Hold the Front Page

Yes, alert the media - Kate has done a swatch!

Remember the Christmas Present? Remember the tangle I got into when I tried to have a little practice? The Black Dog was obviously making a huge contribution - I have had another try and it really is plain sailing.

The technique of Shadow Knitting is not a complicated one to get your head around. There is only ever one colour per row. Two rows are worked with one colour, then the colour is changed. All stitches on public side rows are knit. On private side rows some stitches are knit, some purl. There is usually a chart to show you when to knit/purl. The use of knit/purl stitches in combination causes a pattern or picture to appear when viewed from certain angles.

. The gauge called for is 24sts and 46rows to 10cm using 3mm needles. I started the swatch with 30 sts on 3mm Addis, the yarn is Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4-ply.



There's not very much of it at the moment but I am liking the feel of the fabric. In fact, I am going to use the 3mm needles regardless of gauge - I cannot bear the thought of knitting a garment as huge as this on sock needles. If the gauge doesn't come out the same as Vivian's I shall just have to modify the pattern. (She said, waving a hand airily.)

I tried to get a picture of the "effect":



Yes, well. See my comments yesterday about how difficult it is to take decent photographs.

It seems that the stitch gauge is, surprisingly for the loose woman over here, almost bang on. The jury is still out on the row gauge because I haven't done anywhere near 46 rows yet. Time will tell.