Saturday, April 8, 2017

Glucose Headband and a Duplicate Stitch Tutorial


Some of the first designs I ever published were molecule knitting charts.  I have designed way more of the molecules than I've knit (although some of them were featured in the Sticks, Hooks, and the Mobius: Knit and Crochet Go Cerebral exhibit in 2012.)  I thought it would be fun to create a Glucose Molecule Headband for the March for Science.


The glucose knitting chart is 18 rows high and 22 sts wide.  I decided to knit the base of a Generic Headband and then duplicate stitch the glucose molecule on top.


I knit the headband base out of KnitPicks Comfy Worsted in Marina.  I have a lot of Shine Sport in many colors that I can use to duplicate stitch on the molecule in the end.  I knit the generic headband base on size 6 knitting needles.  Since the molecule is 18 rows high, I knit 20 rounds of stockinette between the ribbing rounds.  (This is going to be a pretty wide headband.  If you want to fit a molecule with this many rows on a smaller headband then increase the number of stitches, use thinner yarn and smaller needles.)  

 I ran out of yarn with just 1.5  rows left.  I hate it when this happens!  Thankfully I had another ball of yarn on hand in the same dyelot, but cutting it this close always makes me nervous.



Using duplicate stitch instead of trying to knit the molecule stranded was nicer than I expected.  I didn't have to count while I was knitting and could pay minimum attention while knitting the base.  This was perfect for lower light movie watching, when otherwise this project would have required a lot of focus.

I've had a problem with typos lately!  I can't believe I didn't notice the error until after the video was complete.  

I thought about duplicating "Science Is Sweet" next to the glucose molecule but ultimately I didn't like how my duplicate stitch letters looked so I tore it out.  The chart is in the above picture, and can you notice that I can't spell?

I did use these letters to film a duplicate stitch tutorial.  I hope that this helps you add designs to your knitting after they're completed.



Rowdy likes to grab my knitting while I try to photograph the finished projects. Here is the little cutie with the generic headband base: 


The molecule looks beautiful before I even added the oxygens:


The weather was poor so I only had time to take a quick shot of me in the headband inside.  Even though the headband is a little wider it still fits great on my head.  I can't wait to pass this on to someone to wear for the March for Science!