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 by Heather Farley
 This is a pattern I first came up with over 10 years ago in high school, but abandoned quickly because I wasn't sure how to go about designing. I loved Pi and everything about math, so of course, I thought I should knit a skirt that incorporates the mathematical constant Pi, the prime numbers, and the Fibonacci sequence! This skirt is knit as a long strip that is then seamed together into a spiral. The waist is high so that you can see all the digits of Pi even while wearing an untucked t-shirt. This skirt is designed to the size and length that you want: Pi is irrational and will continue for as long as you need! The skirt is black and white, reminiscent of old DOS computers. To add color, every prime-th digit is blue. The primes numbers are the numbers which can't be divided into smaller numbers and consist of 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, … That means that second, third, fifth, eleventh, thirteenth, seventeenth, etc., digits of Pi are blue (head nod to blue screen of death). The width of the strip increases by one stitch whenever your row count is one of the Fibonacci numbers. The Fibonacci sequence is the sequence of numbers starting with 0 and 1 so that each number is the sum of the previous two numbers: 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, etc. See how 8+13 = 21, 21 + 13 = 34, etc. To make it easier, I've included a list of digits of Pi with the prime-th digits colored blue and a list of the first few Fibonacci numbers; it's unlikely you will need to go higher than that! |
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 model: Heather Farley photos: Adeline Lambert |
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SIZE |
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FINISHED MEASUREMENTS |
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MATERIALS Notions |
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GAUGE |
| 22 sts/32 rows = 4 inches in stockinette stitch with US #5/3.75mm 24 sts/34 rows = 4 inches in pattern stitch US #4/3.5mm |
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PATTERN NOTES |
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Skirt is worked flat and then seamed in a spiral. Adding the waistband is done in the round. The final border on the bottom is worked in rows. The number "Pi" starts at your right hip and you can make the skirt as long as you'd like, finishing so that the "end" of Pi stops in front of your right leg. Directions for Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off can be found here. |
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Charts The charts for this pattern are very large and fit on a letter-sized page. Click here and print the resulting page. |
DIRECTIONS
Cast on 2 stitches in MC onto needles for working flat. Row 1 [RS]: k1, kfb. 1 st increased. Row 2 [WS]: P. Row 3 [RS]: K1, m1r, k to end. 1 st increased. Repeat Rows 2-3 until 20 rows have been completed, ending with a WS row. 12 sts. Next row [RS]: Work Pi Chart across. From here, you will work the Pi Chart, placing the numbers in the last 11 sts of the RS rows/first 11 sts of the WS rows. Once you've completed the Pi Chart, your numbers are set. From here, work the digits of Pi, following the Numbers Chart. When your strip of Pi (slice of Pi?) is 40[42, 46, 50, 54, 59, 61] inches long, steam block your wedge. Attach the tail of your strip under the 3.14… part so that the circumference of the resulting circle/waistband is 36[38, 42, 46, 50, 55, 57] inches. *Knit 12 inches of the wedge. 
The beginning of Pi (3.14...) will sit at the right hip bone. The end of the strip will hit at the middle of your right leg. When you have enough digits, add ellipses (...) at the end. The chart for the ellipses' point is on row 62 of the numbers chart. Knit 6 rows. Waistband
Work ribbing as set for 3 inches. Eyelet round: [K2, yo, p2tog] around. Bind off, using Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind-off. Scallop Edging With RS facing, working with largest circular needles, rejoin MC at corner where the end meets the spiral above. Pick up and knit a multiple of 13 stitches along on the bottom edge. Work back and forth. Continue until chart is complete. BO, using largest needle in your right hand to work the stitches, to ensure a loose and even edge. Waist tie |
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FINISHING Wear with a slip and enjoy your Pi Day! (3/14/15). |
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| ABOUT THE DESIGNER |
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Pattern & images © 2014 Heather Farley. Contact Heather |
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