It's not as hard as it looks: Tips on knitting Mary Thomas's patterns

I always take my knitting with me wherever I go. I get a lot of knitting done on trains and in coffee shops between other scheduled events. Especially in the summer when it's flippin' hot and I look at sitting in coffee shops as renting air conditioning. 

As I've been knitting my swatches a number of people have told me--from beginner knitters and non-knitters alike--that what I'm doing looks hard, and they couldn't do it. That the swatches I've been working on look so complicated. But they aren't! 

I guess my point in making this blog is a service to myself as much as it is to my readers, imaginary as they now seem to be. (By the way, if you're reading this, thanks! Please come back again! And if you'd like to keep up with me, please press the button over there -->. You know, the one on the right that says "follow". It'd mean a lot!) I haven't been including the patterns in the book, because, well, Dover might get pretty mad at me. And the book is pretty cheap, only $14.95. So if you like some of the patterns, or see something interesting to do with them, that's great! I think from now on, I'll try to include a difficulty rating with the patterns, so maybe it'll help encourage people to try it themselves.

So far, the book hasn't been so difficult to follow. Mary Thomas's explanation about double knitting was pretty difficult to understand (so I skipped it, but I'll be coming back to it.) I have to be honest, I had to go off to YouTube and watch a few double knitting tutorials before I could go back to Mary Thomas and understand her directions. Which, I have to admit, isn't really very instructive on her part. Too bad readers in 1943 didn't have the internet and YouTube at their disposal! 

I would say, having become pretty acquainted so far with Mrs. Thomas's way of explaining things, she does take a lot for granted. First of all, I'd hazard to say that she most likely looked at this book as the more advanced sequel to her first book Mary Thomas's Knitting Book, in which she teaches the basics of knitting. That's where I learned how to make a ball of yarn that pulls from the inside. She definitely leaves some things unexplained, and takes for granted that knitters have a lot of their own schemata to draw from.

I should also say that I'm a chart reader more than a notation reader. I knit backwards. I taught myself how to knit many years ago out of another book (before YouTube, alas!) and managed, being a left-hander, to botch it all up. So I knit left-handed. Which means that if I follow knitting notations, I read everything backwards, or I swap stitches. So if a pattern says to k2tog, I generally ssk. It's pretty funky. So I discovered if I read charts from left to right, I get the same results with a lot less effort. My point is, I haven't been very attentive to her written patterns. 

What I can say, though, is watch out for her charts. She's say in the directions that the pattern has, for example, a 12 stitch repeat that is 8 rows tall. Mrs. Thomas's charts are often made to visually represent the patterns, so she doesn't mark the repeats, and they don't always correspond to the number of stitches you'd expect. For instance, in a pattern that is 8 rows tall, you'd expect the chart to be 8 rows tall, or maybe 16. But sometimes, Mrs. Thomas's charts are like 20 rows tall. So, if you're following a chart and want to repeat it, when you get to the top of the chart, you can't go back to the bottom and start again. I'd get out your red pen and draw a box around your pattern repeat. It makes it easier.

Anyway, it's not rocket science. And hopefully my pictures will inform and inspire you. I hope it creates a nice visual representation of her patterns. 

I've been doodling a lot of potential patterns for the future lately. I'm really excited about that. Maybe I'll show you one of these days. I need to study more about pattern construction and sizing. I have no problem taking my own measurements and doing the math to make a pattern for myself, but to produce a pattern means I need to understand how sizing works for a variety of people. When I've mastered that, or at least feel more confident, I would really like to start producing my own. I have some pretty fun ideas!  

Chapter Two: Broken Ribbing

Hi there!

Nice to see you.

Shall we talk about knitting? We haven't done that in a while...

In Chapter 2, after her explanation of stocking stitch, Mary Thomas talks about ribbing. I've skipped the bulk of that part of the chapter, mainly because I think it's pretty safe to say that anyone who knows how to knit and purl will most definitely bump into ribbing pretty quickly. So I didn't feel that it was necessary to swatch things like 1x1, 2x2, 3x3, and 5x5 ribs (the "Even Ribs") and 1x2, 3x2, and 5x3 ribs (the "Uneven Ribs"). She concludes this section with the Knife Pleating, which I've already talked about, which is perhaps one of the coolest ribs I've ever seen. I hope you agree.

