A Long Broken Violet Gradient

Breaking Wilton Violet Food Coloring is one of my favorite dyeing activities.  I love the way the violet color breaks apart into turquoise and fuchsia.  I've dip dyed a skein of yarn into Wilton's violet food coloring in the past, but I wanted to create a very long gradient for a specific knitting project.  I want to create a hat with a long gradient from brim to crown.  To achieve this effect, I would dip dye a pre-knit blank into Wilton's violet food coloring.

It sounds like a lot of work to knit to create a blank for dyeing only to unravel the finished product, but I didn't hand knit this pre-knit blank.  I used an inexpensive hand crank Singer Knitting Machine to create a worsted weight blank.  (See my review of the Singer Knitting Machine)

Materials

• Materials: 100g Bare Wool of the Andes worsted weight yarn, Wilton's Violet Food Coloring, White Vinegar, Pot for the stovetop
• Create a "sock blank" out of the desired yarn with a crank knitting machine.  Alternatively, you could purchase a sock blank to use for this project. 
• The dyebath: (10 cups Water, 1/2 tsp Wilton's Violet Food Coloring and 3T White Vinegar)
• Dip Dye: Watch the below video to see how I dipped the pre-knit blank of yarn into the dyebath to create this stunning ombre yarn.  

Breaking Wilton's violet food coloring is always fun, but it is especially fun when the projects works just as you intended.  I ended up with exactly the right gradient distribution for my hat!  I'm getting a bit ahead of myself.  Before I got to the hat, I had to dip dye the yarn.  With the help of tongs and other kitchen spoons, I gradually dipped my pre-knit blank into the dyebath.  

Once all of the red had struck to the fiber, I let the whole blank soak in the dyebath to absorb as much of the blue as possible.  I removed the fiber and allowed the blank to cool to room temperature.  Once cool, I washed the dyed blank with liquid dish soap and cool water.  

I was so excited by the colorway that I wanted to unravel it immediately.  However, I knew that it would be prudent to wait for the fibers to dry so I wouldn't stretch them out.

However, once the yarn was dry it was so lovely that I didn't WANT to unravel it.  I tried it on like a scarf and had to work to convince myself that this really did want to turn into a hat  

If I weren't filming the video, I would have knit my hat directly from the blank.  I wanted to be able to show you what this looks like as it was unwound.  

There was some fun breaking within each of the stitches.  This was so cool!  

The yarn is crimped because I allowed it to dry in the knit blank.  If I were to wind the yarn onto the niddy noddy I could re-wet the yarn to straighten it back out.  This time, I didn't want to create an extra step so I wound it into a ball with my ball winder.  

Can you believe that all of these colors came from one batch of dye? I have a whole playlist of breaking Wilton's violet food coloring videos.  There are many ways you can take advantage of the separation of the blue and red dye molecules when you are dyeing yarn.  

I created this yarn specifically for a hat... for me!  How often do I knit a hat that is for myself?  Not often enough!  Stay tuned for the next post to see how this yarn converts into an amazing GENEie Hat.  

This post contains Amazon Affiliate links.  All product selections are my own, I was not solicited to promote any of these products.  

Norepinephrine Knitting Chart

When you guys request a molecule, I really like to see if I can make it happen ASAP.  

The structural difference between norepinephrine and dopamine (which I already charted) is really tiny, so it wasn't hard at all to create a new molecule knitting chart:

Norepinepherine Molecule Knitting Chart: 23 sts x 18 rows

Keep the molecule requests coming!  I'll help out if I can.  Make sure you check out the other Molecule Knitting Charts I've created.  Especially as the March for Science approaches I know people are trying to get their science knitting projects underway.  

Norepinephrine Molecule Knitting Chart © 2017 ChemKnits & Rebecca Roush Brown.  These charts are available for free via www.ChemKnits.com for your personal or charity use.  You are not to copy or distribute this pattern without the permission of the publisher, ChemKnits.

GENEie Plasmid - A DNA Cable Headband

GENEie Plasmid - A DNA Cable Headband Knitting Pattern

The GENEie Hat Collection was missing something.  These cable and colorwork hats and headbands didn't have a cable headband!  I wanted to make a small cable project that could be worn to show knitter and science pride at the March for Science on April 22, 2017.

Unlike the other patterns in the GENEie collection, the GENEie Plasmid can be knit flat.  This makes the knitting chart slightly more complicated because there are cables on both wrong side (WS) and right side (RS) rows.  There is also a version knit in the round.  Since the GENEie Plasmid is knit until it is long enough and then the ends are joined together, this pattern is really easy to adapt to any gauge and yarn weight.

