Cute Knitting: July 2007

Gino dress

My Gino knit cafe dress is now complete, I posted it before my UK holiday but my edging and ends weren't actually finished.

I had to re arrange the buttons as the red where originally at the bottom

of the row and when I put it on the body, they looked like the nipples!?

I think that this is probably the best garment that I have created free handily yet to date.

This is the top that I made whilst on my travels in one week. Three balls of wool and a 5.5mm crochet hook. I used all the stitch's I knew, but in a combination of ways ups and downs and in circles. The colours are a little clownish, I impressed my self with the back detail.

Simplicity 4176

I know I promised a picture of the 'anniversary party' linen dress, but it is on 35mm and I haven't gotten it scanned yet. Instead, here is Simplicity 4176...

I'm crazy about this fabric, which is 'Sunnyside' by Alexander Henry. I just happened to run across it at Joann Fabrics one day and bought it not knowing what I would use it for. I had this pattern at home, and it was pretty quick and easy, and perfect for a graduation party we were invited to yesterday.

I'm going to be away from blogging for awhile, as we are headed to the lake on a camping trip. I'm sorry I have not been able to keep up with responding to your e-mails and comments as I would like to ~ I do enjoy and appreciate them so much!!

There hasn't been enough time in my days lately, and today was full of packing, picking whatever was ripe in the garden, freezing string beans & blueberries, baking blueberry buckle, and making some dill dip and black bean dip to take along with us. We have a spot reserved right on the bluff, and I can't wait to get there...

I wish you all a wonderful week!

(There are some new clothespin bags in the shop, but I won't be able to answer e-mails or ship orders until Monday, 8/6.)

I've been meaning to show you a completely different type of FO. DH made me this kitchen island/cart to my specifications. I wanted somewhere to hang my skillets and spatter screen and to store many of my excess kitchen appliances. There is also a wire shelf inside for some of my oddly-sized baking pans.

The outside is just stained beadboard and the top is granite tiles.

The thing I like most about it is that it is higher than standard kitchen counters - about 39" high. I vastly prefer chopping veggies on the island and have stopped using my counters for food prep.

gardening, baking, sewing

I have neglected the garden a bit lately, so yesterday I weeded for about an hour & a half, and picked lettuce, radishes, peas, & cucumbers for a 7-layer salad, which with some crusty bread was our dinner last night. Today I picked a 'ton' of zucchini. The overgrown giants are going to the hens; the rest I grated for freezing and of course had to make a double batch of chocolate zucchini muffins...

I've also been trying to catch up on some sewing for the shop. For all you ladies waiting patiently for clothespin bags, I hope to have a nice selection of them finished sometime before the end of the week.

Here's a sample of some that are almost done...

Well, it's back to the sewing machine for me. Thanks for all your kind wishes left on the last post! Hope you are having a good week.

Dale of Norway Moose Sweater

I call this sweater the Bullwinkle sweater because of the goofy cartoon-like moose on the back. The pattern is Dale of Norway 20006 from a now out of print booklet #200.

I made this sweater in Nature Spun sport and I was thrilled I actually had enough yarn in my stash to make the entire sweater. I think it is too big now but it did actually fit back when I made it.

I've been cooking much more than knitting lately but I'll try to have something to show you soon.

a 50th wedding anniversary celebration

Life was a flurry of activity last week in anticipation of my parent's 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration ~ crafting a scrapbook for them, creating wine bottle labels and thank you cards, a cake to bake and decorate, and sewing a dress for me out of this blue-aqua linen...

(Somewhere there are pictures of the dress, I will try to post them.)

Sunday morning was a beautiful mass for my parents, a delicious brunch that they arranged at a canalside restaurant, and then back to their home for more food and celebrating.

This is the cake I made along with their original wedding cake topper, which my mom has carefully saved for all these years..It was a happy day.

Thanks Mom & Dad for setting such a great example all these years!

