BASIC KNIT KIPPAH (YARMULKA) IN REVERSE STOCKING STITCH by Jennifer Tocker
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons AttributionSUME RIGHIS RESERWENonCommercial-ShareAlikeLicense To view a copy of this license, visit http:/ / creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California 94305,USA This pattern may be freely distributed as long as you keep my name and the copyright notice together with the pattern. You can share the pattern with whomever you'd like, but you can't sell the pattern and you can't sell the kippahs you make from the pattern. If you make a derivative kippah pattern based on mine, you must attribute me as the designer of the original
pattern and you may distribute the resulting work only under a license identical to this one. If you are uncertain of how this relates to you, please drop me a line at yarnie22 AT yahoo DOT com and ask. Much more information concerning yarn choices, construction and how-to photos can be found at http://yarnaholicconfessions-thegroupblog.blogspot.com/ Look in the sidebar for links to the Kippalong posts. What these directions assume you know how to do: Cast on onto circular needles Join the cast-on in order to knit in the round Knit on double-pointed needles Decrease by k2tog and SSK Pass a stitch knitwise Pass a stitch purlwise If these techniques are new to you, you can find them in any good knitting techniques book, such as "The Handknitter's Handbook" by Montse Stanley (which has been republished as "Knitter's Handbook" by Readers Digest). You can also find techniques on various websites on the Internet. Interweave Knits publishes a Glossary section in every issue. Even if you don't have IK, you can find the glossary online on the InterweaveKnitswebsite.
A word about suitable yarns:
My personal fiber choice is cotton. That said, knitters have written to me saying they've also used wool, silk or linen.
A word about gauge:
Directions are given for both DK/sport weight yarn (approx. 5.5 to 6 stitches to 1") and fingering weight/ sock yarn (approx. 6.75 sts to 1"). These kippahs average 4 inches deep and 17 inches around. Overall, if you tend to knit tightly, use a larger needle; if you tend to knit loosely, use a smaller needle. You're aiming for a firm, but not stiff, fabric. When in doubt, swatch.
The Materials:
Une ball ot your cnosen yarn A few yards of contrasting color yarn if you are going to do stripes in the band A 16" circular needle to match the gauge of your yarn A set of 4 double-pointed needles in the same size as your circular needle A tapestry needle for finishing For my sample kippahs I used Rowan Cotton Glace, a DK weight yarn (23sts x 32rows ${=}4"$ )on size 3.25mm (Us3) needles and Lana Grossa Meilenweit Cotton, a fingering/sock weight yarn (26sts x 36rows ${\it=}4"$ ) on size 2.25mm (US1) needles. I tend to knit loosely and therefore use a smaller needle than what is called for on the yarn band. My favorite cast-on for kippahs is the Cable Cast-On, as it makes a very neat and relatively flat edge.
The Stitch Glossary:
$\mathsf{K}=$ knit $\mathsf{P=}$ purl Kwise $=$ Knitwise or as if to knit Pwise $=$ Purlwise or as if to purl K2tog $=$ knit two stitches together $\mathsf{S S K=}$ slip 2 stitches one by one as if to knit onto the right needle and then knit them together through the back of the loop St $\mathtt{s t}=$ stockinette stitch or stocking stitch (knit on the front, purl on the back) Garter ridge $=2$ rows of knit st (knit on the front, knit on the back) $\mathsf{R}=$ row or round dpns $=$ double-pointed needles MC $=$ main color $\mathsf{C C}=$ contrast color $\mathsf{P M}=$ place marker
The Directions (Directions specific to fingering/sock weight are given in BLUE):
On your $16"$ circular, cast on 108 (120) stitches. PM and join. Round 1: Knit, PM every 18 (20) stitches. This will make the six sections in which we will be decreasing. Round 2: Purl Round 3: Knit. If you would like to make a stripe here, join your CC and knit this round in your CC. Round 4: Purl. If you used a CC on the previous round, purl with it on this round. Round 5: Knit. If you used a CC color on the previous two rounds, return to using the MC on this round. Round 6: Purl Now for A Tricky Bit for those who knit stripes or a slip-stitch mosaic pattern in the garter stitch band. If you are using a single multicolor yarn, you can skip this part, though you may want to read through anyway. The crown of the kippah is in reverse stocking stitch, i.e.the pur side of stocking stitch. In order to preserve the pattern in the garter stitch band, we're going to turn our kippah "inside out" to knit it rather than purl it. (Another reason for doing this is that most people knit faster and neater than they purl and it also makes it easier to do the decreases.)
Wrapping and turning your work:
Move the End-of-round marker to your right needle.With the working yarn in back, slip the next st Pwise from the left needle to the right needle. Bring the working yarn forward between the needles. Turn your needles around so that the working yarn is at the back again. Pass the slipped stitch Pwise back to the right needle. Move the marker back to the right needle From this point we'll be working on the wrong side (i.e. knit side) of the kippah. Don't worry that any messy bits are suddenly exposed. They're not because they're still on the \*inside\* of the kippah. If you need to add in another yarn at some point, make sure to join it on the knit side of the fabric.