Materials

• Needles: US 6 (4.0 mm) needles
• Yarn: Worsted weight yarn.  The sample was knit with KnitPicks Comfy Worsted (20 g, 44 yards)
• Gauge (blocked): 13 sts/2", 14 rows/2" over cable pattern.  Gauge isn't super important for this pattern since you can just keep knitting until the headband is the length you want.  
• Notions (optional):  cable needle, tapestry needle. 
• Finished Sizes: Adult S/M- 18" around (fits with negative ease), 2.25" wide
• Model Head Sizes: Rebecca - 22" head (normally wears a S/M hat)

Abbreviations Used in this Pattern - Updated with links to video tutorials!  I have a whole playlist of videos to help with the construction of the GENEie collection.  Make sure you check out an introduction to 1x1 cables if you want extra help with the GENEie DNA cable stitches.

• K – Knit
• P – Purl
• Sts – Stitches
• S1 – Slip one stitch purlwise
• K-tbl– Knit through the back loop
• P-tbl - Purl through the back loop
• CN – cable needle 
• M1 – Make One. Make a new stitch by picking up the yarn between two stitches, twisting it and knitting.
• WS - Wrong Side
• RS - Right Side
• C1-fkk:  S1 st on CN and hold in front.  K1, K1 from CN
• C2-bkk:  S1 st on CN and hold in back.   K1, K1 from CN
• C3-fpk:  S1 st on CN and hold in front.  P1, K1 from CN
• C4-bkp: S1 st on CN and hold in back.   K1, P1 from CN
• C5-fpp: S1 st on CN and hold in front.  P1, P1 from CN
• C6-bpp: S1 st on CN and hold in back.  P1, P1 from CN

Geneie Plasmid Knitting Pattern - Knit Flat - I am not a big fan of the Provisional Cast on so I decided to sew the ends of the headband together.  However, if you prefer you can start with a provisional cast on and then graft the beginning and end of the headband together.

• Cast on 15 sts.  
• Next Row (WS), K2, P11, K2
• Next Row, start Chart Round 1 (knit the chart right to left or follow the written instructions below the chart.)
• Continue knitting the chart.  Odd rows are the RS (read the chart right to left) and even rows are the WS (read the chart left to right) of the fabric.  
• Repeat rows 1-26 five times or until the piece measures 18".  (Note, I designed this headband to fit my 22" head.  The headband has negative ease so it will stretch to fit your head.  If you need more length keep knitting.)  
• Bind off while knitting Row 1 (or whatever row you are on next in the pattern.)  
• Block the headband.  (The edge of my headband curled significantly and I knew it would be easier to block the headband while it was still flat then once I had sewn the edges together.)  
• Sew the cast on edge to the bind off edge.  Weave in loose ends.  

The Chart - Odd Rows are the RS (knit right to left), Even Rows are the WS (knit left to right).  

Written instructions - Flat Plasmid

1. K8, C2-bkk, K5
2. K2, P2, C5-fpp, C6-bpp, P5, K2
3. K6, C2-bkk, K2, K-tbl, K4
4. K2, P1, C3-fpk, K3, C4-bkp, P3, K2
5. K4, C2-bkk, K5, K-tbl, K3
6. K2, P1, P-tbl, P6, P-tbl, P2, K2
7. K3, C4-bkp, P6, K-tbl, K3
8. K2, P1, C6-bpp, p6, P-tbl, P1, K2
9. K3, K-tbl, K6, K-tbl, K4
10. K2, P2, C6-bpp, K5, P-tbl, P1, K2
11. K3, C1-fkk, K3, C2-bkk, K5
12. K2, P4, C6-bpp, P2, P-tbl, P2, K2
13. K4, C1-fkk, C2-bkk, K7
14. K2, P6, C6-bpp, P3, K2
15. K4, C2-bkk, C1-FKK, K7
16. K2, P4, C5-fpp, P2, P-tbl, P2, K2
17. K3, C4-bkp, P3, C3-fpk, K5
18. K2, P2, C5-fpp, P5, P-tbl, P1, K2
19. K3, K-tbl, K6, K-tbl, K4
20. K2, P1, C3-fpk, K6, P-tbl, P1, K2
21. K3, C1-fkk, K6, K-tbl, K3
22. K2, P1, P-tbl, P6, P-tbl, P2, K2
23. K4, C1-fkk, P5, K-tbl, K3
24. K2, P1, C6-bpp, P3, C5-fpp, P3, K2
25. K6, C1-fkk, K2, K-tbl, K4
26. K2, P2, C6-bpp, C5-fpp, P5, K2

Working cables on the wrong side of knit fabric is not my favorite thing to do.  It is much easier for me to keep track of where I am in a project when I can follow the chart in the same direction each time.  Therefore, I also wanted to provide instructions to create a GENEie Plasmid headband in-the-round.

