The Landlocked Sailor

So I decided to try the iPhone app iHeadlines, and it’s pretty good! But a lot of the headlines it generated were also very funny. (Like the one I used to name this post.) My other favorite was: “Thousands Now Knit Nautical Flags Who Never Thought They Could …With These 26 Letters”

But anyway, moving on.

You’ve probably noticed that I recently posted a couple of free (and low quality) knitting patterns. They are the first 2 letters (Alpha and Bravo) of the International Code of Signals, aka Nautical Flags. And if you’re wondering how to say “I am trying to communicate with you” in 9 languages, you just hoist up the Kilo (letter K) flag. You know, it’s the one that’s yellow on the left and blue on the right.

The problem is that I am (STILL!) in the process of moving across the country, and since I am doing the driving I am not able to knit. So you’re left with untested patterns and poor graphics. But, I thought I’d let you know that I’m working on a comprehensive collection of Nautical Flag knitting patterns. And eventually they will all be worked up and written out nicely… oh, and charted. Yay!

Stay tuned for updates: Enter your email over there on the sidebar or follow me on Twitter!

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Image via Wikipedia

The Bravo, or letter B flag, when hoisted on its own means “I am taking in, discharging, or carrying dangerous cargo.”

It’s another swallowtail, just like the Alpha flag, so it’s a little tricky to knit, but not too bad. It’s also one of only two solid colored letter flags. (The other one is Quebec, or letter Q.)

There are two basic ways to knit the Bravo flag:

In two pieces:

1. With red, cast on an even number of stitches to equal the desired width of the flag. (For an 8″ x 12″ flag, cast on 12″)

2. Work in garter stitch, decreasing by 1 stitch at the end of every right side row until piece measures 12″ by 4″. Bind off.

You should have something like this:

3. Repeat step 2, then stitch the two pieces together to form the complete Bravo flag.

Intarsia Style:

Start with the short end (the end that would be attached to a flagpole)

1. With red, cast on an even number of stitches (for an 8″ x 12″ flag, cast on 8″)

2. Continue in garter stitch for 8″

3. On the next right side row, knit across only 4″ (half of the row), and put your remaining stitches (the other half of the row) on a stitch holder.

4. Continue in garter stitch, decreasing by 1 stitch at the beginning of every right side row, until you have only 2 stitches remaining on the needle.

5. Bind off.

6. Pick up the stitches from the stitch holder.

7. Add new red yarn, and continue in garter stitch, decreasing by 1 stitch at the end of every right-side row, until you have only 2 stitches remaining on the needle.

8. Bind off.

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The Alpha, or letter A flag, when hoisted on its own means “I have a diver down; keep well clear at slow speed.” It looks like this: (That’s white on the left side and blue on the right side)

Since it has a swallowtail shape, as opposed to the square or rectangular shape that most of the other letter flags have, it’s a bit tricky to knit. One simple way to do it is to knit two trapezoidal blue pieces and one white rectangle, and stitch them all together. Here’s how:

Pieced Version (also easily adaptable to crochet):

1. With blue, Cast on an even number of stitches (to measure half the desired width of the finished flag). Knit each row (garter stitch), decreasing by 1 stitch at the beginning of each right side row, until you have half as many stitches as you originally cast on. Example: If you originally cast on 30 stitches, keep working in garter stitch, working a decrease in every other row (every other row because, if you do it on every row, you will end up with a triangle instead of a trapezoid) until you have only 15 stitches left on the needle. Cast off.

2. With blue, follow #1 above so that you end up with two identical blue pieces.

3. Attach the two blue pieces by their short ends to make the shape of the blue field in the flag pictured above.

4. With white, Cast on the same number of stitches you cast on for the blue pieces, and work in garter stitch until piece measures total height of blue area.

5. Attach white to blue, weave in ends, and you’re done!

Alternatively, you might want to work in an Intarsia style, in which case I recommend beginning with the white and working up to the pointy bits. Here’s how:

1. First, how big do you want the flag to be? For turning into a tote bag or displaying on a wall or as part of an afghan, you might want it to be about 8″ x 12″

2. With white, cast on an even number of stitches to equal the length the shorter side. (In this case, 8″)

3. Work in garter stitch for 6″

4. Change to blue, and work in garter stitch for 2″. You should now have an 8″ by 8″ square, with 6″ of white and 2″ of blue.

5. On the next right side row, knit only half way across (4″). Note: You might want to put the other half of the stitches (the other 4″ which are still unworked) on a stitch holder.

6. Continue to work in garter stitch, decreasing by 1 stitch at the end of every right side row, until you have only 2 stitches on the needle.

7. Bind off.

8. Go back to those unworked stitches, and work them in garter stitch with blue, decreasing by 1 stitch at the beginning of every right side row, until you have only 2 stitches left on the needle.

9. Bind off.

Here are links to some great YouTube videos about adding color and intarsia knitting:

• How to Add Color to Your Knitting Knitting Tips by Judy. Basics of adding color (always on a knit/right side row!) This technique also works in the middle of a row.
• Intarsia Knitting Basics Explains how to chart and knit in intarsia color blocks, and when and how to twist the yarn. Come back to this video when something in your intarsia knitting is just not working.
• How to Wind a “Butterfly” of Yarn for Fair Isle or Intarsia Knitting Using a whole skein of each color yarn for intarsia knitting is silly. It makes a HUGE tangle, plus you have to have multiple matching skeins for each color. Don’t do it! This video shows how to wrap a butterfly of yarn, or a miniature center-pull skein, for color work.

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I’ve mentioned before that I really love the many meanings of nautical signal flags. Once you catch on, some combinations that were probably meant to be randomly decorative become really funny. For example, the combination Mike-Golf-Victor, or “MGV,” means “Patient has foreign body in the nose.” If your initials are MGV, it might be helpful to know that before using nautical flags as your monogram.

The idea for this R+J bag, though, simply came from the idea that Romeo+Juliet would make a cute combination. The red side is the “Romeo,” flag, which can be interpreted as simply the letter R, or if at sea, “Preparing to Replenish.” The blue and white “Juliet” flag, or letter J, means “I am on fire and have dangerous cargo; keep clear.” Looks like Juliet is running away from Romeo!

I thought I’d better look up the meanings of R & J together, and this is what I found: According to the International Code of Signals, R+J means “You should keep your engines ready,” whereas J+R means “I expect to refloat,” that is, after having run aground. So, nothing too embarrassing if you happen to carry this handbag in the presence of a medical officer who happens to be well-versed in the International Code.

As a practical matter, there are SO MANY combinations of signals that mean so many things, especially the very specific medical emergency code; it is unlikely that anyone has actually memorized the entire thing. Unlikely, but not impossible!

If you’d like to order your own custom bag, contact me through my Etsy shop: http://www.thelandlockedsailor.etsy.com or the big red Etsy button at the bottom of this page.

Whadd’ya think?