Tattoo stitch will be on the sleeve

I have two Maori tattoos. I love the curved lines and shapes
that relate so well to nature. One day it seemed time to design a tattoo sweater. Casanova was a brand new Artfibers yarn then and I lusted after feeling that yarn run through my hands for a large project (I’m a size large) .

It was a good challenge to find a cable pattern that could be placed intermittently up the sleeve and also be compatible with the plaited cable that was planned to run up one side of the front (representing the Waitaki River on South Island, New Zealand). It needed to be interesting to work, not too difficult, work in the same color or a contrasting color, and in my mind, needed to somehow remind me of these fascinating people.

Here is the result and rational that became clear only after the pattern was chosen, knitted, and contemplated for awhile: The center is seed stitch, which relates to the beautiful flax ketes (a kete is an herb gathering back-pack style basket woven from plant dyed flax). The illusion of undulating layers represents the flowing lines of “life energy” in their tattoos and also the shapeliness of the women and the strength of both sexes.

Here is the stitch pattern, taken from Medallion Moss Cable, but started at a different point in that pattern:

Tattoo Cable Stitch (13 sts X 25 rows)
Abbreviations:
C6F: Slip the next 3 stitches to cable needle and hold to the front. Knit the next 3 stitches, then
knit the 3 stitches from the cable needle.
C6B: Same, but hold the stitches to the back.

tattoo stitch by rox seabright

Row 1 (front side): C6F, k1, C6B.
Row 2 – 8: Purl the back side and Knit the front side.
Row 9: C6B, k1, C6F
Row 10: P3, [k1, p1] 4 times, p2.
Row 11: K4, [p1, k1] 3 times, k3.
Row 12 – 15: Repeat the last 2 rows twice.
Row 16: Repeat row 10.
Rows 17 – 25: Repeat Rows 1 -9.

Try this pattern in different yarns and colors. Try it as an intarsia pattern surrounded by Stockinette stitch instead of reverse Stockinette! Form your own impressions and associations. Make this stitch pattern your own. That is the beauty of knitting. And if you like the tattoo idea, here is a way you can make your own tattoo with blunter needles and no thought of being poked!

Yarn info: Casanova

Tags: artfibers, casanova, maori, stitch, yarntasting

This entry was posted on Monday, August 17th, 2009 at 6:46 pm and is filed under design, guide, stitch. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.