Knitting - help and advice super thread!

cmbutterfly45 · 28-11-2013 9:32pm

iguana wrote: »

I finished my first jumper tonight.

this is amazing well done is it hard to knit the picture in im not that advanced yet!!

vitani · 28-11-2013 9:44pm

iguana wrote: »

I actually Swiss Darned the rocket on. I'm not confident enough yet to try actually knitting the picture in.

Wow - you wouldn't know the difference by looking at it. Is swiss darning complicated? I'm fairly new to cross-stitching - would it be along the same lines?

iguana · 28-11-2013 10:49pm

The darning is pretty easy. I knit a scarf before I did the jumper and practised on it with the help of a youtube tutorial, so I could get a feel for it. The basic stitch is pretty easy and after that all you have to do is make sure your wools are the same thickness and always do the bottom stitches first as if you try to darn under a stitch you've already darned you'll disrupt it. The one thing I'll change for next time is to plan out my picture better in future, maybe by drawing up a grid first. On the scarf I darned in lettering and it was easy to figure out where each stitch was needed before I started. With the rocket, especially because it's diagonal, I got it wrong a few times and had a bit of trial and error undoing a lot of lines in the process.

I found doing the neck of the jumper to be the hardest part. I hadn't known that the neck is all knit together, I'd assumed it was stitched together like the rest. I was literally sweating while trying to put it together. Especially when I had to create the new stitches at the front. I was so terrified that I'd destroy the whole thing.

x Purple Pawprints x · 29-11-2013 3:31pm

Has anyone here tried arm knitting?

RiverOfLove · 30-11-2013 11:28pm

I have a knitting pattern that I would like to try. It requires a stitch holder half way through. I don't have a stitch holder and it will be another week before I get into town to buy one. Is there anything I can use instead of a stitch holder? I have some cable needles. I could they do instead? Is there anything around the home I could use?

x Purple Pawprints x · 30-11-2013 11:44pm

How many stitches do you have to hold? If it's a small amount a safety pin would do.

wmpdd3 · 01-12-2013 1:06am

x Purple Pawprints x wrote: »

Has anyone here tried arm knitting?

As in knitting on your arms with a few stand s of thick material, if so yes. Great for scarves or throws.

x Purple Pawprints x · 01-12-2013 1:08am

Yes. I'd love to try it.

kandr10 · 01-12-2013 10:44am

RiverOfLove wrote: »

I have a knitting pattern that I would like to try. It requires a stitch holder half way through. I don't have a stitch holder and it will be another week before I get into town to buy one. Is there anything I can use instead of a stitch holder? I have some cable needles. I could they do instead? Is there anything around the home I could use?

I've often used a cable needle, a double pointed needle with tape on one side to stop them slipping, a pencil, a safety pin etc. prob not advised generally but always worked for me and I've yet to buy holders :-)

ValerieR · 01-12-2013 5:52pm

RiverOfLove wrote: »

I have a knitting pattern that I would like to try. It requires a stitch holder half way through. I don't have a stitch holder and it will be another week before I get into town to buy one. Is there anything I can use instead of a stitch holder? I have some cable needles. I could they do instead? Is there anything around the home I could use?

A cable needle, a wooden skewer cut to size, with an elastic wound on both sides should do the trick - alternatively, as suggested in a previous post, a safety pin - or you could use a little of bit of wool through these stitches, tie it in a loop and gather up these stitches once you are ready for them.

Best of luck with your project

aknitter · 02-12-2013 1:20pm

RiverOfLove wrote: »

I have a knitting pattern that I would like to try. It requires a stitch holder half way through. I don't have a stitch holder and it will be another week before I get into town to buy one. Is there anything I can use instead of a stitch holder? I have some cable needles. I could they do instead? Is there anything around the home I could use?