Closed for the season

Sometimes, life gets in the way of knitting. Thankfully, all is well at chez TECH, but I need to now turn away for 6 weeks or so, and devote some significant time taking care of the non-bloggy parts of life. Despite my intentions, I may not be able to stay away from the blogosphere--you all are rather addictive! So, there may be a stray post or two between now and the beginning of September. Mostly, though, TECHknitting will resume right after Labor Day with new tricks and tips--including TWO NEW WAYS to do beautiful left-leaning decreases.

See you all again in September. Until then, have a great summer, and knit on.

--TECHknitter

Part 3 of working ends in with a sewing needle: weaving ribbing

I thought I was done with ends forever, but evidently not quite yet. By e-mail and comment, there have been several requests for a diagram of weaving-in ends along a column in ribbing. Without further ado, here it is:

--TECHknitter

* * *
PS: Here is a link to a post with 10 (!) different methods of working in ends in knitting, eight of which are "as you go."
* * *
You have been reading TECHknitting on: "weaving in ends in ribbing")

Part 2 of working in ends with a sewing needle: weaving

This post lays out the very last method in the recent series about working in your ends, a method called "weaving in." Weaving in ends has to be one of the only finishing techniques better done from the front of the work than from the back. The reason? If you work from the front, you can be sure that your tail is well and truly hidden. If you work from the back, you can be sure you're making a lovely back, but you can't be sure you're making a lovely front.

Weaving is a form of duplicate stitch--the threaded needle follows the path of the underlaying yarn, as shown in the two illustrations below. Because you want to follow the path of the yarn, not split the yarn, you want to use a DULL needle, not a sharp one. (Click here for further information on the two types of sewing needles.)

The technique is shown is stockinette, but the theory is the same regardless of the fabric -- use a dull sewing needle to draw the tail yarn along the same path as that taken by the yarn in an underlying row or, in the case of ribbing, an underlying column.

After you've worked the tail in over about 3 or 4 stitches, draw the tail to the back of the fabric, and pull out the needle. Trim the end to a length of couple of inches or so, and leave it hang until you've made up the garment and blocked it. At that point, you can trim the tail to a length of perhaps 1/2 to 1/4 inch, leaving a little "tag" to felt onto the back face of the fabric. After a few futher washings, if the project is woolen, you can clip the tag off.

If the project was knit in a slippery yarn (cotton, linen, acrylic, etc.) then you're best off to leave the little tag-end hanging. If you don't like the look of hanging tag-ends, then another trick for "slippery" yarns is to combine weaving with the other needle-worked method, skimming. In other words, weave the tail for several stitches, then skim it in for a further few stitches. This isn't ideal because you have to use a dull needle for the weaving, and a sharp needle for the skimming, leading to either lots of needle-threading, or lots of cheating, but however you manage it, weaving+skimming really OUGHT to hold.

Desperation move: If weaving+skimming doesn't hold, take out a sewing needle, thread it with a single sewing thread or a single strand of matching embroidery floss, and sew the ends of the darn slippery stuff together--believe it or not, this is the *real* way to secure the ends in ribbon knitting, and the *only* way to secure the ends if you ever knit with a ribbon-covered cord.

* * *
PS: Here is a link to a post with 10 (!) different methods of working in ends in knitting, eight of which are "as you go."
* * *
--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on weaving in ends)

Part 1 of working in ends with a sewing needle: the skimming-in method

This whole series of posts started off when various readers wrote to ask about working in ends. As I wrote then, IMHO, the best way to deal with end is not to have any. So far, this blog has shown five different ways to work in ends "as you go:" felting ends, overlap join, Russian join, back join and overcast method. A sixth method, added by Noricum (a reader) is to use the tails for seaming, which also eliminates the need to work in the tail.

And yet, foresight will take you just so far. Sometimes, despite all your ingenuity and tricks, you're going to wind up with an old-fashioned hanging tail that needs to be worked in with a sewing needle.

In May, this blog told you there are two different kinds of sewing needles, sharp and dull. It is possible to work in ends using either kind of needle: a sharp needle (called a "crewel," or "embroidery" needle) is used for SKIMMING, a dull needle (called a "tapestry" or "darner") for WEAVING. The next post will cover weaving, today we'll do skimming.

