I'm on a "Jag"

From the dictionary:

Jag –noun
1. a period of unrestrained indulgence in an activity; spree; binge: a crying jag; a talking jag. (In my case a knitting jag.)

"Unrestrained"? It does seems like that at times that I just can not help myself. I have certainly have been on a "jag" with my XXX elongated stitch. Originally I was looking for a good edge for this sweater I've been working on for a while and I was just not satisfied with any of the stitch combination's I tried. I would put the sweater down and let it rest, thinking that it would come to me sooner or later. Then I remembered this old stitch and it worked perfectly for the edge, it lays flat it has just enough texture and it's easy to do.


Last winter I was doing a lot of felting and when I got tired of knitting things and felting them I decided to go to a thrift store and start buying old wool sweaters and felt them. What's the difference I knit it or somebody else knit it, the knitting police won't get me. I got this real nice wool man's sweater and washed the heck out of it and it felted really nicely, it's soft yet dense and it just had a really nice feel to it. I started to cut it apart to see what I could make out of it and suddenly had a vision.


I had this very nice sock yarn that looked harmonious with the colors in the original sweater and I picked up stitches right into the felted original piece. Like this:

It was a wee bit small on me so I added gussets, threw in a few short rows for shaping and here is what that looks like:


So this is what started my "Jag" with the xxx elongated stitch. Then I thought in case I forget how I do this maybe I'll just make a video and then post it on YouTube and that way if I ever want to do it again I can just watch my video.

elongated stitch XXX zig zag



I now have added this stitch to several other projects and it does not look like I'm stopping. I will show several other projects to you at a later post. Several people have asked me where I got this stitch? And I am not sure, what I am sure of is that I did not invent it because there is nothing new in knitting I am convinced that somewhere on the planet at one time or another it's been done by another knitter. Then I remembered this little sweater my aunt had and was showing me the stitch she used many years ago. Bingo! There it was the xxx elongated stitch and a whole sweater knitted in it. I guess she was on a jag too because she showed it to me all so many years ago when we visited her in Budapest.



I was teaching a class at Needle Points West the other day and showed a couple of projects with this elongated xxx stitch and my students wanted to learn it so my jag may be catchy.


Written instructions for the xxx elongated stitch:
It is done in all knit stitches (garter stitch) 6 + 1 = 7 stitches

(but you can also do it as 6+2=8 use your imagination. Maybe only cross 2 stitches instead of 3 and it becomes 4+1=5 or 4+2=6 etc.)

Set up row: (rs-right side or public side) Knit
Row 1: (ws - wrong side or inside) k3, *yo, k1,* to the last 2 sts. & k2.

(the first 3 and last 3 stitches are to stabilize the stitches but this is optional you can skip it or only do 2 sts. or as many as you would like, I was doing 3 sts. on each the beginning of the row and the end of the row)

You have now doubled the amount of stitches on the needle with all the k1, yo's.

Row 2: (rs) k3, drop the yo, *slip 6 stitches off the right needle dropping the yo's and making 6 elongated stitches. Slip those six elongated sts. back to the left needle purlwise (tip to tip). Knit the 4th st and lift it over the first 3 sts, knit the 5th st and lift over the first 3 sts, knit the 6th elongated stitch and lift it over the first 3 stitches, and knit the first three sts., k1*

Row 3: (ws) Knit
Row 4: (rs) Knit
Row 5: (ws) same as row 1.

And repeat.
If you don't get it watch the video on YouTube my user name is BananaKnits:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkbcTkiA9gs