Darn it. I’m happily knitting along and look back at my work and I’ve purled where I should have knit. For one stitch. The thought of ripping out several whole rows in brioche knit is horrifying, maybe I can run back just one column?

I transfer the stitches to the left of the target column onto a stitch holder, and carefully undo the loops in the column down to the offensive stitch. I make sure the loops are lined up with their respective yarn overs (one of the things that makes brioche brioche, and the main reason ripping out large portions is scary).

I then took a crochet hook and linked the loops back together in the proper orientation (so they look like a chain).

Success! And I have a new tool in my knitting toolbox, although I think this method will only work for a knit/purl swap because the amount of yarn used is the same.

I still don’t consider myself a Knitter (with the capital K), but I’m glad I’m picking up skills. (I feel like being a Knitter means you like knitting as a primary activity; I still prefer spinning.)

I have embarked on a new long-term knitting project: a rainbow scarf in brioche knit with vertical stripes of color. The yarn is from Wanderlust Fiber Co in Dallas TX, and it was purchased through a fundraiser through JuJu Knits for #LGBQTSaves. I reached out to the yarn dyers for more of the sparkly white so I had enough to back all the color in the scarf. The most terrifying thing about this project is if all those beautiful colors get tangled (seriously, the horror). So I devised a method to keep it all from turning to rainbow spaghetti. Enter one of DIYers top three multipurpose supplies: the pool noodle. (Which has a close following to duct tape and hot glue.) I cut a length of pool noodle, then slit it down the side to make a clamp for the center pull balls of yarn. The pressure on the yarn keeps the balls from rolling or swinging about, and since they are center-pull, the yarn feeds out easily.

The colors came in mini skeins, which, once they are wound into cakes, are a perfect size for a pool noodle clamp. As I knit the colored rows, I do need to watch carefully which way to route the yarn, but if I do mess up, I can take the tangled yarn out of the clamp, untangle, and slide it back in place. No worries.

The sparkly white stays out of the clamp, because it runs its rows independently of the colors. It is working quite well. And the pool noodle sits along my thigh when I sit in my chair and stays put.

This is definitely not a travel project, it stays in the knitting bag by my chair. So it will be in process for while. I’ll post updates as construction continues.

I attempted another cotton swatch, and tried again for doing brioche knit, vertical stripes, and cables. Uh no. You can see the one row of failed experiment in the photos. I did not rip out this time because it would have been demoralizing (and it is just a swatch that will go in the wash cloth bin). The combination of all the things is possible, but not at my usual level of concentration, which is always split at least two ways. (I am very distractible, if you haven’t noticed.)

This swatch was a learning experience for certain. I’m getting better at recognizing which way the brioche knit stitches go, and can read the knitting rather than relying on a pattern for each row. Most importantly, I have decided that the next project will use vertical color stripes, but not cables. Brioche knit is not easy (for me) to rip out partially, and cables introduce too many opportunities for error that I don’t catch until many rows later.

I actually ripped something out. Yes, it was just a cotton test swatch, yes it was headed to the washcloth bin any way, but felt I was taking on too much and had to simplify. So instead of trying brioche knit, vertical stripes, and cables, I took out the vertical stripes and concentrated on understanding cables in brioche knit.

The cables in brioche knitting are intriguing, but I really don’t want horizontal color changes in the next project. I’ll try a different swatch.