Guess what day of the week it is? Yup, it’s Tuesday, which means tips! This week I have 6 bonafide knitting tips that will help you with your knitting, and 1 that will help you with people asking that stupid question we all hate. Wait for it, it will come. Jumping right into it, here are the tips.
- When knitting sleeves (or any two parts of a garment that are similar), you can knit them at the same time with two separate balls of yarn. Aside from finishing both sleeves literally one row after the other, you will have two identical pieces in terms of length (and tension). This saves you having to count rows (or measure) to make sure they’re alike.
- Remember the shrug I was knitting in blue alpaca from a few posts ago? Well, I’m making another one in a white silk/rayon combination. The problem with knitting with white however is that it gets dirty very easily – even the dirt and/or oils on your hands can transfer to the yarn and leave you with a dirty project. Try putting the project in a pillowcase or zip lock bag once it starts growing. Aside from helping to keep it clean, it makes it a little easier to transport it around as you can put the bag/case in your lap and also the other supplies in the bag when you’re not knitting. I guess that’s two tips in one, isn’t it?
- Selvedge stitches are great and something every knitter should use. I find that when doing a selvedge stitch for something that will be seamed, the stocking stitch (knit on the right side and purl on the reverse) works best. It makes doing the mattress (invisible) stitch so much easier later. When I’m making a scarf or something else that has an open edge, I slip the first stitch of every row and knit the last. It provides a nice garter stitch looking edge.
- Shop in thrift stores for yarns at bargain prices. Sometimes people donate their yarns to stores rather than trying to sell it. You can also find hand made sweaters at great prices too. It doesn’t matter if they’re the right size or not. You can always take them apart, unravel them, steam them to get rid of the kinks, and re-use the yarn for something in your size.
- Join a knitting group. With technology where it’s at nowadays, you have all kinds of options with regards to joining a group. You can do a search to find one in your area or even look into a virtual one where people “meet” online. Yahoo Groups is a great virtual world for knitters. Ravelry is a great community and you can find out if there is a group in your are a by searching through meetup.com. If not, you can always start your own.
- Life lines are great but can be a bit of a nuisance when you want to remove them. Using dental floss (the Ultra Glide by Crest is a great choice) makes for very easy removal and you’ll still be able to see the stitches when it’s in.
So those are the regular tips for this week. Today I was working on the set of a new show and knitting. I can’t tell you how many people would walk by and ask “Are you knitting”? I’ve been trying to find an answer to that question that reflects the stupidity of it without being excessively cruel ( a little cruel is okay). Today I was discussing this problem with a friend – Kimball. He always gets some reference to the Fugitive when he tells people his name. His reaction is to laugh and say “I’ve never heard that one before” in a very sarcastic tone. So he has some experience with the comebacks. Apparently, his mother taught him to knit when he was a little boy, and while he doesn’t knit anymore, he understands the stitches. He told me I should answer ” No, I’m purling”! I thought it was brilliant and plan to use it at my very next opportunity.
Hugzzz 😎