GENEie Plasmid Knit Flat (top) and in-the-round approximation (bottom)

GENEie Plasmid - Knit in the Round - I didn't knit a sample of this version of the GENEie Plasmid headband, the picture is an approximation of what this would look like.   This knit headband will have double layer of knit fabric versus the single layer in the flat version.

• Cast on 26 stitches.  Divide the stitches onto 3 double pointed needles as follows: 13, 7, 6. Join to knit in the round.
• Round 1: K2, Knit the 9 chart stitches, K14.  
• Continue knitting chart rows 1-26 five times or until the headband measures 18"
• Bind off while knitting round 1.  
• Stitch the cast on edge to the bind off edge and weave in loose ends.  Block if desired.  

GENEie DNA Cable Knitting Chart (for in the Round) - This the chart that was originally found in the GENEie Pussyhat knitting pattern.  Check out that pattern for line by line written instructions.

Chart Key

Approximation of what the GENEie Plasmid Headband (in the round) would look like.  There would be a little more space on either side of the double helix. 

I am so glad that I finally designed a cable headband.  In Boston, where I plan to march, the weather can either be really warm or cold and raw at the end of April.  I am glad that I have options to show my craftivism at the March for Science.

Scale comparison of the GENEie Plasmid Headband and the GENEie Next Generations Colorwork Headband.  

 Designing the GENEie Collection has been a whirlwind. Since the end of January, I have designed 6 different GENEie variants to support the March for Science  I also designed the Ice Cap Aquacessories knitting patterns which have H2O molecules around the brim of a headband and hat (not pictured).

The updated GENEie Collection designed by ChemKnits in support of the March for Science:

GENEie (Cable Version)

GENEie (Colorwork Version)

GENEie Pussyhat

GENEie Next Generations Headband and Hat (Colorwork - bottom left and right)

GENEie Plasmid Headband (Cable)

GENEie Plasmid Knitting Pattern © 2017 ChemKnits & Rebecca Roush Brown.  This pattern is available for free via www.ChemKnits.com for your personal or charity use.  You are not to copy or distribute this pattern without the permission of the publisher, ChemKnits.


This post contains some KnitPicks affiliate links.  I became an affiliate in October 2018 after using KnitPicks yarns for many years.  All yarn selections and options are my own. 

Winter Handprint and Footprint Wall Hanging

When it was time to (finally) write the post about my winter handprint and footprint art wall hanging, I couldn't stop smiling.  Currently the Valentine's Day and Spring handprint hanging is in my hallway.  Rowdy's little feet were so tiny since he was under a month old when we made that one.  At almost a year, the Thanksgiving and Winter hangings show just how much the boys have grown.    I'm sure that someday the boys might object to having their baby footprints on the wall, but I hope to continue rotating out this holiday artwork for many years.

For all of these handprint projects, I use three 9" x 12" canvases.  I like to buy them in big packs when they are on sale so I have them at home for when inspiration strikes.

Since I've done multiple canvas panels, I wanted to mix up the colors a bit.  I didn't want the colors to be exactly the same as a different holiday season.  I knew that I wanted some shades of blue and purple, but to brighten the colors I added some white to the mixtures.  Each canvas required two coats of paint to get an even coverage.

This ended up being the most subtle color change yet, but it was a nice change.  I wanted something that would be appropriate for the whole winter, not just Christmas.  Our Christmas decorations are purple and silver, so this would fit right in with our celebrations.  

For the Halloween handprint project, I added the prints and then decorated them.  The planned middle panel for this project will have some handprint birds sitting on branches.   I thought that I would need to draw the branches first, but then looking back at I realized that the feet are on the branches, both of which can be drawn after than handprints are done.  Phew! I'm much more nervous drawing things freehand than I am stamping hands and feet.

I wish that I had been able to get the bird handprints a little higher up on the canvas, but I think I should be able to manage drawing branches under them.  I wasn't nervous about makign the snowman and penguin details, but I was nervous about painting the snowy branches for the birds.

I started with the bird faces.  Awe, they really did look like birds!  Maybe this will help me feel more confident.  Not quite, but I knew I needed to just go for the branches.

The branches came out WAY better than I had expected.  I did a Paint Bar mom's night out recently where we painted trees.  They gave us some god tips on how to taper the branches to make them look a little more realistic.  If I were going to do this again, I would definitely put the handprints up higher, but I still think that this looks very branchlike.

I practiced the snowflake on my drop cloth before I got a design I liked enough to paint on the canvas.  I think that it helps make my white globs look more like snow. I think that the snow piles look really cute.  I'm not 100% happy with the feet, but there is no mistaking that these little hands are birds.  

Compared to the birds, the snowmen footprints were a piece of cake to finish up.  I added some text and dots to make the canvas feel more complete.  I like to add the year to these hangings so I can remember how old the boys were at the time.  I have a feeling I will add more handprint and footprint art to my collection over the next few years.

