Swatch it
Okay, be honest… does anyone really enjoy swatching?
I find knitting little samples to assure myself of the right gauge to be rather boring and avoid it whenever I can. Yes, I know it saves time in the long run. But what then do I do with this 4×4-inch bit of worked-up yarn? I suppose if I were really creative, I’d keep every single one and eventually make a patchwork quilt. Sigh, I’m just not that ingenious…
Given such feelings, how ironic then that the time I’ve spent on the stair tread project has resulted in one oversized swatch. What began as a tangle of pre-felted I-cord knit to a random length of 315 inches (because I couldn’t be bothered to knit any more and didn’t want to cut off any unused length)…
…ended up as a tangle of post-felted I-cord duly shrunk to a length of 212 inches. That’s a fairly normal result of about 67% of the original length.
After winding it around and pinning into place, I come out with a mat that’s 4.5 x 21 inches. Hmm…what size should a stair tread ought to be? Oops, probably should’ve googled that one before starting.
Erm, regular retail braided rug stair treads measure 8 x 28 inches. Rats, not nearly there. But I have an impression (based on nothing at all really) that our cottage steps are not quite full size. Need Husband-Will to do a quick measure of ‘em before he comes to Dublin. After doing a bit of who-knows-if-its-relevant mathematical computations, I estimate that I need to knit at least another 315 inches of pre-felted I-cord to get a mat that’s nearly the size of the retail ones.
So, what to do with my swatch…um, a nifty trivet perhaps?
I really enjoy your blog/journal. Those colors are so pretty. You could use it as a trivet, or a draft stopper for a window ledge. It would brighten any room.
19 May 2008 at 12:52 am
I love the idea of stair treads and the idea of trivets is a good one too. Now I know what to do with those yarn leftovers. Hmmm, maybe placemats to match. I think I will begin to want to see those nice young men in their clean white coats before I am done though.
19 May 2008 at 3:20 am
Now there’s dedication: knitting floor covering.
I vote for a trivet for casseroles. I’m always pulling out two trivets for a large casserole, so that would solve that problem. Hmmm…I just might make one myself. Should I knit a swatch first, I wonder…
19 May 2008 at 12:34 pm
Why can’t you just do another segment to add onto this one to make up the difference? It won’t be one continuous piece of felted cord, but since it’s being stitched together, I don’t know that it would really matter much, would it? The place where it’s joined shouldn’t be all that noticeable since you’re mixing so many colors anyway. Or am I totally missing some crucial design element that makes this a bad idea?? Quite possible…no coffee yet this a.m….
19 May 2008 at 3:54 pm
What about making a curtain/radiator cover type thing using the strands. You could add some beads, etc for texture or tie knots in it randomly. It would be very unusual. I think I would quite like one. The tension squares can make interior pockets for the garment or don’t cast off and keep adding to it and it will [eventually] be a blanket. If you don’t want it, unpick it and use for stitching up with. Hope that might be useful info for you.
20 May 2008 at 10:52 pm
I vote it to be the bottom of a market bag or, if possible and as already suggested, build onto it a bit further.
Bravo to you for knitting that much I-cord! Your tenacity is amazing. Are your eyes crossing yet?
21 May 2008 at 3:47 pm
so - are the stair-tread mats off the scope, then? That’s a lot of l-cord. . . . times - ah - how many stairs?
It sure would be pretty, though!
Tell the kiddies, if you would, that wee Laird Luther has arrived at the greenwood, and is in training. So far, so good!
22 May 2008 at 2:25 pm
I wonder…if you laced your icord from the back side into a round mat and then felted it, would it make a nice chairpad? I have chairpads that were braided from wool in the old tradition but knitted ones would be really nice!
15 Jun 2008 at 11:02 pm