, am I slipping those stitches from the [I]left[/I] end of the cable needle or the [I]right[/I]?

  4. Finally, the end of the pattern states to work the following [I]three[/I] rows, however only 2 + a bind off are listed. Is the bind off being considered a third and final row?

I think that’s it for now. Thank you so much for your time! I greatly appreciate the help!

#2

You could use the 9s with DK yarn, it would be a little looser and larger than the original, but that shouldn’t be a problem. You can do a worsted too, but may be larger still. A chunky yarn is a bulky and much thicker than worsted. On size 9s it would make a very stiff and dense scarf. Not light and drapey. I’d stick to DK or worsted weigth.

Think of RS as the side that faces out, and the WS as the inside. If there’s a pattern other than ribs or cable, it will show on the RS. Stockinette is smooth on the RS, and bumpy on the WS. You knit the rows by entering the same way on both sides. On this scarf both sides will be showing and they look the same so it may not matter.

When using a cable needle, you can knit the sts right from it, you don’t have to slip them back to the left needle.

Yes, the BO would be considered a row; the only thing that makes it different from a regular row is that you pass the first st over the next one instead of leaving them all on the right needle.

#3

So when this pattern specifies WS/RS, I’m not doing anything different? That seems a bit odd - why mention the WS/RS business?

For the the BC cabling, do I just work the first two purls from the right end of the cabling needle? I would just treat it as knitting/purling things from my left straight needle, right? (Too many left/rights going on here.)

#4

Because it does make a difference in some patterns. Just follow the pattern and you’ll understand better.

For the the BC cabling, do I just work the first two purls from the right end of the cabling needle? I would just treat it as knitting/purling things from my left straight needle, right? (Too many left/rights going on here.)

Yes.

#5

Oooooh wait a minute. So this pattern is just showing the first two rows as WS/RS because you’re flipping the needles after completing each row. So really you could label every row as WS/RS, but to save time/space/confusion the pattern just omits this notation.

Haha. I think I get it! Thanks. :stuck_out_tongue:

#6

Just to touch on the cables of that pattern - It has you maintain the k2p2 ribbing as you cable by always knitting the knit the knits and purling the purls. So when you start a cable, you slip 4 stitches onto the cable needle, 2 knits, and 2 purls. After you knit 2 from the left needle, you are going to slip the 2 purl stitches from the LEFT of the cable needle, onto the left needle, purl them, then knit the 2 stitches that are still on the cable needle. It’s a handy way of keeping the k2p2 ribbing - you will always be knitting a knit stitch, purling a purl stitch.

#7

The exact CB instructions, so it’s clearer hopefully for those replying (because imo, this is different than a “normal” CB that would span 4 or 6 stitches)

BC (back cross, worked on 6 stitches) = Slip 4 stitches onto CN & hold in back. Knit 2 stitches. Slip 2 stitches from CN to left needle and purl them. Knit 2 from CN.

#8

Oh thanks for that clarification, Wild. I knew there had to be something different about that cable process.

That’s interesting, though, because the current K2 P2 ribbing I’ve been working on results in me knitting the purls and purling the knits.

#9

That’s interesting, though, because the current K2 P2 ribbing I’ve been working on results in me knitting the purls and purling the knits.

I have to reply to this, because as a newbie still myself, the phrase “knit the knits and purl the purls” drove me to the brink the first, oh, 100 times I read/heard it. UNTIL I finally read an epiphany post. You are not knitting the same stitches you knitted the previous row, you are knitting each stitch that LOOKS like a knit stitch when you come to it. So, after you knit a row, and turn it, you are looking at the “back” of the row you just knitted - each knit stitch, on the back, LOOKS like a purl - when you SEE a purl bump, you purl the stitch on the needle above it. Each purl you did, when you come to on the next row (which is the other side) looks like a V, which LOOKS like a knit stitch. So, KKPPKK, when you turn it, LOOKS like PPKKPP so by looking, you can know that what you need to do, to maintain ribbing, is keep the pattern by purling the purls, and knitting the knits.

I type all this because I was seriously beating my head against the desk for awhile, trying to figure how doing the “same” stitch would result in a different look - to me, I thought you were simply re-doing the pattern. Which would mean after kkppkk on row one, i thought the phrase “knit the knits, purl the purls” meant I would knit the SAME stitch that I had knit before - when the truth is, the phrase means you knit what you SEE, not what you DID, and what you SEE, is the OPPOSITE of what you did - oh what a HUGE difference!!!

EDIT: One quick disclaimer, the above is true only for knitting flat :wink:

#10

Well no, it works for knitting in the round too - for ribbing you still knit the knit sts and purl the purls, it’s just doing the same thing as on the previous round. That’s why it’s good to learn what a knit st and a purl st look like, then you won’t have to figure it out in your head, you follow the pattern of the sts you’re working on.

I thought I posted a reply about RS/WS but that must have been when the cat squirmed onto the Power button on the keyboard and shut me down before I posted…

So anyway, generally a pattern will only mention RS on the first row (or WS if that’s how it’s written) and from that you know that all odd numbered rows will be the RS. For this pattern, it may not matter except that maybe you’ll be doing the BC cabling on just the RS so if you get off count, you’ll know which row you should be on. Or later on, it may say something like `ending with a WS row’ so you might do something different on the next row.

#11

I love it when patterns tell me which row is on the right side, because I inevitably get interrupted while knitting. When I come back, sometimes I forget what row I was on (even with a row counter). :roll: Knowing which is the right side REALLY helps me find my place again.