After embellishing the snowmen, the penguins started to feel a little empty.  I didn't want to add any more text so I start thinking about what I could draw to add some decoration.  I decided to add a "knit scarf" to the bottom and some earmuffs to the small penguin.  This should finish off that canvas nicely and then I'd be ready to glue the ribbons onto it.

The penguin canvas is purple, so I decided to make the scarf blue and silver.  

The blue is more visible to the eye than it is to the pictures, but I thought it would be worth making the earmuffs stand out a little more so I swapped the silver and blue.  

My artwork trio is complete.  I think that the birds are the most special but I also really enjoy the snowmen.  

I normally like to use 5/8" ribbon to hang these canvases but I had trouble finding a snowflake ribbon.  I ended up gluing two ribbons to the canvas.  First I used hot glue to add the snowflake ribbon, and then I glued the glitter mesh ribbon to the back.

I finished these projects up just after Thanksgiving was done.  After taking pictures of the Thanksgiving artwork I was able to hang up the winter set immediately.  Instant gratification!

The double ribbon made the bow at the top of the set especially cute.  It almost looks like a wrapped present, which is very appropriate for the winter holiday season.  

I hang these rotating canvases in my front hallway next to the bathroom.  This is a spot that I pass multiple times a day and it is also visible when you open the front door.  I love using my childrens' hands and feet to welcome people into our home.  

I'm not really sure what kind of canvas I should do next.  Instead of doing a summer trio we made a 16x20 sunflower hanging which currently lives permanently in our playroom.  The rotation is heavy in from October through February and then I don't have anything new for the summer.  If you have any ideas let me know in the comments.  I'd rather focus on a season more than a specific holiday.  Maybe we can do animals for summertime.  What do you think?

Do you want to see my inspiration for these canvases?  Checkout my handprint and footprint art Pinterest page.

Color Matching

 

Sometimes poor planning leads to not having the color yarn you need when you need it.  With Rowdy's birthday around the corner I didn't have time to place a KnitPicks order and wait for it to arrive.  Well, I might have had time, but the colors that I need (in two different yarn lines) are on back order.  Tough luck, right?  I did have some white Wool of the Andes yarn in my stash.  I am Rebecca from ChemKnits, why not dye my own yarn?

I knew that the colors wouldn't be exact, but wanted to try to get close to the colors in a turtle butt diaper soaker I made for Lucky's first birthday.  I had blue and green hats left over from his birthday party (yes, I save EVERYTHING.)  I just need to make a blue and green that will complement the knit diaper cover.  The dark blue is so saturated I thought it would be easier for me to hit than the green.

I created four miniskeins so I could have two attempts to make each color.  I wrapped the yarn around the leg of a stool 12 times.  The four miniskeins weight an average of 6.6 g (6.3, 6.6, 6.9, 6.3).  Pure white yarn has been bleached so it isn't ideal for dyeing yarn.  However, you work with what you have and I know that this yarn will take up some color.  For the blue, I planned to use a mixture of Blue and NEON Blue food coloring.  For the green I would use NEON green and maybe some NEON blue as necessary.

It is always fun to try out something new.  Why not try to use mason jars inside of a pot of water on the stove top to set the color?  Microwaving would be significantly faster and easier, but I knew there are a lot of fun applications for using mason jars to get variegated yards so I wanted to test out the technique before I used a whole skein of yarn.

In my first attempt:

• Green - 30 drops neon green, 4 drops yellow, and 3 drops neon blue.  This might end up being too blue or too dark but I will adjust after this first attempt.
• Blue - 10 drops blue, 30 drops NEON blue

This was a lot of dye for only 6 g of yarn, but I knew that I want deep saturated colors.  If the colors were too dark I'd cut the amount of dye and try again.  This is why I started with four miniskines.

I make mistakes!  Some of my mistakes are beautiful, but other times they're frustrating because I'm trying to achieve a specific result.  Today I wanted to dye mostly solid yarns.  (I knew that I'd get even better solid results if I used a larger volume of water, but I wanted to try mason jar dyeing.)  I accidentally left the miniskeins twisted when I added them to the dyepot.  Remember what happened when you kettle dye a twisted skein?  You get some cool variation of color.  Unfortunately, this wasn't what I wanted this time so I had to start over.

Since I needed to dye the yarns again anyway, I used this as an opportunity to tweek the colors a bit. Second attempt:

• Green - 30 drops neon green
• Blue - 35 drosp blue, 5 neon blue

I knew as soon as the dye had absorbed to the yarn that I was much closer to the colors I wanted.  Could I try again to get even closer?  Sure.  However I knew that the decorations would be far enough from the shorts that it should work.

Now that the yarn has been dyed (and dried) I need to start crocheting some dinosaur appliques.  I will talk about that project in another blog post but you can get a sneak peek if you watch the entire video of this dyeing process.