SKIMMING

(Below) Skimming-in ends is done with a sharp needle. The tail is fastened down as it follows the needle, the needle "skims" though the tops of the purl heads along the fabric back. This really is a case of a picture being worth a thousand (or at least a couple of dozen) words so here it is, illustrated.

An aside: after drawing this, I realized that I always work the tail into the row in stockinette, but I'm not really sure why--On further consideration, there's no real reason not to work the tail into the column, just like for ribbing, so if you're inclined, then do it that way.

(Below) For skimming-in ends through ribbing, turn the work inside out, and skim the end up one column of purl stitches, and down another. Because the purl stitches draw further into a ribbed fabric than do the knit stitches, skimming into the purls helps keep your tails invisible from both inside and outside of the fabric--handy when you want to fold your back your cuffs or hat brim. Be sure to work the needle through the very head of the purl stitch, which helps keep the skimming invisible from the front of the ribbing.

In both of the above illustrations, the worked-in end takes a u-turn. This is very advisable in a slippery yarn, such as cotton, but could be skipped in wool. Also, these illustrations show the ends worked in, but before they have been adjusted--they are still stretched straight, under the tension imparted by the sewing needle. In real life, you'd stretch this area several times to adjust the tension, and you'd make up the garment and block it before cutting off the tails, giving those ends all the opportunity they need to draw up to their final length (and hopefully, to begin felting into the back face of the fabric).

* * *
PS: Here is a link to a post with 10 (!) different methods of working in ends in knitting, eight of which are "as you go."
* * *

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: "skimming-in ends with a sewing needle")

I'm currently working on the Traditional Allover gloves from Carol Rasmussen Noble's Knitting Fair Isle Mittens and Gloves. For some reason I had to make the thumb gusset twice as long as the pattern specified even though the actual length of the glove hand worked out okay. I had to go up two needle sizes so they'd fit and I'm using Knitpicks' Palette, including some of their new lovely heather colors.

The Ann McCauley square in the world's most difficult color to photograph. I feel like I deserve a bobble certificate of merit after this one.

There sure are a lot of lizards around the house this year.

Peaches is unconcerned with matters of lizard overpopulation.

garden goodness

A cool front has blown in today; a much needed relief from yesterday's temperature of 95 degrees. I spent some time in the afternoon out in the garden weeding ~ not much fun, but definitely worth the trouble when I think about the benefits...

~like the fresh blueberries I enjoyed on my homemade granola for breakfast~

~and LOTS of zucchini...

...for my new favorite muffins, which I enjoyed with a cup of tea...

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

(adapted from a recipe in British Country Living magazine)

6 oz dark chocolate (70%)
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
1 cup finely grated zucchini
2 medium eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil {edited 7/09 ~ I have reduced this to 1/2 cup with good results.}

Melt chocolate in double boiler~keep warm. Whisk together eggs and oil; blend in the melted chocolate; add the grated zucchini. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda; add the sugar and the dried cherries. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour into 12 prepared muffin cups. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 - 30 minutes, until risen and skewer comes out clean.

I've made two batches already, and they disappear before I know it! Enjoy.

Here is the Ginger Smith square from the Great American Aran Afghan (booklet published by Knitter's magazine). I'm not sure if I've posted this one before but Blogger refuses to publish my post from yesterday so I hope this post pushes it through. I do think I'm going to have to change the blog template one of these days but it will be such a pain that I'm putting it off as long as possible.

Part 4--overview and summary of "working your tails in as you go" in multi-color knitting

Over the last several posts, this blog has laid before you three methods, each of which joins two colors of yarn AND works in the tails "as you go"

the Russian join,
the back join and
the overcast method

Which to use? As is usual in knitting (or life, for that matter) there are advantages and disadvantages--and you must make up your own mind. The Russian join is probably the least favorable--it's hard to make the join come out just where it should, ripping back to add stitches is very difficult, and this join is S*L*O*W.

The back join is more flexible than the Russian join, is faster, and accomplishes the same result. The back join can be modified so it is not quite as bulky as the Russian join.

