[Nfb-krafters-korner] Rag Rug - Cord

[linda]

Hello, hello everyone!

 

I  am so excited to have found you all!  I feel like I’ve been Stranded on a
desert island for years now, searching for ways to use items on the island
to perform tasks I used to do, only  without the usual accoutrements! I have
searched for resources  near and far to help me in my quest -  others who
have gone before me and figured all this out already.  I mean, why reinvent
the wheel, right!  I have been managing, but with limited results.
Sometimes I feel like I am going around my elbow to get to my mouth – there
has to be an easier way – I just haven’t found it yet! 

 

I have a million questions to ask you all on how you manage with limited or
no sight, but we’ll get to that later!

 

My name is Linda Flanagan and I live in a suburb of Dallas, Texas.  I am
divorced and have 3 lovely grown daughters and 8 grandkids ranging in age
from 18 to 5 year-old twins!  I love all things craft!  I have done
everything from all kinds of needle work to painting to macramé to
refinishing furniture.  

 

I also have a passion for a variety of sports and miss being able to
participate.  Knitting and crocheting are about the only things from my past
that I have been able to  get back.  However, if you put a golf club in my
hands and point me in the right direction, I just might surprise you!

 

I learned to crochet and knit in my early twenties, but gave it up due to
the time constraints of being a single mom raising 3 kids on my own.
Meanwhile, I was losing my eyesight.  Thirty years later, I decided to try
to pickup my knitting again in 2006, reasoning that if totally blind people
could knit, then so could I.  I checked at church and found that there had
been a knitting group in the past, and set about getting it started up
again.  All of the ladies I knit with have been wonderfully supportive and
helpful, but cannot really relate to my special needs.  I knit and crochet,
however, I find that knitting is easier for me as I can feel the stitches on
the needle easier than I can feel crochet stitches.  That being said, I love
a challenge and am constantly pushing myself to master new stitches and
techniques in both disciplines. 

 

Now, about that “I” cord.

 

An “I” cord is made on double-pointed needles- DPN’s using only knit
stitches, and rather than turning your work at the end of each row, you
slide your work to the opposite end of the needle and knit from that end.

 

Thinking about a rag rug, I made a sample using a heavier weight yarn
(probably a5 or6) and size 10 DPN’s.  

 

Cast on 5 stitches.

Now, slide those stitches back across the needle to the other end.

Your tail and the working yarn are now on the left side of your stitches.

Insert your right needle into the first stitch knit wise. 

Take the working yarn in your right hand and pull it snuggly across the back
of your work.

Yarn over your right needle and knit the stitch off the needle. (See note
below) 

Pull the working yarn to tighten this stitch. 

Knit the remaining stitches, being careful to keep your stitches snug.  The
tighter your stitches the more compact your cord. 

Now slide your work to the opposite end of your needle and repeat.

 

(Note:  This will feel awkward as your working yarn normally comes from the
right side of your stitch, only now it is coming from the left.  Don’t let
this throw you.  Just pull the working yarn across the needle and complete
the knit stitch.)

 

With this weight yarn and size needles, you can actually feel the hollow
space  inside your cord.  For a draw string, you would use fewer stitches,
maybe only 3 stitches and your cord would be denser and you would not be
able to tell it was actually a tube.

 

I think you will find this a useful technique to add to your stitching
repertoire.  If you have questions, just let me know and I’ll try to explain
it better.

 

Thanks, Joyce,  for inviting me to share.  I am looking forward to getting
to know everyone in the future.!  For those of you who are just getting
started, welcome to the Knit Side!  Stitch on!

 

 

Blessings, 

Ninn