Using a knitters sewing needle (a big one with a blunt point) thread some wool through the stitches and tie off the yarn in a loose circle.you can then reinsert your needle later, its a bit fiddly but will work for larger numbers of stitches

vitani · 02-12-2013 1:42pm

I got it into my head the other day that I wanted to make my little one a dress and cardigan to wear on Christmas day. I'm leaving it horribly late to start but I think I just about have enough time if I start this evening. Going to go and look at wool and Christmas fabric this lunchtime.

duckling10 · 02-12-2013 5:08pm

janmaree wrote: »

Would any of you be Aran knitters and have you ever worked with the traditional oiled yarn? What I'm thinking is that when we buy coloured Aran wool, the natural lanolin in the original cream yarn has been washed away in the dyeing process. I don't recall ever getting that oily feeling on my fingers and needles when I knit with coloured Aran yarn, only with the original oiled yarn which usually came in hanks that had to be wound into balls first. Anyone remember back that far............or is just me? (I'm very, very old btw. )

I'm trying to locate oiled coloured Aran yarn for a friend but I suspect there's no such thing. Any information would be very helpful, and thanks.

Not to worry, I'm kinda old too...
I don;t remember the oiled Aran, but as I use a spinning wheel, I can look at this question form the point of spinning:
Oiled wool would either be the wool from the sheep which has not been washed so much as to take out all the lanolin (naturallly occuring oil) from it and so oiled wool would I imagine almost always be the natural colour, because in order to dye the wool different colours, it would have to be washed (scoured) very well, as the dye will not take evenly on wool which has its natural lanolin left in.
The second way I would imagine that wool is oily is because wool is sometimes also oiled after washing(scouring) and dyeing, to make it easier to spin, with various types of oil, and so it could be possible to get dyed (coloured) oiled Aranwool.
However, it might be the case that most manufacturers would have washed the yarn/item again after spinning/knitting to get rid of the oil, most wool in shops these days is not oily.
Does that help?

kinkygirl · 03-12-2013 5:55pm

theLuggage wrote: »

I'm at about the same level I'd say. Started back in Feb and have done two baby cardigans, lol! At this rate I'll be lucky to get my third item done while its still winter - it's going to be a nice shawl/scarf thing, first thing for myself

Sounds like you're doing great, keep going

Thanks for the encouragment. My next project will be a baby cardigan!
I've joined a knitting club..start next week ,and with the help of You Tube am learning lots of new stitches. Wow, I love knitting.

wmpdd3 · 04-12-2013 4:32am

vitani wrote: »

I got it into my head the other day that I wanted to make my little one a dress and cardigan to wear on Christmas day. I'm leaving it horribly late to start but I think I just about have enough time if I start this evening. Going to go and look at wool and Christmas fabric this lunchtime.

Depends how little she is!

vitani · 04-12-2013 12:31pm

wmpdd3 wrote: »

Depends how little she is!

She's in age 2 clothes, so thankfully still quite little! The dress is actually coming along quite well - another evening or two and it should be finished and (hopefully) wearable. It's only the second dress I've ever made so I'm really pleased with how it's going. And then I'm going to make a red long-sleeve bolero style cardigan to go with it.

wmpdd3 · 05-12-2013 1:59am

Sounds great, I love doing dress for them up to about 5, then it just takes too long!

The_Morrigan · 05-12-2013 8:31am

I've been given a 15% discount for friends on Loveknitting.com if anyone wishes to use it drop me a pm.

nicowa · 10-12-2013 10:24am

Can someone look at the directions to this pattern and tell me what I'm missing?

Pattern:

Cast on 24 sts (or any number of stiches dividable with 4).

Knit 2 rows

Knit pattern row:

K4, (YO, K2tog, K2) repeat between ( ) 5 times.

Repeat the pattern row until your scarf is at desired length.

Knit 1 row.

Cast off loosely.

Finishing:

Weave in ends.

