Extra Bubbles

Into the Unknown has been a year of unexpected blog customizations.  The newest release, Bubbling Interplay, has some fun options to reveal too!  At the bottom, a bubble of a different kind invites you outside to play.

Same amount of yarn, more bubbles

Little Bubble Cables
If you’d like even more bubbles on your Bubbling Interplay and follow the charts, print up these two snippets and paste them anywhere you want where there is 6 plain Garter in a row for 3 rows.  (Thanks to Denise who asked for even more Bubbles… more of the ones sized in the pattern won’t fit, but these little gems will!)

Written additions – mini bubbles cover 4 sts with 1 st on either side as a buffer to other design elements.
MC bubbles
Prev row CC: k1, s1, k2, s1, k1
Row 1 MC (rs): k1, 1/1 RC, 1/1 LC, k1
Row 1 CC (rs): p1, s1, p2, s1, p1
Row 2 MC (ws): p6
Row 2 CC (ws): k1, s1, k2, s1, k1
Row 3 MC: k1, 1/1 LC, 1/1 RC, k1
Row 3 CC: p6

CC bubbles
Row 1 MC (rs): k1, s1, k2, s1, k1
Row 1 CC (rs): p1, 1/1 RKPC, 1/1 LPKC, p1
Row 2 MC (ws): p1, s1, p2, s1, p1
Row 2 CC (ws): k1, s1, k2, s1, k1
Row 3 MC: k1, s1, k2, s1, k1
Row 3 CC: p1, 1/1 LPKC, 1/1 RKPC, p1
Row 4 MC: p6

Lacy Little Bubbles

Any place you’ve got at least 5 stitches in Garter and 3 rows, add these lacy bubbles.  For simplicity, I placed them on RS MC rows.  (You of course can do them one CC or WS rows, but that’s an extra level of difficulty).

Written additions – any spot you have 5 sts of Garter not touching a detail over 3 rows.
Row 1 MC (rs): *pattern to desired lace spot, yo, k2tog*, pattern to end.
Row 1 CC (rs): *pattern to yo, yo slipping MC yo,* pattern to end.
Row 2 MC (ws): *pattern to yo, purl both yo strands together*, pattern to end.

Extra yarn, bigger bubbles

As one of my testers discovered making a shawl rather than a scarf simply requires switching to DK weight yarn and relying upon the different gauge you get with DK weight yarn.  The tester got a gauge of 16.25 sts per 4″/ 10cm. So without width modifications, her shawl would be a total of 14.75″ wide. Shooting for 15 to 16.25 sts per 4”/ 10cm would give a nice width for a shawl of 14.75” to 16” (16” at gauge 15 and 14.75” at gauge 16.25).  You may want to work fewer repeats, so it doesn’t grow in length as well. 

This tester ended up cutting the design back down to scarf width, but if you have DK weight and extra yarn and want a shawl, follow the pattern as is. 

Real Life Bubbles

As soon as I saw this image on Christine Guest’s IG feed, the bubble concept clicked. 

Maybe it was the way the light shimmered through and matched the colors of my CC yarn (Sea Glass) or maybe it was just my imagination running wild, but either way I asked permission from Christine to share her hubby’s blog with you. 

If you’ve got kiddos this summer (or are a kiddo at heart), enjoy making these gigantic bubbles on a summer’s night! 

Here is the link to Dan’s blog and bubble recipe
(Give Christine and me a shout out if you post the picture so we can see your bubble making in action!)

And if you don’t follow Christine’s designs you should – she’s working on bringing this to the knitting world! A truer pattern engineer, I never have found – I love to watch her brain work and have enjoyed working up several of her designs, too.