Thursday, March 21, 2013

Lacey Kerchief

This is the second part of a mulit-part series of kerchiefs I plan to
make. I love making lace, and I love having things to wear
over my hair on chilly or windy days, and these are perfect
for both those times.

The lace for the center panel is from a stitch dictionary,
and it reminds me of cables because of its strong vertical
lines and the sinuous twisting of the diamonds. The
written pattern for the kerchief makes it look much more
complicated than it really is. It's very intuitive, so this
should be flying off your needles in no time!



gauge: 8 rows by 5 stitches per inch (I used size US 8 needles)

Special Terms
Left Leaning Decrease (ld) - usually a Slip, Slip, Knit, (ssk) although if you knit crossed or combination, you may want to substitute knitting through the back loop or another decrease that leans left.
Right Leaning Decrease (rd) - usually a Knit 2 together (k2tog), although if you knit crossed or combination, you may want to substitute another right leaning decrease
Central Decrease (cd) - This is a double decrease the either leans left or appears not to lean in any direction. I use s1, k2tog, psso, but if you have another double decrease you prefer using, as long as it leans either left or not at all, the pattern will turn out the same.



The kercheif is shaped by starting with stockinette between a yarn over selvedge. The method is to start with a small, usually odd number of stitches, and k1, yo, kx, yo, k1. This sets up a center stitch or stitches and the yarn over selvedge. The pattern is done entirely within the yarn over selvedge, with every row's stitches between the selvedges growing. If the cast on number is 3, for example, you would work the RS rows as follows:
k1, yo, k1, yo, k1
k1, yo, k3, yo, k1
k1, yo, k5, yo, k1

and so on until the desired length/width is reached. The lace panel is 16 stitches wide and the repeat is 16 rows. I did the lace by chart, because I think it's much easier to follow visually, so I recommend you at least glance at the chart just to get a sense of what's going on and where it should be going. I also recommend using a stitch marker on either side of the panel, to seperate the lace (which has a fixed number of stitches) from the body of the kerchief (which is increasing). If you find it difficult to follow a chart, the written directions are below.


Cast on 4 with size US 8 needles and either follow chart or the following directions:

Round 1: K1, yo, K2, yo k1
Round 2 and all even rows: Purl across
Round 3: K1, yo, k4, yo, k1
Round 5: K1, yo, K6, yo, k1
Round 7: k1, yo, k8, yo, k1
Round 9: k1, yo, k10, yo, k1
Round 11: k1, yo, k12, yo, k1
Round 13: k1, yo, k14, yo, k1,
Round 15: k1, yo, pm if using them, k16, pm if using them, k1

This is where you would start following the lace panel chart. If you're uncomfortable using charts, continue increasing as established, and work the lace as follows, keeping in mind that this does not include the increase stitches or the selvedge:

Round 1: k5, yo, ld, k2, ld, k5
Round 2 and all even rows: Purl across
Round 3: k3 ,rd, yo, k1 yo, ld, k2, yo, ld, k4
Round 5: k2, rd, yo, k3, yo, ld, k2, yo, ld, k3
Round 7: k1, rd, yo, k2, rd, yo, k1, yo, ld, k2, yo, ld, k2
Round 9: ld, yo, k2, rd, yo, k3, yo, ld, k2, yo, ld, k1
Round 11: k2, yo, ld, k2, yo, ld, yo, rd, yo, k2, rd, yo, rd
Round 13: k3 ,yo, ld, k2, yo, cd, yo, k2, rd, yo, k2
Round 15: k4, yo, ld, k2, yo, ld, k1, rd, yo, k3
Round 16: Purl across; repeat steps 1-16 to desired length.

This ends the first lace repeat. If you look at it, it should be roughly a diamond in shape with a smaller diamond in the center. This is the center panel. The pattern for the lace will remain constant, but you will continue to work the yarn over selvedge with the lace panel in the middle until the work measures about 10.5 inches long and 16.5 inches wide, ending on a purl side row.

Do not turn the work. Instead, begin working in the round, being careful not to twist. Work 1x1 ribbing in size US 5 needles for 8 rows or 1 inch. Use size 8 needles to bind off, and/or using your favorite stretchy bind off. Weave in ends and you're done. The lace benefits from a good blocking, but make sure to block only the lace portion, not the ribbing, or else it won't stay snug on your head. Happy wearing! If you're on ravelry, send me your photos and I'll include them on the projects page!



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