My interest in knitting
has been kept alive over the years by the
almost infinite variety of color, pattern,
and texture that is found in collections
of knitters and museums around the world.
Although I love the smooth, quiet repetition
of knitting a rectangular scarf in garter
stitch using a luxurious yarn, it is the
endless diversity of technique and style
that keeps me interested in knitting as
more than a way to keep my hands busy while
watching TV.
“It’s a
dangerous business, Frodo, going out your
door. You step onto the road, and if you
don’t keep your feet, there’s
no knowing where you might be swept off
to.”
--from The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Made in the USA For those of us who live in the Western hemisphere,
sumptuous fibers spun into luxurious yarns
in faraway places touch our imaginations the
way "Made in the USA" never can. Traveling
in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America
sounds sexy and exciting. And it is. But traveling
closer to home can be exciting as well. The
simple pleasures of your local yarn shop can
be as rewarding as booths full of strange spices,
unknown fruits, and brightly colored textiles
in an exotic market. It's all in how you look
at it.
"I'm staying home this year," I say.
"But didn't you go...to Oklahoma? ...to North
Carolina? ...to Sock Summit in Oregon?"
"I'm staying home this year."
"But aren't you going...
on a knitting cruise? ...to California for
Interweave Knitting Lab? ...to Vancouver?
...to visit your relatives Back East?
"I'm staying home this year. In North America."
Now, let me make one thing perfectly clear,
I'm not about to stop traveling any time soon.
But my alter ego Euro Donna has finally learned
how to live with the firstborn me, born in
the USA. Although at first we went together
about as well as oil and vinegar or chalk and
cheese, we've grown to complement each other
over the seasons of long-distance travel and
those of cocooning at home. And this year that
means, I'm staying in North America.
In some ways knitting traditions in the Americas
are even richer than those in Old World countries.
With immigrants from around the world bringing
their traditional clothing designs, color sensibilities,
and knitting techniques to the melting pot
that is America, a unique blend of styles has
evolved into something new.
When knitting was brought to South America
by the Spanish, the Andean people already
had longstanding spinning and weaving traditions.
Today, in the mountains of Peru, Bolivia,
Chile, Argentina, and Ecuador, men and women
use both natural fiber and synthetic yarns
to knit brightly colored chullo caps,
many different styles of small purses, and
winter accessories.
In the Pacific Northwest, knitting was
introduced to the Coast Salish peoples by
missionaries. Using very thick yarn, spun
tightly and also knitted at a tight gauge,
local knitters created wind- and water-proof
sweaters that could serve as winter coats
in much of the United States. The earliest
sweaters were made with one color but those
that are well-known today are decorated with
pictorial colorwork motifs.
In New England, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland
knitted mittens, along with other cold-weather
accessories, became local works of art. Some
mittens were decorated with color patterns
brought over by different immigrant groups
from Northern Europe, while others were made
in solid colors and felted or had "thrums"
(tufts of unspun wool) knitted in as a lining.
All of these New World knitters modified the
designs introduced by Europeans to suit their
own needs and tastes. If you find a pattern
you like but it doesn't seem exactly right
for your design, why not try your hand at making
your own tweaks. You can change the number
of colors used, make the repeat larger or smaller
(this is especially easy with geometric patterns),
and even add new elements, such as small diamonds,
crosses, or lines between and around the main
motifs, to completely change the look.
Here's
how:
This pattern, known as Fox
and Geese in the
United States and Canada, has been used in
an identical form as well as in many variations
around the world.
The traditional Fox
and Geese pattern
is knitted with 3 colors.
When worked with 2 colors, this same
pattern is sometimes called "Spider’s
Web."
Although simple geometric designs with horizontal
and diagonal lines intersecting is ubiquitous
wherever knitting is found, knitters in each
corner of the world have a unique take on the
arrangement of the individual design elements
and use two or three colors to change the design
in simple, but striking ways.
One of the most fun parts of working with
traditional ethnic designs is tweaking charts
and pattern stitches to suit your own design.
I've included several examples of variations
of the Fox and Geese pattern, and these examples
should give you some ideas for playing with
patterns on your own. You can easily draw new
charts on graph paper, or color squares in
a spreadsheet on your computer, or use special
knitting-chart software.
Here are some of the variations
of Fox and Geese that I found in my knitting books:
This version of the six-stitch repeat
is known as "Noughts
and Crosses."
I found this two-color variation of the
pattern in knitting book from Poland.
These versions of the pattern were used by Turkish knitters.
When
three colors are worked in a row, third color is sometimes added with
duplicate stitch.
Enlarging the pattern to an eight-stitch
repeat allows for further variations.
The
most basic version is known as "Compass
and Rose."
In Lithuania Compass
and Rose is knitted
with three colors,
although knitters don’t
have a special name for this pattern.
In the Norwegian
"Spinning Wheel" motif
the vertical and horizontal lines
are part
of the background, which isolates the individual
motifs.
In Scandinavia and South America, even larger
variations have been used.
