Remember those mittens I was wearing in Denver?

Here’s the pattern!

I knit these mittens a couple of years ago, pre-blog, when I was on a big cable kick - I really wanted some cabley texture that wouldn’t be annoying to wear on the palm of my mitten. The tighter cabling and purls on the cuff draw the fabric in to keep the snow out.

This pattern calls for one skein of Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride Worsted, but any heavy-ish worsted yarn should do. The mittens are knit tightly (using US 6 needles) for extra wind-battling power during those long, cold winters.

I’ve been finessing the top decreases over the past couple of days, so the mitten photo above isn’t 100% accurate. The pattern as written is most similar to the left mitten above - all of the decreasing issues in the right mitten have been fixed.

Yay for mittens!

Finally, finally, finally! The Ironwork Socks pattern is finished!

The pattern is offered in three sizes (corresponding to cast on amounts of 64, 72, and 80 stitches) but will work with a wide range of foot measurements and stitch gauges:

I erred on the large side for sock measurement to size conversion - the stitch pattern has a similar gauge as stockinette, but a bit less stretch because of the traveling stitches.

I would consider this an intermediate to advanced pattern, as an understanding of knitting charts is required. The pattern contains three charts for each size, one each for the leg, heel, and instep. There are clear instructions on all of the chart symbols and written instructions for the heel turn, gusset, and toe sections.

You can buy it here:

You’ll need a paypal account in order to buy the pattern. After you purchase the pattern you’ll get an email from e-junkie with a download link to the file. The e-junkie email will go to the primary email address on your paypal account.

Special thanks to all the test knitters for this pattern! There are even a few single socks out and about - be sure to check out Naiad Kitty and Pikku Kettu’s completed socks.

Ironwork Socks Errata

Please contact me (kelpknits at gmail dot com) if you would like me to update an expired download link.

• Fixed in Version 1.1 (10/19/07):
  - Heel Flap. Row 1 and Row 3 should be swapped.
  - Key. The second-to-bottom symbol should be, “Place one stitch on cable needle. Ktbl, ktbl. K stitch on cable needle.”
• Fixed in Version 1.2 (10/20/07):
  - Turn Heel. Row 1 should be, “Sl1, K17 [19, 21] sts, ssk, k1, turn.”
• Fixed in Version 1.3 (10/22/07)
  - Instep Chart - All sizes. The following stitches should be purl (rather than knit): column 2 and 32 [36, 40], rows 8-10. This isn’t an error per se, but I think the edge stitches look better this way.
• Fixed in Version 1.4 (10/24/07)
  - Instep Chart - Large. The following stitches should all be ssk (rather than k2tog): column 1, row 10 and 30; column 23, row 20 and 40.
• Fixed in Version 1.5 (10/28/07)
  - Key. The second-to-bottom symbol should really be, “Place one stitch on cable needle. Ktbl, ktbl. K stitch on cable needle.”
• Fixed in Version 1.6 (12/23/07)
  - Instep Chart - Medium. Row 33, stitch 26 and the k2togs above and to the right of it should all be ssk.

Finally, finally, I’ve written out the dotty pattern. I was planning on writing up the details on how I came up with the numbers in case anyone wants to modify it before I realized that hey! It’s felted and really, it’s not a math exam where anyone cares if I show my work. If anyone is interested, I’d be more than happy to decipher my notes for you.

So here it is! I was a bit fast-and-loose about measuring my gauge, but hey! It’s felted, so don’t worry about it! Also, the bottom decrease method doesn’t necessarily jive with my row gauge in stockinette, but I think it will work based on how mine turned out (actually, the bed bottom is now flat after the cats used it a few times).

I’d love to know if anyone actually makes this thing. Your cats will heart you for it!

Yarn: Knitpicks Wool of the Andes [100% wool, 110 yards/50 grams]

• 3 balls MC [Chocolate (23774)]
• 2 balls CC1 [Chambray (23769)]
• 2 balls CC2 [Rain (23768)]
• 2 balls CC3 [Stream (23434)]

Notions:

• One 24 or 32 inch US 10.5 circular needle
• One set of US 10.5 double-pointed needles
• One stitch marker
• Tapestry needle

Gauge:

• Dot pattern, before felting: 3 circles wide by 3 pattern repeats tall = 3.75 inches by 3.5 inches
• Dot pattern, after felting: 3 circles wide by 3 pattern repeats tall = 3 inches by 3.18 inches
• Stockinette, before felting: 15 sts by 20 rows = 4 inches square
• Stockinette, after felting: ? stitches by 42 rows = 4 inches

Finished Measurements:

• Bottom: 17 inches in diameter
• Sides: 5 inches tall

Dotty Pattern:
Worked in the round over 6 sts, slip all sts as if to purl

Row 1: Attach MC. Knit
Row 2: Purl
Row 3: Break MC, attach CC. [sl2, K4]
Rows 4-7: [sl2, K4]
Row 8: [sl2, K4]. Break CC. Remove marker, sl3, place marker. This is your new beginning-of-round.

The Dotty Cat Bed pattern

Using MC, CO 276 stitches. Join in the round, being careful not to twist. Place a stitch marker to denote the beginning-of-round.

Sides
Work the Dotty Pattern 9 times, alternating CC colors each repeat (CC1, CC2, CC3, CC1, …).

Transition Section
Break CC3, attach MC.
Purl one row in MC.
Flip cat bed inside-out. Remove marker. Slip one stitch from left needle to right. Pass second stitch from right needle to left, do not drop stitch off left needle. Place marker. You should now be set up to knit every round, and the stockinette side of the fabric is on the inside of the bed.

[K34, PM, K35, PM] to end. You should have eight evenly-spaced markers around the bed.
Knit one row in MC. Break MC.

Bottom
Work three-row stripes, alternating colors in this order: CC1, CC3, CC2, MC. Or invent your own stripey sequence. Go crazy! At some point you will run out of the CC colors - switch to MC and use that until the end.

At the same time, decrease as follows:

Row 1: [K to two stitches before marker, k2tog, slip marker]
Row 2: K
Row 3: K
Row 4: [K to two stitches before marker, k2tog, slip marker]
Row 5: K
Row 6: K
Row 7: [K to two stitches before marker, k2tog, slip marker]
Row 8: K

*** Warning: this decrease sequence above is emperically-generated - no math was used here! In the pattern photos, the decreases are worked every 3 rounds, which led to a not-flat bottom. However, once the cats started lying in the bed, the bed bottom flattened out in no time. ***

Continue decreasing (switching to double-pointed needles when there are too few stitches on the circular needle) until you have 24 stitches. Break yarn, thread through remaining stitches, and pull tightly to close.

Finishing
Weave in ends. Felt the bed, using instructions here or here. I placed the bed in a zippered pillowcase, then threw the pillowcase and a pair of of jeans in my washing machine, on the HOT wash cycle, for about 15-20 minutes.

Once the bed is felted to your liking, block it over a cylindrical surface or bowl (I used an inverted bowl and lots of plastic bags).

Coerce cats into sleeping in it.