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Crazy as a Loom

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Helmet hat.
 With size 10 dbl pointed needles and chunky yarn......cast on 12 sts and divide on 3 needles....K 1 rnd.  2nd row, knit and increase 6 sts evenly divided over row.
K1 rnd.  Next row knit and increase 6 more sts evenly.  K1rnd.  Next row k  and increase 8 more sts.
K1 rnd. Next row knit and increase 9 more sts.  Alternate one rnd knit and one rnd of increases, having one more st each increase row until you have 68 sts on needles.

K 1 rnd, change to circular needle.  I used 16" size 10.
P 3 rows.
K 16 rows.
Next row:  K22, p24, k22.
 Next row:  K 20, p2, bind off next 24, p2, k20.

Work back and forth on remaining sts knit the k, and purl the p.
Work until this piece is 2" long.
Bind off loosely.




Four Needle Mittens   for Sizes                     2-4yr       5-7yr           8-10yr          Wom              Men

Cuff- cast on and divide on 3 needles            32 sts       36sts            40sts              44 sts          48sts
Join.  Work K2, P2 for                                   2.5in        2.5in            3in                  3in             3.5in
Decreasing in last rnd                                       1st            1st              2st                  2st              ------
There will be                                                  31sts        34sts              38sts             42sts           48sts      
Hand:  knit even                                             3 rnds      3 rnds            3 rnds            4 rnds          4 rnds
First increase rnd, for thumb gore
Increase 1 st in first st, K1, increase 1 st
in next st, K to end of rnd.
K 2 rnds.
2nd increase rnd, increase 1 st in first st, K3,
increase 1 st in next st, K to end.
Continue to increase 1 st  in first and last         2X          2X               3X                  4X              5X
thumb st every 3rd rnd, having 2 more sts
between increases after each incr rnd.             39sts        42sts            48sts               54sts            62sts
K 2 rnds even, slitp the thumb sts                   11sts         11sts            13sts               15sts            17sts
to holder .
At the end of the last round, cast on                 2 sts        2sts                2sts                3sts               3sts
There will be a total on all needles                  30sts         33sts            37sts               42sts            48sts
Work even until measurement above cuff is     4in          4.75in          5.25in              6 in             6.75in
or to desired length allowing for finishing        1/2 in      3/4 in            3/4 in              1 in              1.25in
decreasing in last rnd                                        2 sts         1 st               1 st                 2 sts             --------
first  decrease rnd K2 tog every 3rd and
4th st                                                                 7X          8X                9X                 10X                12X
Knit even                                                          1rnd       2 rnds            2 rnds             3 rnds            4 rnd

2nd decrease rnd.  K tog every 2nd
and 3rd st                                                           7X           8X              9X                  10X               12X

Knit even                                                           -------        1rnd             1 rnd               3 rnds         4 rnds

3rd decrease rnd, K 2 tog in succession             7X            8X              9X                 10X               12X
Break off leaving an end, draw end through
stitches, fasten off.

Thumb, slip to 2 needles the thumb sts               11st            11sts            13sts             15sts           17sts
with 3rd needle pick up                                        2sts           2sts              2sts               3sts              3sts

There will be on 3 needles                                   13st          13st              15st               18st              20st
Knit around until thumb measures above
cast on sts                                                            1.25in         1.50in         1.75in            2in            2.5in

decrease in last rnd                                               1 st            1st                  -------         --------            2st
First dec rnd, * K1, K2 tog, repeat from *           3X             3X               4X                  5X             5X
K even                                                                  1rnd          1 rnd            1rnd                2rnd        2rnd
K 2 tog in succession                                            4X            4X               5X                  6X           6X
Finish as for top of mitten.
and K on the cast
on sts
I used knitting worsted, and double pointed needles, size 4.




Double Binding Rug

I got this from The Rug Weaver's Source Book, the chapter by Inga Krook, and also Handwoven Magazine Volume IV, number 3, Summer 1983.
I also had inspiration from a fellow weaver, Lee Greenewalt, from Shoreham, Vt, who makes fantastic double binding rugs.
Here is mine:


First off, I used 16 epi.   15 was suggested, and I would have used that had I a 15 dent or a 10 dent reed.  But I had an 8 reed, so 16 worked better for me.
I will tell you what I did, and then you can adjust it if you want a different size.

My rug was 32" wide, I wove it 56" long.......to allow for take up.
I used 495 threads of poly cotton rug warp, multi colored, randomly placed.....
My loom was four harness.
From Inga's instructions:
"The double binding technique is a 4 shaft block weave.  The threading has a repeat of 4 threads.  Block I is 3,4,3,1.  Block II is 2,1,2,4.
These four threads are repeated as many times as the width of the block requires.  When you change from one block to the next, the fourth thread is left out to make the border line between the blocks sharper.  This leaves the tabby with a double thread in the same place, but it is of minor importance, as the tabby is used only in the beginning and at the end."

OK.....I got myself a piece of graft paper.. and wrote it out, so I could take it to the loom and mark each one off as I thread it...and this is what it looked like.
read from the right.
(4,2,1,2)20x  3,4,3 (1,3,4,3)20x 2,1,2 (4,2,1,2)20x 3,4,3 (1,3,4,3)20x 2,1,2 (4,2,1,2)20x 3,4,3(1,3,4,3)
20x   START HERE read right to left........you're doing blocks of 4 threads 20 x each, for a total of 80 threads each time......the three threads between are done ONCE.
             
Then I sleyed two in a dent to get my 16 epi.
Now.......you could totally change the size of your blocks by changing the amount of time you repeat.....instead of 20, you could do 40.......have bigger blocks.  It is up to you......as long as you do these two blocks, and you leave out the last thread in between.


OK, tying up the treadles:
Starting from the right:
Treadle 1, tie to shafts 2, 3
Treadle 2, tie to shafts 1,2
Treadle 3, tie to shafts 1,3
Treadle 4, tie to shafts 2,4
Treadle 5, tie to shafts 3,4
Treadle 6, tie to shafts 1,4
Now this is a mystery to me.......Inga says to weave the header in TABBY, and use treadles 1 and 6.......I didn't do this.......I used treadles 3 and 4 for the header......in which case you could use just 4 treadles ....I leave this up to you.
Treadling, forgetting 1 and 6.........treadle 2,3,4,5,2,3,4,5 etc

Two colors of fabric are used, alternately, on separate shuttles, taking care at the selvedges to cross the strips to lock them in.  When your block is high enough, change colors.
You could do this whole rug in two colors, or you could do it like I did mine, which is throwing caution to the winds, as usual.  I like the results better.  I changed both colors every time.

I cut my strips narrower than usual, since one color packs in under the other.

Once you get your loom threaded up, my advice is to just play with the colors, cause that is what makes this rug so much fun.
Email me if you have any questions: crazyasaloom@aol.com or ragrugs@crazyasaloom.com
Enjoy!!!!



Welcome to my world.

Because every thread counts

Because every thread counts