I’ve made 3 Hue Shift Afghans (from KnitPicks): One Jewel, one Pastel, and one Rainbow. It’s not the only blanket I’ve ever made, but it’s by far my favorite. And while it looks beautiful, it’s actually really easy to knit and great for someone that knows the basic knit stitch. That being said, there’s a…
Category: tips and tricks
Knitting Tools at Home
The list of big tools that stay at home: Knitting Needles & Case Yarn bowl Knitting lamp Sock blockers Sock Ruler Ball winder Yarn Swift Blocking Mats & T-pins Yarn counter Project bags I don’t typically carry all my needles everywhere with me – just the needles I need for the project at hand. So…
Picking Needles
My preferred needles as an experienced knitter are my Chiaogoo Twist Interchangeables. I also have the Red Shorties set, the Blue Shorties set, a selection of DPNs, and a selection of 16″ fixed circulars. I keep them all in this case, where they fit very nicely. I recommend beginners start with just a few wood…
The Relationship between Needle Size and Yarn Weight
When making a gauge swatch, the relationship between the size of your needles and the weight of the yarn affects how the resulting fabric looks. One thing that’s confusing for a lot of new knitters (and sometimes the experienced ones!) is that if your gauge has more stitches to the inch than you want, you…
How to Block a Gauge Swatch
Now that you’ve made your gauge swatch, it’s time to block it. First, let’s address why. As I covered here, blocking your gauge swatch will tell you how well your project will handle being washed and how it react to being dried. You can also use it to tell how many stitches you’re getting per…
Reading a Ball Band and Determining Yarn Weight
Ball band simply refers to the little piece of paper wrapped around the yarn when you buy it. Sometimes it’s a tag tied to a string instead, but they all have the same information: yardage, meters, grams, material. Usually there’s the brand, colorway name, dyelot, and weight as well. There’s some debate as to what’s…
Understanding Ease
Many garment patterns refer to ease – positive or negative ease affects how you knit and want to wear a garment. Simply put, ease is how tight or loose a garment is on your body. A garment with a lot of positive ease fits loosely and a garment with negative ease will be tight and…
Why make a Gauge Swatch?
There’s a debate among knitters and crocheters as to whether you should do a gauge swatch. I’m in the “always do a gauge swatch” camp and also the “do as I say, not as I do” because I don’t always do them – but I can explain! You should do a gauge swatch any time…
Knitting Tools On the Go
In my traveling toolbox, I have: Stitch markers/progress keepers of several flavors and colors: round, closed markers suitable for keeping on your needles and slipping as you move along (both large and small, depending on the needle size being used) openable stitch markers, useful for adding/removing from your needles at any time progress keepers (can…
Perfect Toe-up Socks
Here’s my favorite ways to make what I consider to be the perfect socks: I start with Vanilla Socks (but you can use any sock pattern) and make the edits below. Perfect Round Toes: Use Turkish cast on (this includes one knit row).1) k1, m1L, k to last st, m1R, k1. rep for second needle2)…