Veronica had asked for a glossary of terms, so that's what I thought I would teach. We had another great night; 13 knitters -- 14 if we count baby Gwyn and 15 if we count Ashley, who was late because of school. We do miss her when she's not there!
So, here's the lesson for the evening, plus a pattern for a Zig-Zag cloth that uses some of the terms:
K – knit
P – purl
CO – cast on (unless a certain cast on is specified in the pattern, use your favorite, or what seems to work best with the pattern)
BO - bind off
Dec – decrease (again, this can be done several ways, and may be specified in the pattern)
Inc – increase
YO – yarn over; to take the yarn around the right hand needle before working the next stitch (when doing a yo on a purl side row, or before a purl stitch, pass the yarn to the back over the right needle, and then back to the front, then purl the next stitch.)
K2tog – a decrease, in which you knit the next two stitches together as one (Leans toward the right)
P2tog – a decrease, in which you purl the next two stitches together as one
Ktbl – knit through the back of the loop you will pass your right needle through the back side of the next stitch from right to left. You will then complete the knit stitch as usual.Ptbl – purl through the back of the loop. You will pass your right needle through the back side of the next stitch from left to right, then to the front. You will then complete the purl stitch as usual.Kfb - knit into the front and back of stitch. This is an increase; knit into the front, as usual, then before removing stitch from the left needle, knit again into the back loop, then remove both stitches to the right needle. 1 stitch increased
M1 – make one. This is another increase. Insert left needle, from front to back, under strand of yarn which runs between last stitch on left needle and first stitch on right needle; knit this stitch through back loop. 1 stitch increased.
Sl – slip a stitch from left to right without knitting or purling it (you may be asked to “sl as if to knit” or “sl as if to purl”, meaning you would insert your needle as if to do those)
Psso – pass the slipped stitch over
Ssk - slip two stitches as if to knit, then knit those two together (Leans toward the left)
Ssp – slip two stitches as if to purl, then purl those two together
Yf – yarn forward (bring working yarn to the front)
YB – yarn back (bring working yarn to the back)
( ) - work instructions between parentheses, in the place directed
* * - repeat instructions between asterisks, as directed
“ – inches
oz. – ounces
mm - millimeter
Others:
Dpn – double-pointed needle
Cab – cable
Cont - continue
Beg – beginning
RH – right hand
LH – left hand
Pat – pattern
PM – place marker
Prev – previous
Rep – repeat
RS – right side
WS – wrong side
St (sts) – stitch or stitches
Yd – yard
Yn - yarn
P – purl
CO – cast on (unless a certain cast on is specified in the pattern, use your favorite, or what seems to work best with the pattern)
BO - bind off
Dec – decrease (again, this can be done several ways, and may be specified in the pattern)
Inc – increase
YO – yarn over; to take the yarn around the right hand needle before working the next stitch (when doing a yo on a purl side row, or before a purl stitch, pass the yarn to the back over the right needle, and then back to the front, then purl the next stitch.)
K2tog – a decrease, in which you knit the next two stitches together as one (Leans toward the right)
P2tog – a decrease, in which you purl the next two stitches together as one
Ktbl – knit through the back of the loop you will pass your right needle through the back side of the next stitch from right to left. You will then complete the knit stitch as usual.Ptbl – purl through the back of the loop. You will pass your right needle through the back side of the next stitch from left to right, then to the front. You will then complete the purl stitch as usual.Kfb - knit into the front and back of stitch. This is an increase; knit into the front, as usual, then before removing stitch from the left needle, knit again into the back loop, then remove both stitches to the right needle. 1 stitch increased
M1 – make one. This is another increase. Insert left needle, from front to back, under strand of yarn which runs between last stitch on left needle and first stitch on right needle; knit this stitch through back loop. 1 stitch increased.
Sl – slip a stitch from left to right without knitting or purling it (you may be asked to “sl as if to knit” or “sl as if to purl”, meaning you would insert your needle as if to do those)
Psso – pass the slipped stitch over
Ssk - slip two stitches as if to knit, then knit those two together (Leans toward the left)
Ssp – slip two stitches as if to purl, then purl those two together
Yf – yarn forward (bring working yarn to the front)
YB – yarn back (bring working yarn to the back)
( ) - work instructions between parentheses, in the place directed
* * - repeat instructions between asterisks, as directed
“ – inches
oz. – ounces
mm - millimeter
Others:
Dpn – double-pointed needle
Cab – cable
Cont - continue
Beg – beginning
RH – right hand
LH – left hand
Pat – pattern
PM – place marker
Prev – previous
Rep – repeat
RS – right side
WS – wrong side
St (sts) – stitch or stitches
Yd – yard
Yn - yarn
The Charlie Brown Dishcloth
Materials: 2 balls of kitchen cotton in coordinating colors
Needles: Size 7 or 8 (your preference)
Cast on 44 stitches with first color.
Rows 1-5: K
Row 6: * k2tog, k2, kfb into each of the next 2 sts, k3, ssk; rep from *.
Row 7 and all odd rows: P
Row 8 and all even rows: Rep. Row 6
Change colors as you wish, bringing unused yarn up the side of your work and taking working yarn under unused yarn to avoid a loop at the edges.When cloth is almost the length you want (approximately as long as it is wide), knit 5 rows to match the top.Bind off. Weave in ends.
Note: You could make a baby blanket or afghan from this same stitch pattern; just cast on any multiple of 11.
When needed (when you get so many stitches on the dpns that you are in danger of dropping them off), switch from using the double points to a circular needle. (Depending on how large you want the blanket to be, you may need another circular with a longer cable.)When the blanket has reached the desired diameter, bind off.Now your blanket is complete, and you can add a decorative edging if you choose. I crocheted an edging around mine (I found the pattern on the Internet, and can find it for you, if you need. Let me know)
