WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Knitting Hyperbolic Pants

Here is how to create a customized bare-bones knitting pattern for hyperbolic baby pants:

Using the sliders below, set stitch and row gauge, and waist/outseam/cuff measurements.

stitch gauge (stitches per inch)

row gauge (rows per inch)

waist in inches

outseam in inches

cuff in inches

Cast on 323 stitches.

Place markers in work after stitches 40, 140, 183, 283, and 323.

Row 1: *Knit 42 stitches, k2tog*

Row 2: *Purl 42 stitches, p2tog*

Row 3: Knit 14 stitches, *k2tog, knit 42 stitches* until there are fewer than 30 stitches left, then knit to end of row

Row 4: Purl 14 stitches, *p2tog, purl 42 stitches* until there are fewer than 30 stitches left, then purl to end of row

Row 5: Knit 28 stitches, *k2tog, knit 42 stitches* until there are fewer than 16 stitches left, then knit to end of row

Row 6: Purl 28 stitches, *p2tog, purl 42 stitches* until there are fewer than 16 stitches left, then purl to end of row

Repeat these six rows; do 140 rows total.

There should be 43 stitches remaining. Cast off.

Match the waist-halves and seam the outseams.

In the book Making Mathematics with Needlework, patterns are given for knitting several different sizes of hyperbolic baby pants using particular gauges of yarn. Those patterns were created using Mathematica, and this Demonstration allows anyone to generate knitting patterns for hyperbolic pants. It is necessary to knit and measure a gauge swatch before generating a custom pattern, because both stitch and row gauge are needed for the pattern creation. (As well as, of course, some dimensions of the finished pants.)