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YARNIST

FOR THE FEARLESS KNITTER

KNITTING WITHOUT FEAR

What does it mean to be a fearless knitter?

THE ODDFELLOW HAT

Learn to make this marled brioche watchman’s cap

THE ITALIAN CAST ON

The absolute best cast on for professional looking ribbing

Yarnist Magazine is a publication of Knitiversity.

We create unique resources to help you become a fearless knitter.

This special preview issue gives a small sample of what you will find in our full magazine.

HEAD HONCHO CONTACT

Johnny Vasquez

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No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ON THE COVER

The Oddfellow Hat

KNITSPIRATION

What Makes a

Yarnist

WHY WE KNIT KNITSTORY

The

World

STITCHIONARY

TUTORIAL

TUTORIAL

GLOSSARY Knitting Abbreviations

KNITTING WITHOUT FEAR

What makes a fearless knitter?

Growing up I had these children’s books that came with cassette tapes so I could listen to the story while I read along. I had Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, Star Wars, and probably my favorite, Aesop’s Fables.

I’m kidding. Star Wars was definitely my favorite, but I used to love hearing the stories of The Lion and the Mouse, The Ant and the Grasshopper, and The Tortoise and the Hare.

These tales taught me simple moral truths through easy to remember stories. How many times have you heard “slow and steady wins the race”? Probably not as much as “May the force be with you,” but you get my point.

In Sunday school we learned about the parables Jesus taught with in the Bible. He too used stories to teach us how to act. I have been fascinat ed by fables like these all my life, and have collected many from around the world. Even Star Wars is modeled on classic heroic tales.

Recently I came across one such story that I think illustrates a major challenge many knitters face. Here it is…

THE CUP OR THE CURTAIN

Once upon a time, in a kingdom that probably never really existed, a woman was caught stealing some coins from a local merchant in the market. This merchant was selling goods on behalf of the queen, so stealing from him was like stealing from the Queen herself. And of course, a crime against the Queen was punishable by death.

The woman was brought to the throne room and immediately she began to cry. “Your majesty, I am a poor woman, who was only trying to buy some food. Had I known I was stealing from you, I never would have tried.

Please have mercy on me.”

The Queen looked down on the woman from her throne, not with anger, but with compassion. “It does not matter the reason for your crime. You have stolen from my merchant,” said the Queen. “I cannot allow my people to steal from me without punishment. The law says your crime deserves death, but I will show you some mercy. I will allow you to choose your fate.”

The woman looked up at the Queen with a questioning look.

“To my left is a curtain,” the Queen continued. “What lies behind it I will not tell. But I can assure you it is a painful experience that most people fear above all else. You may choose to walk through this curtain and face your punishment or you can choose what is on this table.”

She gestured to a small table on her right. “Here on the table is a cup. This cup contains a poison that will certainly kill you, but you will not feel any pain when you pass through the curtain.”

The Queen had barely finished giving the options before the woman had grabbed the cup and swallowed the poison. The drink was sweet and surprisingly pleasant. She looked up at the Queen and nodded, then turned toward the curtain and slowly walked toward her fate. She could feel the poison begin to numb her

senses. As she placed her hands on the curtain her fingers tingled as though her arm was asleep. Before she pulled the curtain back, she looked back at the Queen.

“What is on the other side of this curtain?” The woman asked the Queen. “As I am about to die anyway, please show me mercy once more by telling me what waits for me.” The Queen looked upon the woman with sadness in her eyes. “I have given many people this choice, and all have chosen to drink the cup, afraid of what horrors await them on the other side.

This fear makes a peaceful, painless death by poison seem like mercy. But the only thing beyond that curtain is freedom. I have been waiting for some one to have the courage to face it.”

When we are dealing with knitting the stakes are hardly life and death. Still for many, the fear of failure can feel as daunting as choosing to walk through a curtain with an unknown fate.

How many times have you searched through beautiful knitting patterns, only to hear that little voice inside your head whisper “you can’t make that, it’s too hard for you”?

That is the voice of fear.

feeling pain yet still be alive.

It wants you to knit only garter stitch for 50 years and never make anything but scarves. It wants you to buy luxurious yarn but keep it in your storage bin forever so you don’t ruin it. It wants you to look at beautiful knitting patterns, but it doesn’t want you to make them, because you might mess it up.

Knitting without fear is much more simple than that. It’s not about never making a mistake. It’s not about finish ing every project you start.

“A fearless knitter does one thing better than everyone else. When that fearful voice starts whispering in your ear, “You can’t do that, it’s too hard,” You answer back…“But I can try.”

It’s a useful thing, fear. It tries to protect you from getting hurt.

It doesn’t want you to take risks. It doesn’t want you to struggle. It doesn’t want you to fail.