Continue knitting from here:
Round 7: \*SSK, k7 (8)\*\* Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. At the end of this round you should have 96 (108) stitches on your needles. Rounds 8 thru 10: Knit. Round 11: \*SSK, k14 (16) \*\* Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. At the end of this round you should have 90 (102) stitches on your needles. Rounds 12 thru 14: Knit. At some point while kniting these rounds, you should transfer your knitting from your circular needles to 3 dpns; 30 (34) stitches per needle. Round 15: \*SSK, k13 (15)\*\* Repeat from \* to \* for the entire round. At the end of this round you should have 84 (96) stitches on your needles. Round 16 thru 18: knit. Round 19: \*SSK, k12 (14)\*\* Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 78 (90) stitches total. Round 20: Knit Round 21: \*SSK, k11 (13)\*\* Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 72 (84) stitches total. Round 22 and all even numbered rounds: Knit Continue knitting DK/sport weight from here (fingering/sock weight continues below): Round 23: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}4^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 60 stitches total. Round 25: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}3^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 48 stitches total. Round 27: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}2^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 36 stitches total. Round 29: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}\mathsf{1}^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 24 stitches total. Round 31: SSK the entire round. 12 stitches total. Round 33: SSK the entire round. 6 stitches total. At the end of Round 33, break off yarn leaving a tail and thread the tail through those last 6 stitches with a tapestry needle. Weave in any loose ends neatly. Continue knitting fingering/sock weight from here: Round 23: \*SSK, $k12^{\ast\ast}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 78 stitches total. Round 25: \*SSK, k11\*\* Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 72 stitches total. Round 27: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}4^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 60 stitches total. Round 29: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}3^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 48 stitches total. Round 31: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}2^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 36 stitches total. Round 33: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}\mathsf{1}^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round. 24 stitches total. Round 35: SSK the entire round. 12 stitches total. Round 37: SSK the entire round. 6 stitches total. At the end of Round 37, break off yarn leaving a tail and thread the tail through those last 6 stitches with a tapestry needle. Weave in any loose ends neatly. Finally, your kippah benefits from a good blocking. One suggestion I received is to use a florist's half-round Styrofoam, although I have also used a cereal bowl for this purpose. After thoroughly wetting and squeezing out as much water as possible in a towel, gently stretch the kippah over your form and pin or clip the edges and then let it completely dry.
The dark color is the same as your foundation row background color (MC) The light color is your contrasting color (Cc? Copyright 2005 @ Jennifer Tocker Mosaic knitting is 2-color knitting usually done in garter stitch, but can be done in stockinette as well. It takes two rows of knitting a single color and slipping the second color to complete a : single pattern row. If you have either A 2nd Treasury of Knitting Patterns or Charted Knitting Designs by Barbara Walker, then you have all the information you need on the art of mosaic
knitting.
If you don't have access to the Walker books, then check out Esther Bozak's excellent explanation of mosaic knitting on her website at http://www.cs.oswego.edu/\~ebozak/knit/esbpatterns/mosaic-intro.html The only limitation you have with using mosaic patterns here is that the pattern repeat must fit into the stitch count (multiples of 4 or 6) and it should not be deeper than about 3-5 garter stitch ridges at the most. Knit one round after the last chart row. In order to keep the pattern on the outside of the kippah, you will need to wrap and turn your work as outlined above. Continue knitting the kippah pattern from Round 7. Kippah instructions for extra fine yarn in the Addendum below.
Addendum to
BASIC KNIT KIPPAH (YARMULKA) IN REVERSE STOCKING STITCH
by Jennifer Tocker Instructions for extra fine yarn: Gauge 30stsx40rows $\mathtt{=}\mathtt{4}$ inches $\pmb{\mathrm{x}}$ 4 inches Sample yarn used: Phildar Fil D'Ecosse knit on $2.00\;\mathrm{mm}$ (USo) resulted in a finished Kippah roughly 17 inches around and 6.75 inches across. The same yarn knit on $\phantom{-}2.25\mathsf{m m}$ (US1) resulted in a kippah 17.5 inches around and 7 inches across. Cast on 144, PM every 24 sts Follow directions for Rounds 1-6 as for other yarn weights Round 7: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}\mathsf{10^{\star\star}}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (132 stitches total)
Rounds 8-10: K
Round 11: \*SSK, $\mathbf{K20^{\ast\ast}}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (126 stitches total) Rounds 12-14: K (Transfer to double pointed needles on one of these rounds; 42 stitches per double-pointed needle) Round 15: \*SSK, $\mathbf{K}1\9^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \* for the entire round (120 stitches total) Round 16 and every even numbered round: K Round 17: \*sSK, $\mathbf{K}18^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (114 stitches total) Round 19: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}17^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (108 stitches total) Round 21: \*ssK, K16\*\* Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (102 stitches total) Round 23: \*SSK, $\mathbf{\mathsf{K}}\mathbf{1}\mathbf{5}^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \* for the entire round (96 stitches total) Round 25: \*ssK, K14\*\* Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (90 stitches total) Round 27: \*SSK, $\mathbf{K}13^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (84 stitches total) Round 29: \*SSK, ${\bf K}{\bf5}^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (72 stitches total) Round 31: \*SSK, $\pmb{\mathsf{K}}\pmb{\mathsf{a}}^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (60 stitches total) Round 33: \*SSK, $\mathbf{K3^{\ast\ast}}$ Round 35: \*SSK, $\mathbf{\kappa}\times\mathbf{\delta}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (36 stitches total) Round 37: \*SSK, $\mathsf{K}\mathsf{1}^{\star\star}$ Repeat from \* to \*\* for the entire round (24 stitches total) Round 39: SSK the entire round (12 stitches total) At the end of Round 41, break off yarn leaving a tail and thread the tail through those last 6 stitches with a tapestry needle. Weave in any loose ends neatly. (Did you find a mistake or have a question? Please email me at yarnie22 AT yahoo DOT com)