This "Cat’s Paw" design was likely derived
from the Spinning Wheel design.
This design, known as the "Coca
Leaf"
pattern in the Andes has many other names
around the world.
While European knitters normally made mittens with pointed
tips or by dividing the stitches into three or four equal
sections for decreasing, I've used the North American style
of maintaining the pattern all the way to the tip.
My version
uses the Lithuanian three-color variation
of Compass and Rose. All three (yes, three)
mittens use the same chart, but I changed the sequence of
colors for each, resulting in a trio that uses an equal
amount of each yarn.
The mittens are made in such a way that they can be worn
on either hand so, should you lose a mitten,
it's really no loss!
MATERIALS
Yarn Simply
Socks, Hand Dyed Solid Sock Yarn [80% superwash wool/20%
nylon; 175 yd per 50g skein]; 1 [1, 1]
skein each of: Silver Lining, Burgundy and Turquoise
Recommended needle size [always use a needle
size that gives you the gauge
listed below -- every knitter's
gauge is unique] 1
set US #2 /2.75mm needles 1
set US #4/3.5mm needles
Notions scrap
yarn yarn
needle
GAUGE
32 sts/32 rounds = 4 inches in stockinette
stitch over stranded color knitting
PATTERN NOTES [Knitty's list of standard abbreviations and techniques can be found here.]
Make 3 mittens alike but change the color
sequence as desired – designate one yarn as A, one as B, as
C. The A color is the one used for the widest stripes in the
ribbing, the C color is the one that is used only once in the
ribbing.
You can copy my color arrangements, or choose your own.
Do not cut the yarns when not in use, but rather, run the
unused colors up the inside of the mitten loosely.
Ribbing Pattern Round 1: [K2, p2] around.
Charts The charts for this
pattern are very large and fit on a letter-sized
page.
Click here and print the resulting page.
DIRECTIONS
CUFF
With smaller needles and A, cast on 48[56,
64] sts. Join to work in the round being careful not to twist
stitches.
Work in Ribbing Pattern in the following stripe sequence:
A: 12 rounds
B: 4 rounds
C: 4 rounds
B: 4 rounds
A: 12 rounds
Start Hand & Setup Pattern:
Change to larger needles.
Join B and C and work Rows 2-8 of colorwork
chart once.
Thumb Gore Shaping : Thumb Gore round: Work Thumb
Gore chart over first 8 sts of round,
place marker; work Colorwork chart to
end of round.
Continue in pattern as set until row 9 of Thumb Gore chart
is complete. 64[72, 80] sts – 16 sts between start of
round and marker.
Size L only: Next round: Using C m1, work
in colorwork pattern as set over 16 sts,
using C m1, work to end of round in colorwork
pattern as set. 18 sts between start
of round and marker.
Next round: Using C, m1, k1;
work in colorwork pattern as set over
16 sts, using C k1, m1; work to end of
round in colorwork pattern as set. 20
sts between start of round and marker—84
sts total.
All sizes: Continue in pattern as set until you have worked
3 repeats of the Colorwork chart.
Make thumb opening: Slip the first 16[16, 20] sts
to scrap yarn and CO 8 sts over gap.
HAND
Work even in color pattern as established
until 3[3, 4] repeats of chart are complete above the thumb
opening.
Tip Shaping:
Work Fingertip chart, omitting chart rows
14-19 for sizes S and L. After all rows of chart complete,
7[8, 9] sts remain.
Break yarn. Thread tail through remaining
sts and pull to close.
THUMB
Remove scrap yarn and place thumb sts on
needles. Distribute across your needles as you prefer.
With RS facing, rejoin yarn.
Sizes S + M only: Round 1: Work across 16 sts
following row 1 of Colorwork chart. Pick
up and knit 8 sts over CO sts of palm,
following chart. 24 sts.
Work in Colorwork pattern as set until
2 full repeats have been completed. Work rows 1-6 once
more. Cut C. Next rnd: With A, k2tog around. 12 sts. Next rnd: With B, k2tog around. 6 sts.
Break yarn. Thread tail through remaining
sts and pull to close.
Size L only: Round 1: Using B k2, work across
16 sts following row 1 of Colorwork chart,
using B k2. Pick up and knit 8 sts over
CO sts of palm, following chart. 28
sts.
Work in pattern as set until 2 full repeats
have been completed. Work rows 1-6 once more. Cut C. Next rnd: With A, [k5, k2tog] 4 times. 24 sts. Next rnd: With A, k2tog around. 12 sts. Next rnd: With B, k2tog around. 6 sts. Break
yarn. Thread tail through remaining sts and pull gently to close.
FINISHING
Weave in ends, closing holes at base of thumb if needed.
On the cuff, weave in the ends vertically on the wrong side of the ribbing.
If you weave in the ends horizontally, you might stretch and distort the
ribbing and reduce its elasticity. Don't worry that you are not working
each end solely into stitches knitted with the same color.
Wash and lay flat to dry. Steam lightly with a hot iron if necessary to
help even out the texture of the colorwork.
