I have been working through the following pattern for a pair of lovely little bee booties and matching hat:
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problem is with making the twisted cord for the top of the hat - Ihave tried following the instructions on the pattern but the cordssimply untwist again after tying the knots. Can anybody help me out,or point me at some clearer instructions (preferably with pictures)for making such cords, or even suggest an alternative type of cordthat could be used? I'm quite new to knitting and have never had tomake a cord before.
It's been a long time since I've done this, but my recollection is: you twist and twist and twist (etc.), and eventually, your twisted cord folds itself in the middle and twists about itself (magically, it seems). At that point, you can tie the ends, and it will stay twisted.
At least, that's how I remember it, Johnny...
Georgia
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> My problem is with making the twisted cord for the top of the hat - I> have tried following the instructions on the pattern but the cords> simply untwist again after tying the knots. Can anybody help me out,> or point me at some clearer instructions (preferably with pictures)> for making such cords, or even suggest an alternative type of cord> that could be used? I'm quite new to knitting and have never had to> make a cord before.>
quite helpful. I found it was the clearest at explaining how.>> Bernadette
Thank you both for the replies. The website confirmed that I was on vaguely the right track, the trouble is that if I am initially twisting black yarn against yellow yarn then when the cord doubles back on itself, both 'strands' (i.e. groups of individual yarn strands) will contain both colours.
The pictures that go with the pattern show a group of black strands intertwined with a group of yellow strands, rather than the two being mixed up, and the pattern seems to indicate halving the cord once it has been doubled up, and ending up with tassels and knots at each end of each cord - but I can't seem to do this without losing the twist. I hope it's clear what my problem is and what I'm trying to do, perhaps I am just having one of those days when I'm not getting it!
By the way, I discovered that if there isn't a suitable hook or door handle for this, toes are very useful indeed!
What happens if you tie your yarns so that half the length of your initial piece is yellow, and half is black (i.e., there is a knot in the middle). Do the twisting thing, and then tie off the twisted cord at both ends AND about an inch from the middle knot on both sides.
This is all theory, of course, but it seems like it ought to work.
Georgia
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> quite helpful. I found it was the clearest at explaining how.> >> > Bernadette
You could cast on as much stitches that you need than knit one row and cast it off again , Crochet cast on ,,, etc... make a braid ,,, [you need a thread 3X longer than needed braid. mirjam
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>My problem is with making the twisted cord for the top of the hat - I>have tried following the instructions on the pattern but the cords>simply untwist again after tying the knots. Can anybody help me out,>or point me at some clearer instructions (preferably with pictures)>for making such cords, or even suggest an alternative type of cord>that could be used? I'm quite new to knitting and have never had to >make a cord before.>
> My problem is with making the twisted cord for the top of the hat - I> have tried following the instructions on the pattern but the cords> simply untwist again after tying the knots. Can anybody help me out,> or point me at some clearer instructions (preferably with pictures)> for making such cords, or even suggest an alternative type of cord> that could be used? I'm quite new to knitting and have never had to> make a cord before.>
Which direction are you twisting? The cords pictured are Z-twisted. The yarn was S-plied from threads that were Z-spun. If you are S- twisting, they will untwist.
Explanations: Z-spun means that when you look at a piece of spun or twisted thread, string, or yarn, the slant of the spiral is /, paralleling the center of the letter Z. S-spun is the opposite: \. All fibers but flax are normally Z-spun. These _singles_ are then _plied_ or _folded_ together, the plying being done S direction, as Z- spun singles stay plied if the plying is S. (If a Z-spun single is overspun and then folded in the middle while being held taut, when it is released, it automatically plies itself S-fashion!)
The yarn you are using is almost certainly S-plied. To Z-ply lengths of it together, using your toe as the anchor point and holding the pencil (or whatever) above your toe, spin the pencil counter- clockwise.
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