Tips 'n Tricks

Do you have a helpful hint or handy trick that will make any aspect of knitting easier? Share it! Post ideas on scrap yarn usages, stitch markers, color changing, maintaining your sanity while following a difficult pattern, etc. There is most probably someone out there that will benefit from your help. Need ideas yourself? Read others' comments--we all live and learn!

Sunday, January 28, 2007Name: Jen

Subject: Row Markers

Comment: I am in the process of knitting an afghan that has an 18 row repeat, but it's difficult to tell just by looking where the first row is. So, instead of counting from the bottom each time to see where I am, I take a piece of scrap yarn and loop it through a stitch on the first row of the repeat. That way, I only have to count from there. Saves a lot of time!

Monday, January 22, 2007Name: Chris

Subject: new knitters

Comment: Being a new knitter myself I have found that as long that I NEVER think that a pattern is too hard it usually isn't. So beginners, don't be afraid of trying anything!!! Also, you learn alot about what you can do and what things look like when you make up your own patterns. Happy Knitting!

Wednesday, January 17, 2007Name: Ann

Subject: marking patterns

Comment: I use a plastic sleeve protector and an eraseable visa-view pen to mark rows completed on a pattern. When finished you can just wash the plastic holder and re-use your pattern. When working a repeat pattern, I write the row numbers on the top of the sleeve protector, and "x" them off when I am finished.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007Name: Ms Gene

Subject: Odds & ends tips

Comment: 1. Almost anything can be used as a cable needle, depending on yarn size: pencil, hairpin, paper clip, stylus from a palm pilot, bic pen...
2. I learned to knit by putting the right hand needle where my leg attaches to my torso; my "spare tire" keeps it in place at the right angle and my hands don't have to bear the weight of the knitting
3. I don't know how I lived (or knit) before I got an obsolete Palm from ebay - not only do I keep track of where I'm supposed to be with my 3 jobs, but I got some inexpensive software that lets me keep track of many projects, and count rows, repeats, decreases, & increases for each one. I was always losing index cards, notebooks and other things I used to use...this is magic!
Knit on.....

Monday, January 15, 2007Name: Heather Tucler

Subject: storing cones of yarn

Comment: My husband had a great idea for a standard lamp that I was going to throw away. He took the wires off and the shade and now I can thread my cones of yarn down the pole. They all stay tidy. I do machine knitting as well as hand knitting. Bye for now from England.

Monday, January 15, 2007Name: Jessica

Subject: acrylic

Comment: NEVER, EVER make clothing (scarves included) out of acrylic yarn. It will itch like crazy.

Saturday, January 13, 2007Name: Fred

Subject: Point protectors

Comment: I recently knit an afghan with a circular needle. About halfway through, I found that store-bought point protectors either wouldn't stay on the needle ends when the weight of the project pulled against them, or were not quite big enough to prevent the stitches from slipping over them.

I found a solution in those pet toys that look like miniature tennis balls (and I'd bet regular tennis balls would work well too). Use an awl or ice pick to make a hole in the ball just a little smaller than the diameter of your needle. Poke the needle into the hole when you need to put your knitting down. The ball will stay on the end of the needle, even when the weight of a heavy project pulls against it, yet it's easy to put on and remove. The balls won't scratch the finish on your needles, and they're too big for stitches to slip over them.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007Name: Babs

Subject: Joining in the round

Comment: You can make a nice join when knitting in the round with circulars by switching the two end stitches onto the opposite needles after casting on. More specifically, take the first and last stitches and move them to the opposite needle (crossing them over each other in the process). Then knit regularly. This helps to avoid that "hump" that always seems to occur on the edge when knitting in the round.

Wednesday, January 10, 2007Name: Babs

Subject: knitting that second sock

Comment: If you aren't sure that you have enough yarn left in your skein to make that second sock, here's how to find out. First weigh the sock. (I use a small postal scale, but a kitchen scale will work.) Then weigh your leftover yarn. If the weight of your leftover yarn is equal to or greater than the weight of your sock, you have enough.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007Name: Pat

Subject: Patterns

Comment: I put the pattern I'm using into a sheet protector. It stays clean and doesn't get crumpled when you slip it into your knitting bag.

Tuesday, January 09, 2007Name: yinn2yang

Subject: hi, i'm new to knitting and my best friend me to use simple rubber washers

Comment: hi, i'm new to knitting and my best friend me to use simple rubber washers from the hardware store as stitch markers. their cheap, come in a wide range of sizes and have no sharp edges. Also try tieing a small piece of yarn to each one that way when you drop one it's much easier to find them in your carpet

Sunday, January 07, 2007Name: Dorris Watersmith

Subject: concentration

Comment: when knitting it is important to go into a quiet room, this is for beginners (more confident knitters can challenge themselves to go knit in a noisy room i've tried it, it works!

Friday, January 05, 2007Name: Maria

Subject: needles

Comment: To prevent your work slipping off the ends of your needles (especially DPNs), use old wine corks to stick on the end of each needle. I have a mushroom-shaped champagne cork for my regular needles, and now I just need to collect about ten wine corks for my DPNs.

This tip might already be on here, but I just learned it the other day from somewhere else.

Wednesday, January 03, 2007Name: Nancy Swartz

Subject: scrap yarn Afghan

Comment: I save my leftover yarns, and then combine them to knit a super thick rectangle on size 35 or 50 needles.
I used to just let them mix colors and tones randomly. Now, I try to keep similar tones or colors together. Like browns with yellow, orange, or reds. Black or dark browns with blues & grays. Greens with yellows. Whites with pastels.
Put together 8-12 skeins of scrap yarn-knots where one starts and another stops are fine. Depending on the total thickness of 8-12 skeins together (like one super, super bulky yarn), use size 35 or 50 needles. Cast on 36 stitches and knit 35-40 rows- just remember what your standard is for the next rectangle you knit. All garter stitch- stockinette droops too much. Bind off- I tried making the rectangles longer to cut down on finishing, but it will sag horribly. After you have made as many rectangles as you think you want in an afghan, get all your rectangles together and lay them out in whatever order you think looks most attractive. Sew the rectangles together- also, use the tails from the cast ons and bind offs to tie them together at the corners for additional support. This is a very heavy and warm afghan. I made one for my grandmother (who did not have central heat) about 25 yrs ago, and she said it was very heavy, but it kept her very warm. I made a very large one for my sister, and it weighed 15 pounds.
This also uses up yarn you find on sale, garage sales, etc.
If you have someone who wants just red and black, you can make one to order. Enjoy.

Sunday, December 31, 2006Name: Deborah Gray

Subject: Charts & Graphs

Comment: When working from a graph get it photocopied so that you can colour the rows in as you work each one. Saves counting from the bottom every time you start again.

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