April: Under 3 Interlinking
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The instructions for this structure are quite simple. It shows up all by itself in every class I teach. Briefly summarized, it is an interlinking stitch where every row is a plait (braiding) row.
Every row begins with "pick up 2, put 1 down" and ends with "pick up 1, put 2 down". When you add 2 loops (4 threads) of a contrasting color to your warp, the result will be a vertical stripe. Note the manner in which the edges of the stripe jog, and that they jog differently than stripes from last month's interlinking stitch. This is a rather dense structure. Worked in wool and felted up a bit, it could be almost windproof. It is one of the stitches seen in a bonnet from the Bronze Age, found at a burial site at Skydstrup. I saw the bonnet while visiting the Royal collection in Copenhagen, Denmark. I have also seen this stitch at the brim of several Egyptian bonnets, and suspect it was used to firm up the rim, and also to help reduce the size of the initial loops. | ||
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The video at the left shows you how to work the under 3 interlinking stitch.
This stitch can be used in the first few rows to snug up those end loops. I have seen this in a couple of Coptic bonnets in museum collections, where a bonnet otherwise worked in the basic interlinking stitch has this "Under 3 interlinking" in the first few rows. |
If you want to keep the edge threads in order, I recommend the use of beads. The rules for the beads are a bit different with the under-3 interlinking stitch. All rows would seem to be plait rows, in that all rows begin with that edge stitch: pick up 2, put 1 down, and all rows end with the left-edge stitch: pick up 1, put 2 down.
In general, we will say that every row features edge stitches that always include the bead thread.
The difference between plait and overplait rows is a bit blurred here. I therefore talk about row A and row B.
Before Row A begins, the bead at the right is on a back thread, and the bead at the left is on a front thread.
The first stitch on this row has you pick up 2 threads, put one thread down. One of the 2 threads has a bead.
The last stitch on this row has you pick up 1 thread, put 2 down. One of the 2 threads has a bead.
Before Row b begins, the bead at the right is on a front thread, and the bead at the left is on a back thread.
The first stitch on this row has you pick up 2 threads, put down the thread with the bead
The last stitch on this row has you pick up 1 thread … the thread with the bead, and put 2 threads down.
In general, we will say that every row features edge stitches that always include the bead thread.
The difference between plait and overplait rows is a bit blurred here. I therefore talk about row A and row B.
Before Row A begins, the bead at the right is on a back thread, and the bead at the left is on a front thread.
The first stitch on this row has you pick up 2 threads, put one thread down. One of the 2 threads has a bead.
The last stitch on this row has you pick up 1 thread, put 2 down. One of the 2 threads has a bead.
Before Row b begins, the bead at the right is on a front thread, and the bead at the left is on a back thread.
The first stitch on this row has you pick up 2 threads, put down the thread with the bead
The last stitch on this row has you pick up 1 thread … the thread with the bead, and put 2 threads down.
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At the right you see a relatively invisible seam in my hat of under-3 interlinking structure. You will find instructions for sewing up this invisible seam in the PDF at the left.
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It's January as I write this. It snowed last night, and somebody needs to go out and shovel the path to the front door. It's also very cold, -30 Celcius. My husband now tells me that he does not have a hat. He used to have several. It seems he lost the last one when he went to the office last week, maybe left it there. He doesn't want to shovel because he doesn't have a hat. I told him to take one of my sprang sample hats. He says they are too loose. My suspicion was that he objected to the colors. Working as I am these days with the under-3-interlinking stitch, it occurs to me that maybe a hat made using this under 3 interlinking stitch will be more to his liking. I made him wear one of the "too loose" and brightly colored hats to go out and shovel the snow and then I set to work with my sprang frame.
The stocking cap in the pattern I posted was originally worked using sock yarn and that interlinking stitch from March. I took some dark sock yarn, and using fewer than 92 loops in that hat (I put on 76 loops) I made a hat using the under-3 interlinking stitch. It was way too narrow. Maybe there will be some small child who will wear this hat. I then put on a warp of 92 loops and started again. This time, 2 inches along, I knew it would still be too narrow. I finished that warp as a pair of fingerless mittens (I wear them under my coat sleeves when it is really cold). On my 3rd attempt I used 120 loops, and made a hat that he really likes. He says the "grab" and the thickness of the under-3-interlinking, makes it a much nicer hat (to his way of thinking) than the basic interlinking stitch from March. Now, black is not so easy to photograph, but I hope you get the idea ... it's the color he wanted.
The stocking cap in the pattern I posted was originally worked using sock yarn and that interlinking stitch from March. I took some dark sock yarn, and using fewer than 92 loops in that hat (I put on 76 loops) I made a hat using the under-3 interlinking stitch. It was way too narrow. Maybe there will be some small child who will wear this hat. I then put on a warp of 92 loops and started again. This time, 2 inches along, I knew it would still be too narrow. I finished that warp as a pair of fingerless mittens (I wear them under my coat sleeves when it is really cold). On my 3rd attempt I used 120 loops, and made a hat that he really likes. He says the "grab" and the thickness of the under-3-interlinking, makes it a much nicer hat (to his way of thinking) than the basic interlinking stitch from March. Now, black is not so easy to photograph, but I hope you get the idea ... it's the color he wanted.
The black hat has 30% more loops than the colored hat, but ended up looking the same size. The stitch in the black hat is more dense, making it feel thicker. While still quite stretchy it has a bit more resistance to stretch, so feels snugger on the head.
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