The last part of her section on ribbing is Broken Ribbing. She gives a couple of patterns and some variations of those patterns.

A broken rib is basically when you knit a ribbed fabric for a number of rows and then switch the placement of the knits and purls.

The first example Mrs. Thomas gives us is the One and One Broken Rib (p. 14) in which you (k1,p1) for four rows, and then (p1,k1) for four rows, and repeat. 

Of course, you can break a rib of any width, like a 2x2 rib, but Mrs. Thomas advises increasing the number of rows between breaks. So for the 2x2 rib, you would (k2,p2) for 6 rows before you (p2,k2). But the concept is quite the same, and interestingly, creates a much different looking fabric. 

I cheated a little bit on this swatch, and knit all the broken ribs together. What I especially like about the 2x2 broken rib (the one in the middle of the swatch) is that it has a lot of dimension. It creates fabric that is almost bumpy, but without the extra pain of making bobbles or nupps, and not as pronounced. And, of course, it's got quite a lot of elasticity.

As I mentioned, Mrs. Thomas offers a couple of variations of broken ribbing, too.

The variation she includes with the One and One Broken Rib is called the Macaroni Rib. I love patterns with funky names. Just that alone made me want to knit it up. It's basically the 1x1 broken rib broken up with a couple of rows of stockinette at each break. Personally, I like the variation better than the original, one of the main reasons being the variation creates the illusion of horizontal lines, as the stockinette rows sink a bit, allowing the "macaroni" to pop up more. It has a lot more visual interest than the 1x1 broken rib, and looks cleaner to me. If that makes sense.

And of course, these are all double sided fabrics--always a plus! 

You can really see the differences in texture in this shot:

The macaroni rib is on the bottom here (I accidentally flipped the swatch), but you can really see how there is a clear horizonal movement between each rib. 

I think it might be fun to use this kind of rib in replacement of a regular one. Perhaps a simple sweater in stockinette with a wide band of this at the hem? Or as a waistline? It might be interesting. The 2x2 broken rib could be a very fun and simple cowl, especially in a chunky yarn on large needles--I am guessing that at a higher gauge, it would really accentuate the "pop" in the texture.

On a completely different note...are any of you fans of Alexi Murdoch? I recently discovered his music and can't stop listening to it. He reminds me a lot of Nick Drake, who I'm also a huge fan of. I just thought I'd mention it...

Until next time! 

Rollercoasters and Honeymoons

Once again time keeps getting the best of me. But to my credit, it's been a heck of a couple of weeks. Almost three weeks ago, I was in a car accident, and though I'm okay and the bruising is finally gone, it made me kind of tired and I slept an awful the week or two after. I'm still hoping that the seat belt mark on my neck disappears--there's still a pinkish spot that looks a bit like a permanent rash.

Then my husband and I went on a little honeymoon trip. It was a very welcome respite.

 We had a lovely time touring the northern half of Kyushu. We spent a day and night in Fukuoka sampling the cuisine there and walking around to all the sites.

Then we went down to Kumamoto to see the glorious castle there.

We spent the night in Aso among the volcanoes and amidst the rain.

The last full day we drove through the lovely Yufuin onsen resort area and headed to Beppu, where we saw jigoku meguri, or Hell's Tour, eight natural hot springs where the lava is so close to the surface of the earth the water boils and mixes with the various soils and clays to create some very interesting and uninviting pools.

We ended the day having dinner with my husband's cousins that live in the area.

The day after we got back, we discovered that my dad had been rushed to the hospital for an emergency surgery, and the last few days have been spent in a state of suspension. He is doing much better now, so we are all sighing with relief. Though I am anxiously waiting for my hub's visa, so we can get to see my family soon.

So there you have it. All through it, though, I've been knitting... can't wait to share it with you.

More on Pleats

In the last post, I had some musings about the possibilities of knitted pleating, and how it might function in a garment. I had an experiment--albeit mostly unsuccessful, a good source of learning--to discover exactly how knitted pleating might work in a garment.

Here's a swatch:

This is kind of strange looking, but there are a couple of experiments here.

