*** File last modified on May 30, 1994 *** +++++ Contents: Mobius Scarf Klein Bottle Klein Bottle "Hat" This file was originally compiled by Martha Underwood (ddancer@netcom.com). Please send updates to Emily Way (spamily@io.org). +++++ Mobius Scarves From: li@inigo.Data-IO.COM It's a scarf that's a mobius strip. One edge, one side, and basically a loop with half a twist in it. Hmmmm... the _Knitters_ magazine on the Luxurious Knits had two recipes for the scarves in it. One where you knit a strip, put a half twist in the strip and then graft the two ends together. You can take a piece of paper, put a half twist in it, and join the ends and you'll see that the resulting thing has only one surface (that you can follow around twice) and one edge (that goes around the object twice). The other is harder to explain with textual means, but, basically, the idea is to knit the scarf along it's one edge (and, no, it's *not* like knitting a circle but with the row twisted, that will give you a full twist, not a half-twist). Hmmm... how I do it is cast on 150 stitches on a 40 inch, size eight, circular needle, using just a simple half-hitch cast-on, after checking three or four times that all the stitches are straight, I then knit up the *bottoms* of those half-hitches, the parts that aren't on the needle, and pick up another 150 stitches and end up where I began *with* a half-twist in the strip between the edges of the scarf. Then I have to untwist each stitch before knitting or purling it. The stitch patterns you use should be reversible (i.e. moss stitch or garter stitch kinds of patterns). The advantages to a mobius strip scarf are 1) if you put it over your neck and it's straight along your neck, the half-twist folds flat under your jacket; 2) being a loop, the scarf never falls off; and 3) if your ears are cold and you've made it long enough, you can lift the 'fold' give *it* a half twist and have a ready-made, comfortable hood with extra protection at your throat. ^^^ Klein Bottle Mary (in Manchester, England) Knit yourself a Klein Bottle ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ With a set of 4 needles, cast on 90 stitches (30 to each needle). Knit round till work measures 4" (10cm). Then work backwards and forwards in stocking stitch for a further 1.5" (4cm) ending with a p row, so as to leave a hole in the work, then work one row circular. Decrease one stitch at both ends of each needle on every alternate round, until 27 stitches remain, 9 on each needle. Knit straight for a further 12". Pass through hole. Increase one stitch at both ends of each needle on every alternate round, until there are 90 stitches, 30 on each needle. Knit straight for 6 rows. Then knit together one stitch from needle, one from cast-on edge. Repeat for 90 stitches. Cast off. This uses approx. 3 oz (100g) of double-knitting wool (3.25mm needles). ^^^ Klein Bottle Hats From: li@inigo.Data-IO.COM Please don't copy this for your friends... but you do have permission to use this as you like. I'm still working out detailed stitch-by-stitch instructions for the blind-follower types; but this is the hat ideas that I have at the moment given the beginning of the Klein bottle pattern that Mary gave me... The pattern... I'm still working on it. I got the basic Klein bottle shape pretty good, but the hat shaping part I'm still working on. What I have at the moment is basically the following: Get two groups of yarn colors... one for the 'inside' and one for the 'outside'. In American 'worsted' weight or English double knitting weight, i.e. yarn that you'd use American size 8 needles with or Eurpean 3.5 mm needles with, a medium small head is around 90 stitches around with the 5% give. You'll need about 4 oz of yarn, a 16" circular needle and a set of 8" double point needles. Or you can use the 8" dp with a set of 10" dp needles, depending on how comfortable you are with dps. Using the 'inside' yarn cast on as many stitches as you need to get around the head of the person you're making it for and add 5% for the fact that you're going to have at least two layers to the hat. Cast it on (90 sts) invisibly, which means using a piece of different colored yarn, just wrap the yarn you're going to use around the cast on needle and that odd colored yarn. Cast it onto either three double pointed 10" size eight needles or a 16" circular needls. Purl around once (or use the 'backward stitching' for whatever pattern you've planed for your liner), making sure that the join has no twist in it. It'll get twisted enough later on. Then decrease your number of stitches by 10%, and make sure you have an even number of stitches. ( k8, k2tog around to 80 stitches ) Rib, using your inside yarn, for one inch (either k2, p2 or k1 p1, whichever you feel comfortable with) (I like k2 p2). Then, at the beginning, rib *back* to that point, turn and rib back for the next rows. I.E. You're making a slit in your ribbing for the next 2 inches. During those two inches, start intermixing your 'inside' color with your 'outside' color... starting with solid 'inside' and shading to outside. You can carry (and twist) the yarns along the edge of the slit, but be sure to leave plenty of carry yarn there as there has to be a *lot* of give to that opening. A better idea is to actually *cut* the yarn every time you change color and work the tails into the piece. After the two inches, join the circle again and rib another inch. Then increase back up to your original number (k8, M1, 10 times). Knit in the round until you have the depth you want in your hat before the crown (usually around 7-10 inches) and then add three rows more. Then decrease for the crown (one method is to split the stitches into three groups and decrease six stitches every other row, i.e. if you started with 90 stitches, I'd * slip one, knit one, pull the slipped one over the knit stitch, then knit 26 stitches, then knit 2 together, then repeat from the * two more times; then knit a row and then do the *'s the next row, but with 24 stitches instead of 26... etc...) until you're down to about 1/3rd the original number of stitches. Sometime during that, if you're using circular needles, you'll probably need to switch to a set of dp needles. Then, knit that tube to *twice* the length of the hat from where you start the tube to the brim. That tube needs to travel from the tip of the hat to the brim and then back up to the tip of the hat again for the 'lining'. When you're done with that, put the tube (and your needles) through the hole you made in your ribbing. Then start *increasing* the exact same way you decreased earlier, until you get *exactly* the same number of stitches you started with. Then knit down the length of the crown again, until it's the same length as before between the edge of the ribbing and the beginning of your increases, before. Then graft the beginning edge to your stitches to finish it off. :) Yes, this is a *really* 'rough' pattern, and more in the way that I think of things than most patterns are like. The outside of the tubes are the 'outsides' of the hat when the tube lies along the outside... I prefer to use stitches that are not 'perfectly' reversable, as in I *can* tell which side is which... something like a really wide ribbing with some kind of braid on *both* sides, different for each side. Remember to keep everything 'reversable'... and it's more fun when each side shows as a 'different face' as the hat is 'reversable' as well as inside-outable... when it swallows itself through the tube (or when you pull it inside out by pulling the tube through the hole) the back 'sides' of the outside and the liner will be presented, and the backside of the liner with be the outside of the hat and the original outside of the hat will become the liner... Yes, it's completely Weird and fun when it's knit. The ribbing is completely 'reversable' and should go with either side so that it can overlap a bit to hide the fact that the 'liners' are the *same* size as the exterior. When you wear it, it actually looks a lot *less* weird than you think... it kinda looks like a hat with a 'tassel' that got caught under the edge of the hat... But it's kinda fun to make the tube/tassel wierd and wild colors. :) --- Copyright 1994 by Phyllis L. Rostykus. Permission granted for distribution via the usual electronic channels and for archival. All other rights reserved. ^^^ Klein Bottle Hats - Correction From: li@inigo.Data-IO.COM Jacque just made a *fine* catch. My gauge with the worsted was 18 sts for 4 inches, which made about a 20 inch *outside circumferance* hat which fit my roughly 18 inch head pretty well with the addition of the lining and the ribbing. Just so you have a better idea as to what's going on with the really rough pattern. --- This pattern downloaded from Wool Works: the online knitting compendium http://www.woolworks.org/