The overcast method is not bulky, and it is fast, but because the tails aren't folded into the fabric itself with the overcast method, there is less "friction" holding in the tails. The overcast method is not only more delicate-looking, it is actually more delicate--more likely to pull loose than the Russian join or the back join.

It will have occured to you that it is possible to combine methods. A good thing to do in cotton, linen, acrylic or another slippery yarn is to start 8 or 10 stitches away from the join-point, overcast the old yarn to within 3 stitches of the join point, do 3 stitches of back join in the old color, 3 stitches of the back join in the new color, and then 6 or so stitches of overcast in the new color to finish up. (This one WILL hold!)

I like the overcast method in a hairy, thin yarn, like a Shetland wool, (thanks, Ysolda for the link). In this sort of super-holding yarn, tails can be expected to get all the traction required to pin them down from the surrounding stitches, without having to be actually knitted onto the fabric face. And, for thin stripes in thin fabric, like socks, the advantage of not having doubled stitches on the fabric face outweighs the downside of the join being more delicate, at least to my mind.

As the old folks used to say: "you pays your money, and you takes your choice" (but, a swatch will reveal much).

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: the overcast method for joining yarns in multi-color knitting.)

Every year when the weather gets hot I blog less. At least I am knitting - I've finished 3 more afghan squares. This is the Ada Fenick square. I still have to get photos of the other 2 I've finished.

I have now finished 9 of 24 squares. Only 20 squares are used for the afghan (the other are made into pillows) but I'm making them all in case some of them turn out smaller or larger than the other squares. Then I can avoid using those in the afghan to try to keep it even. My Barbara Selesnick square turned out much smaller so that one will definitely be used for a pillow.

I also have the booklets for the Great American Afghan and the Great North American Afghan. I'm starting to think about using my favorite squares from each to make a second afghan in shades of purple.

I will get photos of the other 2 squares this week. Also, I know I've been remiss in posting photos of Peaches. She's doing better this summer (she tends to overheat easily) due to the additional air conditioner. In fact she likes to park herself right in front of the AC for most of the day just like me.

A short, sad tale of tails

The last few posts have been all about how to be conscious about ends--how to work them in as you go, so as to eliminate the trouble they cause if left unattended. Ironically, I failed to take my own advice on a new project.

I usually fish around inside of a new skein to find the inside end, so the yarn feeds from inside the ball. With an inside feed, your skein is less likely to be a kitty magnet--every pull won't make your skein jerk and jump around the way an outside feed will. The careful thing to do when you're using an inside feed is to wrap the outside end firmly around the outside of the skein, several times. As you knit, the skein gets smaller; what was once firmly wrapped is now loosely wrapped, so this little wrapping chore has to be done a few times during a project. If you forget to re-wrap, well...a loose end is the devil's plaything. The loose outside end will invariably find and tangle with the inside feed. Fail to keep track of that outside end--as I have done today--and you will have your own sad tale of tails.

This is a new yarn from Brown Sheep called serendipity tweed. On the (minor) downside, the high cotton content of the yarn means tangles are a problem--more like knots in a ball of string than tangles in a woolen skein. On the (major) upside, the cottony content means it doesn't make your hands sweat for summer knitting!

--TECHknitter

the tea towel project

I hope you all had a great 4th of July holiday ~ even though the day was overcast, we enjoyed delicious food, good company, and some backyard fireworks.
Over the course of the weekend I finally finished my redwork teapot teatowel project...

The whole idea is thanks to one of Aina's inspirational posts, which was originally from here. Aina, who is wonderfully kind, has a gorgeous blog. As soon as I saw the picture I knew what I wanted to do with the perle cotton and red striped linen tea towels I had found at the flea market...
I found a very inexpensive Ikea wire curtain system with clips on Ebay, which works perfectly for hanging the towels...
While I was sewing the lace onto the teatowel curtains, I decided to use up some of the lace I crocheted a few years ago. A leftover piece was just the right size for this vintage embroidered tea towel... Hope you're having a great day. Thanks for taking the time to stop by!!

