Knit One, Purl One, Frog One

More hats

2006-11-21T10:44:00.000Z

I've made two more hats! One was an on-request Waldo/Wally hat (as seen in the Where's Waldo/Wally books). Yes, the pompom looks like it's got mange. Turns out, making pompoms is a skill, and one I do not yet have. Actually, I'm not really fond of pompoms, so I might not ever get it. And making them takes forever, and is not in any way a form of knitting.

As the pompom is too big anyway, the recipient (or his mom) may trim it down, or might make a new pompom, as she apparently knows how to make pompoms (but can't knit).

I like how this hat came out, other than the pompom/deranged red guinea pig problem. I knitted it from the top. One issue I had was, I did a row of knits to start off the red border, so it would look nice from the outside, which it does, but that means that if you turn up the entire red edge, the join looks a bit rubbish. But as it has to look rubbish on the inside or the outside, it's a bit of a crapshoot. Probably next time I'll make the outside look rubbish, as that's more likely to be unseen. I think.

This yellow one is another baby hat. I really really love the texture, it looks all wavy, but is done entirely with knits and purls, no cabling per se. Very easy to make, and a really nice effect.

I'm particularly proud of the crown, it came out very tidy. Knitting from the bottom-up gives me time to get used to a texture and think about how I want to work the crown. But knitting from the top-down makes sizing easier - I can just do a provisional cast off and see how the hat looks as a whole, before deciding whether to knit any more, which is very convenient indeed.

A Christmas Ornament

2006-11-09T10:15:00.000Z

This project is a first in a few ways. It's my first try at making something with stuffing in it, my first Christmas ornament, my first knitting project that includes cardboard.

It looks ok. I'm not sure about the stuffing - it's very soft and often lopsided. I suspect one is meant to really put in as much of the stuffing stuff (technical term?) as you can squeeze in, and I probably didn't.

Because the whole thing is seamless, it was a bit tricky knowing when to put the stuffing in, then the cardboard, and knit it closed. It might make more sense to make this sort of object from the bottom, rather than the top?

But it came out fine, and will maybe work as a Christmas ornament. I think it needs a proper, more solid sort of loop on the top, rather than just a loop of thin yarn.

It will completely fail if it gets wet, though - the base bit is part of a shoe box. Probably it should be plastic?

I'm pleased I managed to make it completely seamfree, though. And the increases and decreases are reasonably hidden, and the bell shape worked, which is a good trick, given that I had no pattern at all, as usual.

Next project? I've got a hat that I just need to do sewing-in on, that's quite cute. And I'm about to start making a Waldo/Wally hat, after the "Where's Waldo/Wally" books (it's Waldo in North America, Wally in England), for a friend.

Another Hat

2006-11-01T14:51:00.000Z

After the Giant Scary Blanket of Doom project, I wanted something a teeny tiny bit easier. So I made a hat!

My toddler insisted that a pregnant mum we knew did not have a baby in her belly - she had ice cream! So I made a hat like a cone for the ice cream baby. Yeah, I know, bad joke, but the hat looks ok. It's a bit uneven in bits (thanks to tension issues, I think, and the fact I'm really not used to purling, pretty much ever) but it'll settle down. I saw it on the baby this afternoon, and it looked pretty good.

The ice cream pattern is out of a Barbara G. Walker book, and is done with twisted stitches. This is an effect a lot like cabling, but you're only moving single stitches at a time, and you don't need a cable needle.

I fiddled with the technique a bit (some of the earlier crosses aren't as nice as the later ones, ho hum), and ended up using a pretty straightforward technique for the right crosses and a different one for the left ones. The other problem is, the brim probably should have been a roll brim, as it tends to go in a bit. I guess I could have put a ribbed brim on it? It looks ok on the baby, with the brim folded up, anyway.

Some textures give an interesting-looking lower edge that's worth having on display (even if it means the hat doesn't fit for as long, possibly) and others, it turns out, look goofy. Ah well. Live and learn.

I really like how the reductions came out, very tidy.

I've been working on another hat, I just have to sew the ends in. It's done with just knits and purls, but looks pretty funky. I think I need to do a couple more hats, but might take a break and try to work out how to make some Xmas ornaments? Not sure.

Other possible plan: I might make myself a sweater. Probably not, though.

A Camera That Doesn't Suck!

2006-10-30T14:53:00.000Z

I was getting fed up of posting really rubbish photos on here, of my otherwise lovely projects. But I got a lovely new camera, and can now show off my projects properly! And I just finished a blanket for my sister's new baby, so here it is!

