TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
KNITTING TIPS |
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Checking
That Gauge |
It’s doubtful that anyone needs to be told yet again how important it is to get an accurate gauge before starting a project (oh, and checking it often throughout!! Don’t be afraid to change needle sizes if your gauge becomes inaccurate!) Maybe this will bring it home: 100 stitches at 5 sts/inch = 20 inches. At 5.5 sts/inch it’s about 18 inches. If that’s just the back of your sweater, the whole garment will be 4 inches bigger or smaller -- yikes!!! One rule of thumb is that you’ll gain or lose about 1/2 stitch per inch with each change in needle size. |
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Keeping
Track |
If you’d like to keep track of a regular increase, decrease, or cable row, without fussy counters or (gasp!) paper & pencil hash-marks, here's a tip from one of Lucy Neatby's fantastic classes at Stitches: Just run a thin yarn up your piece, flipping the yarn over your needle on your action row. When you look at your knitting, you'll see that thin yarn creating sort of a basting line up your work. It will be easy to see when to do the next action row. Make that thin yarn bright and contrast-y. |
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Buttonholes
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For K1,P1 rib: If your buttonhole starts on a K stitch, SSK, yo, P2 tog, then on the next row, P1, K1 into the yo. If it starts on a P stitch, P2 tog, yo, K2 tog, then on the next row, K1, P1 into the yo. For K2, P2 rib: Start your buttonhole on the first K stitch in your ribbing pattern:K1, SSK (one of these sts will be a K, the other a P) cast on 2, K2 tog, K1. The cast-on sts will become the K's on the next row. |
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Cast On
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Elizabeth Zimmermann's cast on for K1, P1 rib. Very stretchable & great looking. But you have to pull the scrap yarn out a stitch at a time (using a darning needle to pull with, this doesn't take much time). With scrap yarn, cast on half the wanted number of stitches, plus 1. Cut scrap yarn; continue in garment yarn. K 1 row. Next row: *K1, then P1 into the running thread of yarn between stitches. Repeat from * across, and drop last stitch. After a few rows of ribbing, carefully take out scrap yarn. |
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Provisional
Cast On |
If you’re doing a provisional cast-on, chances are you’ll be knitting in the other direction from those stitches. To avoid a noticeable line at that point, after your provisional cast-on, knit that first row a bit more tightly. You’ll find you’ve eliminated that “seam” type of line when you knit the other way on those stitches. |
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2-Tail
Cast On |
If your tail-yarn unplies (or kinks up!) when using the 2-tail cast-on, try making the
tail into a butterfly first. You can pull it from the center as you go, and it will twirl merrily, keeping itself just right for casting on. For a butterfly, start near the slip knot and wind away from you around 4 fingers. Near the end of your tail, remove from fingers, turn 45 degrees, and wind a few times around the middle, not too tightly. Your yarn should pull from the center. |
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Shoulder
Bind Off |
Don't like that ladder look when you bind off a few stitches at a time for the shoulder slope? Here's the answer: Always slip the first stitch of each set of bind-offs. It creates a smoother line and makes seaming easier, too. |
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Raglan Sleeves
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For a little different look to the paired decreases on every other row that so many of us use on raglan sleeves, try this one: It makes a raised stitch along the raglan line and looks really neat. Slip 2 sts together knitwise, knit one, pass the 2 slipped stitches, together, over the knit stitch.The next time you get there, the 2 sts you will slip are the one before the "raised" st and the raised st itself. Soon you will not need markers for this - you'll see that raised st coming. |
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Ribbing
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Instead of doing K1P1 or K2P2 ribbing, set the ribbing up so it appears as K2P3 from the right side. That 1 extra P stitch will keep the band of ribbing from flaring outward. |
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Stitch
Patterns |
If you’re having trouble with a stitch pattern, Suzie’s tip is for you: She casts on her full piece (a sweater back, for instance) and then on separate needles, one repeat of the stitch pattern with a nice big, light-colored yarn & needles. Each row, she works across the swatch, then repeats that row across the bigger piece. One row at a time, she gets that pattern down pat! And she finds out where a problem might lie before she has that problem on the real project! Suzie’s a genius. |
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Fitting as
you knit |
Take advantage of the no-sew sweater’s biggest asset: fitting as you knit. (The no-sew sweater is knit in one piece from either the bottom or the top). Take the small bit of time to string the stitches off onto scrap yarn to try the garment on, at the point when you’re about to either start the yoke if working from the bottom, or split for sleeves & body if working from the top. Trying the garment on will tell you if you’ve hit the right point to make that crucial next step; you can also see if you may need to make some adjustments to continue. |