I feel like it would just disappear.

vitani · 10-12-2013 10:28am

YO means 'yarn over' or wrapping the yarn around the needle. If it's on a knit row, bring the yarn to the front and wrap it around to the back before knitting your next stitch. It will create the extra stitch that you lose when you knit 2 together.

nicowa · 10-12-2013 5:23pm

Thanks. I was getting it mixed up with slip stitch over..

iguana · 12-12-2013 10:53pm

I was looking for a way to keep my floats tidy during colourwork last night and I discovered that there are two types of knitting. So are you an English or a Continental knitter? I'm English but am practising Continental tonight as it seems that once you get the hang of it, it's significantly faster.

j@utis · 12-12-2013 11:03pm

Continental way is much faster, esp purl stitch. English knitting way looks awkward and way too laborious to me.
p.s. I machine knit most of the time but I can hand knit pretty well to. I just prefer the look of the machine knit over the hand knit.

theLuggage · 13-12-2013 10:47am

When starting back to knitting I was told to learn Continental as it was faster but English was just too familiar for me so I stuck to it! When I'm a bit more confident with my knitting I'll probably try to swap over. It definitely seems the way to go. I heard there is less movement in it as well so hands dont get as tired/sore?

j@utis · 13-12-2013 11:19am

oh yes, it's way much less movement involved. check youtube videos out, search for continental or european style knitting.

kylith · 21-12-2013 9:24pm

Please bear with me, I'm a self-taught crocheter venturing into knitting.

I got a ball of wool earlier in Hickeys that I know is sufficient to crochet a scarf, but it has instructions attached to knit a scarf and I want to give it a try. I'm trying to work out the pattern but, not being a knitter, it's kinda gobbledegook to me and I'd like to make sure I have it right.

The instructions are:
Alt K1, P1; work 1 yarn over before each stitch. On all foll rows work sts as they appear and a yarn-over before each stitch. let the yarn overs of previous row slide off the needle.

If I've translated it properly I should: do one knit stitch then one purl stich. Yarn over (I understand how to do this) before each knit stitch. On every return row follow the yo, knit one, purl one pattern, but drop the yo stitches from the previous row.

I know I may have gotten in over my head here, but the beauty of wool is that I can always rip it back and do it again!

Thanks in advance!

ETA: I think I've worked it out.
Cast on
1: *y-o knit 1*, turn
2: *Y-o, purl 1, drop stitch*, turn
3: *Y-o, knit 1, drop stitch*, turn
4: Repeat 1 & 2

looksee · 22-12-2013 9:45am

Looks to me as though you should do the yarn-over before every stitch: *yo knit 1, yo p1*, repeat to end. You are then working single rib, but before each stitch drop the previous yo and create another one. You should end up with a widely spaced rib pattern.

kylith · 22-12-2013 1:42pm

looksee wrote: »

Looks to me as though you should do the yarn-over before every stitch: *yo knit 1, yo p1*, repeat to end. You are then working single rib, but before each stitch drop the previous yo and create another one. You should end up with a widely spaced rib pattern.

It's working out very well with a row of knit (yo before every stitch) then a row of purl (yo before every stitch). I tried alternating knit and purl stitches in the row but wound up with a total mess.

I'm very proud of myself as I'm not much of a knitter, I'm working from what I learned in 1st class! I don't think I'll want to give this scarf again.

aknitter · 24-12-2013 3:58pm

http://www.allfreeknitting.com/Knit-Hats/go-wild-knitted-animal-hats

9 free knitting patterns!

RiverOfLove · 25-12-2013 1:12pm

Last time I posted here about 3 weeks back, I asked about stitch holders and what to use instead of them with great intentions of starting a new knitting project the following day. I came down with a cold and didn't knit that day or for a few days. I made it into town the following weekend and picked up some stitch holders. Thanks for all the fantastic recommendations.

I'm looking forward to doing a lot of knitting during the Christmas holidays. Happy Christmas to all here and hope you all have a good one.

kinkygirl · 27-12-2013 10:06pm

I feel so silly posting this question, feeling the answer is going to be obvious, but here goes.
Today I started knitting a cowl, using a lace stitch tutorial from YouTube, I seem to be following the video exactly..but have ended up with almost four times the amount of stitches I started out with! It looks really nice, but will soon be big enough to use as a blanket.
Help me please?

