Knit Dice
Introduction
This set of instructions will cover knitting the polygons needed to produce dice in the shape of regular solids: 4-sided, 6-sided, 8-sided, 12-sided, and 20-sided. Recommended yarn: worsted weight Recommended needles: US size 7 (4.5mm) Gauge: not critical, as long as it's consistent.
Step 1: Squares
The square is the simplest shape to start with; no increases or decreases needed. It's also very good for swatching. My results: CO 12 st for a 3” square, work 16 rows in stockinette. This gives a gauge of 4 stitches per inch, and 5.3 rows per inch. A standard die uses six squares.
Step 2: Triangles
Here's where the mathematics begin. Armed with your gauge taken from the square swatch, you need to figure out how many rows you'll need. Here's the nasty part: the height in inches is equal to half the length of the edge, multiplied by the square root of three. For a 3" triangle, that's 1.5 x 1.73 or, rounded off, 2.6 inches. Using the figures for my gauge, we get 12 stitches across, and 14 rows. Within those 14 rows, we need to reduce the width evenly; we do that by paired decreases at each end of the row. The goal is to finish at the 14th row with 2 stitches; we'll want stabilising rows as well. What I wound up doing was casting on, working a RS row, a WS row, and then beginning the decreases on the next RS row. The WS rows stabilised the work, and it all finished up working out. Experiment with it, if it doesn't quite work right with your gauage, until it looks right. Triangles are used for the 4, 8, and 20-sided dice, one per side. Copyright @ Silas Humphreys 2009-2010.
Step 3: Pentagons
Now we're getting into really fun mathematics. Fortunately, I've done the heavy lifting already, so you just need to hold on and plug the numbers in. A pentagon will, inevitably, require increases as well as decreases. First, though, we need to establish how many rows it uses. Using my gauge, we'll work it out for a 2” side (because a 2” side keeps the 12-sider in proportion to a 3” six-sider and 8-sider). The cast-on is easy: eight stitches. Next, we need to determine the maximum number of stitches: this is 1.6 times the cast-on, so for this example 12 stitches. Increases will be paired, so we'll need two of them, as evenly spaced as possible. Now, we need to find out how many rows to spread these over. The formula here is 0.95 x (length of side) x (row gauge), so 0.95 x 2” x 5.3 rows per inch. For the worked example, that's 10 rows. I increased on the 5th and 10th rows, but the 4th and 9th would also have worked. That's the bottom half worked out. The top half has fewer rows: 0.6 x (number of rows in the bottom half). For our worked example, that's 0.6 x 10, which is six rows. Arrange the decreases as needed to get back down to a point by the time you run out of rows. So, for our worked example, we have: cast on 8 stitches. Work 4 rows in stockinette. Knit (or purl, as appropriate) 1, make 1, k (or p, as appropriate) to last stitch, make 1, k1. Work another 4 rows in stockinette, repeat the increase row, work one more row to stabilise, and then decrease like crazy. (I was decreasing by 2 stitches on each row above the belt.) You'll want 12 of these, for a 12-sided die.
Numbering & assembly
Numbers are sewn on in duplicate stitch. Charts are included for the digits O-9, in 10 row by 8 stitch format. Sew the faces together using your own dice as a guide, and stuff with whatever you find suitable. Copyright @ Silas Humphreys 2009-2010.
Charts
