Diagon Alley

A fixation with WYS Blueface Leicester took hold of me the other day. I know, I know…I’m supposed to be obsessed with cotton, linen and silk these days and I suppose I am. But I came upon a skein of this remarkable yarn while going through my stash looking for, well, cotton, linen and silk. Anyway, it got me thinking about a design I’ve had in my mind for quite some time and that, in turn, got me looking into knitting on the bias.

Though I’ve been a life-long lover of bias cuts in sewing, bias knitting has never held any particular fascination for me. However, when given more than a cursory glance, I begin to realize what a wealth of possibility it holds. Take, for example, the marvelously simple yarn showcase that is Purlbee’s Colorblock Bias Blanket. (After many happy days spent knitting my Sochi Cowl, you’d think I’d have had it up to here with garter stitch…but no!) This pattern is a great entrè into the mechanics of bias knitting. As soon as I find a yarn that inspires me, I shall knit it to death.

But that’s not all. I guess I’ve been using bias knitting more than I knew. It’s the principal in use when we knit center-spine shawls and patterns where a central double decrease is flanked by single increases. Voila! Bias knitting. Martina Behm is kind of a reigning queen of bias knitting, for me anyway. Her Leftie shawl has long been an object of my admiration.

Sawtooth edging is also achieved by knitting diagonally. This bright scarf by Susan Mills reminds me of Mardi Gras 😉 For this skirt by Kira Dulaney, the edging is knitted separately and sewn on.

These crazy-clever Concentric Socks take the cake, though. Carissa Browning has used bias techniques in combination with some genius shaping resulting in something really innovative. 

I really love the way the cables in this gorgeous Sideways Shawl by Leslie Weber stand off from the bias-knit garter stitch background. I could see this being a throw for those chilly evenings in our little stone church.