Sushi BathmatMaterials:
knitting needles, U.S. size 10/6mm, 32" circular
additional needle, straight, circular or dpn, U.S. 10, for 3-needle BO
Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton (worsted-weight 100% cotton): 3 skeins Tulip (#615, white) [MC]; 1 skein each of Tomato (#619, red) [CC1]; Poppy (#601, orange) [CC2]; Cumin (#605, brown) [CC3]; Pumpkin (#622, dark orange) [CC4]; Ink (#613, black) [CC5]
waste yarn for provisional CO (worsted-weight, slippery yarn is best, e.g., mercerized
cotton).
tapestry needle
crochet hook, U.S. size H/8, 5mm
yarn bobbins
Gauge: 16sts/16 rows = 4"/10cms
Skills and techniques:
provisional CO
intarsia
short rows
3-needle BO
Abbreviations used:
k knit
k2tog knit two stitches together
[MC] main color
[CC] contrast color
CO cast-on
BO bind off
Note: Yarn is used doubled throughout: knit with two strands of yarn held together.
General Directions
Wrap and turn: Bring yarn to front, slip next stitch to right needle, pass yarn to back.
Turn the work, slip the first stitch on the left needle purlwise to the right needle, keeping yarn in front.
Lift wrap and knit: Insert right needle into stitch and slide tip of needle under the strand
wrapped around it. Slip left needle in front of right needle and knit.
Provisional CO: Using scrap yarn (preferably smooth and slippery, like mercerized
cotton, in a contrasting color), crochet a chain with a few more stitches than will be needed for the CO. Pull the end of the yarn through and mark this end (a safety pin is good). There will be two sides to this chain: one will look like a braid, the other will look bumpy. You want to have the bumpy side facing up and the marked end on your left. Skip the first few bumps in the chain before beginning to CO. Working from right to left, use your knitting needle and the yarn for the project (in this case, the Blue Sky Cotton) to pick up a stitch under each loop, wrapping the working yarn over the needle from front to back. Alternately, you can use long-tail CO and a contrasting color yarn, then cut each loop of the CO and carefully expose the live stitches to set up the BO.
3-needle BO: With provisional CO removed, you should have the first row on one needle, and the last row on a second needle. Fold the piece so that the right sides (the sides that will be public and facing out in the finished piece) are facing each other. The pointed ends of the knitting needles must be facing the same direction. *With a third needle, insert into the front of the first stitch on both needles. Knit together. Repeat, then pass the first stitch on the right needle over the second stitch on the right needle (just as you would for a standard BO)*. Repeat from * to * until the end.
Bathmat
Pattern:
With provisional CO, CO 20 sts with Tulip [MC] and 20 sts with Cumin[CC1].
Row 1: Knit all sts, changing from [CC1] to [MC] as you come to it, making sure the yarns are twisted.
Row 2: K19, wrap last stitch and turn. Knit to end of row.
Row 3: K18, wrap next stitch and turn. Knit to end of row.
Continue in this manner, knitting one fewer stitch before wrapping the next, until Row 18: K5, wrap next stitch and turn. Knit to end of row.
Row 19: K4, lift wrap and knit together with wrapped stitch through the back loops.
Repeat until the last wrapped stitch is knitted, end k1.
Repeat from row 1 five times. Work a color change for the "filling" with the [CC] yarns as follows:
In row 1, k to last st. Drop working [CC] strand, knit last stitch with new [CC] yarn. Cut previous [CC] strand, leaving enough to weave in after knitting is completed. After 4th repeat, do not change filling color ([CC1] is used for two repeats).
After the final repeat is completed, cut yarn leaving a 25" tail. Remove waste yarn from provisional CO (if you used the crochet chain, undo the marked end and gently "unzip"; if you used the long-tail CO, carefully snip each loop of the CO to expose the live stitches), slip live stitches to needle, and work 3-needle BO. If you prefer a smooth and invisible seam, graft last row to CO.
Edging: the bathmat on the show has a crocheted edge (2 rounds of half-double crochet with a size G hook); if you would prefer to knit the edging, this is one way to do it: knit: with wrong side facing you, pick up stitches along the edge using [CC5].
Knit one row, purl one row.
Work I-cord edging as follows:
CO 3 sts (cable or knitted CO)
*k2, k2tog through back loops. Slip 3 sts from right needle to left needle. Pull yarn across back of work*. Repeat from * to *, end k3tog.
Tip: If you want to make the bathmat nonskid, use puffy fabric paint to make concentric circles or squiggles on the side that will be against the floor.
Next: Mod Coasters
