Natural Crimson - a Plethora of Stitches

So I've learned to knit again. I knew how once upon a time and decided to pick it up again so I could do even more with yarn. Also, I was working on this new pillow and the single crochet stitch was eating up a lot of yarn. I had heard knitting uses less, so I wanted to see how it would turn out if I knitted the back of the pillow in stockinette instead.

Annie Modesitt (http://www.modeknit.com) mentions Continental knitting in her writing and says it's her preferred method to knit. I read about both English and Continental knitting in the Stitch 'n Bitch Knitter's Handbook and decided to give it a try. It's easier for me to knit Continental because I can hold the yarn in my left hand and do the work with my right, just like I do when I crochet. I've gotten fairly speedy and my first stockinette is turning out rather well, if I do say so myself.

So this is that lovely Paton's SWS "Natural Crimson" I had tried to make into a scarf. I frogged it and am now working on a 13x13 pillow. The front is done in the same Wavy Chevron pattern - basically all double-crochet, but it gets into some fun front-post double crochet stitches to make those delicious ridges.

Chain on multiples of 17.
Row 1: chain 2, double crochet in 3rd ch from hook and then two dc's in each of the next two chains. Then skip a chain and double crochet every other five times. Skip a chain and then put two double-crochets in each of the next six chains. Repeat the five and six pattern across to end with two double-crochets in each of the last three chains. Basically, you start and end the row with half of the six part of the pattern.
Row 2: Chain 2, then front-post double crochet in each post and end with a fpdc in the turning chain. This row really flies because you're only crocheting around the posts and there's no counting. This is also why this pattern eats yarn. The end result is that on the back of this stitch, all of those nice tops of the stitches from the row below are hanging out and ignored and overlapping the posts of the fpdc's. It makes a ridge that stands out and creates texture, but it also means you get a lot less fabric length for the amount of crocheting you do.
Row 3: Chain 2, double crochet in first double crochet, then two dc in the next two dc.Then skip a dc and double crochet every other five times. Skip a chain and then put two double-crochets in each of the next six dc's. Repeat the five and six pattern across to end with two double-crochets in each of the last three dc's. This is basically row 1 all over again, except we're out of the chain and into the good stuff.
Repeat rows 2 and 3 until the fabric is long enough.

End result is:

FRONT:



BACK:



The Patons SWS has some fierce stripes using this stitch and I love it!

Next came my initial attempt at the back. I used single crochet back and forth and got this gorgeous, square, flat, crisp fabric with dramatic striping. I love the SWS because it has a gloss to it (see the photo of the back of the chevron to see how it shines under flash). However, I did not love the amount of yarn this uses because SWS is more expensive and you get less per skein than regular wool. It's 70% wool and 30% soy, so it's worth it, but still.. there had to be another way. Also, the striping was almost too dramatic to use with the chevrons on the front side of the pillow.



So, stockinette entered the picture. It's such a difference! The fabric rolls, which I know will be a non-issue after it's blocked and sewn into a pillow, but it's different to work with. Also, the striping is gradual and soft, and the whole fabric has a fuzz to it instead of the stiff, crisp texture of crochet. It's thinner and more wearable, but less dramatic. This is exactly what I needed. It echoes the colors in the front of the pillow, but is a nice quiet backdrop to the texture. It's like the Patty Duke show. The crochet is Patty Lane and the knitting is Cathy.




Put the three together and see what I mean. I can't wait to see how this pillow turns out!