the last red ribber scarf...

Take a tuck pattern, add a few rib stitches to make

vertical lines to stabilize the fabric, start off with a full needle rib hem with the racked cast-on, transfer to stitch pattern needle arrangement, add extra stitches on rib bed for tucked longstitch facings at edges to finish sides - you should be a ribber expert by the end of this! Hope you've been at least making swatches from the previous scarf patterns because you'll need some of the previous techniques - I warned that you might learn something!

FNR hem: Swing H5, all ns working, both beds. End ns on MB (one extra on MB than on RB). Cast on WY, T4/4, K1R. Hang comb and one large weight in centre. Knit several rows. Set for circular and knit ravel cord in circular, 2 rows. CAR, set to knit both beds, both ways. RC000. Bring all needles out. MC, T3/3, K1R. Rack to H4, bring all needles out. T4/4, K1R. Rack H5. T5/5, K1R. T6/6, knit to RC008. T7/7, K1R. Swing P4. Transfer to MB, leaving 2 sts on RB as below:
Tuck Rib - all in work on MB; 10 out, 2 in work on RB. (see below stitch pat. chart)

Set back to Swing H. CAL. T8/5, K1R (Brother, use this row to read/select pattern). Cancel patterning for the 4 outside edge stitches where the longstitch is. CAR. Set to tuck rib:

Silver: set pattern to begin, punch card, release card. Electronic, inspection lite off. MB, cam lever to tuck, side levers back at triangle; RB, pick knob on tuck symbol, left set lever on 1, right set lever on 0.
Brother: set pattern to begin. MB, both tuck buttons in; RB, left cam lever down  to N, tucking lever to P, right tucking lever up to P-R.
Tuck pattern: 24 st X 18 row repeat.
SilverReed DAK enter as shown, white squares are tucked stitches, have main /X on white square
Brother, enter as shown.
TIP: for this stitch pattern, if needle selection and needle arrangement is correct, there will be a tucked stitch on the main bed between the 2 rib stitches after the first row of pattern is knit.
Set to H5 and bring ns on ribber to work so outside ns are on ribber - one more than knit bed. Cast waste yarn in zigzag, hang comb and 1 large weight. Knit several rows, ending CAR. Switch to circular for the ravel cord, K2R. Cancel circular.  Rack to H4. RC000. Main yarn, T1/1, K1R. Rack to H5, T2/2, K1R. T3/3, K1R. T4/4, knit in FNR to RC010. CAR. Download pattern (read punchcard or set up for pattern knitting as above).
Leaving 4 sts at each side for tucked longstitch facing, transfer RB sts to main bed except for the 2 either side of the vertical tuck line in stitch pattern that will be at #6Left and #7Right if you are using my stitch pattern.
Knit desired length, ending at suitable place in pattern (middle of a diamond) CAR. Cancel tuck on both beds, K1R. Swing P, fill in empty ns on RB with heel stitch from MB. Swing H, T4/4, K8R. T9/9+, K1R.
Use WY in circular to end as for the Archaeology Scarf...

This is my last ribber scarf - I'll post the final pattern tomorrow or the next - I've run out of suitable red yarn so that's it for the ribber stuff! oh yeah, if you need/want the DAK file, email me at knitwords@shaw.ca

 

archaeology...

