Celebrating the companionship of our furry friends, I've named this pattern after my cousin's dear buddy, Lilly who left us too soon. She and her sister, Lucy, were inseparable and loyal best friends to my cousin and her husband. She will be terribly missed. My heart goes out to them. They have so much love to give, that they will probably bring home a new pup soon. She won't fill the gap Lilly left, but will help them to heal and fill their world with happy, bouncy light! Knit this moebius cowl using an innovative cast on technique. Any size needles and any weight yarn can be knit into a moebius loop. From lovely fashion yarns that will enhance any outfit to super bulky winter cowls for luxurious warmth, moebius knitting is quick and rewarding. Join the fun and add this technique to your knitting "toolbox". Once you get started, you will want to knit one for everyone you love!
Moebius Cast On Information
There are a number of ways to learn the moebius cast on. Illustrated step-by-step instructions are included in Cat Bordhi's ebooks, A Treasury of Magical Knitting and A Second Treasury of Magical Knitting. Both contain a wealth of information about and patterns for Moebius knitting. available on her web site. (She has graciously given permission to reference her ingenious Moebius cast-on technique.) Here is the link to her U-Tube Moebius cast on video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVnTda7F2V4
More information is available on her website http://www.catbordhi.com/
These are step-by-step instructions for the moebius cast on:
allowing the needles to dangle. 2. With your right hand, take the LEFT needle and bring it towards you and up to make the cable into a loop. Allow the other needle to hang down. We won't need it until all the stitches are cast on. 3. Hold the slipknot, needle and looped cable in your right hand. Hold the needle half way to the tapered tip. 4. Tension the working yarn above the cable in your left hand. Think of the cable as a stationary object you will be wrapping the yarn around. You will be holding it in both hands to begin the cast on, which is a wrapping sequence. 5. Point the needle towards you and bring it under the cable, over the working yarn, and back up above the cable. Do a yarn over. 6. Repeat this sequence to cast on the appropriate amount of stitches. Each time you perform this “under the cable, yarn over" sequence, you are generating 2 stitches. Count only the stitches on the top of your needle. 7. Once you have the appropriate number of stitches cast on, spread the stitches around the needle and cables and up onto the other needle, so they form a circle. 8. Position the needles and stitches around them so that you can knit the stitches. This will take some adjusting. 9. Set the work down on a table top and, starting with the left side, position the needle above the cable, follow the path around the cables, making sure they are parallel all the way around until you get near the right needle. Page 1 10. At this point the needle should be over the cable or the cable will be over the needle. Either way is ok. This should occur only once and will indicate the 180-degree twist. 11. PLACE MARKER. Knit into the slipknot to join the work. Pull the stitches together at the join to close gaps. Knit into the "triangle" stitches or V's as they come to you. These are very different looking stitches made by the Wrapping we did to cast on. The marker is crucial in moebius knitting. On the first round, it will let you know that you have done the twist correctly as you knit and it travels the path of the stitches onto the looped cable below your needle tips. When you see the marker on the cable below the needles, this is one half of the first round of moebius knitting. Once you see the marker at this point, keep knitting until you can slip the marker from the left to right needle. This will be one complete round of moebius knitting.
Lilly's Moebius Cowl Pattern
The Moebius version has a 180-degree twist, which is created at the special cast on, and join. Rounds of knitting grow from the center of the work to the outsides. The Moebius half-twist will softly drape in a loop of color and the length also gives you the option to double it in a second layer. It is approximately 3 1/2" wide x 64" in circumference.
Materials:
1 Skein of Sirdar, Summer Stripes, 60% cotton/40% acrylic self-striping yarn. 172 yards per skein. Color #0309. (Any dk weight yarn may be used in this pattern.) Size 8 circular needles in a 47-inch length. Stitch marker. Optional Beading: Approximately 20 grams of TOH0 6/0 round seed beads. Dental floss threader and fleece mat (or other beading surface) for stringing thebeads.
Directions:
Thread the yarn through the floss threader, gather the beads a few at a time and and string them onto the yarn. Place beads on knit and purl rounds randomly. Try not to line them up.
MCO (Moebius Cast On per instructions) 180 stitches, (if using beads, place a bead every 20 stitches at the cast on) PLACE MARKER, join. Round 1: Knit, placing beads randomly. Round 2: Purl, placing beads randomly. Round 3: \*K1, YO, K2 TOG\* (no beads on this round). Round 4: Purl, placing beads randomly. Repeat rounds 1-4 twice more. Round 13: Knit, placing beads randomly. Bind off PURLWISE as described below.
Moebius Bind Off
This is a relaxed bind off technique. Use this tip to calculate necessary yardage for the bind off of each moebius project: For needle sizes up to and including size 9, reserve two inches of yarn per stitch. For needle sizes 10 and up, calculate 4 inches per stitch. You will always have enough yarn and will probably have extra, but you won't run out. P2, \*Slip both stitches back to the left needle, Knit them together through the back loops, P1, repeat from \*
Enjoy!
Please feel free to contact me with any questions: dianelaugustin@mac.com Designed and knit by Diane L. Augustin Copyright 2013. All Rights Reserved. Yarn Happy \* Bead Happy www.yarnhappybeadhappy.com www.yarnhappybeadhappy.etsy.com http://www.ravelry.com/designers/diane-l-augustin Yarn HappyBead Happy Diane L.Augustin dianelaugustin@mac.com651-398-5319 www.yarnhappybeadhappy.com