And it doesn’t want you to grow.

Fear wants you to be comfortable. It would rather you drink “poison” and do nothing than face the prospect of

It’s not about understanding every pattern perfectly the first time. A fearless knitter does one thing better than everyone else.

When that fearful voice starts whispering in your ear, “You can’t do that, it’s too hard,”

You answer back… “But I can try.”

J.V.

THE YARNIST MANIFESTO

This is why we knit

We believe that fear has no place in knitting.

What mistakes we make will teach us.

What we do not know, we can learn from others.

What we do not understand will become clear through practice. What we think impossible we will at least try.

What once made us fearful will now make us fearless.

We believe in keeping the tradition of knitting alive. We will teach others our craft to grow our community. We will share our knowledge to make better knitters.

We will create new projects to advance the art form.

We will document our discoveries for new generations. We will leave behind our work to have our legacy remembered.

We believe that knitting is love manifested through yarn. And it is that love which actually keeps people warm.

Fearless Knitter

Project Tote Available NOW

YARN.IST /TOTE

THE MARVELOUS WORLD OF MARLED KNITTING

Exploring the simple beauty of holding multiple yarns together

When I first started knitting I had the genius idea of holding two different colors of the same type of yarn together while knitting a scarf. I started with two strands of the first color, then switched to one strand of each, and then two of the second color. The end result was a scarf where one color intertwined with the other in the middle. It was simple but effective.

Unfortunately I ruined that scarf (Hint: don’t block acrylic yarn with a steam iron, it melts), but I have been fascinated by the technique ever since. It’s called marled knitting and it is one of the easiest ways to incorporate texture and color into your projects.

Examples of Marled Knitting

Hand spun marled barber pole yarn in natural alpaca colors (opposite).

Rothko Cowl by Cecelia Campochiaro from Making Marls. Grey strand held along with color blocks of pink shades.

Turner Washcloth by Cecelia Campochiaro from Making Marls. Grey strand held with different values of black / grey yarn.

WHAT IS MARLED KNITTING?

The word marl appears to be an abbrevi ation of marbled, indicating a yarn or fabric with di erent colored threads, creating an irregular mottled pattern. In its simplest form marled knitting consists of holding two (or more) di erent colored or textured yarns together. But creating marled fabric can be done in a variety of ways.

This technique can be used to destash your yarn collection by doubling, tripling, or quadrupling lighter weight yarns together, allowing you to knit projects with a larger gauge. It’s also a great way to use up smaller bits of leftover yarn by incorporating them into a marled project.

Marled knitting is also an easy way to experiment with colorwork. By playing with the colors that you knit together, unique and interesting color patterns can be created. There's no special skill required other than changing the colors along the way!

Whether you’re experimenting with colorwork, using up unused yarn, or dipping your toe into designing, this simple knitting technique o ers a lot of room for exploration. In this article we’ll take a look at some of the di erent types of marled knitting and give some interesting examples of what this marvelously simple technique holds.

TYPES OF MARLED KNITTING

One issue with holding multiple strands of yarn together is inconsistent tension. As the strand are not plied together, they shift and behave more like a single ply yarn, with some spots knitting thicker than others.

The best way to get around this is to knit with a yarn that is already marled. You’ve probably already encountered yarns like this, but they can play with either color or texture, or both.

Marled Texture Yarn

Another type of marling is done through texture. By plying together yarns of di erent weight or even materials, new and interesting textures are created.

You’ll see this often in novelty yarns which might include a thread wrapped around a normal yarn strand. This makes a thick and thin yarn with a braided or spiral look. When knit up the stitches in your fabric end up with a pebbly texture.

Marled Color Yarn

Some yarns already come ready for marling. That’s because they take two or more yarn colors and ply them together. Plying is the process of twisting two or more strands of spun yarn together. This creates thickness, stability, and strength. There’s a lot that goes into the science of plying, but for today we’ll stick to the basic idea of strands twisted together.

A simple marled yarn might include two contrasting colors, creating a barber pole type spiral. When knit up into a project this spiraling will result in a mottled fabric with an irregular design.

Other yarns blend multiple strands of yarn colors together at di erent places in the yarn itself. This is how many self striping yarns are created, blending the colors in each strand at di erent rates. This results in an ombre like e ect that ends up in blocks or stripes of color within the project.

Sometimes the same method is used to incorporate a decorative element, like a reflective stripe or sparkling thread. Even many sock yarns do this with nylon threads to provide additional durability.

More drastic examples can be found by spinners who like to experiment with uniques yarn textures. Companies like Knit Collage have built their brand around bulkier textured yarns that are fun and quick to knit with. Often referred to as “Art Yarn”, these yarns have become increasing popular for the interesting fabrics they create.