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Socks
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The ears on grafted toes are easy to eliminate. Before you graft, slip the outside stitch over the stitch next to it, on both ends of the needle. If you had 10 sts on the needle, you would now have 8 left to graft. Do this on both needles, then graft, and there will be no ears, not even with cotton. |
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Collars
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Collars should lay nice and flat. And turtlenecks should stand up nicely, then roll smoothly and lie down flat. To accomplish this, we always pick up with a needle a couple of sizes smaller than our main needle (as most instructions say to do). Then, for a collar, we knit about one-third in that size, move up one size needle for the next third, and one size more for the final third. We may even move up again for the bind-off. For the turtleneck, we use the small needle to the turning point, then use one larger needle for half of the rest, and end with the largest size. |
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Gloves
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Glove knitting is getting popular, so you need to make sure there are no holes between fingers. Each time you start a new finger (or the thumb), be sure to pick up extra stitches between the hand and the new digit. You can decrease them right back out on the next round. |
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Slip Knots
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If you have a lot of stitches to cast on, why not find out early if you have enough tail to complete the task? After pulling out tail yarn, fold it in half and tie a slip knot at the folding point. Then, when you're halfway through, if you haven't hit the slip knot yet, you have enough tail. If you've gone past the knot, you won't make it! If you have a jillion stitches to cast on, you can even place a slip knot at the quarter mark, too. My Mom taught me a long time ago to tie a slip knot in the remaining tail when you begin knitting. That way, you won't accidentally start a row with the tail and run out of yarn a few stitches along the row! Our friend Kathy does some wonderful beaded knitting. She pulls up an estimated number of beads at the beginning of a row, and ties a slip knot to secure them closer to her needle. It makes conquering those beads much easier. |
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Ruffles
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Ruffles are great for all kinds of edges, from scarves to baby hats. For every one inch of ruffle depth, cast on double the number of stitches called for (i.e. baby hat says cast on 60 sts, you cast on 120.) Then at each one inch interval, work a "radical decrease," by knitting 2 together across the row. For scarves, of course, you need to do the opposite at the end of the piece, by increasing in every stitch at each one inch interval. |
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Lace
Knitting |
I've been doing some lace knitting lately and have been reminded of an old trick, which would be great for anyone following any stitch pattern that they are afraid of having to take out. After the last row of a repeat (or more often if you are really scared, but remember to write down your row number!) thread a darning needle with a long amount of a thin, smooth, not-too-contrasty yarn, push all your stitches onto the nylon part of the circular needle, and thread the waste yarn through. Now just forget it. But if you have to rip back, all the stitches will stop there and behave. |
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Another
Lace Knitting Tip |
The British distinguish between the four types of yarn-overs in lace knitting, but we do not. So here’s the breakdown. And remember, the yo is only the yarn going around or over the needle -- it does not include the working of the next stitch! From a k st to a k st, the yo is accomplished by simply bringing the yarn from back to front. From a p st to a k st, just leave the yarn in front. From a p st to a p st, you must bring the yarn all the way around the needle, from the front back to the front again. The same goes for a k st to a p st. In all cases, you must make sure that a yarn over creates one, and only one, more stitch on the needle. By the way, the British call these yf (yarn forward), yo, and yrn (yarn round needle), respectively. |
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Stitch
Markers for Lace |
When knitting lace, it can be annoying to try to mark a repeat with a regular stitch marker, because yarn-overs can scoot right past them. And to mark a stitch can get confusing as the attached marker travels farther down from the stitches on the needle.We have learned of a great solution which really works. We use a loop of string with a long tail as a marker on the needle. That tail keeps yarn- overs in their place.Try using a tightly plied cotton (like crochet cotton size 10) for the loops, so they won’t shed or stick. |
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Ripping
Out |
