This is one of the patterns in Applesies and Fox Noses by Maikki Karisto and Mervi Pasanen. It is pattern 8, Fine Crooked Knees and Small Applesies. Umm, OK. It is a very striking pattern, in my opinion. It's been on my want-to-do list for a long time. Since I am still dithering about which two-hole (or other) pattern I want to do next, I shrugged and made this one.
I chose cotton from the #10 crochet cotton stash, in a dark color, a medium-ish contrast color, and a light contrast color that is more or less in the same color family as the medium-ish color. In this case, it meant black, teal, and sage. The edges turned forward continuously, while the others went forward and back in pattern. I used white or off-white #20 or #30 cotton for the weft since it was already on the shuttle. I kind of like the little edge dots one gets from using a contrasting color for the weft.
It is a balanced pattern. I love this style of pattern, with blocks of tablets having the same set of turns as other blocks, either mirrored or offset, and with the turns balanced. If that makes sense, because I'm not sure how else to describe it. (The S-sign pattern, also in this book, is similar in its underlying principles.)
The band is based on 7s (or 14s which of course is just 2x14). Fourteen tablets. Fourteen rows in the pattern. Reversal patterns based on seven (either 7-7 or 4-3-3-4).
It's in the category of diagonals-type patterns, even with all the odd numbers. Some people say that Egyptian Diagonals, in the way the term was originally used in English-language card weaving books, always involves moving cards from F to B and vice versa in blocks of two, meaning two cards and two picks. Obviously that is not required, since this pattern has blocks of three tablets, going from F to B after three picks.
Anyway. It was fun and relatively quick to make once the underlying logic settled in. It is a very striking pattern, and I'd be willing to make it again. It would look amazing in silk, not that I have any.
The smoothness of the band is a bit of a contrast to the pebbly texture of two-hole bands.
It's about 61.5" long and 0.5" wide pre-blocking. I think the backside is also quite attractive.
And now I'm back to dithering. There are a couple of two-hole patterns that are whispering to me, and ditto for some monochrome things (some two-hole, some not), plus there are plenty of other wonderful patterns and pattern ideas out there. Yes, I can do my own patterns if I want to, and I have. But there are a lot of cool examples out there already, whether they're already charted up or if I need to re-chart them based on a photo or description or partial chart.
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