The overcast method--part 3 of tails and joining in multi-color knitting

Now we come to a third method for joining yarns and working in tails AS YOU GO in multi-color knitting, a delicate and very useful method which I call the "overcast method." (This is another "unvention," so if someone knows the real name, sing out in the comments, OK?)

Why a third method? Well, the first two "as you go" methods for color knitting--the Russian join and the back join--are both bulky, featuring doubled stitches on the face of the fabric. But the overcast method features no doubled stitches at all--the tails are worked in "as you go" ONLY on the fabric back. (Ok, I'm lying, a tiny bit of the tail appears on the front, but you ABSOLUTELY cannot see it.) Because a lot less tail yarn is incorporated into your fabric, the result is a more delicate join, suitable for fancy work and narrow stripes.

This technique is called the overcast method because the tail is held in by fabric stitches "cast" over the tail yarn, the same way an embroidered overcast stitch holds in the floss laid under it. Specifically, the standing yarn is knitted by reaching first "over" then "under" the tail yarn. The illustration above combines the overcast method with the jogless stripe method--the (many, many) tails of these socks were worked in as the socks were knit. The only finishing involved clipping the tails flush with the fabric back after the socks were washed once. (Another view of these socks is here.)

The tension for the overcast method is adjusted afterwards, so the only real error you can make is if you accidentally knit a stitch using the tail yarn, instead of the standing yarn. If you DO knit a stitch using the tail yarn, you will NOT be able to pull on the tail yarn to adjust the tension, because the tail yarn will have been fastened down onto the fabric face--you'll have to rip back and do it over.

The overcast method is usually used in circular knitting--round and round. This is because back-and-forth knitters will usually change color at the fabric edge. Therefore, the illustrations in this post all show the overcast method in circular knitting. (It IS, however, possible to adapt the overcast method to back-and-forth knitting, and instructions for doing that are towards the end of this post.)

The overcast method involves three steps.

BACKWARD overcast (work in old tail)
INTERMISSION: switch to the new color, and work one round of plain knitting,
FORWARD overcast (work in new tail)

Its complicated, but worth it--see for yourself (illustration below)--the yellow tails belong to the orange yarn, the light blue tails belong to the blue yarn.

So, fasten your seatbelts, and here we go with the...

BACKWARD OVERCAST

Suppose you are knitting in orange yarn (old color), and you want to switch to blue (new color), the first step is to finish up in orange, and work in the orange tail. Here's how to do both those things at once, using the backward overcast:

1. Knit the orange yarn to within some even number of the change point--to within perhaps 8 or 10 stitches in thin yarn, or perhaps within 6 or 8 stitches in heavy yarn. Loop the standing yarn over your tension finger so that the yarn coming from the work (the "working yarn") is in coming FROM BEHIND over your tensioning finger, and the yarn coming from the ball of yarn (the "tail yarn") is in front. For clarity, the tail in the illustration is yellow, although, of course, in the real world the tail would be the same color as the working yarn (orange). It will be much easier to do the overcasting if you can figure out how to hold the tail firmly against the back face of the fabric with a stray finger or two--this will put tension on the loop of yarn and make all the following maneuvers easier.

2. (Below) Create the first part of the backward overcast, the "over stitch," as follows: with your right needle, reach OVER the tail yarn, then hook the working yarn in the usual manner, and make a stitch. As the illustration below shows, the working yarn is wrapped over the tensioning finger from behind--the OPPOSITE from the way the yarn usually lies. As the illustration below also shows, the idea of reaching "over" the tail is pretty much the same idea as reaching "in front of" the tail.

3. (Below) Create the second part of the backward overcast, the "under stitch," as follows: with your right needle reach UNDER the tail yarn (yellow), then hook the working yarn (orange) in the usual manner, and make another stitch. As the illustration below shows, the idea of reaching "under" the tail is pretty much the same idea as reaching "behind."

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3. As you run out of yarn in the loop over your tensioning finger, pull more yarn into the loop from the tail; again, the tail is not fastened down to the fabric face but only has stitches cast over it on the back. As shown in the illustration between steps 5 and 6, the tail yarn runs along the back of the fabric, free to slide back and forth--it doesn't slide easily, but it does slide.