If you must rip out several rows of your knitting, lay the piece on a smooth hard surface. Have a MUCH smaller needle on hand (at least 2 sizes smaller). Rip out a couple of rows, holding your hand flat on the piece and pulling the yarn gently. Stop and roll this much up (to avoid tangles). When you’re just past the mistake, it will be much easier to stick the way-smaller needle into the stitches. I usually pick them up any old way on that needle, then take my regular-sized needle and pick one stitch out at a time for one more row. This way the stitches are all oriented correctly on the larger needle. (If you’re confident of knowing a twisted stitch when you get to it, just start knitting with the larger needle, re-orienting the sts as you go.) |
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Charts
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Remember to work from left to right on every row if working in the round. If working back and forth, the row number is usually placed at the end where you’re supposed to start that row. If a chart shows both right and wrong side, remember to reverse your stitches on the wrong side (i.e. a RS knit is a WS purl). Feel free to color code your chart! And use a sticky-note to cover everything above the row you’re working on. You can use markers to mark the same spot on your knitting and your chart, to keep better track of things. |
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Twisted
Knit Stitch |
Don’t forget that if you encounter a twisted knit stitch on your needle, you do not have to turn it around by slipping it to the right needle and then back to the left. This is time-consuming! Just knit through the back loop and you’ll fix the problem with one movement. If you’re seeing backwards knit stitches all down your row, you might be throwing your yarn clockwise when you purl (this is common among beginners.) It’s good to correct this and throw counterclockwise on both knit and purl rows. (Of course it’s not “wrong” if you don’t, but you’ll have to compensate by knitting through the back of every twisted stitch so you aren’t twist-knitting your stockinette fabric.) |
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YARN TIPS |
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Non-Stretchy
Yarn |
When working with cotton or any non-stretchy yarn, give it a firm tug between stitches when your changing from k to p or p to k. It really makes a difference, especially in ribbing. And consider carrying along a clear elastic thread (Inox makes it) for the ribbing to prevent the saggies after a few washings. |
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Chenille
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You can make knitting with chenille easier if you determine which way the pile lies before you cast on. Pull the yarn from the center of the ball. Run your fingers up and down the strand, one way will be smooth the other way rough. If the yarn feels smooth going toward the ball, cast on with this end. If the yarn is rough, find the end on the outside of the ball and cast on with it. |
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Dark Yarns
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When you are knitting with dark yarn, i.e. black or navy, place a white towel on your lap. The contrast between the white of the towel and the yarn will make it easier for you to see your stitches. |
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Eyelash
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To get the most out of eyelash yarn, like Funny, work against the grain. The yarn should run through your fingers against the direction of the eyelash. On the other hand, chenille yarn is best knit with the grain. Run your fingers along a length of yarn, and you can feel when you're going against the nap, or with it. Knit with the yarn running through your fingers in the smoother-feeling direction. |
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FINISHING TIPS |
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Blocking
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Sometimes blocking your pieces before you seam is the best way to go -- especially with a heavy-roller like stockinette stitch. An easy way to block is to take a big towel which has just come through the wash, and is still damp after spinning; roll your pieces in that and set it aside overnight. Then unroll and pat out or pin into place, leave for a few hours again. It’s better than spray-misting because it dampens the pieces on both sides, without over-wetting them unnecessarily. |
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Slouchy
Hat Blocking |
We used to call them berets or tams! But now they're known as slouchy hats and they are currently very popular! You block them the same way you blocked your tams: Use a dinner plate! If there's a lacy pattern or you want to stretch out the crown portion, soak the hat first, then roll in a towel, then place over an upside-down plate. If just light blocking is required, place dry over plate and then spray with a mister. Either way, the headband portion is under the plate so it won't get stretched out of shape. |
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I-Cord
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The I-cord edge: Pick up around the edge on a circular needle just as you were doing a regular band, break yarn. Starting at the bottom right, cast on 3 sts onto the right hand needle, slip them to the left needle, then knit 2, knit 2 together through the back loops (the last cast on stitch plus 1 picked-up stitch). Slide these 3 sts back on the left-hand needle and continue all the way around. |
