Tuesday, December 30, 2014

ENTRELAC TUTORIAL and HAPPY NEW YEAR WISHES

Happy New Year my dear friends.  I say "dear friends" as I really feel as though I know all the wonderful people I have met via blog world.  I originally wrote this entrelac tutorial back in 2013 but if you want to challenge yourself to learn something new for the New Year, then here's a tutorial on how to knit "entrelac" style.

Originally my sister-in-law showed me how to do this pattern.  But, with graphs and basic knitting skills, I hope my poorly written tutorial will be of help.  Believe me, once you start, it is a very easy pattern to continue with.  You are basically doing short rows of knitting then adding stitches back on your needle.

If you google "entrelac scarf pattern" there's a few patterns out there but this pattern seems to be a good one for a beginner.  You will need a pair of size 8 or 9 knitting needles and yarn that changes color such as Noro Silk Garden or Crystal Palace Mochi Plus.  If you you these yarns mentioned, it would take 3 to 4 skeins, depending on how long you wish the scarf to be.  I have also used King Cole Twist Aran (two skeins) and Universal Yarn Classic Shades (two skeins).  The yarn you chose is important since  it's the color change in the yarn that makes the entrelac pattern so distinct.




BASE TRIANGLES:
You will begin by casting on 24 stitches.  This first group of "triangles" will be for the base of the scarf; hence "base triangles".  You will have three base triangles after completing this first part:

These triangles will be on your needle so they won't really look like they do above in the diagram but if you were to take them off the needle, this is how they would look.


TIER 1:
Now you are going to knit a #1 left triangle, #2 middle triangle, #3 middle triangle and #4 right triangle. After completing the #4 right triangle you will have 25 stitches on your needle (right triangle #4 has 1 stitch only). These four triangles make up TIER 1.



TIER 2:
Tier 2 consists of #5 triangle, #6 triangle and #7 triangle. All three of these triangles in TIER 2 are made the exact same way. At the end of TIER 2 there will be 24 stitches on your needles.

So, if you look at the diagram above you can see the 3 base triangles followed by Tier l triangles followed by Tier 2 triangles.  The arrows represent the direction of how each tier is knitted.

You will knit the BASE triangles only ONCE.  You will repeat TIER 1 and TIER 2 throughout the pattern (hence you will be making #1 triangle, #2 triangle, #3 triangle, #4 triangle, #5 triangle, #6 triangle, #7 triangle and then back to repeating #1 triangle, etc.)

When you are almost done with your yarn or have knitted to the length you wish, you will complete the FINAL TIER TRIANGLES as shown in the pattern.


 This photo above shows TIER 1 stitches after being completed.  Do you see the one single stitch in the very right end of the needle?  This stitch will count as stitch #1 when you go to pick up 7 more stitches for the start of TIER 2.


This photo shows the beginning of  #5 triangle of TIER 2.  It was #4 right triangle with one stitch and then I picked up 7 more stitches to begin #5 triangle of TIER 2.


 This photo shows the SSK (slip, slip,knit) of row 3 of TIER 2.


This photo shows #5 triangle of TIER 2 completed.  There are still two more triangles #6 & #7) on this tier that need to be completed.  


This photo shows TIER 2 after completion.  You will now go back and start TIER 1 again.

I suggest that you print out the pattern and begin following the directions.  I hope that the diagrams can guide you as to how the pattern comes together.  The diagrams helped me so that I could gauge where I was in the pattern repeats.   It's really a fun pattern to knit and it goes quite fast.


Please excuse my poor diagrams and photos but I did want to share this with you while it was still fresh in my memory!!  (hahaha) .....UPDATE:  I went to edit this post and everything went wrong....I had to redo the diagrams and luckily I had the same photos. 

I hope you enjoy trying out entrelac knitting and please stop by Handmade Monday and see lots of great ideas from other bloggers.  I wish you all a great week!


Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2015,
Pat




Lilly wishes each of you a wonderful nappy New Year!


 

34 comments:

  1. The scarf looks amazing, I love the pattern but not sure if my knitting skills are up to it! The picture of meringues at the tip your blog is great - yum!

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    1. Thank you but it's really the yarn that does the work since it makes the color changes. You can give it a try with some scrap yarn and see how it goes. It's not as complicated as it looks. Thanks again for stopping by and have a wonderful week!
      P.S. I can't take credit for the meringue picture since it's my daughter's photo she took in France....