In her introduction to Ribbed Pleating, Mrs. Thomas says, "By introducing a wider rib of Knit and Purl between narrower ribs...or other fabrics, the wide Knit rib with roll over the Purl, and so form a pleat." Thus, the bottom section of pleating in this swatch was an experiment to see if, instead of doing a one by one rib as we see in the Knife Pleating pattern and swatch in the last post, if it would work equally well with seed stitch. It didn't. The knit stitches just don't roll over enough to create the illusion that the pleats are made up of only seed stitch. It got even worse after I blocked it--the knitted part of the pleat bulges out, leaving the seed stitch to sink down. Not the pleat I had in mind at all. I wonder what Mrs. T had in mind when she said "or other fabrics". If seed stitch doesn't work here, I wonder what would work better.

In addition to that, the stockinette fabric above the pleats also has a tendency to roll, which, if in a finished garment, wouldn't allow for the crisp clean lines I would hope to see from a flat fabric into a pleat. I think if I were to design a skirt, I would have a knitted pencil or slightly A-line skirt, and, instead of knitting the pleats as part of the same fabric, I would knit it separately and sew it on, to give the pleats the structure they would need to keep their form, as well as to give the skirt a really clean line. 

The second section of pleating on the swatch was just to satisfy my curiosity. In my last post, I mused about how the pleats would behave within a stockinette frame--would it curl like a ruched fabric? Would it hold a pleated shape? The top of the swatch is rather close to a seed stitch border, which seems to give the stockinette fabric a little more support, so that the stockinette fabric doesn't bend in the same way as the pleats should. When I blocked this, I pinned out only the stockinette portions, to see if it would make a difference in the way the pleats behaved. The pleated section near the top of the swatch is almost flattened--not really pleated at all. The unusual ribbing does kind of look cool, but it defeats its original purpose.

There is one more pleated pattern in Chapter 2, so let me skip ahead. On pages 36-37, there is the Pennant Pleating pattern. Although there is a relatively good photo in the book of this pattern, I just couldn't help but knit it--I was having too much fun with pleats. It really is quite lovely!

Like the Knife Pleating pattern, it sits very nicely and has a lot of body. Unlike the Knife Pleating, this one doesn't have any ribbing at all, there are simply these triangular, pennant shaped sections of purl. As the number of purled stitches decrease, and where the purl and knit stitches meet, the fabric naturally folds over itself. It makes for a geometric pattern, and, with worsted wool with a sheen such as this, the light really plays off the shapes. 

I have an idea for a variation of this pattern--I'll have to come back to it again soon.

And of course, as with many knit/purl patterns this one, too, is double sided! That would lend itself well to a scarf or shawl edging, or some other garment that would be seen on both sides.

So much to look forward to...

I know it's been quiet here the last couple of weeks, but there's actually a lot of knitting going on. Here are the things you have to look forward to:

Please tune in!

Chapter Two: Solid Fabrics: Knife Pleating

Well, here we go!

You might have noticed that I'm starting this with Chapter Two. For those of you who aren't familiar with the book, as with many other knitting books out there, Mary Thomas starts with the basic properties of knit fabrics in her first chapter, The A.B.C. of Design. If you do happen to have the book, and haven't read it yet, I think it's always fun to read knitting experts' wonderment at the properties of knit fabric--the perfect complementary qualities of knit and purl, the way different stitches behave and why... I think the longer I knit and the more I know and understand about knitting, the more in awe I become of the basic beauty and perfect symmetry of knitted fabric. I would venture to say that Mary Thomas expresses it with great expertise, and is worth the ten minutes of reading if you feel the same way.

The swatching thus begins in Chapter Two: Solid Fabrics. I said in my last post that I'd skip most of this chapter, but the more time I spend in it, the more I want to swatch it. I am, however skipping the first couple of pages, which includes stocking stitch, ribbed patterns (in which she charts out one and one, two and two, three and three, five and five even ribs and one and two, three and two, five and three uneven ribs), and purl fabrics. I suppose I can assume, reader, that if you're reading this, you will probably agree with me that knitting a swatch of stockinette or purl fabric just to see what it looks like won't really be necessary for someone who already knows how to knit. 

Of the beginning pages of Solid Fabrics, the only swatch that I want to do that I don't plan to do right now is double knitting, which Mrs. Thomas introduces directly after Stocking Stitch. I am going to save that for a rainy day. I find it interesting that she would introduce it so early in the book, as it does seem to be a more complex technique than, say, ribbing or purling, which comes afterward. But anyway, I can see where she's coming from--what's two layers of stockinette as opposed to one?! 