It's all done in 4-ply, and measures 25 inches by 30 inches. It took forever. All the multicoloured work is done using mosaic knitting, which is a lovely way to work with colours, much easier than intarsia or fair isle, I think.

You essentially do multicolour work by slipping stitches a lot. It's also done in garter stitch, so should really lay flat without any problem.

The centre bit has deer, the next bit has waves, and the outside bit is a lot of girls holding hands. All the patterns are from Barbara G. Walker books.

The whole blanket style is from one of her books too - it's knitted all in once piece, with no sewing up at all. It meant I had to be hauling the whole thing around with me in order to work on it, which was a bit of a hassle, but I'll do anything to avoid having to sew up.

The fancy outer edge was knitted entirely in the round, and the ruffles were made by increasing a great deal, just before casting off. The green border alone took more than one 50g ball of Jaeger 4-ply. I think the blanket as a whole was about 8 balls, but I'm not really sure, as I didn't keep track.

I think I could have done a slightly better job - I probably should have planned it more, rather than just starting in the middle, and working my way out, and hoping things would work out ok. Some of the proportions aren't quite ideal - the plain grey borders aren't all the same width, and I'm not sure whether they should have been. (I got lazy, and wanted wider borders to get a decent-sized blanket.)

Some of the picked up stitches in the middle weren't done that well, but then I was just getting used to the technique, really. The colours don't really thrill me, I'm not sure they actually go, but I'm pretty sick of them after working on this project forever.

The yarn was from my giant albatross of yarn, fifty-something balls bought last Christmas at a random Reading department store (Jaeger! Half price!), so at least it was stash-reducing.

And I do think my sister will like it, although, really, to suit her taste, I should have made it more Celtic-y, she likes that sort of thing.

She had her baby, anyway, last week (a girl, everyone is well), and the blanket was posted the day after the baby was born. I hope it will get to her soon.

I think I might not be rushing to do another giant project in 4-ply ... but then I start thinking about knitting myself a little top in the purple from my albatross ... I am torn ...

But whatever my plans for giant projects, I need to do a batch of hats now, there are too many pregnant women around. I have one I finished last week, and gave to the mum this morning, another one on the needles, but nearly done, and at least three or four more I should just do, to get ahead.

I have a spare one kicking aroud, but it's a pointless lacy summer baby hat, which I never ended up giving to its intended recipient because we never saw each other this summer. I don't know whether to be embarassed or annoyed. I'll save it for next summer, I guess, there are always more babies.

I'll try to update again soon, with pictures of all these hats, anyway.

Very Brief Update

2006-04-25T07:16:00.000+01:00

I'm afraid I've been away for a little while. We have been having some big building work done, so we went away for the Easter holidays, so the builders could get it done without our resident children playing with the tile cutter.

And of course we've come back to a terrifying mess, a kitchen I don't understand yet, and all the rest of what you'd expect.

I did manage to finish that baby sweater, and it came out fine, but I ended up making up a new sleeve-joining technique. Well, I'm sure someone else has done it before, but it was new to me. Then I gave the sweater away to expecting friends, while I was away. I did ask for photos of it, but they might wait until the baby comes.

And I started, and nearly finished, a sweater for my youngest child. Without a pattern, from scratch. And it's going pretty well, except I'm not working on it now, as I'm too busy sorting out this house.

My next project will be a tie, using tubular knitting. It seems like an obvious idea to try, but I'm a bit worried it will be too thick. (I'm working with 4ply.)

Maybe a tie should be single thickness, but with a small needle size, for the wool? Maybe a tie should just be normal knitting? (I made a tie for my father in law, last Christmas, using circular knitting, and two very different yarns. It came out ok, but not great.)

Sleeves Attached!

2006-03-23T22:28:00.000Z

Despite general domestic chaos, I've now managed to finish both sleeves! And attached them to the body. It looks ok, maybe.

I had 108 stitches for the body, and 36 stitches for each sleeve. I used 8 stitches for each armpit, and split the body stitches evenly, 46 stitches for the back, 23 stitches for each front.

I had even managed to make sure that the arms and the body were both on the same row of the "pattern" (aka garter stitch).

So, I knitted the front left. Then I spent a long time looking at the sleeve and the body. And then I knitted an extra four stitches onto the sleeve, so that I could use 8 stitches at the worst part of the sleeve, the bit where I changed rows, for the armpit (because I was using the current yarn from the sleeve, not the yarn from the body, as I'd need that to sew the top of the sleeve.

