Knots not Nupps

It’s a linen thing.

Gosh Yarn It! had a sale last month which included discontinued Louet Euroflax Paris at 60% off.  It is a lace weight 100% linen yarn at 580 yards per cone.  I bought two cones in natural and one in steel grey (which I would definitely call steel blue).

 

After some searching on Ravelry and some swatching, I decided to make “Annis” by Susanna IC from Knitty Spring+Summer 2010 with the “steel blue”.  There was one made on Ravelry from the same yarn that I very much liked.

When I reached the return row after the first nupp row – I got totally stuck.  Typical of other nupps that I have made, the pattern said to work seven stitches in one stitch on the right side; and then on the returning wrong side row, purl the seven stitches together.  While I know that this is indeed possible when working with wool yarn, as I have made this kind of nupp before...

Nupps Detail, my "Swallowtail Shawl", pattern by Evelyn A Clark

It really was impossible to purl seven stitches together with the linen.  In fact, I could not even get my right needle into all seven stitches on my left needle.  While wool yarn will give a little, the linen had no give at all.

I tried a couple of things:

I tried using a small crochet hook to pull a loop through the seven stitches, simulating a purl seven together.  It was awkward to work and it looked kind of messy.

I tried knitting the seven stitches with a larger size double-pointed-needle and passing them back on my regular knitting needle.  I could purl these larger stitches together, but it looked kind of loose.  I was afraid that they would start shifting.

I thought of other solutions:

I could replace the nupps with beads using the crochet hook method.  But I did not actually want beads on this shawl.  I wanted just the pure natural linen.

I could send a message to the Raveler on Ravelry who made this shawl from this yarn and ask for advice.  But I did not want to wait for a reply.  (It also crossed my mind that she might say, “What is wrong with you?  I had no problem.”)

Then I remembered "THE BOOK".  I did buy the book, THE PRINCIPLES OF KNITTING by June Hemmonds Hiatt (New York, Touchstone, 2012) which I described in a recent post.

I found the best workable solution possible in “Chapter 12: Increase and Decrease Stitch Patterns”.  It is on page 228 and is called a “Slip Stitch Knot.”

Here, in my own words, is how to make a Slip Stitch Knot:
1. When you reach the nupp location (RS row), in the same stitch [k1, yo] 2 times, k1.  Five stitches made in one stitch.
2. Turn the work and purl all 5 stitches on WS.
3.  Turn work to RS.  Slip 3 stitches knitwise (as if you were working k3tog) from left needle to right needle.
4. Bring yarn in front and then wrap it over the left needle.  Using the right needle tip, bring the two stitches to the left of the wrap over the wrap and over the needle tip releasing them.
5.  Move the wrap from the left needle to the right needle.  Using the tip of the left needle, bring the three stitches to the right of the wrap over the wrap and over the needle tip releasing them.
6. One stitch remains.

The book helped me.