ABajaninCork · 27-12-2013 10:11pm

kinkygirl wrote: »

I feel so silly posting this question, feeling the answer is going to be obvious, but here goes.
Today I started knitting a cowl, using a lace stitch tutorial from YouTube, I seem to be following the video exactly..but have ended up with almost four times the amount of stitches I started out with! It looks really nice, but will soon be big enough to use as a blanket.
Help me please?

Post up the pattern.

kinkygirl · 28-12-2013 12:30pm

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Post up the pattern.

Cast on in multiples of 4 + 2. Row 1 K1 *K2,yon twice, K2tog; repeat from * to last stitch, k1
Row2: P1, *P2,K1,P1; rep from * to last stitch, P1

He tells you to repeat the two rows until you've reached the desired length.

ABajaninCork · 28-12-2013 1:34pm

Seems easy enough. I might pick up that pattern!!

So you cast on in multiples of 6. How many sts did you cast on?

Knit the first st. From the * you then k2, then yarn fwd (bring the wool forward to make a hole), then repeat that step. You then K2 tog and repeat that until the last st, then k1.

Have you been bringing the yarn forward twice, then doing the k2 tog? That would explain the increased sts...

ValerieR · 28-12-2013 1:40pm

kinkygirl wrote: »

Cast on in multiples of 4 + 2. Row 1 K1 *K2,yon twice, K2tog; repeat from * to last stitch, k1
Row2: P1, *P2,K1,P1; rep from * to last stitch, P1

He tells you to repeat the two rows until you've reached the desired length.

On Row 1, the repeat gets you to place the yarn over the needle twice which technically adds 1 stich to the number (K2, yo twice, K2tog = 2+2+1 =5 whereas you started off with 4 stitches). On the same section on the return row, it gets you to work 4 stiches. You probably need to drop one of the yo stitches on the return row.
Now, I'm not certain about this but that's my guess. Someone might be able to confirm. :-)
Best of luck with your project :-)
V

ABajaninCork · 28-12-2013 1:42pm

ValerieR wrote: »

On Row 1, the repeat gets you to place the yarn over the needle twice which technically adds 1 stich to the number (K2, yo*2, K2tog = 2+2+1 =5 whereas you started off with 4 stitches). On the same section on the return row, it gets you to work 4 stiches. You probably need to drop one of the yo stitches on the return row.
Now, I'm not certain about this but that's my guess. Someone might be able to confirm. :-)
Best of luck with your project :-)
V

Doesn't the pattern state multiples of 4 + 2 (= 6) ?

ValerieR · 28-12-2013 1:49pm

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Doesn't the pattern state multiples of 4 + 2 (= 6) ?

The way I read the row 1 instructions is the 1st and last K1 are the 2 in the 4+2 number and the repeat section is the 4 between the *.
For the work to go straight up (no increase), something has to happen to 'drop' one stich at some stage.

OP, maybe a link to the YouTube video might enlighten us better. :-)

kinkygirl · 28-12-2013 1:57pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60xeVTwDpnc

I have absolutely no idea if this will work, if not, forgive me.

ValerieR · 28-12-2013 2:07pm

kinkygirl wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60xeVTwDpnc

I have absolutely no idea if this will work, if not, forgive me.

Aah ... I get it.

It's k1, *k2tog, yo twice, k2tog*, k1 for row1.

So, you replace the 2 stitches you make disappear by knitting 2 together twice by placing the yarn over the needle twice. From 4 stiches at the beginning between the *, you still have 4 stiches at the end of the row.
You should always have the same amount of stitches from beginning to end.

Does this help?

V

tiredmum · 02-01-2014 9:18pm

Hello ladies. I am trying to find a knitting pattern for girls long boot type slippers. So far all I found was baby ugg boot pattern that is way too small for them. I have 4 girls..shoe sizes are for ages 4/5/6 and 8 sizes are 8/10/12 and 13. If anyone has any ideas, please post. Thanks

ABajaninCork · 02-01-2014 9:24pm

Have you looked on Ravelry?

