[Nfb-krafters-korner] Rag Rug - Cord

Mon Sep 27 14:25:44 UTC 2010

Welcome Linda;
I am interested in learning how to make the chord.  
I want to get a 12 inch circcular needle so I can make some cases and put draw strings.  I want to try to add beading to the knitting.
What happens to the yarn when you move to the other end of the needle.  It sounds like there would be a slack pice of yarn along side your first 5 stitches.  
After my craft show, I will have to try it out and get back with you.  I also need to know how to make the holes for the chord to pass through.

Terry Powers
Terry.powers at nih.gov

-----Original Message-----
From: linda [mailto:the_ninn at tx.rr.com] 
Sent: Saturday, September 25, 2010 11:32 PM
To: nfb-krafters-korner at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Nfb-krafters-korner] Rag Rug - Cord

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

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