Log cabin project in hibernation

Placemat in hibernation, a photo by Dreaming Knitter on Flickr.

A placemat experiment in log cabin knitting, suspended for now due to my current focus on charity hats and squares :-) acrylic yarn, garter stitch

Here's a close-up of FOUR log cabin modules (two in green, one in black, one in blue)



Log cabin knitting is a form of modular knitting, usually done in garter stitch only, and ideally done in well-matched colors. But this is also a way to use up scrap yarn.

As with most things involving knitting, I relied primarily on online research to learn log cabin knitting. I have yet to get THE bible on log cabin knitting, Mason-Dixon knitting.I adapted the concept to come up with a placemat in acrylic and a bathroom mat in cotton yarn.

Here are a few helpful links on log cabin knitting.

You'll have to scroll down a bit for the blog post, "This Old Log Cabin," by one of the authors of Mason-Dixon knitting.

A mathematical formula on making your own log cabin pattern: How to Build a Log Cabin

Pattern for a log cabin scrap blanket

There are also video tutorials on how to do the joins in log cabin knitting. I actually enjoy this part, as the garter stitch can get boring and the joining/changing to a new color gets your attention :-)

Trying out log cabin knitting

Well, I gave in... and delved into the world of log cabin knitting. So far, it's been interesting enough that I set aside my other projects and start at least two log cabin projects: an acrylic placemat and a cotton bathroom rug. I have yet to finish either of them though :-)

But I have my charity squares on needles, since they're so easy to bring along with me in transit, and i have figured out that one ball of 15-gram worsted acrylic produces a six-by-six square, but I get stumped when I encounter a knot, which is getting a bit too frequent for comfort. I tend to cut out the knot and restart the yarn, meaning I'll most likely not reach the six-inch size I want... more likely, I'd get a square of five or even four inches only.

I also have a few blanket squares done, in cotton... not enough to sew together though.