I was digging up bones and my knitting room is littered with scraps of false starts! The red lace weight alpaca I was planning to use was either breaking randomly - not sure whether certain balls of that yarn were just like that - not very strong or what,  but my first attempt got me to about row 40 and then everything dropped. The next one, I got to about row 150 and it all fell because the yarn broke again. I then tried adding in a very thin spandex/lycra thread as a binder. The first one was ivory and it worked but the colour showed too much. I had a grey lycra that worked nicely and blended well, so I started again with that and got to about row 200 when the red alpaca broke halfway across, but I couldn't rehang from just the lycra. I abandoned that idea and yarn and switched to the red cotton from my last scarf (Quilted Northern). I was zipping along and about row 500 I messed up and instead of just switching the ribber tension dial, I flipped up the set lever (like for circular knitting -what was I thinking???) and on the second pass, it began dropping off the ribber stitches! Fudge, honey and sugar! I quit for the day!
I began again this morning with a fresh perspective and knocked the whole scarf off in an hour. It's pretty easy once you learn to count to 25 and you're fresh! There are built-in signals between times to change it up. There are always 5 rows of the pintuck, beginning on the right. Then, with the carriage at left, switch the rib dial back to main tension and set to tuck. The first row of each tuck section is a plain row and even if you forget to switch back to tuck it knits both beds anyway because of the plain row in the stitch pattern. The sound of the carriage should alert you to change. At the end of the 23 rows of  tuck patterning, there is another plain row, to eliminate any tucks and make the pintuck clean and you should notice a change in the sound the carriage makes between the tuck rows - the tick, tick tick of the tucks - and then solid, (no ticks) for the plain. So I'm calling the May ribber scarf:
Archaeology Scarf  (Red Scarf  for Aids Awareness)
Machine: 4.5mm standard gauge with ribber. Knit on Silver Reed 580/SRP60N
Yarn: red 2 ply (3/14) cotton,  2900m/350g (would be T2-3 stockinette) or any light weight yarn that knits a full needle rib comfortably.
Gauge: Not really critical but 50 sts and 60 rows of tuck and pintuck as above, T4/4 = 15 cm X 13 cm.
Insert close knit bar. See previous post for stitch chart.
Punchcard: punch in reverse to shown: make holes for all the white squares and leave black squares unpunched. Add double row of holes top and bottom to join card. SilverReed punchcard: Lock card on row 1. Read card. CAR. Unlock card. *Set cam lever to slip, side levers to triangle. T4/8, knit 5 rows ( rib bed only - makes pintuck); set cam to tuck, T4/4, K25R*. SilverReed electronic: make mylar as shown, lite #1 right is on, N1 cam at 0, point cams at edge of ns in work. *set to S/J (slip). T4/8, knit 5 rows ( rib bed only - makes pintuck); set cam to tuck, T4/4, K25R*. Brother electronic: enter as shown and use KHC light on, to select opposite needles for patterning. *Both slip buttons in. T4/8, knit 5 rows ( rib bed only - makes pintuck); set both tuck buttons in to tuck, T4/4, K25R*.
Repeat this *-* 30 row sequence throughout for all machines.

Bring 25-0-25 ns to work on main bed. Set to H5 and bring ns on ribber to work so outside ns are on ribber - one more than knit bed. Cast waste yarn in zigzag, hang comb and 1 large weight. Knit several rows, ending CAR. Switch to circular for the ravel cord, K2R. Cancel circular. RC000. Main yarn, T1/1, K1R. Rack to H4, T2/2, K1R. Rack back to H5. T3/3, K1R. T4/4, knit in FNR to RC010. CAR. Download pattern (read punchcard or set up for pattern knitting as above). Knit 840 rows or desired length (150 cm/5 ft) and end with last pintuck. FNR, T3/3, K7R. T2/2, K1R. T1/1, K1R, ending CAL. Transfer all to main bed. Measure out 3X width of ns in work, cut yarn and backstitch cast off (or do the one you like best from the previous scarves). Darn in ends.
If you have any questions or problems, please email me at knitwords@shaw.ca

Analysis: This is a very cool fabric, quite stretchy width-wise, compared to last one! I love the mixed textures and I'll be using it again for something, maybe a slouchy pullover in a lightweight cotton or alpaca - it has a good width to it and the resulting fabric is relatively thin and lightweight with good body...or I could break out the WCD again...
Red scarf for Aids Awareness count: 6

you'll love this

I do! Rhiana, my granddaughter, is such a cutie! and a real little clothes-horse! I showed her this new cardi and she begged to put it on immediately - even though summer finally arrived and it’s pretty warm here (and the buttons are not on yet)!

This is a version of the coat/dress (see May 17/11 - Previews) that I made for myself to wear in Portland. I did another adult version - long sleeved, tunic length - that will be part of the fall ‘serial stuff’ and I thought it would be a great ‘school’ cardigan for Rhiana - she’s going to JK in the fall - wow, where did that time go??? Anyway, I also thought it would make a great trial pattern for knitters who are new to tuck ribs - it’s actually a pretty quick knit, with tons of techniques, to get you up to speed with your double bed and a slew of putting-together-on-the-machine stuff - I’m writing up the girl pattern in 3 sizes (4, 6 and 8 yrs) and it will be a free-bee along with the adult version. Mine is done with Yeoman Yarns Panama in green/khaki (name pending - Green Geezer; Shrek-ed Out; Green Is Not Just For Ogers).

I do like the idea of using the child-size pattern to get you ready for the adult version - it is a little stripped down to ease you into the full-blown techniques of the ladies’ cardi and besides the tuck rib thing, topics include seaming purl side fabrics, both by hand and on the machine; tubular band with vertical buttonholes, attached on the machine (you’ll be amazed); tips on making one cone of yarn go farther and using leftovers; and more...

We had a movie night - Shrek the Third - it was a winner!
PS - this is my 100th blog-posting!! more fireworks, please!