sci-fi knitty

I love science fiction. I love knitting. Here's the beta pattern of the sandworm from dune:

Size US 5 double pointed needles.
worsted weight yarn

( i used my 'scrap' yarn, el cheapo rojo from red heart.)

cast on three stitches, one on each needle, knit four rows.
increase by knitting into the front and back of each stitch, then knit two rows. (6 st. total)
increase by make one on each needle, knit six rows. (9 st. total)
Increase by make one on each needle- i like to put these increases in the center of each needle-
knit 6 rows, ( 12 st. total)

continue to work in this way, knitting between 5-8 rounds between make one increases,
untill your worm is the desired length. for this example, i stopped when i had 12 stitches
on each needle. Make sure you have an even number of stitches on each needle! 10, 12, 14, 16,
whatever.

now get ready to turn the mouth petals. It's just like socks, but simpler!

start with one needle, letting the other two hang. knit across all stitches and turn work.
purl back across, but do not purl the last stitch, just leave it on the needle and turn.
knit back across all the stitches except the last one, just leave it on the needle unworked, and turn. You can see where this is going? continue to knit and ourl back and forth, always leaving
one more stitch, untill you are down to 2 stitches on your needle, and a staggered row of left
behind stitches. Time to pick them up! work those two stitches, and then work that closest
third one across the small gap. turn, and work back untill you pick up the closest stitch on the other side. keep doing this untill you have gone back and grabbed all of those stragglers. you
now have a folded triangle.

make sure you pull those end stitiches tightly, or gaps will form.

now that you have worked all 12 (14, 16,18...) stitches back down to your starting place, purl one row on back but knit the last stitch!!!!. turn your work. now for decreases and selvedge edges to form the inner mouth.

slip your first stitch purlwise, with your yarn in front. now slip, slip knit the next 2 stitches to form 1. knit untill three stitches from the end. Knit two together, and then knit the last stitch.
turn your work. Slip the first stitch Purlwise and then purl across untill the last stitch, knit the
last stitch. Continue in this pattern of decreases on the knit side untill you have four stitches remaining.

slip that first stitch, slip, slip, knit the center two, and knit the last. turn your work.
slip the first stitch, purl the second, knit the last, turn your work.
slip the first stitch, then knit the last to together. turn your work.
purl those last two stitches together, cut a nice tail from your working yarn, and bind off that single stitch.

repeat this process on the other two petals, joining your working yarn to each petal like joining for a new row you had changed colors on, or added an new skein.

now, when done, you should have a nicely tapered tube with three petals. You could add embelishments in duplicate stitch for the segmented lines that the worm has in the movie, or not. but do add small bits of white yarn drawn through the stitches of the mouth interior. Add them like you are working a latch-hook rug, using a small crochet hook, or a yarn needle. it really does make for a better worm with teeth. stuff with some cotton balls or fiberfill, or yarn scraps, what-have-you, weave in the ends, and join the mouth segments at their seams, just whip stitch them, the selvedge edge produced by the slipping of the first stitch and knitting of the last should give you a smooth edge.

I'll post my picture tomorrow, 'cause i'm lazy tonight.

next project: face-hugger!