This show is about reverse-engineering someone else's project. Also, just a quick reminder, the deadline for signing up for Fort Wayne Parks and Rec's needle felting class is 3/29.
In this case, one of my colleagues, Rhea Edmonds, designed and crocheted an adorable little skirt for a small child. After we ran the photo and pattern for the skirt in the newspaper, she received a request for a knit version of the skirt.
So, I borrowed some yarn and the skirt from her and set to work.
I like to start with a sketch, even though I can't draw at all, because it is easier to see what and where I need to measure and calculate to get to work. Also, I didn't try to imitate the look of the crochet stitches, so that saved me a step. Instead, I chose a simple, three-stitch, four-row pattern, called Cellular Stitch.
I found the stitch pattern in "A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns" by Barbara Walker. It was written for back-and-forth flat knitting with a three-stitch border. Every other row was a purl row, making the stitch a stockinette ground with eyelets. To change it to be knit in the round, I took away the border stitches and changed the purl rows into all-knit rows.
Lastly, one of my coworkers is expecting a baby girl, and she told me they will use the name "Pearl", maybe as a middle name. So, I'm naming the skirt after her.
No-Purl Skirt for Pearl
A PDF of this pattern is available near the top right-hand side of this page.
Top of skirt, in inches: 26"
Length of skirt, in inches: 7.5"
I need a row of eyelets near the top, for the drawstring. I'm going to work the body of the skirt in a eyelet mesh called cellular stitch. The eyelets can be decorated with ribbon or left alone for an openwork effect. This will be, very much, a dress-up skirt, since it will need either another skirt or a slip underneath to work.
I want to use garter stitch for the top of the skirt, so I'm going to use a technique for working garter stitch, seamlessly, in the round. However, that requires two ends of the same yarn, so either work from a center-pull ball, use two balls of the same yarn, or cannibalize your gauge swatch.
The top of the skirt is 26" around. The gauge, in garter stitch, is 4.5 stitches to the inch. That would mean starting with 117 stitches, and, luckily, 117 is divisible by 3 so that it will work with the stitch pattern.
There is one more consideration. To make a relatively flat circle skirt, I would need to increase by 4 stitches every round. If I increase every 8th round, that translates to 24 increases in a round. The slight hitch here is that 117 is 39 times 3, so it's tough to get the math for the increases to work there. So, I need to square things up by adding 3 stitches after the waist band. That brings us to 120 stitches, a much more divisible number. The final shape will be more of an A-line skirt, in-between a tube and a full, circle skirt.
Gauge: 4.5 stitches/inch in garter stitch, 3 stitches/inch in cellular stitch
Needles: #8, 24" or shorter circular
Yarn: Bernat Baby Coordinates
You will also need: ribbon, or other drawstring, and more ribbon, if desired, for embellishment.
Size: Up to 26" waist, theoretically. Really, it's for a small child.
m1: Lift the thread in-between the stitch you have just worked and the next stitch. Place it on the left needle. Knit into the back of this stitch, twisting it.
Cellular Stitch, in the round (adapted from A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns, by Barbara Walker)
Rounds 1 and 3: Knit all stitches.
Round 2: (knit 2 together, yo, k1) around.
Round 4: (yo, k1, knit 2 together) around.
Cast on 117 stitches. Join, being careful not to twist, and knit one round. If you are using two strands for a long-tail cast on, don't break the second yarn.
Join yarn from other end of ball (I took out the cast-off edge of the gauge swatch and used this yarn for the other end).
**Flip the piece over and work in the other direction, with the yarn you did not just use, knit around.
Repeat from ** 3 times so that you have a total of 2 garter stitch ridges, or 4 times around.
Repeat the above round three times so that you have a total of 2 garter stitch ridges, or four times around.
(Knit 2 together, yo, knit 1) around.
Work 2 more garter stitch ridges (4 rounds). Break off one of the yarns and continue with just one. Place marker at start of round.
(Knit 39 stitches, m1) around. (120 stitches)
Work cellular stitch for 8 rounds.
Increase row: (Knit 5, yo) around. (144 stitches)
Work cellular stitch for 8 rounds.
Increase row: (Knit 6, yo) around. (168 stitches)
Work cellular stitch for 8 rounds.
Increase row: (Knit 7, yo) around. (192 stitches)
Work cellular stitch for 8 rounds.
Increase row: (Knit 8, yo) around. (216 stitches)
Work cellular stitch for 8 rounds.
Increase row: (Knit 9, yo) around. (240 stitches)
Work 8 rounds of garter stitch (4 ridges) as from ** above.
Bind off loosely. Darn in ends.
Thread ribbon through first set of eyelets to use as a drawstring. If desired, thread ribbon through other eyelet rows for decoration.
Note
I didn't pay this adequate attention in the pattern, but the seamless garter stitch in the round method was invented by Susan Stevens, who goes by the name of Fleegle online. I used a simplified version of her technique, actually, hers is more clever and deals with color changes and a flat edge instead of a tube. She is on Ravelry, has her own blog, and sells on Etsy under the shop name The Gossamer Web. She very kindly agreed to be mentioned and interviewed on the show, but we couldn't record in time for deadline, so you'll have to wait until next week to hear what she has to say about it all.
Links
Fort Wayne Parks and Recreation
"A Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns" by Barbara Walker
Fleegle's Post on No-Purl Garter Stitch In-The-Round
2010 Uses for Gauge Swatches
Number 12: As identical yarn to use for garter stitch in the round. You could also use this end for the other strand in a long-tail cast on, which would ensure that you don't have a too-short long-tail cast on again.
