Harvest Time Rug

Bring the fall colors to the inside of your home with this beautiful Harvest Time rug. With our little rug in ‘veggie’ colors of Eggplant purple, squash yellow, and herbal greens as a great reminder.  It’s fun and easy to knit and very durable.

Loom:  28” Knitting Board + Peg Extenders Loom.  Set up as double knit with    smallest setting of wood spacers-No extenders needed.

Yarn:  Lion Brand Wool-Ease Chunky, 80% Acrylic and 20% Wool, 153 yds per skein.  Machine Washable. Colors used #173 Willow (G), #131 Moss (M), #144 Eggplant (E).

Lion Brand Homespun (H), 98% Acrylic and 2% Polyester, Color Green, 185 yds per skein.  Machine Washable.

Purchase (2) skeins of each of the (4) yarns so you can have 2 skeins to pull from.  You will only use the yardage of one skein so they can be partial skeins.  If you plan to make a longer rug, you will need additional yarn or the 2 full skeins of each color.

Stitches:  ZigZag and Stockinette  (See review of ZigZag below)

Notions Needed:  Knit Hook, Crochet hook size 5, Large darning needle, Scissors.

Gauge:  3 stitches=1” and 4 rows=1”

Finished Size:  21” wide X 28” long

INSTRUCTIONS

Cast On in stockinette stitch, 62 stitches in center of loom. Color (G). Change to ZigZag stitch.

Work (16) rows, in ZigZag stitch.  Cut (G) yarn with 2-3” tail and tie on 2 strands of (M) yarn.  Working with 2 strands is very bulky, so work slowly.  When working with double strands, you can pull from both ends of the skein to get the (2) strands.(If preferred, you can use 1 strand of Lion Brand Thick n’Quick in same color.)

Work (2) rows in Stockinette with (M) yarn.  Do not cut the yarn as it will be used for the border of each row.

You will now tie on the yarns to create the (3) sections of color.  Tie on color (H) at 5^th stitch.  Tie on color (G) at 23^rd  stitch.  Tie on another skein of (H) at 42^nd  stitch.  Tie on another 2 strands of (M) yarn at stitch 58.  You can pull from both ends of the Moss yarn skein to get the double strands from one skein.

You should work full rows of all colors to be sure the sections are equal.  If you want to twist at each joint of color, it will keep the yarn sections attached, but the yarns will get very tangled.  The option is to just allow the sections to be separate.  We will seam them together at the end.  This method is much faster and easier, and preferred.  Place the skeins in front of your knitting.

Work in Stockinette Stitch for all sections.  Work (4) stitches (M) yarn, (18) stitches (H) yarn1, (18) stitches (G) yarn, (18) stitches (H) yarn2, (4) stitches with 2^nd (M) yarn.

Work all for (25) rows.  Cut the center yarns leaving 2” tails.  Do not cut the (M) yarns at beginning or end of loom.  This border will continue on all sections.

Tie on (E) yarn at stitch (5) stitch attaching to (H) yarn.  Tie on (H) yarn at stitch 23 attaching to (G) yarn.  Tie on other skein of (E) yarn at stitch 42 attaching to (H) yarn.

Lay yarn tails on the knitting between the pegs.

Work all for (25) rows.  Cut the center yarns leaving 2” tails.  Do not cut the (M) yarns.  Tie on the (H) yarn, the (G) yarn, and the 2^nd skein of (H) yarn.

Work all for (25) rows.  You are now ready to add the stripe (M) rows.  If you choose to make your rug longer than 28”, you can repeat another 25 row section before doing the (M) stripe.

You will continue working with the first 2 strands of (M) yarn.  Cut all the others leaving a 2” yarn tail including the 2^nd double strand of (M) yarn at end of loom.

Work (1) rows of (M) yarn across all stitches.  When you get to each of the yarn tails, stop and tie the yarn tail onto the working yarn, and then continue to end of row.  Repeat (1) additional row.

Cut and knot the 2 strands of (M) yarn.  Tie on (G) yarn.

Work in ZigZag stitch for (16) rows.

Cut the (G) yarn leaving 2” yarn tail.

Bind Off of loom using a basic 2-loop bind off starting at end of loom opposite the yarn tail.  Use the yarn tail to create a knot with the last loop.

Bind Off at anchor yarn starting at edge opposite the yarn tail.  Once complete, you can carefully remove the anchor yarn.  Pull in any yarn tails that are exposed.

Sewing the Seams:

Connect all corners of color sections with a small piece of scrap yarn before doing the stitching.  Then work the pieces together by sewing with an invisible stitch so that the sewing does not show.

Once complete, your ‘Veggie’ Rug is ready to use.

ZIGZAG STITCH

This stitch is created by weaving every peg, front to back, across the loom at an angle.  Then the next row is done at the opposite angle.  This is what creates the ‘zig’ and the ‘zag’.  In order to get all pegs covered, it is necessary to wrap the first 3 pegs at both ends with a straight weave also.  We will use 2 different yarns to illustrate.

Start the row by weaving front to back on first 3 pegs.  Be sure to start by noting from which side the yarn is coming, and continue in that direction.

Now, going back to peg 1, weave the diagonal weave across the loom covering all pegs with a new loop.  Note that the weaving is going in opposite direction from previous row.

When you get to end, you must repeat the straight weave on last 3 pegs so that all pegs have a new wrap.

This will result in one side of loom with an extra wrap on last 3 pegs.  Same situation on the first 3 pegs.  If you pegs have both the straight weave and the diagonal weave, this is a thick side.  If you only have the straight weave on the 3 pegs, this is your thin side.

When you hook over all pegs on the row, lift one over one.  If you have 3 loops, lift 1 over 2 on the thick side, and lift 2 over 1 on the thin side.

(This is thick side.  Lift one loop over 2 loops.)

(This is thin side.  Lift 2 loops over one loop.)

Now, weave the next row at opposite angle.  If you start and you see it’s the same angle, this means that you started on the wrong side of loom.  Go back and wrap again.

Designed by Pat Novak