Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Checkerboard Stitch Fortune-Teller Turban



I have this gorgeous variegated green cotton yarn, which I thought would be perfect for the Fortune- Teller Turban pattern. After a few rows, I realized that the variation in color wasn't looking so good in moss stitch. So began my journey into trying a different stitch for the turban. Wow. Checkerboard looks great with the yarn coloration, but the gauge is way different. So here you see my third completed turban in this yarn... the first two got frogged because the sizing wasn't right.



Here's how to adapt the moss stitch Fortune-Teller Turban pattern to checkerboard stitch (cotton yarn only... haven't tried anything else):

1. A flat swatch made with Lily Sugar 'n Cream cotton worsted weight yarn on US no. 7 needles gives a gauge of 20 st = 4.75 inches.

2. I made a size medium, so all you have to do is add 19 stitches to the medium cotton number in the pattern when casting on. It's best to have a multiple of 8 stitches for checkerboard st, or a multiple of 4 would work, but it wouldn't look as good. For size small, I'd recommend adding 17 stiches to the small cotton number of cast-ons, and for large, try adding 19 stitches to the large cotton number.

3. Work in checkerboard stitch for the same number of inches listed in the pattern, ending with a full 5 rows of pattern. Checkerboard stitch is easy: (K4, P4) repeat to end of row. Do this for 5 rows, then switch to (P4, K4) for 5 rows. Keep alternating like this until the piece is the right number of inches... it took 7 sets for me.


For more tips and variations on the Fortune-Teller Turban, see
Cast-Ons: Keeping Count
3-Needle Bind-Off for Dummies
Add Fringe!
Swatch Wars
I Love Cable Cast-On

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