But if you want to explore marling with what you have on hand, you’ll just have to do it the old fashioned way, by holding multiple strands together.

Examples of Marled Yarns (From Top Left)

(1) Marled Hand spun alpaca in two colors.

(2) Lollipop Art Yarn by MyNoush (3) Swatch made with Knit Collage Cast Away yarn (4) Swatch made with Scarfie self striping yarn by Lion Brand Yarn Company (5) Garter stitch watch paired with Drops Glitter thread (6) Swatch made with Coming Up Flowers by South West Trading Company (7) Red Heart Reflective Yarn in Purple

MARLED TEXTURE YARN

As we’ve already discussed, the classic way of knitting marled fabric is by holding two or more strands of yarn together. This can be done in many di erent combinations, but here are three basic examples to try:

Classic Marled Knitting

This is when you hold multiple strands of the same yarn together but in di erent colors. The advantage of this method is you can knit projects which have a larger weight. You can use up lighter weight yarns and they will knit up much faster.

More Examples of Marled Knitting

Santiago Fisherman’s Rib Hat by Margaret Weinert-Lishner. Simple color gradient with two strands of the same yarn. Oddfellow Hat using one strand worsted and one strand fingering in contrasting color. Swatch knit with String Me Along yarn by South West Trading Company

Thick and Thin Marled Knitting

Another way to play with marling is by holding one strand or yarn that is very thin with one that is much thicker. This is a great way to add a small amount of color into your fabric, but not drastically increase the weight of the yarns.

Textured Marled Knitting

Finally there are some yarns which are designed to be knit along with other yarns. Some novelty yarns have beads, sparkles, or even flowers worked into them. When paired with another yarn they add new textures and decorative elements to your fabric.

Gradient Marled Knitting

Finally we can use marling to play with color transitions. By holding together 3, 4, or more yarns together at once, you can slowly change colors, creating a gradient e ect. This is demonstrated well in the Rialto scarf (above) by Cecelia Campochiaro. Four strands of lace weight yarn are knit together, slowly incorpo rating a new color, one strand at a time until all four are transitioned. This process is repeated for every new color. The result is a gorgeous, unique blending of colors that’s much easier to create than intarsia or fair isle colorwork.

Whether you want to play with color, texture, or just use of your stash, marled knitting is a technique everyone can explore with ease. There are hundred’s of projects available on Ravelry to try it out. Plus it’s adaptable to use in other projects and a great way to begin designing your own patterns.

Marled knitting truly opens up a marvel ous world of possibilities. Consider incorporating it into your next project.

- J.V.

GOING FURTHER

Many examples here are taken from the amazing book Making Marls by Cecelia Campochiaro. A followup to her hit debut Sequence Knitting, this is a groundbreaking, lushly illustrated, and beautifully made book about multistrand handknitting and the creation of marled fabrics. As with her first book, Campochiaro takes a systematic look at a subject that has been hiding in plain sight for centuries. For more info visit www.ceceliacampochiaro.com.

Available at select retailers and on Amazon.com.

STITCHIONARY

The Brioche Stitch

If a knitting stitch could be described as luxurious, it would be brioche. This super stretchy ribbed fabric is so soft and squishy it’s like being wrapped in a cloud.

PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS

Cast On: Multiples of 2

Prep Row (WS): *Sl1yo, k1, rep from * Row 1: *Sl1yo, BrP 1, rep from *. Row 2: *Sl1yo, BrK 1, rep from *. Repeat rows 1 & 2

PATTERN CHART

WATCH THE VIDEO YARN.IST/BRIOCHE

THE

VIDEO KNITTING STITCH DICTIONERY

TECHNIQUE TUTORIAL

The Italian Tubular Cast On

This long tail cast-on method is perfect for 1x1 ribbing. It creates a clean edge with no ridge, seamlessly transitioning from front to back. Not only is it the most professional looking cast on, it is also extremely stretchy.

HOW TO DO THE ITALIAN TUBULAR CAST ON

PREP 1: Wrap yarn around your needle 10x. This will count as ten stitches worth of yarn. Use this to measure out your total stitches to be cast on.

PREP 2a: Starting from the place you finished your cast on count, hold a strand of yarn between your thumb and forefinger.

PREP 2b: Twist the strand around the needle creating a hitch stitch.

(Optional - make as basic slip knot instead)

NOTE: Make sure your hitch loop has the front strand coming from the thumb and the back strand coming over the forefinger. (See 2b)

WATCH THE VIDEO YARN.IST/CO11

HOW TO DO THE ITALIAN TUBULAR CAST ON

Cast On - Phase 1

After you’ve completed your prep stitch, you’re ready to start casting on. The cast on is done in two phases; one makes a knit stitch, and one makes a purl stitch.