5. When you get to the color-change point, you should have ended with an "under stitch." The remainder of the yarn you had over your finger will lay as a loop on the fabric back, as shown in the illustration below.

6. Interlock the new yarn (blue) with the old yarn (orange) by threading the blue yarn through the last loop of the old yarn. Pull out a nice long tail of the blue (several inches, at least) and leave it hanging on the back of the fabric. Again, for clarity, the blue yarn has been given a light blue tail, although, of course, in the real world both portions of the new yarn would be the same color, and the worked-in tails would be invisible (as they are in the opening photo illustration of this post).

7. Pull the tail of the old yarn carefully to tighten, until the last orange loop over the right needle has the same tension as the rest of the orange stitches and the blue is snug against the back. This completes the backward overcast sequence. As shown in the illustration between steps 5 and 6, the tail of the old yarn (yellow) is now held down on the fabric back by the over-and-under action you did as you knit the last several stitches of the orange yarn.

The INTERMISSION

The next phase of the work is to work one round plain in blue. Therefore, leaving the light blue tail dangling on the back of the work, work one round in blue.

The FORWARD OVERCAST

1. (Optional) if you want your color change to be jogless, slip the first blue stitch you made right after the color change point. (The opening photo illustration of this post features jogless stripes made by this option.)

2. (below) You will now create the first stitch of the forward overcast sequence on the next stitch presenting on the left needle. (If you did select the jogless option this would be the SECOND blue stitch. If you did not select the jogless option, this would be the FIRST blue stitch. For comparison, the illustration below is NOT jogless, the second illustration of this post--above--IS jogless.) Take the tail of the blue yarn into your yarn-feeding hand, and, using a spare finger or two, anchor the tail so it is in front of the standing yarn (standing yarn-yarn coming from ball). Again, for clarity, the tail is illustrated in light blue, although in the real world, the tail and the standing yarn of the ball you are adding would be the same color. Now, just as with the backward overcast, use your right needle to reach OVER the tail yarn (light blue) then hook the working yarn (blue) in the usual manner, and make a stitch.

3. (below) Create the second stitch of the forward overcast sequence as follows: with your right needle reach UNDER the tail yarn, then hook the working yarn in the usual manner, and make another stitch.

4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you've overcast the tail by about the same number of stitches as you overcast the tail in the backward sequence. In other words, if you worked 8 stitches over-and-under the tail with the backward sequence, work 7 or 8 stitches over-and-under the tail with the forward sequence. After these stitches are worked, drop the tail and continue knitting onwards with the standing yarn.

At a good stopping spot, re-adjust the tail tension. The forward overcast usually needs less adjustment than the backward part of the overcast. In the forward overcast, the tail is not part of the same loop as the working yarn, so you will not have had any problem running out of yarn--there will have been no need to slide tail yarn into the loop around your finger. The backward overcast will need more attention, because you will have scrunched up the fabric somewhat by sliding the tail yarn under the overcast stitches to deliver more yarn to the loop over your finger, and then scrunched it back the other way when snugging up the interlock. Therefore, be sure to stretch the fabric back and forth over a fingernail to smooth out the fabric and evenly distribute the tail, especially on the backward overcast portion. Snip the excess of the tails off, leaving 1/4 to 1/2 inch hanging. Make up the garment and block it, re-adjust the tension of any loose join one more time, then clip the excess of the tail even with the back of the fabric.

MODIFICATIONS

As is evident, the thinnest stripe you can make this this method is 3 rounds high--any narrower and the backwards overcast of the old color would run right into the forwards overcast of the new color. If you MUST have 2 round high stripes, skip the intermission step, and simply work the forward overcast on the same round as the backward overcast. Also: if you choose the jogless option as it is written here, you will create "traveling" jogless stripes. For more information, or to modify the work to "stationary" jogless stripes, click here.

