Well, seeing as we’re almost ready to delve into a Lace project, I thought I would dedicate this week’s tips to Lace. There are a few more than usual, but some of them may be repeats from previous weeks. Sorry if you’ve read them before, but I hope those that haven’t appreciate it. You might want to go back through the archives as well just to see what you’ve missed. Okay, here we go …
Teach and old knitter – a few more cast ons. Lace knitting requires a really stretchy cast on and off. If you’ve only been doing it one way (we can all get complacent with a favorite method), you might want to learn a few more and test them for their elasticity. Nothing will be more disappointing than to have completed a beautiful, complex pattern to find out that it won’t block out properly because the cast on or off was too tight. For the cast on you might want to learn the Provisional Cast on as you do it with contrast yarn that gets discarded in the end. Check you tube, knitty, Ravelry, or knitting help for videos on different techniques.
Photocopy – your pattern before you start. If it’s too small (or maybe just a good idea) enlarge it a bit so you can read it more easily. You’ll also be able to write notes on it. If you have a laminator (or access to one), you might want to laminate it and use dry erase markers or wax crayons for highlighting where you are in the pattern. You can always laminate it the low tech way by encasing it with clear packing tape as well!
Call a friend – just like in the game show, get used to using a lifeline. If you’re not sure what that is, be sure to read the post tomorrow on lifelines, casting on, and yarn choices.
Be gentle – pretend your lace is like a lover. You want to be gentle when ripping back work (even if you have the lifeline in place) as ripping too aggressively may stretch the yarn out of shape. Pretend you’re handling a peeled, soft boiled egg that you don’t want to break and spill everywhere.
Felt – your ends together when joining new yarns wherever possible. This will make for a seamless join and all of your precious yarn will get used. If you can’t felt the ends, always try and make sure you join a new ball at the end of a row where you can more easily hide it in the border. Better yet, ask your LYS if they carry the yarn you’re using in cones. A lot of finer weight yarns come in half and full pound cones which make for no ends to darn in!
Be a blockhead – yesterday’s post should have convinced you on blocking – especially lace. If you missed it, go back and read it. Blocking transforms your lace from a caterpillar (pretty) to a butterfly (stunning)! Learn the finer points to blocking and try it on something before your first lace project.
Keep that old mattress – it makes a great blocking board for larger projects – especially lace. If you don’t have room to keep that old one, just let your partner know he/she will be sleeping on the couch tonight while your lace is drying. Hey, it’s a great excuse to cuddle together and watch a good movie.
Count on the reverse side – since most patterns don’t have increases and decreases on the reverse side, it’s a great time to count your stitches (every time)! This way you’ll pick up a missing YO or decrease right away and only have to go back 1 row to fix your mistake.
Notice patterns – like YO’s being followed by a decrease or whatever. This will make your reading of the chart better and you’ll notice if something is amiss quicker. Checking the pattern beforehand to ensure the YO’s match up with the decreases is always a good idea as well.
Left or right – It’s very easy to see a left slant where a right slant should be and vice versa after looking at a large chart after a while. It might be a good idea to color code these before you start – say Red for right and Blue for left. Again, it will make reading the chart a little easier and your knitting experience that much more enjoyable.
Use stitch markers – ‘NUFF said!
Two is enough – you only really need 2 lifelines. One at the first repeat and then the next after the next one. Then take out the first one and use it for the next and continue in this manner. That way you won’t have a whole bunch of lifelines to take out when your work is done.
There will be more as we go along but for now I think this will get you going. I hope you’re not intimidated by Lace because of all these tips, I just want to make sure you enjoy doing it and might even want to do it again. Tomorrow we’ll do our last lace swatch then get started on a project. Look for more tips next week!
Hugzzz 😎