The ladies on there are pretty good at answering calls for help. Another alternative might be to adapt an existing pattern to the sizes you need. Post up a thread asking for help.

tiredmum · 02-01-2014 9:28pm

Thanks for replying. I have no idea about adapting patterns. I am only a beginner and have not knitted in years. I will try Ravelry and see if anyone can help.

duckling10 · 03-01-2014 12:04pm

hi,
Ravelry is a great resource and is free and easy to join. Once you go on Ravelry, you choose the tab Patterns along the top and type in your search term,
I typed in Slipper socks, and got 1,779 hits! here are the results of that search,
most have pictures so you can see straight away if it's what you want, also on the sidebar at Left you can modify the search , you need to choose Knitting and you can choose to show only Free patterns (875 of these were free) and then modify again to show the size you want,

You could also search for boot slippers (433 patterns, of which 157 free)
here's the result for Boot slipper, knitting, free, child's size, age 4 to 12. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/search#query=boot%20slipper%20&view=captioned_thumbs&craft=knitting&availability=free&sort=best&fit=child

tiredmum · 03-01-2014 4:38pm

Thank you so much ladies. I found the perfect pattern for my slipper socks. Its called 'slippers with soul' by polarknit..I am gonna try my best to make it for the 2 big girls and then see if I can adjust the pattern for the 2 younger ones. I have not knitted in years. Fingers crossed. Thank you once again..

cmbutterfly45 · 06-01-2014 12:01am

So as I've mentioned before I was knitting a bridal bolero and just got around to finishing it up but thing is now that it's finished I don't like it! It looks too big and just weird!
But (if I can describe right) it looks like a cardigan front bits meet but if I put them behind my back so it's just like the back and sleeves it looks way better, I don't want to just not use it now so was thinking of trying to weave ribbon or something to finish it off, anyone offer any advice?

ABajaninCork · 06-01-2014 1:24am

That's a shame. The bit you posted up looked all right. What do you think went wrong? Did you check your tension before you started?

It's hard to suggest something when you can't see, but maybe some shirring elastic sewn into the cardi might do the trick.

cmbutterfly45 · 06-01-2014 11:00am

ABajaninCork wrote: »

That's a shame. The bit you posted up looked all right. What do you think went wrong? Did you check your tension before you started?

It's hard to suggest something when you can't see, but maybe some shirring elastic sewn into the cardi might do the trick.

I lost a bit of weight since that picture and when I finished off the rib last night and put it on it just looked too big and not right
I'm gonna take some pics later and try to explain with them what I mean
But I'm off to my mams to c if she can fix it for me

cmbutterfly45 · 06-01-2014 2:23pm

I'm adding in a few pics it will show what it looks like and what I want to change it too any input really appreciated!

ValerieR · 06-01-2014 4:25pm

cmbutterfly45 wrote: »

I lost a bit of weight since that picture and when I finished off the rib last night and put it on it just looked too big and not right
I'm gonna take some pics later and try to explain with them what I mean
But I'm off to my mams to c if she can fix it for me

cmbutterfly45 wrote: »

I'm adding in a few pics it will show what it looks like and what I want to change it too any input really appreciated!

The bolero looks ok to me as it is (size wise). It wouldn't be as nice if it were snug. I wouldn't 'transform' it as a shrug.
IMO, it'd look messy at the back if you gather the front to the back and no amount of ribbons/ornaments would 'hide' the width surplus.

Some nice buttons (rhinestone) or a nice ribbon to tie as the top could dress it up.

Well done on knitting it !

V

aknitter · 06-01-2014 6:18pm

The bolero is lovely, have you blocked it yet? That might solve some of your problems.
If you are adding to it, you could add ribbon in the same colour as the bridesmaids dresses or the button hole for the groom.

Knitting - help and advice super thread!

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