This method is for K1, P1 and slip stitch ribbing

Thread the tapestry needle from right to left through the edge stitch (and if the next one is a knit stitch, through the knit stitch too.) Drop the worked stitches off the needle.

1. Beginning with the purl stitch, thread needle from left to right through first stitch on the needle and pull firmly. It is important that the yarn does not leave a loop showing on the right side of the fabric at this step. * Leave the stitch on the left needle.

2a. Thread the yarn from right to left through the first knit stitch, the one dropped off the needle and

2b. the second stitch on the needle (a knit stitch) and pull firmly. Leave the stitches on the left needle.

3. Thread the yarn from right to left through the first purl stitch on the needle, pull firmly and slip the two worked stitches (one purl and one knit stitch) off the needle. The knit stitch will appear half finished; it will be completed in the next repeat

4. * The fiddly part of this cast off is in the tension of the yarn as it is threaded through the stitches. If the yarn is too loose where noted in step 1, the next stitch will not sit correctly even if properly threaded through the next stitch.

Make sure the yarn is pulled taut (but not too tight.) You may need to play around a bit to get the stitches to sit neatly, but once you've got it, the beautiful finished edge it creates will make you glad you persisted!

Lynette Hall rewrote these instructions in an easier format from an article in Yarn published earlier this year.

Geraldine McCulloch writes:

Once you master this technique you would not use anything else for casting off single rib because the finish is very good. I also use invisible cast on for single rib - it really gives a professional look to a garment. The cast-on is one of several in Creative Knitting, a British publication several years ago.

Posted by Prue Hill at 4:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Woollen yarn is meant to be fulled. If you haven't done this before do it by hand in a tub so you can monitor the process.

• Draw warm water and add a little soap or detergent. Swish to make sure it is completely dissolved in the water. There should be no more than about an inch (2.5 cm) of bubbles on the surface of the water.
• Add the fabric. You only need enough water to completely cover the textile.
• Start to knead the textile. You will probably notice the water turning colour as the spinning oils in the yarn begin to come out. The bubbles from the soap or detergent will disappear as it binds with the oils. When there are no bubbles left, drain the water, move the textile to the far end of the tub and draw fresh water the same temperature as the textile.

• Add more soap or detergent and swish to dissolve. Continue to knead the textile. If the bubbles disappear again, drain and rinse as above.
• Continue doing this until the bubbles do not completely disappear. You want a little soap/detergent in the water to act as a lubricant.
• Once the bubbles are stable (usually just a skim of them on the water) drain the water and continue to knead the textile. You may find it easier to actually walk on the cloth. Wear clean rubber boots (wellingtons) or plastic clogs to protect your feet.
• Continue to knead until the fabric is stable. Check for stability by running your fingernail along the threads. Do they move out of their place in the fabric? Can you poke your finger through the cloth? Neither of these should happen.
• When stability has been reached, fill the tub with water (the same temperature as the fabric) and rinse any remaining soap/detergent out of the cloth. Drain the water and gently squeeze the excess water out.
• Never wring wet fabric as this may set permanent creases. If you have a washing machine where you can use the centrifuge only, you can spin out the water; otherwise, pull the fabric up against the side of the tub to drain as much of the water out as you can. You may find that letting it stand and drain for 30 minutes or so will help. Fully saturated wool is very heavy.
• To remove more water, you can fold and roll in towels, then lay flat to dry. Hanging wet wool can cause distortion as the weight of the water can pull the cloth out of shape.

Once you are more familiar with wet finishing, you can use your washing machine to do the work for you. Set the machine (assuming you have a front loading machine) to the most gentle cycle and then let the machine run. Depending on your machine, you may find that once through does the job, or you may find two times through will do it.

Laura Fry wrote these instructions. She has also written a book about wet finishing of hand woven fabric. The books includes washed and unwashed woven samples. Now there are two versions available - the updated Magic Plus Two with two additional samples (soy protein and bamboo with information pages about these new fibres) and the economy version. Go to: laurafry.com

Posted by Prue Hill at 4:02 PM | Permalink

The November guest speaker was Cecily Grey.

Cecily Grey is a member of the Burwood Historical Society and came to talk about the early history of Burwood. Before coming to our meeting she and her mother did some research on the history of spinning and weaving and told us that an archaeological site containing relics of a Turko-Mongolian population had revealed remnants of tartan fabrics almost identical to the ones woven in Scotland. The 4000 year old fabric was used to wrap a mummy.

In history men did weaving and women did the spinning. In England, the 13th and 14th centuries were a time of wealth based on the spinning and weaving industry which was protected by law with no cloth allowed to be imported. In the 18th century the spinning jenny revolutionised the industry.

When settlers first arrived in Australia some of Macarthur's sheep were grazed at Burwood. A piece of land known as Edrop's paddock became Burwood Park. When Parramatta Road was formed, Burwood was the halfway point between Sydney and Parramatta and so had numerous inns. An early inn owner was Emanuel Niche who boarded a boat to New Holland thinking he was going to a country in Europe. The original Burwood Road was called Niches Lane.

Land grants had strict conditions requiring landholders to produce food within six months. The navy and army could take trees from the land. There were no designated parks or recreation grounds so large property owners would allow sporting teams to play matches on their fields. Walter Friend's house had sport teams associated with it. Once the large estates were divided into smaller lots, local councils had to provide parks and playing fields. The family from Evandale (a house built where Blair Park is now) used to go by buggy to Botany Bay to swim. Until trams started to run, people without transport used to swim in the Cook's river.

We were shown photos of historic houses, some saved and restored, some demolished. The houses in Duff Street were designed and built by the same man. It is hoped that the now derelict house on the corner opposite the church will be restored. Cecily brought along old photos of houses and other old buildings in Burwood and said that the Historical Society is happy to receive any old photos.

Posted by Red Wolf at 9:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)