EGYPTIAN FALCON
By Phoebe LeighSuelflow
The ancient Egyptian god Horus was the sky god. He was often shown with the head of a falcon or in the shape of a falcon, according to Wikipedia. He is shown carrying the ankh, also known as the key of life. This is a double-knit square, approximately 12"x 12". It makes a nice large potholder or a good-sized afghan square. It is part of the Epic Lap Blanket Series. This pattern assumes that you are familiar with double-knitting. You don't need to increase or decrease, but you must be familiar with reading a chart and with double-knitting with back and forth rows. If you need to learn or brush up on the basics, there are some great resources that I've listed at the end of the pattern.
Materials:
-Knitting needles: US Size 1.5 (2.5 mm) -Fingering-weight (4-ply) yarn in two contrasting colors. You will need approximately 220 yards of each. I used Knitpicks Palette yarn in Eggplant and Pennyroyal. Palette is 100% wool and comes in skeins of 231 yards/50 grams. -Stitchmarkers Gauge: 26 stitches and 36 rows = 4" Measurements: approximate 12" x 12" square
Reading the Chart:
The chart shows the color pattern of the front layer of the knitted block. The back layer is a negative image of the front. Each chart row is one row of knitting, but you are creating two layers of fabric. The odd-number rows (1, 3, etc.) are read from right to left. The even-number rows (2,4, etc.) are read from left to right. On row number one and all odd-numbered rows, a white box represents one knit stitch with light yarn and one purl stitch with dark yarn. A black box represents one knit stitch with dark and one purl stitch with light. On row number two and all even-numbered rows, a white box represents one knit stitch with dark and one purl stitch with light. One black box represents one knit stitch with light and one purl stitch with dark. It sounds confusing, but it's easy afte r a few rows --- you just need to remember that you're working on the negative side. Printing the Chart: Print the chart in color. It will make it easier to see the grid lines. Closed Double-Knit Selvedge: This is what I do, but there are other methods of closing a doubleknit fabric. When I come to the final pair at the end of the row, I bring both strands of yarn to the back and slip one stitch knit-wise. Then I bring both strands to the front and slip one stitch purlwise. When I begin the next row, I twist the back yarn around the front and knit the first stitch with the opposite color yarn, and purl the next with the other color. It gives a nice alternatecolorselvedge. Alasdair Post-Quinn has a great scarf pattern, Corvus, that explains double-knittng, and the Closed Double-Knit Selvedge. You can download it at: www.fallingblox.com/antiblog/images/ Corvus.pdf
Pattern:
Cast on 80 pairs of stitches (one dark, one light). The first and last pair of stitches are the selvedge stitches at the end and the beginning of the row. The selvedge stitches are not shown on the chart. There are 78 pairs of live stitches on each chart, with a pair of selvedge stitches that are not shown on the chart, at each end. w 108. Work a closed double-knit selvedge at the end of each row When you complete row 108, turn the work and cast off all of the stitches. To cast off , I knit one stitch, purl the second stitch, and then pass the first stitch over the second stitch. I pull it a little to get an even tension. Then I knit the next one, pass it over, purl one, pass it over, until all the stitches are cast off . Use a needle to tuck the loose ends into the fabric.
Some Double-knitting Resources:
-Yuma Cowl pattern by Karigan Huskycity is a great pattern to learn on. The pattern explains how to double-knit, cast on, bind off, and decrease. -Extreme Double-Knitting New Adventures in Reversible Colorwork by Alasdair Post-Quinn is a great book for everything double-knitting. Alasdair Post-Quinn has a great scarf pattern, Corvus, that explains double-knitting, and the Closed Double-Knit Selvedge. You can download it at: www.fallingblox.com/antiblog/images/ Corvus.pdf
