KNITmuch | Issue 06

2
things I learned from my knitted
swatch other than gauge
I embarked on a project to knit
a mitered square blanket out of
Sweet Roll yarn, but I wanted to
do it in stockinette stitch instead
of the traditional garter stitch.
Well, there’s a reason why most
mitered squares are done in
garter stitch. It has to do with
the number of rows versus the
number of stitches you get.
In garter stitch each ridge is
comprised of two rows of knitting
and the ratio is almost exactly
1 garter stitch ridge to 1 stitch,
which makes squares possible.
In stockinette stitch, the ratio
is closer to 4 rows to every 3
stitches, so mitered squares that
are decreased or increased at the
same rate as garter stitch squares
end up looking like diamonds.
I did some math and thought it
was right, but I ended up with
a shape that reminds me of an
awning on a Who-ville house
(from Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch
Stole Christmas). Needless to say,
this swatch is going to the “frog
pond” to be unraveled.
But not all is lost. I learned
two other things from my
attempt.
1) I learned that with chunky
yarn, or at least with 2 strands
of yarn held double, I don’t like
lifted increases. Lifted increases
are where you lift a leg of a stitch
from one or more rows below
the current row and knit into
it to create a new stitch. For a
right-leaning increase you work
into the first leg of the stitch one
row below the loop on the lefthand
needle. For a left-leaning
increase, you work into the
second leg of the stitch two rows
below the loop just knit onto the
right-hand needle.
I decided to do twisted yarn
over increases.
Twisted yarn over increases are
made by adding yarn overs on
the right-side rows and purling
into the yarn-overs on the
wrong-side and twisting the
yarn over stitch. To do this, knit
to where you want the first of a
paired increase to be, yarn-over,
knit to where the next increase
is to be, yarn-over, and continue.
On the return row, at the first
yarn-over, change the orientation
of the loop on the left-hand
needle (if necessary) so that the
first leg is at the front and the
second leg is at the back, then
purl into the back leg. Purl to the
next yarn-over and change the
orientation of the loop on the
left-hand needle (if necessary)
so that the first leg is at the back
of the needle and the second
leg is at the front, then purl into
the front leg. These two different
maneuvers twist the stitch in
opposite directions, which
mirrors the increases to give a
balanced look.
I shine a light on the twisted yarn-over paired increases.
42 KNITmuch | issue 6