Hooded scarf, casting off

I finished a hooded scarf and seamed it differently then I normally would. I tried a simple seaming that seems to have worked quite well. I like how thick this came out but I think that next time I will make some changes over the way this was made, but oh what a wonderful cold weather scarf/hood this is going to make for someone. I don't have a picture yet, but maybe tomorrow. It has to be mailed out this week.

I have made a wonderful discovery for myself. I, like many others, have been very unhappy with one method of binding off for the board looms. That method by which all stitches are moved from one side to the other and knit off. Then the final stitches are crocheted off. It makes a very shortened end with no stretch for the piece. So I have played around with different bind offs and the best I found is the crochet off each stitch one at at time. Like this:

Starting at the end of the loom opposite side from where the yarn (working yarn) from the skein is, pick up the stitch on the row of pegs opposite of the working yarnend, with the hook. Now pick up the first stitch on the next row (opposite row). Pull this second stitch though the first on your crochet hook. Now go to back to the row where you started your pickups and pick up the stitch on the second peg pulling it through the loop on your hook. Continue working from top to bottom picking up stitches to pull through. When you have the last stitch picked up and pulled through then cut the yarn from the skein and pull that strand through the last loop on the hook (all the way through). Tighten it down and you are done after hiding ends.

Now here is the problem with one method of removal. The one where they have you move all your stitches to one side and knit off the bottom row then pick up the stitches to crochet off. First let's start by looking at the very first row. Lets just start with say 10 pegs per side. You can test this by just looking at a piece you have finished or by doing a swatch.

Knit a few rows using the top and bottom pegs using a simple figure eight wrap. As you are knitting look towards the inside of the loom. See how the stitches are laying? They really are not exactly back to back. The stitches on the one side are actually laying more to center between the two stitches from the other side. Now take a piece that you have finished and tug it gently to the side. See where the stitches are laying? One stitch on the back is formed to the center of two stitches to the other side.

The doubled part comes into play because you have a layer of stitches on either side and they tug each other close so as to form a thicker layer, but they really are not back to back stitches but more like side to side.

If you look more closely at the stretched piece of knitting you can see the yarn trails going from front to back. This gives a stetch to the piece. If you have someone stretch and hold for you the beginning section (or if you can do it yourself), you can count the actual amount of stitches on that beginning row. You will count 20 from 10 pegs top, 10 pegs bottom. So you have a stretch of 20 stitches.

Then why in the world would you want to only have a stretch of 10 stitches for the top of the piece. If you follow the current directions for removal by moving all the stitches over to the other side this is what you are going to have. You will only be working off 10 stitches. You have lost the stretch for one side of the work and the ends will not match. One will have stretch, the beginning,the other will not, the ending. This is one of the most common complaints that I hear about that removal.

I use the long tail caston and my beginning and ending look the same. No flare to one side from too loose stitches, or no shortened side, ending, because of a bad method for removal.

Well, just something for everyone to think on. Let me know what you find if you decide to play with this. I think I have explained it well, but what I think and what you can understand might not meet at the same place.