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  2. It looks so lovely but as someone who is not a great knitter, I think I will leave your great tutorial for others to follow. I do love your coloured knitting needles - very smart. Hope you and Lilly have a good week.

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    1. Thank you for taking time to stop by. I purchased the needles from Knit Picks and they are my favorite pair of needles. You too have a good week. Lilly sends her best wishes, too!

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  3. This is amazing knitting pattern! the colours combined together look great and the overall effect is really eye catching :)

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    1. I am so happy you enjoyed this post. It's a fun pattern and really goes quite fast. Enjoy your week :)

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  4. I think I shall show this page and pattern to my mum - she's way better at knitting than me - and she does like a new project to try! Thanks for the tutorial.

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    1. Hi Lucy, that would be great if you pass this post on. I'm sure your Mom will enjoy this fun pattern. I wish you a great week!

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  5. I always wanted to try this but was intimidated. I google +'d this!

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    1. Thank you Karen. Please give it a try and don't be intimidated. I hope the pictures can be of help. Take care :)

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  6. I've always wondered how it was done and now I know. I'll add it to the 'knitting to do' list xx

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  7. It looks very intricate but the effect is fabulous. Wish I had the time to just it and knit. Hugs Mrs a.

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  8. The pattern looks great and often ordered how it was achieved Wih I had more time to just sit and knit. Hugs Mrs a.

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  9. WOW! It looks brilliant :-) I've no idea how to knit, but will show my Mum as everything I like that's knitted gets passed in that direction! Simmi x

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  10. Wonderful knit scarf and lovely picture of Lilly looking pretty comfortable.

    Regards diane

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  11. I was just thinking last night that I would like to make a baby blanket using this stitch but I'm sure my skills are up to this stitch. I just learned to slip stitch at the beginning of a scarf and the eyelet garter stitch. But I will give it a try soon.

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    1. Hi and thanks for visiting my blog. Yes, give it a try and if you have a problem I'm sure there's some youtube videos you can watch. Happy New Year!

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  12. Visiting from EyeLoveKnots - thanks for your comment. Lily is so cute! And this technique looks so neat! I have looked at a couple of them for crocheting but it is a little overwhelming to me. I like simple. Your explanation makes it seem less intimidating. Perhaps, I will have to give it a shot.

    Alexandra
    EyeLoveKnots.blogspot.com

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    1. Hello Alexandra, Lilly says "hi" and thanks you for your kind comments. I too saw a pattern for crochet entrelac but I haven't tried it yet. Maybe I will give it a try. Happy knitting New Year.

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  13. Thanks for the tutorial. I will bookmark it. I love the look of that technique, but I don't think I am quite ready for it yet.

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    1. Greetings Cathie, thank you for stopping by. I hope your new year is off to a great start.

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  14. entrelac has always confused me. I'll have to try your tutorial when I get some time.

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    1. Hello Paula, yes it can be tricky at first but once you get started it knits up very fast. Thanks for stopping by.

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  15. I just love this pattern! I am a fairly new knitter but I think I can do this. Pinned!

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    1. Thank you so much AnnMarie. As I mentioned above, if you have a problem, there are some youtube videos you can watch. It is a fun pattern to make. Thank you for stopping by.

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  16. An absolutely beautiful fabric. I never could figure out entrelac. I'm going to give this a try.

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    1. Hi Sherry, yes, please give it a try and see how you like knitting in this style. I wish you a Happy New Year and appreciate you stopping by my blog.

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  17. Hello and Happy New Year to you and yours, oh and super gorgeous Lilly.
    Gosh that knitting pattern is beautiful, knitting is at an early stage with me but I am so looking forward to learning more this new year.
    I love the colours you have used too.
    Best wishes
    Helen

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    1. Thank you so Much. I wish you happy knitting for the new year.

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  18. This looks like a knitting project that I could actually pull off. I can to a plain old scarf but always seem to loose count whenever I try something more complex. I'm pinning this one!

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    1. I'm sure you can easily master this pattern. It's fun and goes fast once you get started. My best wishes to you for the new year.

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  19. I love how entrelac looks. I had a go at a crochet version but only tried a tiny piece on my mood blanket last year. I'd certainly like to try again its on my very long list of dos!! X

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    1. Hello. I'd love to try the crochet entrelac but haven't as of yet. Thank you so much for visiting my site.

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