STEP 1: Hold the two strands of yarn like a “V”, then swing the needle BEHIND and UNDER both strands.

STEP 2: Bring the needle around front, OVER the bottom strand, and BETWEEN the two strand through the middle.

STEP 3: Coming through the middle, bring the needle BEHIND the top strand.

STEP 4: Finally bring the needle OVER the top strand and in FRONT, ending with the needle in the center of the “V” once more.

Cast On - Phase 2

STEP 5: Bring the needle DOWN in FRONT of the bottom strand.

STEP 6: Lift the needle up through the middle and OVER the top strand.

STEP 7: Bring the needle OVER the top strand and BEHIND, moving DOWN.

STEP 8: Continue moving the needle DOWN and then UNDER the bottom strand.

STEP 9: Swing the needle around in FRONT of both strands, back to center.

STEP 10: Tighten stitches, then repeat PHASES 1 & 2 until all stitches are cast on.

STEP 11: Hold yarn like a slingshot, then bring needle UNDER the front strand on the thumb.

Securing the Last Stitch

STEP 12: Bring the needle through the loop on the thumb.

STEP 13: Release the thumb from the loop

STEP 14: Tighten to secure the last stitch

THE ODDFELLOW HAT

A Marled Brioche Watchmen’s Cap

Designed by Johnny Vasquez

SKILL LEVEL

SIZE

DIMENSIONS

NEEDLES

YARN SUGGESTIONS

GAUGE

ODDFELLOW HAT PATTERN INSTRUCTIONS

Glossary of stitch abbreviations can be found on page 29

Using Italian Cast On (or other ribbed cast on), hold BOTH strands of yarn together and CO 50 sts with the circular needle.

Place marker then join in the round.

SETUP

Rnd 1:

Rnd 2:

BODY

Rnd 1: Rnd 2:

*K1, sl1yo; rep from * to end.

*Sl1yo, brp 1; rep from * to end.

*Brk 1, sl1yo; rep from * to end.

*Sl1yo, brp 1; rep from * to end.

Rep [Rnds 1 & 2] until the Hat measures 9 inches from the cast-on edge, ending with Rnd 2.

CAST ON CROWN SHAPING (Switch to DPNs)

Rnd 1 (dec):

Rnd 2: Rnd 3: Rnd 4:

Rnd 5 (dec)

Rnd 6 (dec)

*(Brk 1, sl1yo) 2 times, br4st dec, sl1yo; rep from * to end [20 sts dec; 30 sts rem].

*Sl1yo, brp 1; rep from * to end.

*Brk 1, sl1yo; rep from * to end.

*Sl1yo, brp 1; rep from * to end.

*Brk 1, sl1yo, br4st dec, sl1yo; rep from * to end [20 sts dec; 10 sts rem].

*K2tog; rep from * to end [5 sts dec; 5 sts rem].

FINISHING

Break yarn leaving a 10in (25cm) tail. Using the tapestry needle, weave the tail through the live sts TWICE and cinch closed.

Weave in ends and block.

TECHNIQUE TUTORIAL

The Brioche Four Stitch Decrease

The brioche four stitch decrease (BR4ST DEC) is a paired decrease worked over five stitches. It removes two stitches from both sides of a central brioche rib. This maintains the brioche pattern while shaping the fabric in a symmetrical fashion.

HOW TO DO THE BRIOCHE FOUR STITCH DECREASE

PREP: Work your brioche pattern until TWO sts before your central rib stitch. This st should be a brioche knit stitch.

STEP 1: Slip the next st, inserting the working needle (WN) knit wise

STEP 2: Slip the next st, inserting the working needle (WN) knit wise

STEP 3a: Slip the next st from the main needle (MN) onto a cable needle(CN), small DPN, or removable stitch marker.

GLOSSARY

Stitch and Pattern Abbreviations

BR4ST DEC

Brioche 4 st Decrease (worked over 5 sts, 4 sts dec): sl first brioche st knitwise, sl next st knitwise, place next brioche st on CN and hold in front of work, knit next st on MN, pass slipped st on WN over (1 st dec), move st to MN, pass next brioche st over (1 st dec), move st to WN, pass first slipped brioche st over (1 st dec), move st from CN to MN, move st on WN to MN and pass held brioche sts over (1 st dec), move st back to WN

BRK BRP CO DEC K

Brioche Knit: knit the st together with its wrap

Brioche Purl: purl the st together with its wrap

Cast On Decrease(d)

Knit

REM REP RND(S)

Knit Two Together: knit 2 sts together Remain(s) Repeat Round(s)

Slip stitch

Slip 1 st with yarn in front, yo

Stitch(es)

Over

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