Then it took a few tries to arrange the sleeve so that I was sewing the armpit in the right place (harder than you'd think!), and so that I could k2tog in the front leg of each stitch, just to make things easy. I think this meant I was not sticking to the garter stitch, but I don't care. It's a baby's armpit.

So I used three-needle bind-off to sort out the armpit. Then I checked the sleeve really was right (attached the right-way up, on the right side of the cardi). Then I knitted the top of the sleeve, stopping to notice the charming holes next to the armpit, on the front and back.

Then I did the back of the cardi. Then had a math crisis, as I forgot about the 8 stitches from the body that I was about to knit into the armpit, and became convinced it had all gone wrong. Once I worked that out, I was much less worried.

The cardi looks ok now. I have to start on the v-neck, and the yoke decreases. I will probably follow the original pattern (!!) for the v-neck, doing decreases every other row on the edge (or near it anyway). I'll have to do hidden decreases for the yoke of the neck. And I think I'll put that yellow pattern in the yoke somewhere, too. Maybe.

Then there's the collar sort of bit, which I have to pick up stitches for from the cardi. But at least that means my (not entirely attractive) selvedge will be hidden. Ish.

Knitting Progress ... of a sort

2006-03-19T20:33:00.000Z

I am still working on this. Only, as usual, I'm not really following the pattern.

First of all, I'm working with 4-ply. So I had to change the number of stitches, to suit the finer yarn and smaller needles. Unfortunately, while doing that, I accidentally did twice as many stitches as I needed to. And I only worked that out after I'd done enough knitting to go from the hem to the armpit.

At which point, I had a couple of choices. I could have frogged the whole thing. But I'd already frogged it all once (ha ha, because it was a little bit too narrow, little did I know!).

I could have switched to making a cardigan in a size that would work with twice as wide a back as the newborn size I was working on. Except, that meant making a cardigan for myself. Which I'm not opposed to, but knitting a cardi for me in 4-ply would take ages, and it probably wouldn't be in light green.

So I went for the third option: I decided to change the pattern so it was in the round, so to speak. I could have done raglan, but I decided to do a yoke sweater. I think. I'm not there yet. I'm taking advantage of the new pattern to take the colour motif from the hem of the sweater and repeat it on the cuffs, and probably at the yoke, too.

So far, I've got the body of the cardi, from the armpits to the hem. And more than half of one sleeve. I think I've then got to graft the sleeve onto the body, which of course I don't know how to do. But I'll work it out.

Things that are helping me work this all out: Knitty has three lovely articles on sleeve design: here, here and here. Knitty linked to a lovely page giving standard measurements for different sizes, for babies, kids and adults.

Between these two, and some concerted websearching for seamless yoked sweaters (even top-down ones), I should be able to make this sweater work, even bottom-up.

It's been a busy week for knitting, otherwise. I visited a new local knitting group, in a nearby church cafe. Annoyingly, the group is from 2pm to 4pm on a Friday. I'm normally pretty busy then, what with a napping toddler and a trip to collect my bigger son. Nice folks, though. I don't think our knitting styles totally mesh, but a local place to meet up with fellow knitters is always good.

And then today, at Spitalfields, I found a lovely knitting stall, and bought some really cute alpaca yarn. They run a knitting group every other week, around London, too. Here is their site.

Adventures in Blogging

2006-03-19T20:31:00.000Z

Still fiddling with the format of this thing. The sidebar bits had fallen to the bottom of the page, and I couldn't work why. Changing to a new template seems to have fixed that, but I probably have to figure out a better way to fix these things!

I like this template ok, but that weird indent on the first paragraph of each blog entry really annoys me. So, still more fiddling to do.

Next Project Chosen and Started

2006-03-11T20:09:00.000Z

After much wavering, I've decided to make this. It's a lovely little cardigan, knitted with a minimum of seams.

I need to find out more about all the different styles of sleeves, and I guess the only way to do that is to try making them, and to look at the clothes we have and their sleeves and figure out what I like. I know raglan is standard for sweaters, but I don't understand why. I don't really like how it looks, frankly.

But I'll try making a Raglan, no doubt. Also, I found a cuff-to-cuff knitted sweater, which I'll have to try making.

The only struggle I'm having (or anticipating having) is, I don't know what size this cardi will be for, when I've made it. The pattern says the gauge is 4 to 5 stitches per inch (garter? ss? 4 to 5?), but doesn't say what the circumference of the cardi should be. So I'm winging it a bit. Maybe I'll try to dig up some sizing charts for babies online, at least before I decide how long the body of the cardi should be!

