Kimono of Waves

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Craft a casual kimono with a touch of elegance.

by Vicki Square

Glossary

Cable Cast-On

Hold needle with working yarn in your left hand with the wrong side of the work facing you. *Insert right needle between the first last two stitches on left needle, wrap yarn around needle as if to knit, draw yarn through, and place new loop on left needle to form a new stitch. Repeat from * for the desired number of stitches, always working between the first two stitches on the left needle.

Steam Blocking

Pin the pieces to be blocked to a blocking surface. Hold an iron set on the steam setting 1/2" (1.5 cm) above the knitted surface and direct the steam over the entire surface (except ribbing). You can get similar results by lapping wet cheesecloth on top of the knitted surface and touching it lightly with a dry iron. Lift and set down the iron gently; do not use a pushing motion.

Wet-Towel Blocking

Run a large bath or beach towel (or two towels for larger projects) through the rinse/spin cycle of a washing machine. Roll the knitted pieces in the wet towel(s), place the roll in a plastic bag, and leave overnight so that the knitted pieces become uniformly damp. Pin the damp pieces to a blocking surface and let air-dry thoroughly.

Three-Needle Bind-Off

Place the stitches to be joined onto two separate needles and hold the needles parallel so that the right sides of knitting face together. *Insert a third needle into the first stitch on each of two needles and knit them together as one stitch, knit the next stitch on each needle the same way, then use the left needle tip to lift the first stitch over the second and off the needle. Repeat from * until one stitch remains on third needle. Cut yarn and pull tail through last stitch to secure.

Stockinette Stitch with 1-Stitch Seam Allowance

Insert threaded needle under one bar between the two edge stitches on one piece, then under the corresponding bar plus the bar above it on the other piece. *Pick up the next two bars on the first piece, then the next two bars on the other. Repeat from *, ending by picking up the last bar or pair of bars on the first piece.

Stockinette Stitch with 1/2-Stitch Seam Allowance

To reduce bulk in the mattress stitch seam, work as for the 1-stitch seam allowance but pick up the bars in the center of the edge stitches instead of between the last two stitches.

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Knitted Kimono
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I see the sleeves but where are the front and back charts?
Posted by MudMaven on June 03, 2007 at 08:56:31 Pacific Time

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