Thanks for all the love on my recent post - but I realise I was very unclear about my plans with my blanket - so hopefully this will clarify (and also gave me an excuse to lay out the blanket pieces completed so far in glorious sunshine!)
I’m making the blanket from large squares (about 50cm across) and then I will graft them together (I’m keeping all the stitches live on “scoobies” which are perfect stitch holders!)
The two squares furthest from the camera are grafted - and if you look closely, you’ll see that the join is far from perfect. I’m using “Kitchener” stitch (but since I heard how that stitch got its name, I tend to just say grafting!) if anyone has any tips on keeping the tension even through a very long graft, I’d appreciate it.
That really is absolutely gorgeous. Something to pass down to future generations, for sure.
I never knew how kitchener stitch got it’s name, so that is very interesting. I can’t remember the last time I did it on garter stitch, but I’ve done some decently long grafts in stockinette. What I find works best for me is to stop after 20 stitches or so, lay the pieces flat, and adjust the tension on those 20 stitches until it is perfect. It is tedious, but oh so satisfying.
For something of this size, that might take ages though. I wonder if there is something you could pin the squares onto something that would hold the stitches in place, similar to a darning egg. My mother used to have something I think was called a “tailor’s ham” that I could see being a possibility. Pure speculation, though, as I haven’t tried it.
Aye , I think I might be too impetuous for grafting…. We’ll see. I’ll keep you posted…!
No tips, but I hadn’t heard the Kitchener thing and now I’ve looked it up and…gross. So TIL, thank you for that!
I like using a three needle bind off instead of grafting. They way I don’t have to cut the yarn and it keeps my tension more even.
Looks nice! What are these “scoobies” that you’re using as stitch holders?
These… this is on the german version of Amazon…. Other places will have them too!
I think they are those scoobie cords that used to be popular to make bracelets and keychains. But I’m also curious how they would be used to hold stitches!
They are hollow, so I can jam my needle into them and slip the stitches across. So much easier than using scraps of wool!
This is beautiful. What’s the pattern? And how did the kitchener stitch get its name?