I'm making it in four-ply Jaeger, pale green, with yellow as the CC, for the details.

It's strange to be (somewhat) following a pattern. It's been a while. Nice to churn through it, though - I've made 3.5 inches of the body so far, and I only started yesterday. Not bad for four-ply!

Progress Report

2006-03-10T12:37:00.000Z

I'm stalling a little bit with my knitting this week. Too much else going on, I guess.

But, I did finish a little pile of random objects to send to a friend, including a bunch of icord, in different colours, all joined up together without any sewing. I started all of them, except for the first one, by picking up stitches from the middle of another icord, and finished the last two by doing that shoulder seam cast off I'd heard about, but not tried.

I also tried short rows, for the first time, making a mitred corner, and some darts.

And I finished the yellow version of my Butterfly Hat. Now I just have to convince a child to model it for me. My younger son is about the right age, but has a freakishly large head, and hates hats.

I think I want to start making a baby cardigan. My previous attempt at a sweater failed dismally (the ends of the arm pieces were smaller than the holes for them. I don't know why), but I think it's time to try again.

And I have an interesting more original hat pattern (as in, not just a normal shape and knitting style with an interesting pattern stuck on it), but I suspect it will take quite a while to become workable.

Knitting Technique I Love, #2

2006-03-05T20:44:00.000Z

This is a special technique that I discovered when I started doing cabled knitting. I hate to keep count of things. I can cope with counting stitches as I do them, but counting rows, for some reason, just annoys me. I'm always putting down my knitting and wandering off, so I never know what row I'm on. Yes, I could use a row counter, but that's just another thing to carry around, fiddle with, etc etc.

But I like my cables to be even. If I'm cabling every six rows, I want to cable every six rows, not four one time and eight the next. But I realised, you can tell how many rows it is since you cabled, by looking at your knitting!

In this picture, you can see a piece of cabled knitting. I am on the second row after having cabled (right side showing). I have just finished knitting all the knits on a left twisted simple cable.

Look at the strands showing between the cabled stitches and the neighbouring, purled, stitches. There are two strands, then a hole. That hole shows where the cabled stitches were moved around. The first strand above the hole is from the row when I cabled. The strand above that is from the row after that. I am about to knit the second row after having cabled.

Next time you are working on something cabled, keep an eye on the strands next to the cables. It's a very easy way to tell when you next need to twist your cables, without any special gadgets or hassle.

Last Night's Projects

2006-03-04T11:01:00.000Z

Taking a break from that butterfly hat was a really good idea.

I made two small objects to send to a friend. One, a swatch of stocking stitch, with some loops in it, done in slubby black linen/cotton, doesn't exactly photograph well. I'm not sure what i think of it, I've not used slubby yarn before. I'm not sure I'm a fan.

The other is a small purse of sorts, made with tubular knitting, in two colours. I'm quite proud of it: here it is. The other side is pretty much the same, with the colours reversed.

This is my first real use of tubular knitting, and I'm quite pleased with it. I've noticed that the cast-on comes out quite loose, presumably that's why my instructions tell me to use smaller needles for that bit. (I didn't bother - I thought that only applied if you were going to use the tubular cast on for single rib. Whoops.)

Making a little bag like this with no sewing up is quite a neat trick. No doubt, I'm particularly impressed because I hate sewing up. I will probably try multi-coloured closed tubular knitting next. You can't change colours in the middle of the row and end up with an open bag, so I didn't try that here.

Oh, and here's a picture of the bottom of the bag. The cast-on is literally invisible, it's all just normal stitches! I used Montse Stanley's second method for invisible/tubular cast on, which is a bit fiddly, but absolutely worth it.

My next small object will be something with cabling, and I will try to get photos of the cable-counting technique I mentioned.

A New(ish) Knitting Rule

2006-03-03T16:45:00.000Z

I've been trying to finish another version of the butterfly hat, in a different size. Partly so I can put up instructions in another size. But mostly, so I can try (again) to take photos, in the hope that I can get some that don't suck. I need some pictures of the butterflies, for one thing, as the current photo just makes it look like "lumpy crappy hat". Which isn't really what it looks like, I swear.

But it turns out that doing the same hat, twice in a row, is really really freaking dull. Ok, I changed the colour and the size, but it's the same yarn (from my albatross stash), and oh, if I spend another minute making up freaking butterflies I will scream.