TRUE CONFESSIONS

1. If you mistakenly do an "over" where you should have done an "under," or an "under" where you should have done an "over," it really does not matter. You can even end on an "over"

instead of an "under," like you're supposed to, and that doesn't really make a lot of difference, either--your loop will lay a little crooked, that's all. In fact, the only REAL error is to mistakenly knit with the tail yarn, instead of casting over it. You can test for that error by giving your tail yarn a little tug after each over or under stitch. If the tail moves, you're still on the right track. If it doesn't, tink back to where you mistakenly knitted the tail onto the fabric surface and do it again.

2. The fact is, that even though the instructions say to do it, and even though that's the way it is illustrated, I personally do NOT wrap the yarn over my tensioning finger "backwards" (tail in front) when I do the overcast. I leave it looped on the regular way (tail in back). I show it different than I do it because experience dictates that its easier to LEARN (and illustrate!) the overcast with the tail yarn held in front. Once you get the hang of the overs and unders, you'll have no trouble adapting to do the overcast method with the yarn wrapped the regular way over your tensioning finger. And of course, once you gain the experience to overcast from a regular wrap position, you can do the overcast method at pretty much the same speed as you knit--it might take a bit to get that fast, so hang in there.

The OVERCAST method in BACK and FORTH knitting

To work the overcast method in back-and-forth knitting, you work the backward overcast on the last row of the old color, as you get within 6 or 8 stitches of the end of the row. You switch yarns at the edge by looping the old yarn through the new yarn, as illustrated above, and then you work the tail of the new yarn into the next row by the forward overcast. If you like, you can reduce bulk by separating the two overcast rows--work the first row of the new color plain, and work another backward overcast to work in the tail of the new color as you come within 6 or 8 stitches the color change spot on the second row of the new color.

MORE HELP

If you find you are having trouble with the concept here, you may want to practice your "overs and unders" with a very similar sort of work--called the disappearing loop method for casting on. Rather than messing with your knitted fabric, practising the disappearing loop only requires a few inches of yarn. While the action is not exactly the same, if you master the overs and unders of the disappearing loop, you'll be miles ahead on the overcast method.

A FINAL PEP TALK
in the form of a movie script, accompanied by an imaginary soundtrack

(The scene: The camera focuses on a hand, scratching a head in puzzlement. The focus pulls back to wide angle, to reveal that the scratcher is a preoccupied blog reader, sitting before a computer, reading intently. The focus now pans in, again, slowly. The reader gradually becomes aware that violin music is starting softly in the background. Startled, the reader looks around, then turns back to the computer. The camera keeps panning until it is focused tight on the computer screen. The following words appear.)

"Overs and unders" can be confusing, especially if you have to teach them to yourself while sitting in front of your computer. However, it really will be worth your time to master this maneuver. Once you do, you can kiss your sharp needles GOODBYE! (The background music swells, its tempo increases.) All you'll need for working in ends will be your knitting needles, and a pair of scissors to trim the excess. The hour or two you put into practising the overcast method will repay you many times in the future. Think how you'll be able to add lots of color to any knitting, knowing you are...yes... free from the nasty, nasty job of working in all those ends! (Music reaches triumphant conclusion, reader nods to self and says "I can do that!" The camera pulls back to a final wide angle shot, and the reader is seen rushing from the room to fetch yarn, knitting needles and scissors.)

--TECHknitter

PS: Here is a link to a post with 10 (!) different methods of working in ends in knitting, eight of which are "as you go."
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: the overcast method for joining yarns in multi-color knitting.)

Dale of Norway Sirdal Cardigan

This is Dale of Norway's Sirdal. The most remarkable thing about this sweater is that the Norwegian braiding and buttons cost more than the yarn I used (Nature Spun sport). I actually am not sure this is my style so I don't wear it as often as the other Dale cardigan.
Becky has asked a few questions in the comments. Allegro Yarns offers Dale of Norway kits and they often have a few sweater kits for booklets that are no longer in print. Bea Ellis Knitwear offers most of the Dale books that are in print and you can see inside the booklets. The older Dale booklets that are out of print offer the most intricate colorwork designs so Ebay is the best bet for those.