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Garter
Stitch |
Sewing up garter stitch is a breeze with a little planning. Take a length of contrasting color yarn; Lay it on top of your working yarn right after turning to begin a new row. Your contrasting yarn will define the bumps you use for sewing. |
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Smooth
Edges |
For a smooth edge for scarves or blankets, slip the last stitch as if to purl on every row. When you turn and knit that stitch it becomes "wrapped". |
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Cast Off
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To prevent that unsightly stair-step jog after you cast off in the round: Do not tie off the last stitch. Instead, leave it as a loop, thread tail onto a darning needle and thread from front to back through first cast-off stitch, then through this loop, then back through first cast-off stitch again. Pull tight, secure on wrong side & darn in tail. |
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Sagging
Shoulders? |
Here are two solutions. 1. Turn the sweater right side facing and crochet a firm slip stitch along the shoulder seam. Be sure to keep checking right side of the garment, you don't want the slip stitch to show through. 2. Using a sewing needle and thread, tack grosgrain ribbon onto the wrong side of the shoulder seam, attaching the ends of the ribbon to the neck edge and the sleeve top. |
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Loose
Ends |
It's frustrating to see darned-in ends on those slippery yarns come sliding right out. We have a solution, and it makes up in satisfaction the time you'll spend in fussiness. We actually take a sewing needle and matching thread, and catch those ends down, tying a knot and in turn hiding those thread ends directly into the neighboring yarn fiber. It's really worth the effort, especially on scarves where both sides show and they get a lot of tossing around. |
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MISCELLANEOUS TIPS |
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Crochet
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When making a medallion, after joining the first center ring, work your next round by catching in the tail, all the way around. You can then pull that tail tight and your center ring gets nice and teensy-weensy! |
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Fibers
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Fibers: What are all those fibers? Instead of the usual tip, we thought we would try to explain what all the fibers are that you see on yarn labels. Do you know which one has the same base as vinegar? Or, which one comes from the musk ox? Or, the difference between polyester, polyamide and polyacrylic? If you haven't seen it already, check out our glossary of fibers. FIBER GLOSSARY |
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Yarn Craft
Council Guidelines |
The Craft Yarn Council of America has put together a series of guidelines to bring consistency to yarn, needle and hook labeling and to patterns. Their goal was to make it easier for you the needleworker to select the proper materials for a project and complete it successfully. They have developed several guidelines. We have put two of them on a page to give you an idea of what they are, plus a link to their site so you can get addition a information. Just click the link to view the Standard Yarn Weight System and Knitting Abbrevations. |
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Felting
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If you want to know if a yarn will felt, make a small project and test it first before you start your larger project. Even different dye lots of the same yarn may occasionally felt differently. So remember, test with the same yarn, color and dye lot as the yarn you will use for your project. |
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Repetitive
Stress |
Avoid Repititive Stress & Carpal Tunnel Syndromes! Flex hand muscles to warm up before knitting. Take frequent short breaks while knitting. If you feel pain -- STOP ! |
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Zippers
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You can put a zipper into any cardigan pattern you have. First, buy the separating zipper - it's a lot easier to knit the sweater to conform to the zipper. Pick up for front band as pattern instructs. Next, K 3 rows (this will begin on the wrong side.) Then bind off knitwise. Pin or baste zipper, then use embroidery floss or doubled thread and a backstitch, working 1 st in from edge in the "ditch" of your front band. If necessary, whip stitch edge of zipper onto underside of front band as well. |
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Charity
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Knitting little things for charity is so rewarding. Dog sweaters go like hotcakes at the SPCA! Preemie hats for local hospitals! Afghan squares for Warm Up America! Sweaters for senior auctions and fundraisers! |
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Aroma
Therapy |
From our sweet customer, Mary MacVicar: Drop a small scented candle or soap deep into the bottom of your knitting bag - Every time you pull out your knitting you'll also be greeted with a little aroma therapy. |
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