So, the new rule is, no knitting the same thing twice in a row.

I've decided to work on some random small knitted objects, proof of concept stuff, for a friend. She leads heuristic play groups, where toddlers get to play with random stuff, and she doesn't have any good knitted things.

I'm starting with a knitted purse, but doing it in two colours, using tubular knitting. Using 4mm needles, after so long with 3mm, is quite a pleasant surprise. Everything knits up so fast! (My last three baby hats were done on 3mm, using that albatross stash.)

Then I might do something with a cable. I want to take some pictures of a technique I've worked out, for counting rows on cabling, without actually, you know, counting the rows.

I want to make these random knitted objects with a range of materials too. The "purse" is in cotton, so I will do something in wool, maybe the cables? I have some lovely variegated scraps that would work. And then I will maybe do something else in linen? Or maybe ribbing in variegated, and cabling in linen ...

Knitting and Chatting

2006-03-01T22:33:00.000Z

I'm trying to find a knitting chatboard. So far, I've tried the about boards. They seem nice, but the format of the boards is a bit annoying. Also, they're mostly Americans, I think. And I'd rather be on a UK board, where they talk about yarns I can get here, and talk in UK needle sizes. They seem like really knowledgeable knitters, though.

There's a Yahoo group, for UK handknitters. But busy Yahoo groups don't really work for me. There's just too much going on, and posting seems not to work a lot of the time. The people seem lovely, but the whole system is too disorganised and confusing.

I know one of the online yarn stores runs some chat boards, but that doesn't seem like a good arrangement to me. Also, they've had hacker problems, and disabled new logins, so I can't use the boards anyway.

Are there UK knitting forums out there that I don't know about? Or is this something that genuinely doesn't exist at the moment?

Interesting Knitting of the Day

2006-03-01T14:30:00.000Z

This woman's page has some great knitting on it, particularly her strange and insane knitting. (Her words! Not mine!)

I need to do some weirder knitting.

What Sort of Knitter Am I?

2006-02-28T09:12:00.000Z

I started knitting just over a year ago, but find myself fascinated by all the different choices in knitting.

I knit German-style (or continental-style). It suits me, as a somewhat-ambidextrous person, and I find it faster than English-style.
As a result, I use circular needles pretty much all the time, whether or not my project is knit in the round.
Most of the time, I am knitting in the round, though, as mostly, I make hats.
I prefer texture over colour changes. I hate mucking about with extra balls, and having more ends to sew in. I like cabling, interesting ribs, and interesting textures.
I hate hate hate sewing up, sewing in, any sort of sewing. Partly because I don't think I know how to do it right. I will have to read more St. Montse and practice my finishing techniques.
I prefer natural fibres. Actually, I prefer wool, cotton is too squeaky. Bamboo splits too easily. I haven't tried silk or flax/linen/hemp.
I don't follow patterns. The idea of finding a pattern, then going out and buying the right brand (and colour!) of yarn fills me with boredom. If I wanted to have something made exactly the way someone else decided, I'd buy it.

Knitting Technique I Love #1

2006-02-26T17:42:00.000Z

The Loop Cast-on.

This is the first cast-on method I learned specifically for a project. Before I learned this, I'd been using the same Long-Tail Cast On for everything, whether or not it was appropriate.

Here is a lovely video showing how to do a loop cast-on. It's ideal for lace, or similar soft edges. I use it when I'm knitting a hat from the bottom-up, and want a roll brim.

It's a particularly easy cast-on, very fast to do. You only work from one strand, so you don't need to guess how much yarn you'll need, and leave a tail. It is a bit easy to get the resulting cast-on stitches twisted up, though. And it often seems really short after you've cast it on, but always works out fine.

Knitting Books I Love

2006-02-26T17:29:00.000Z

First of all, Stitch'n'Bitch. I taught myself to knit, using this book. The instructions are clear and easy. Ok, the patterns are a bit strange, but the body of the book is a really good, step-by-step introduction to the basics of knitting. (I am not as impressed by Stitch'n'Bitch Nation, the follow-up book.)

Secondly, Montse Stanley's Knitter's Handbook. This is the most comprehensive knitting reference book I know. She provides all the cast-on and cast-off techniques you could ever need. She discusses the pros and cons of German-style knitting (yarn in left hand) and English-style knitting (yarn in right hand). She talks about every knitting and finishing technique you can think of, and has advice about, and opinions on, every single one.

