Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
You may remember back in 2012, I played with double-knit entrelac while considering a new hat design (what’s entrelac, I hear you ask? Wikipedia knows). At that point, I was working out details on double-knit short rows, picking up new pairs along a double-knit edge, and ways to keep the whole thing locked together at the edges of the diamonds, at least. I made a little rectangular swatch that allowed me to try out a bunch of different options for each, and if you’ve taken a class with me or seen one of my presentations in the recent past, you’ve probably seen the swatch in question.
It’s been a while since I’ve thought about DK entrelac any more than in passing. Shortly after I made the swatch, the illustrious Gwen Bortner took one of my advanced double-knitting workshops and it became clear that she had done — and even published — a double-knit entrelac pattern. However, even Gwen said that the photo of the piece doesn’t do the technique justice, and after I picked up a copy of her book, I realized that the technique is not described in any real depth so the method is relegated to the crazy enthusiasts (like myself) who are willing to work out the details for themselves.
For the next couple of years I found myself busy with other things. But now, with the next book on the (distant but visible) horizon, I am working on snippets of techniques again. In a moment of frustration while working on another piece, I decided I’d dedicate some braincells to the entrelac question. Once I’d opened this old dusty crate in the back of my brain, I was able to look at it in a new light, and something that had eluded me before snapped into place. Not only is double-knit entrelac possible, it’s easy — and one of the elements that is unique to my style of double-knitting is going to make DK entrelac even easier. I’ve also been playing with new stitch/pair relationships and new ways of explaining things that will go a long way toward fostering a better understanding of DK entrelac and double-knitting in general.
So without further ado, this pear-shaped thing was my technique swatch. I ironed out some details but most of it is working in an easily repeatable/documentable method. I’m not thrilled with the closure but I have another idea for that which I’ll try out later. Also, the gauge is way off — too loose and showing too much of the other color because of that. Now that I have the technique down, my next step is going to be to play with the gauge, color changing, and (of course) motifs within the panels.
Just so you can see that it’s reversible, here’s another photo with the pear halfway turned inside out.
Now comes the bad news. This is kind of a tease, I’m sorry to say. This is going to be a fairly technique-heavy pattern and when it’s done it’s likely that I’ll be saving it for the book and not releasing it as a standalone pattern. However, if there’s great outcry I may change my tune on that.
Thanks for your continued interest and I hope to see you back here again soon!
Thanks for the mention!! What I loved about DK entrelac is you don’t need left-leaning and right-leaning shapes because one shape is doing both (one lean on each side) at the same time. I will look forward to seeing your use of the combined techniques!!
Since this has been over a year could you tell us which book you put the entrelac pattern in?
Charles, I’m sorry for the long delay! You can see more about my entrelac adventures in a later blog post. As you can see, it’s something I’m holding for the upcoming book, which will be out about a year from now (if all goes well)