Squares - The Math

I'm an inveterate crocheter turned weaver, so you'll have to forgive me if I turn some of my favorite crochet patterns into weaving.

This is going to be my rendition of a woven granny square lap robe.

The math got all weird when I had to factor in the difference in the width of the rows up and down as opposed to across. The up and down rows are a bit narrower than the ones going across. That means you can't count the same number of rows in both directions if you want to make a square.

I made my up and down borders 7 rows wide. When I started going across, I realized that 7 rows would be out of proportion with the up and down rows. It turned out that the right numbers would be 7 rows worked up and down and 5 rows worked across.

That meant I also had to refigure the numbers inside of the squares. I started with a plan for 7x5 squares in the lap robe - with 46 rows in each square in each direction. I got out a ruler and counted both ways. Now my numbers are 46 by 39.  So the number of squares actually increased by a whole row of 7. Now I'll be working 42 squares instead of 35.

I don't know if you want to call this one a "plaid" but the pattern does cross itself.

I was hoping that all of the visible mesh would be covered once I went in both directions. It doesn't seem to happen that way. When I next work a plaid, I will have to take that into account.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

The Unplaid

The ugly cross weaving came out fairly easily. I rewove some of the strands so that the pattern flows evenly. I think it will work better this way than me trying to weave a complicated plaid pattern without the ability to back it up.

Like I said, I'm not giving up on cross-weaving. I'm going to work up to it a little more gradually.

I'm hoping that my next post will feature a group of ladies that knit, crochet and weave for a prayer shawl ministry. They've made some really beautiful shawls that I'd like to share with you.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Gift Quality?

Some people believe that when they start a book, they have to finish reading it. Some people think the same thing about any project they start.

I want to give this plaid lap robe to hospice. Tell me if you think this is good enough to offer to someone who is suffering.

To me, it looks sloppy. Obviously, there is something about the process of weaving plaid that I have not yet mastered. I will eventually try again with a simpler pattern.

I want to make my time and your time worth while. If I can cut out the up and down part of the pattern, I will fill in the across weaving with white and offer that to hospice.
Even that will be a challenge.

What I wanted to show you at the end of this project is how to weave in the ends of the yarn on the sides where you don't want fringe. I guess that will be happening at another time.

I apologize for this glitch. But if you can see that I'm not perfect and that I don't have this whole thing securely under my belt, you will feel more ready to jump in too, knowing that we can grow into this together.

If I can remove the 44 up and down rows that I've put in, I'll show you the final project. If I wreck the whole thing trying to save part of the work - well, we'll be starting on something new over the weekend.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Gone to Plaid

Sorry, I couldn't help using the line from "Spaceballs".

Anyway, I worked up the first part of the pattern.

If I wanted to be really picky, I would move the two outside reds in one space. Then it would be perfectly balanced.

You'll notice that I did all of the colors except the white. When you weave a plaid pattern, you choose the main color and only work it going up and down - not across.  The other colors have to be worked across as well as up and down to get the solid color blocks and the two-color blocks. If that isn't completely clear, you'll see a little better as we go.

I chose white for the main color even though the original photo showed green. The best main colors for mesh weaving plaid are white, off-white, and tan so that the visible mesh doesn't complicate the look of the pattern.

Today, I'm going to finish the pattern going across. I'll try to get that posted tonight or tomorrow, and then we'll start weaving the pattern including the white.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Adjusting the Edge - Part 2

When I finished the last stripe, I needed to deal with the extra rows at the edge of the afghan.

I trimmed off the extra rows - MAKING SURE TO LEAVE ENOUGH FOR A HEM!
Don't trim it to the last row that you are going to weave. Leave enough to turn under. Five or six rows are good for a hem.

 

 

The last step is to loosely baste the hem under. Then you can finish weaving your work. Knot the fringe and trim it. And you have completed a beautiful piece of yarn art.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz
 

Adjusting the End

Even though I counted the mesh at least three times, I've obviously miscalculated somewhere along the line. There should only be five rows left on the outer edge after I finish the last two purple rows.

I am not panicking. I am not going back to shuffle the number of rows in any given color. This is an easy fix. I'll be back in a couple of hours to show you what I do about it.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

Doing the Math P.S.

After I carefully explained how to count and divide up the length or width of the mesh in order to construct a pattern, I would like to take a little of the sweat out of the equation.

If you work from one side to the other and the last rows don't add up the way they are supposed to, you can trim a little more or fold an extra row or two under to make it come out right.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi Linz

I'll post my progress later tonight or tomorrow.

Getting a Good Start - Part 2

Once you make sure your starting row is going in the exact direction you want it to go, there are still a couple more things you should watch for before merrily heading toward the finish line.

I wove 6 rows across in the ripple pattern I wanted to make. This is a side-to-side pattern, giving me the option of making fringe on all four sides or weaving in the ends on two edges.

At first, I was planning to make fringe only on the top and bottom of the blanket and weave in each strand on the sides. As I worked the first six rows, I left short ends to make the finishing of the edge easier.

Then after I saw how the blanket was beginning to take shape, I decided to leave fringe on each side. That meant I had to reweave those six rows to leave a longer tail on each side.

 

On my first weave, I skipped every other hole. When the six rows were done, I analyzed the look of the project. Fringe was only one consideration. I want this to look good all the way through as I intend it to be a baby gift. Skipping holes left too much of the mesh showing. So I rewove those rows, going through every hole.

 

That looked a lot better, but I was using baby yarn and the final effect looked too thin.

I did an experimental row using a double strand of baby yarn. (Worsted weight yarn is the best weight for this medium.)

 

After just one row, you can see that it looks fuller and more substantial. The color shows up better as well.

 

All in all, I believe I rewove those six rows five or six times until I was completely satisfied with the way it was looking.

 

 

Once I liked it, I started to fill it in.

 

 

 





At this point, the project becomes easy - almost mindless - depending on the complexity of your pattern.  The decisions have been made. The corrections improve the appearance. And on you go to a sweet finish.

Thanks for visiting with me,

Kathi