Christmas Tree Increases - Christine Guest Designs

Christmas Tree Increases – a Variation on Barbara G Walker's Technique for
Increasing in one Stitch.
I think that the closed ring designs in Barbara G Walker’s Charted Knitting
Designs are ingenious. I’m a bit surprised that they don’t show up in more
sweater patterns, her book was published way back in 1972 after all, and the
trick is so cool. The effect is similar to the beautiful work Nicki Epstein did in
Nicky Epstein’s Knitted Embellishments: 350 Appliques, Borders, Cords, and
More where she couched i-cord down on a plain knitted background.
The top of the ring comes together magically on the last row: until then your
ring looks decidedly gawky. The loops of the cables are alternately laid around
the central purl stitch. Those loops lie horizontally, and that creates the illusion
that the ring runs in a circle.
The increases at the bottom of the ring look much more awkward, pointy even.
I tried to think if there were a way for them to be looped around their central
stitch like the decreases were. This is what I came up with, sort of based on the
tubular cast on, only worked around the central stitch, not a piece of waste yarn.
I think of it as a Christmas tree increase, since they mount like a fern, and it’s
December.
Christmas Tree Increase Tutorial ChristineGuestDesigns.com [email protected]
I have illustrated the process for adding 6 stitches, but if you are working only 4
increases (for a small ring, or my horizontal open chain pattern) I will indicate
when to jump to the end.
With yarn in back (always and forever, but I’ll try to keep reminding you) insert
the right needle between the central stitch of the ring cable and the purl stitch
next to it.
Yarn over
Draw up a stitch.
Christmas Tree Increase Tutorial ChristineGuestDesigns.com [email protected]
With yarn in back, slip the central purl stitch onto
the right needle. Insert the left needle into the middle of the stitch you just drew
up.
Yarn over
draw up a stitch without dropping the first stitch off
the right needle. (This is the pattern you will be repeating for all the increases)
slip the central purl stitch onto the left needle
Christmas Tree Increase Tutorial ChristineGuestDesigns.com [email protected]
with yarn in back, insert the right needle between
the central stitch and the stitch you just made on the left needle
yarn over
draw up a stitch
slip the central purl stitch onto the right needle
Christmas Tree Increase Tutorial ChristineGuestDesigns.com [email protected]
with yarn in back, insert left needle into the stitch
you just made
yarn over
draw up a stitch (if you are working a small ring,
slip the two stitches on the left needle onto the right and keep purling your
background stitches, jump to the bottom of the page to see what it looks like)
slip the central purl stitch onto the left needle
Christmas Tree Increase Tutorial ChristineGuestDesigns.com [email protected]
insert right needle inbetween the central stitch
and the last drawn up stitch, yarn over, draw up a stitch
slip the central stitch onto the right needle
insert the left needle into the drawn up stitch yarn
over
pull up a stitch
Christmas Tree Increase Tutorial ChristineGuestDesigns.com [email protected]
slip the stitches on the left needle onto the right
needle. When you come to them on the back side (or next round) remember to
treat the drawn up stitches as knits on the front side, and the central stitch as a
purl. they look a bit abstract as you come to them. Here is the Christmas Tree
increase, worked with 6 added stitches
Christmas Tree increase with the purl stitches
worked around it
Christmas Tree Increase Tutorial ChristineGuestDesigns.com [email protected]