Red's New Wrap (aka More Mobius)

If you made it all the way though yesterday's post, you either really love me, or are intent on figuring this mobius thing out. Either way I appreciate it.

I ended yesterday with the knowledge that I had to knit a mobius from the center outward, and wanting to try two new things. First, I wanted to try purling the second half of each round to make the 'outside' of the strip stockinette. Second, I wanted to try adding some color to see if the new knitting method would fix the original problem that got me trying it out in the first place. Last night I gave it a shot. I know, I know I'm suppose to be working on a baby blanket, but how cute is this:
Just for the record, Red was a horrible model. I couldn't get her to pay any attention to me... she was always gabbing with the lighting crew. I don't think I got a single picture with her mouth shut. (ok, moving on from my fantasy world)

Let's take a look at her new wrap. I cast on 40 stitches and then picked up another 40 for a total of 80 per round. That ridge you see in the middle of the strip is the cast on edge. for the first half of each round I knit, and I purled for the second half. I really like that ridge in the middle, I think it gives the twist texture, but if I wanted to try to get rid of it, I would start by seeing if purling the first half and knitting the second half worked. After three rounds, I attached the yellow, and worked for two rounds. Then I worked another round in red and bound off.

Red makes the wrap look good. The color changes worked well, and if I had gone though blocking it, you wouldn't see the 'wrong side' at all. This wrap hides a secret though. It has an edge where I switched between knitting and purling. This is because the knitting has a right side and a wrong side. If you were going to make another paper mobius, but before you taped it together you colored one side red and the other side blue, there would be a vertical break in the mobius where the red and the blue meet.

It still makes a great looking wrap, but the twist has to be in one specific place. In the end if you are going to have a seam like that, it would be much easier (not as fun but easier) to knit it flat, give it a twist, and seam it up.

The lesson from this is that to have a truly cool wrap where the twist can move anywhere throughout the strip, you are going to need a reversible pattern. Or at very least, a 'wrong side' that looks as good as the 'right side.' A reversible pattern that might work would be seed stitch. Garter stitch would also be reversible, but it would be a bit more involved that garter stitch would normally be. You would have to Knit half, Purl half for the first round then Purl half, Knit half for the second round, and repeat alternating like that so that the garter stitch worked out. I kind of like the stockinette/ reverse stockinette results that I got from the first test piece. I don't know if it would look as good in a human size, but the way stockinette curls makes the reverse stockinette look like it would curve right over Barbie's shoulders.

Going back to the reinventing the wheel concept. There are people who actually get paid to figure this stuff out. If for no reason other than practice, they are probably better at describing it. Last night, after I finished Red's wrap, I discovered the secret to finding them on ravelry. If you are looking for the good mobius patterns, you need to spell it with an E (moebius). Just read though the pattern to make sure you are getting the genuine thing, not a twisted loop or a flat scarf with the ends sewn together.

Here is a Drops pattern that has some helpful pictures for the mobius cast on. I haven't tried it yet, but I'll bet it gets rid of that ridge that is in the middle of Red's wrap.
Here is a Knitty Gritty pattern for a lace cowl. It is not exactly a reversible pattern, but the wrong side and the right side both look good so it works out.
If you are really ready for some magic, here is a video on the Cat Bordhi mobius cast on. I think this is what I'll be trying next. (Just so you know, if you follow this video exactly you will end up with a mobius like my first trial one that has stockinette on one half and reverse stockinette on the other.)