Ok, the diagrams and instructions are sometimes a bit obtuse. A cast-on technique needs more than some tersely-worded instructions and a single diagram, at least for me. The example works in the colour plates seem somewhat irrelevant and pointless, and often a bit fugly. Still, she provides essential information for anyone who wants to improve their knitting, understand how knitting works, or even design their own knitwear.

Thirdly, Barbara G. Walker's Knitting Pattern Books. These books don't contain patterns in the normal sense - these patterns are textures, or ways of combining colours. I've linked to the second book, as it's my favourite, but all four are lovely, really. The first contains a lot of traditional patterns, and is quite slim. The second is thick, and contains lots of interesting patterns. The third and fourth are slimmer again, but have lots of lace work, mosaic knitting, and interesting seam-free techniques. If you're looking for a texture, cable, or lace panel to add to a pattern, these books are an excellent place to look.

I do love books, and seem to keep ending up with new knitting books. It's getting harder to find ones that interest me. I need to get a book about seam-free sweater design, but I've not found any books like this in any of the London bookshops I've tried. Any suggestions?

A First Pattern

2006-02-25T20:15:00.000Z

This is my first attempt at writing out a knitting pattern. Any comments about the design, or the pattern, are very welcome.

I've made this sort of hat a couple of times, and will try to fiddle with the pattern so it works for different head sizes.

Butterfly Hat

This hat consists of a roll brim, then a hat body with 6 rows of butterflies on it. You start reducing the circumference of the hat during the last butterfly row. Then you reduce sharply just after the last butterfly, so the hat doesn't bulge out when the butterflies stop. You keep reducing, using k2tog, ending with a short i-cord.

Equipment:
- 3mm 40cm circular needle
- 4 3mm DPNs
- 1 50g ball Jaeger Matchmaker Merino 4-ply or similar. This hat takes about half a ball of yarn. If you want to use another yarn, make sure it has some resiliance/elasticity - wool, not cotton.

Skills:
- cast on (loop ideally)
- knitting in the round, with circular needles and DPN
- knit
- slip stitch
- make butterflies (see below)
- i-cord
- cast off

Butterflies:
The butterfly consists of five strands, made on alternate rows by slipping five stitches, each time, with yarn in front. These five strands are then collected up, in the MB instruction detailed below. This is a slightly modified version of a texture detailed in Barbara G. Walker's Second Treasury of Knitting Patterns.

Special Instructions:
MB - Make butterfly: With right needle, collect the five strands of yarn on the RS of the hat. Pick up strands and place on left needle. Knit the strands with a single knit stitch, through the front leg of the multi-strand "stitch". Do not knit any normal stitches with the multi-strand stitch.

Tension: 9.5st x 22 rows in a 4cm x 4cm garter stitch square

Hat to fit head circumference of 38-45 cm (3-6 months approx).

CO 100 stitches, preferably using a loose CO method, like loop.

Roll Brim:
Join, being careful not to twist the stitches. Pull the first stitch tight. Knit 15 rows.

Body:
1, 3, 5, 7, 9: (slip 5 stitches with yarn in front (wyif), k5) *
2, 4, 6, 8: k*
10: K2, (MB, k2tog, k8) * (K6 on last repeat)
11, 13, 15, 17, 19: (k5, sl5 wyif) *
12, 14, 16, 18: k*
20: K7, (MB, k2tog, k8) * (K1 on last repeat)

Repeat rows 1-20 once. Then repeat rows 1-12. (Total: 52 rows of body)

Crown:
53: (k2, k2tog, k1, sl5 wyif) * (90 stitches)
54, 56, 58: k*
55, 57: (k4, sl5 wyif) *
59: (k2, k2tog, sl5 wyif) * (80 stitches)
Move the stitches to DPNs, distributing them evenly across 3 DPNs, and using the fourth to knit.
60: k3, (MB, k2tog, k4)* (k1 on last repeat)
61: k2, (k2tog, k6)* (k4 on last repeat) (70 stitches)
62: k2, (k2tog, k5)* (k3 on last repeat) (60 stitches)
63, 64, 66, 67: k*
65: k2, (k2tog, k4)* (k2 on last repeat) (50 stitches)
68: k2, (k2tog, k3)* (k1 on last repeat) (40 stitches)
69, 70, 72: k*
71: (k2, k2tog)* (30 stitches)
73: k2, (k2tog, k1)* (end with k2tog, including first stitch of row 74)
74: k2tog until only 3 stitches left Knit i-cord with last three stitches, for three rows.
CO, then sew in ends.