Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (42 page)

Switch to MC and beg working St st (k every rnd). All measurements from now on should be taken from
where the St st section begins. After 2", inc 4 sts evenly spaced all around—32 sts; 8 sts per needle.

When piece meas 4", mark thumb as foll: On needle 2, k 2 sts, then k the next 5 sts with a piece of waste yarn. Slip those 5 waste yarn sts back onto the left needle and k across them with the working yarn.

Cont until piece meas 7½" from beg of St st section. Beg dec at top of mitten as foll: Ssk at beg of needle 1, k2tog at end of needle 2, ssk at beg of needle 3, k2tog at end of needle 4. Work the dec every 3rd rnd twice more, then every rnd until 4 sts rem. Cut the yarn and use a yarn needle to thread it through those last 4 sts and pull them together snugly.

THUMB

Pull out the waste yarn that’s marking the thumb. There should now be 5 “live” sts on the bottom and 4 “live” sts on top. Sl these sts onto 3 needles; join your ball of yarn; and beg working St st in rnds, picking up 1 st between the top and bottom row of sts on each side in the first rnd—11 sts.

When thumb meas 2¾" from base of thumb, *k2tog, rep from * 5 times, then k the last st. Cut the yarn and pull through the rem 5 sts as you did for the top of the mitten. Weave in all yarn ends, making sure to snug up any little holes that might have formed at the base of the thumb.

RIGHT MITTEN

Make exactly the same as the left mitten
except
make the thumb as foll:

On needle 3, k 1 st, then k the next 5 sts with a piece of waste yarn. Cont as for left mitten.

ABOUT KAREN

I asked my mom to teach me to knit when I was fourteen, mainly because I wanted to make things for all the babies that my cousins in Germany were suddenly producing. When I look back, I realize how patient she was, fixing countless screw-ups so I wouldn’t get frustrated, and never telling me anything was “too hard” for me to tackle. Thanks, Mom! A good twenty years have passed since then, and knitting has helped keep me sane through college, grad school, and stressful jobs. I do lots of Fair Isle and intarsia because I like zany multicolor and floral designs, but I also do cables and texture work, lace if it’s funky enough, and sometimes just plain ol’ mindless stockinette stitch so I can read while I knit.

I’m a linguist, and I fund my yarn habit (and life in general) by developing verbal skills tests for educational institutions and testing services.

THERESA V. STENERSEN

These stripy “longstockings” were inspired by Astrid Lindgren’s stories about the irrepressible, fiercely independent redhead with pigtails who could handle anything life threw at her. Decreases down the back of the calf and elastic in the ribbing help keep these from sliding down when you’re on the go. And when you’re wearing them, you just might feel like Pippi—the strongest girl in the world!

S
IZE

To fit average woman’s foot

M
ATERIALS

Brown Sheep Company
Nature Spun Sport
(100% wool; 50g/184 yds)

1 skein each

COLOR SCHEME 1

A:
#N46 Red Fox

B:
#N85 Peruvian Pink

C:
#N48 Scarlet

D:
#N54 Orange You Glad

COLOR SCHEME 2

A:
#N121 Tornado Teal

B:
#N102 Eucalyptus

C:
#N03 Grey Heather

D:
#N20 Arctic Moss

2 cards K1C2’s Rainbow Elastic (100% cotton-covered elastic thread; card/50 yds) to match A

US 2 (3mm) double-pointed needles (set of 4/5)

US 3 (3.25mm) double-pointed needles (set of 4/5), or size needed to obtain gauge

G
AUGE

26 sts and 34 rows = 4" in St st on larger needles

C
OLOR
P
ATTERN

A, B, C, D, *B, A, D, C; rep from *.

D
IRECTIONS

RIBBING

With A, CO (very loosely) 64 sts with smaller needles. Divide them onto 3 needles as foll: 19 sts on needle 1, 26 sts on needle 2, 19 sts on needle 3.

Join, being careful not to twist the sts, and pm to indicate beg of rnd.

With elastic and A held tog, work 14 rnds in k2, p2 rib.

Change to larger needles and B (drop the elastic at this point), k first st of rnd with both the old color and new color (rep this at each color change and treat both strands as 1 st on next rnd). Work 14 rnds in St st with B, C, then D.

CALF DECREASES

Change to B and *work 3 rnds in St st.

Rnd 4: needle 1: k1, k2tog, k to end; needle 2: k across; needle 3: k to last 3 sts, ssk, k1.

Work 6 rnds even.

Rnd 11: needle 1: k1, k2tog, k to end; needle 2: k across; needle 3: k to last 3 sts, ssk, k1.

Work 3 rnds even.

Rep from * with A, then D. At this point you’ll have 52 sts (13 on needle 1, 26 on needle 2, 13 on needle 3). Cont without dec to the heel.

Change to C and work 14 rnds in St st, rep with B.

HEEL FLAP

Note:
When slipping sts (sl 1) on RS rows: sl as if to k with yarn in back; on WS rows: sl as if to p with yarn in front.

Change to A.

Row 1: K13 and turn (to work back over sts just worked).

Row 2 (WS): Sl 1, p25 (consolidating 26 heel sts onto 1 needle), turn.

You’ll be knitting these 26 sts (the only sts in A at this point) back and forth in St st while the other 26 sts (in B) are being held for the instep either on the rem needle or transferred onto a scrap piece of yarn.

Row 3: Sl 1, k25, turn.

Row 4: Sl 1, p25, turn.

Rep these last 2 rows 13 times more, ending with a WS row.

TURN HEEL

K16, ssk, turn.

*Sl 1, p6, p2tog, turn.

Sl 1, k6, ssk, turn.*

You now have 24 sts on the heel needle—8 center sts and 8 on either side. Rep from * to * until only the center 8 sts rem and you are ready to beg a RS row.

K4, change to D, pm, k4 with needle 1.

*Cont with needle 1 and, holding an empty needle in your right hand, insert the empty needle from front to back in the next elongated st (the sl st of the heel flap) and k tbl; rep from * 13 times more—18 sts on needle 1.

Next, with needle 2, k the 26 sts on hold for the instep.

With needle 3, pick up and k tbl 14 sts from the left side of the heel flap. K the 4 sts before marker onto needle 3 as well.

This leaves us at the marker and the beg of the rnd, ready to begin knitting the foot. You should have 62 sts divided onto 3 needles. If you would rather work with 5 needles, divide the instep sts onto 2 needles instead of 1. The next step is to dec back to 52 sts by shaping the gussets.

SHAPE GUSSETS

Rnd 1: K.

Rnd 2 (dec): K to 3 sts from end of needle 1, k2tog, k1; k 26 sts (needle 2); k1, ssk, to end of needle 3.

Rep these 2 rnds 4 times more until there are 13 sts each on needles 1 and 3.

K 3 more rnds in D without dec.

FOOT

Work 14 rnds in St st with C, then 14 rnds with B.

Work 2 rnds with A.

Note:
To make the foot of the stocking a different length, cont working 14 rnds each color in color patt until the foot (meas from the back of the heel) is 2" less than the total desired length, then begin toe dec.

TOE DECREASES

Arrange sts so first 13 sts are on needle 1, 26 instep sts on needle 2, and last 13 sts on needle 3.

Rnd 1: K to 3 sts from end of needle 1, k2tog, k1; needle 2: k1, ssk, k to 3 sts from end, k2tog, k1; needle 3: k1, ssk, k to end (4 sts dec).