Recently at a guild meeting, I taught how to knit a moebius shawl or cowl. As Cat Bordhi taught, a moebius not only has no beginning or end but grows from the center up and down and has a twist. The right side is always the side you see when knitting. I use Cat's method to cast on.
It also reminded me of one of the hats I saw at another retreat. The ribbing had a twist, making it look & to u. But.... it grew up from the edge in one direction. I suggested rather than the knitter ripping, she should keep it. Knitting around the twist can straighten out the rest of the project but leaves the twist in the ribbing. Add an embellishment and it's fabulous.
These seemingly separate and random things have led me to think about moebius and crochet. As usual, while washing dishes, the thoughts turned to how to combine crochet and moebius. Each time I tried to work it through in my mind, I ran into one particular problem. The cross kept getting wider and thicker. It goes to show, having yarn and tools in hand can let you see things that the mind can't.
YouTube can be very helpful. I found two different approaches to the same end. One followed my idea (working in the chain on both sides) but showed a different stitch pattern than the same old same old. Another showed a much nicer and easier to work option. This is from Kristin Omdahl. Her solution allows you to work around the chain on both sides. It's fast and easy.
The one thing I found was I could not do was crochet a twisted, one edge worked piece of fabric. Possibly there is a way, but since I wasn't looking in that direction I didn't find it, nor did I explore to hunt down a solution. I did like the process so much I made a bunch of samples. I also thought of a couple of prayer shawl patterns for this technique.
Prayer shawl
16 oz worsted weight yarn, color of choice
J or K hook
Ch 4, dc in 4th ch from hook. Rep this sequence 25 - 35 times. Join with a sl st in the first ch of the first eyelet.
Ch 3 (counts as a dc now and throughout), 2 dc in same eyelet. 3 dc in each of the next eyelets until you reach the beginning. Twist the eyelet chain 180* so the empty side of the eyelets is facing out. 3 dc in each of the eyelets around. Join with a sl st in the top of the ch 3 at the beginning.
You now have a ring that is double sided and has one twist in it.
Ch 3, 2 dc in same sp. work 3 dc in each sp around. Join with a sl st in top of ch 3.
**Ch 2, 2 dc cluster over next 2 sts, end with yarn around the hook and pull through 3, ch 2, * 3 dc cl over next 3 dc, ch 2. Rep from * around. Join with sl st in top of ch 3.
Rep from ** until the yarn is gone with a whole round finished, or you have 15" of depth.
Give with joy or keep for yourself and gift the next one. It's like giving a hug to the recipient even if you aren't there.
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