Entrelac Possibilities

Statutory Warning: this post is link-heavy and photo-lean.

Most entrelac patterns (eg: Danica, Motley on Knitty) are built square. Entrelac vests, jackets, scarves, cowls, sleeve cuffs etc are mostly rectangular/cylindrical chunks pieced together. Compromising on shaping just to be able to construct fabric a different way had seemed like an academic pursuit with little real application. Recently, I chanced upon Fuzzy Jay's blog and his work in creating 3-D geometric shapes. Sure, this was still very academic but advanced. Breaking free from the rectangle got me intrigued.

With my first swatch out of the way, Mum and I incorporated some lacy entrelac patterning into the hood. I'll post pics of the project soon - I'm calling it 'Red Riding Hood's Envy'.

I thought I'd seen all in entrelac when Eunny Jang's Cochin Shrug happened. You'll find 2 photos at the bottom of this page. The construction of the shrug has just blown my mind. Since I saw it first, I have spent every spare hour of my waking (and sleeping) hour 'unventing' it in my head. 

After sketching over and over, this is how I think it is built: 2 identical flared tubes are joined at the back. Each flared tube is created by casting on (for the edge of a sleeve) and increasing the size of blocks in every tier. Over half of it is sealed with triangles to form the front edge and lower edge of back of that half. The second one is knit identical to this and joined at the center back of each side with new blocks connecting the two shapes. I am in process of testing my theory. 

But first, I need to get a good handle on shaping entrelac knit circular . There seem to be a few options for widening the diameter of a tube:

1. increase number of blocks in a tier for rapid widening

2. increase block size in each tier for a more gradual flare

    - I could either pick an extra stitch while picking up for a new block

    - or, I could knit extra rows by skipping a p2tog or ssk that connects 2 blocks

The former affects the woven pattern in very interesting ways. I plan on testing out these methods and also test the decrease with each method. Fun fun! Will keep you posted - next time with pics. :)