Steeking!

I promised I'd tell you all about steeking...and I'd hate to disappoint!

I've been intrigued by the concept for ages...but was way too much of a chicken knitter to try it until I ran across a small pattern on Ravelry that was created specifically to teach this technique.  You can find the pattern here.

Basically with steeking you knit an object in the round, and then you sew two lines...AND CUT BETWEEN THEM!!!

Why go crazy with the scissors? Knitting intarsia (where you switch between colors to create a multi-colored pattern) is easier to do in the round...and so if you knit in the round you can then steek to create a flat piece. The technique is often used for sweaters.  But I wasn't that brave.  This project was perfect, it's for a coffee cozy, so it only took a couple of days to knit up the piece.  I also had scrap yarn that I was able to use.

A couple of evenings of following a simple color chart, and I had the main piece finished.

Then, using a crochet method suggested in the pattern, I enforced stitches on either side of where I would be cutting.

And then I snipped away!

After cutting you turn over the edges and finish the inside...and I picked up stitches on either side to make the ribbed buttonhole bands.

Done!!