Shawl Geometry: Bias Square
This is the tenth post in a series about different shawl shapes and how to knit them. All the posts in the series can be found right here.
Bias Square
The Bias Square is knit at on a diagonal, starting in one corner and working to its opposite corner. This is accomplished by working a single increase at either edge, every other row through the first half of your shawl, and then working a single decrease at either edge every other row through the second half.
Woven fabric cut on the bias is cut at a 45 degree angle to the warp and weft threads. Since we don’t generally cut our hand knitted fabric, to get fabric on the bias in hand knitting you start working at one corner and work your way to the opposite corner.
This shawl must be blocked once it’s done or it won’t be square. Before blocking, the fabric will pull inwards width-wise and will looked like a squashed rhombus rather than a living breathing square, but it will block into a square, even though you may doubt it while you’re knitting.
Knitting Instructions
CO 3sts.
R1: k1, kfbf, k1.
R2: purl across.
Increase Section
R3: k2, yo, k to last 2sts, yo, k2.
R4: purl across.
Rep R3&4 until the square is your desired width along one edge.
Decrease Section
R5: k2, ssk, k to last 4sts, k2tog, k2.
R6: purl across
Rep R5&6 to 7sts.
R7: k2, sk2p, k2
R8: purl across.
R9: k1, sk2p, k1.
Bind off loosely.
The previous post: Edge to Edge Square
The next post: Rectangles
Administraaavia! Shawls and Moves
Administraaavia!- the administrative bits and pieces. Except exaggerated, with a silly hat and a feather boa. Which makes it not so boring.
thing 1: Lapidarius
Lapidarius now available through the Verdant Gryphon! YAY!
Grab the pattern, pick up some yarn, and have fun knitting.
Thing 2: Website move
Well, I’m aiming for more of a meander or a shift, than a MOVE. Because I’m kind of over moving for awhile (4 moves in 8 months will do that to you). So it’s a website shift from hollychayes.wordpress.com to just hollychayes.com.
The old site should be redirecting to seamlessly to the new one, but if you run into any dead ends or stuckness, let me know.
Thing 3: this week’s shawl geometry Post
Because of the website move shift there are a bunch of people subscribed to the old blog, who aren’t currently subscribed to the new one. It takes a bit of time to move shift their subscriptions from the old site to the new site.
So I’m holding off on this week’s Shawl Geometry post for a couple days, until this shift happens so that it doesn’t get lost in the shuffle.
ALSO I cast on a new shawl last night, that 1. isn’t my pattern (yay!) 2. is going really fast! (double yay!) and 3. is beautiful, simple and puuurty (yay! yay! yay!). All of which means that Wednesday will have knitting! (capslock YAY!)
Shawl Geometry: Edge to Edge Square
This is the ninth post in a series about different shawl shapes and how to knit them. All the posts in the series can be found right here.
Edge to Edge Square
The Edge to Edge Square is knit flat and worked straight from the cast on edge to the bind off edge, with no increasing or decreasing. It’s one of the easiest shawl shapes there is to work, and because of this, it’s a fantastic shape for getting your feet wet adding stitch patterns to shawls.
Calculating your cast on and row count
Determine your final gauge, and desired dimensions.
[Stitch gauge] x [desired width] = [# of sts to CO]
[Row gauge] x [desired height] = [# of rows]
Knitting Instructions
CO [# of sts to CO].
R1: knit across.
R2: purl across.
Rep R1&2 until [# of rows] have been worked.
Bind off loosely.
If you want to incorporate a stitch pattern or motif, make sure your cast on number is divisible by the number of stitches in your stitch repeat, and your number of rows is divisible by the number of rows in your stitch repeat.
The previous post: Side to Side Triangle
The next post: Bias Square
