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Knitting a Pi Circle

“It’s pi. The geometry of a circle hinging on the mysterious relationship of the circumference of a circle to its radius”, the words of my knitting hero Elizabeth Zimmermann. In this video, I demonstrate how to knit a flat circle.

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Pi Shawl on Ravelry.

Instructions for working a Pi Circle:
Note: I use KFB increases below, you can substitute any other one-stitch increase.
Cast-on 8 stitches and join in-the-round on double pointed needles.
Round 1: Knit
Round 2: KFB all stitches (16 stitches)
Rounds 3-4: Knit (2 rounds)
Round 5: KFB all stitches (32 stitches)
Rounds 6-9 Knit (4 rounds)
Round 10: KFB all stitches (64 stitches)
Rounds 11-18: Knit (8 rounds)
Round 19: KFB all stitches (128 stitches)
Rounds 20-35: Knit (16 rounds)
Continue in this manner, increasing every stitch in the increase rounds, and doubling the number of plain knit rounds between increase rounds. Switch to longer circular needles as needed. Bind-off using a normal bind-off and a larger sized needle on what would be a plain knit round (not an increase round!).

The poncho on the mannequin is my Rodeo Drive Poncho, pattern and video tutorial.
The yarn I use in my finished Pi Circle is Roots & Rain Monsoon Sock.
The yarn I use for demonstration is Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Chunky.
The DPNs I use for demonstration are Knitter’s Pride Ginger.

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Learn to Knit Socks – Update

This update is a facelift for my very first sock pattern from 2009, Learn to Knit Socks. I designed this pattern to teach the techniques used in most cuff-down, heel flap sock patterns. We use worsted weight yarn and larger needles to make it easier to see what you’re doing, and learn about sock construction. This pattern is also an introduction to double-pointed needles.

If you have already purchased this pattern, the update is free for you to download. You should receive either a Ravelry message announcing the update, or an email. If you don’t see either, you can visit Ravelry’s Purchase Finder to get your updated copy. (If you don’t see the pattern listed, but you’re confident that you’ve purchased it, please try using older email addresses that you may not use anymore.)

Size: Women, average foot width, any shoe size
Needles: Set of size US 5 (3.75mm) double-pointed needles
Yarn: 100 grams of worsted weight yarn
Additional Materials: tapestry needle for weaving ends
Gauge: 6 stitches per inch

Pattern and six-part video tutorial: $8 US via PayPal

The yarn used in the socks pictured is Knitologie Merino Worsted, from the August 2019 KnitCrate kit.

If you’re curious as to why the six parts of this tutorial are broken up into six videos, it’s because we released this video back in 2009, when YouTube would only allow videos 15 minutes or shorter to be uploaded!
Video 1 – Working with double-pointed needles and starting the cuff.

Video 2 – Dividing for the heel flap and knitting the heel flap.

Video 3 – Turning the heel.

Video 4 – Working the gusset.

Video 5 – Toe shaping.

Video 6 – Kitchener stitch (grafting the toe).

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Slow Motion Judy’s Magic Cast-On

In this video for very visual learners, I demonstrate Judy’s Magic Cast-On in slow motion. This CO is commonly used in toe-up sock patterns.

You can see my other slow-motion videos here.
You can see my regular speed JMCO video here.

The sweater on the mannequin is my Zippered Letterman’s Jacket, pattern and video tutorial.

The yarn I use for demonstration is Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Aran. The needles are Knitter’s Pride Ginger from an interchangeable set.

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Podcast Episode 155: Knitting Self-Help Show, Knitting Q and A


Our lovely sponsor this week:
Native
For 20% off your first purchase, visit nativedeodorant.com and use promo code verypink during checkout!

Things we talk about in this episode:
Casey’s blog post “A Tale of Two Socks”
Ursa sweater
Three Rectangles, Two Triangles
Learn to Knit a Woman’s Sweater
Podcast episode with psychologist Dr. Art Markman (process vs. product knitters)
Quick listener survey! Very quick, thank you!

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Knitting a Square from the Center

Knitting shapes is one of the very cool things we get to do with knitting. In this video, I demonstrate knitting a square from the center – a shape that can be used to make any size square, from dishcloth to afghan.

Instructions:
Cast-On 8 stitches using the pinhole CO, divide between 3 or 4 double-pointed needles. Knit around all stitches. (See the pinhole cast-on here.)
Row 1: KFB (knit front/back) all stitches
Row 2: Knit
Row 3: *KFB, K2, KFB*, repeat around
Row 4: Knit (if you are on 3 needles, separate stitches on to 4 needles here)
Row 5: *KFB, K to last stitch on needle, KFB*, repeat on other 3 needles
Row 6: Knit
Repeat Rows 5 and 6 to desired size, bind-off normally.

The poncho on the mannequin is my Rodeo Drive Poncho, pattern and video tutorial.
The yarn I used for demonstration is Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Chunky.
The needles are Knitter’s Pride Ginger Double-Pointed Needles.

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Slow Motion Wrap & Turn, Picking up Wraps

Wraps and Turns (w&t) are a way of shaping our knitting. In this video I demonstrate traditional w&t and picking up wraps in slow-motion.

My regular speed wrap & turn video can be found here.
My regular speed picking up wraps video can be found here.
A playlist of all of my slow-motion videos can be found here.

The sweater on the mannequin is my Women’s Zippered Letterman’s Jacket, pattern and video tutorial:

Woman’s Zippered Letterman’s Jacket

The yarn I use for demonstration is Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Chunky. The needles are Knitter’s Pride Ginger from an interchangeable set.

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Star-Toed Fleegle Socks

This sock pattern and video tutorial has a rounded star toe and a fleegle heel. It uses 100 grams of regular sock yarn, and is sized for women and men.
Pattern + video tutorial, $8 US.

You can add this pattern to your Ravelry queue here.

Men’s size, too!

Sizes: Women and Men, average widths, any shoe size
Needles: Size US 1 (2.5mm), I recommend using double-pointed needles for the toe, then you can stay with the DPNs or switch to the sock knitting needle style you prefer – 9” circulars, or magic loop, or FlexiFlips
Yarn: 100 grams of fingering weight yarn (also called sock yarn or 4ply yarn)
Additional Materials: tapestry needle for weaving ends, four ring stitch markers
Gauge: 8.5 stitches per inch

In the demonstration, I use much bigger needles and thicker yarn to make it easier to see the techniques used.

The yarns I used in my socks:
Solid color women’s socks- Knitologie Cozy Sock, colorway Citrus Squeeze, from a Knitcrate kit
Striped women’s socks – Turtlepurl sock yarn, colorway Paradise with orange toe/heel
The yarn I am using in my pink in-progress socks is Moon Tower Dye Works Trinton Sock in color Lantana.

The poncho on the mannequin is my Rodeo Drive Poncho, pattern and video tutorial here:

Rodeo Drive Poncho

The yarn I used for demonstration (thicker than the pattern requires) is Paintbox Yarns Wool Mix Aran.
The needles I used are Knitter’s Pride Ginger DPNs and ChiaoGoo Blue Shorties.
The needles I use in my in-progress socks are ChiaoGoo Red Shorties (smaller needle sizes than the Blue set).

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