Thus the first swatch from the book that I have is Knife Pleating, page 14. She includes a photograph of it, but the quality of the photo and the printing don't really lend themselves to seeing the dimensions of the pleating very well. And it just sounded so much fun! 

For the meantime, I should also mention that I'll be swatching in Hamanaka Medium-Fine Pure Wool. It's a great, Japanese 100% wool which I'm using with 3 mm needles. 

Mrs. Thomas categorizes Knife Pleating under Ribbed Pleating and Uneven Ribs. What I love the most about this fabric is that it takes the simple property of knitted fabric to curl and uses it as an asset rather than a curse. By strategically placing a few one and one ribs it forces the fabric to lie flat and allows the larger three and five ribbing to roll over the one and one. It's so delightful it makes me shiver! And it has so much body! You can't really see how bouncy and buoyant the pleats are in Mrs. Thomas's picture, but I think mine might give you a sense of how round it really is. And just in case, here's the side view:

I haven't seen this stitch pattern being used recently. There are only two patterns that came up on Ravelry, though there may be others out there using it in a larger context. I really like the way Debbie Bliss uses the pleats in her Riding Jacket, with the main feature of the pattern the pleated hem. This pattern might also be interesting as a knitted skirt hem, or the edging on a bulky shawl. I think I'd like to swatch it again sandwiched between regular stockinette to see how it would behave. Some patterns double the stitch count to create ruched fabric, as in AnneLena Mattison's Ruched Yoke Tee from Interweave Spring 2011 (so cute!), but I wonder if this kind of pleating could emulate that. It'd be fun to play with and I think I'll test it out in the near future.

Mary Thomas & Me

I've been knitting for a pretty long time, and I don't think it'd be too pompous for me to say I'm not a bad knitter. I love lace and as of late have focused most of my knitting on lace shawls. I've also been keeping myself occupied with a number of sweaters, some socks, two vests, a jacket, and some Christmas ornaments. I'm a multi-project knitter. But I'm sure we'll have plenty of chances to talk about that later....
So, I'm a good knitter, but I'm a horrible swatcher. I have always pretty much thought of swatching as a necessary evil. It's a small waste of time--and waste of yarn--that you have to do to make sure that your bigger, more important project turns out right. I don't think I'm alone in that camp. But lately, I've been thinking about swatching as something quite different. It's a compass in a way, letting you visualize what the stitches are going to do and what the properties of the final garment will be. But I think it's also a learning tool. It's a sketchbook. It's a blank canvas, tiny enough just to doodle some ideas out--or someone else's.
I suppose that's why I'm starting this blog. I want to become a better swatcher. And I want to honor the work and the legacy that Mary Thomas left in her book Mary Thomas's Book of Knitting Patterns. I've had this book for a long time, and I would occasionally glance through it and I've read bits of it, but, compared to Barbara Walker's Treasury and Elizabeth Zimmerman's library of great knitting advice, Mary Thomas, who wrote Knitting Patterns in 1943, is not quite as accessible. Her chart notation is less familiar to the present-day knitter, and her directions occasionally seem rather inscrutable. And though there are charts and written directions, there are few photographs of the individual patterns, which makes it all the more inaccessible to knitters today who take for granted glossy magazines, Ravelry, YouTube, and so many other awesome uses of technology that allow everything to be scrutinized, zoomed in on, and figured out before we ever pick up the needles.
This adventure is going to be about exploring a lot of stitch patterns that aren't seen so often in patterns being drafted today. Just glancing through Knitting Patterns, there are some interesting and unusual slip stitch patterns, lace medallions and tons of other "Fancy Lace Stitches" as she calls them. There are tons of little patterns and variations tucked in its pages, and I hope to both create a visual compendium of (most of) the book, and improve my own ability to understand pattern construction in hopes of becoming a better and more creative knitwear designer with a greater arsenal of knowledge to draw from.
I do not intend to knit every single pattern in the book--I've already decided to skip most of the first chapter, which includes stockinette, reverse stockinette, garter stitch, and ribbing. Though I will do a few interesting ribs and welts (as MT calls them--patterns with a horizontal or garter rib) found in that chapter.
More on this in the next post!