Questions tagged [knitting]

Questions about materials, tools, and techniques specific to the craft of knitting. Those questions that apply to knitting but aren't specific to it may fit better in the [yarn] or [fiber-crafts] tags.

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8 votes
1 answer
75 views

Which knitting pattern is particularly heat insulating?

I want to knit a tea cosy like shown in this picture (not affiliated; image source): I want it to give proper insulation to my tea pot to keep the contents warm for longer. Originally I planned on ...
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3 votes
2 answers
260 views

Can you sew your own tube yarn?

It seems like a fairly simple thing to do, but I haven't found a single DIY how-to online about making your own tube yarn. I don't mean "t-shirt yarn" or "fabric yarn," which I ...
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2 votes
1 answer
74 views

Knitting with multi-colours: why has the piece gone so bulky/thick?

I've been working on a jumper with a pattern for Christmas. It involves using a few colours. I've been weaving the colours on the back of the work as this was what I saw on YouTube tutorials etc., but ...
6 votes
3 answers
268 views

Forward Shoulder Adjustment in Knitted Sweaters

I'm an experienced seamstress who recently started knitting. After countless hours of fitting woven garments, it's a bit of an understatement to say that fitting a knitted sweater is giving me a lot ...
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11 votes
1 answer
148 views

Can you identify this yarn tool?

I’ve been knitting, crocheting, sewing, weaving, and most other things textile related for decades and have never come across this tool. I inherited a box of yarn and other crafting items that ...
  • 121
6 votes
1 answer
177 views

How to rehab tightly wound yarn?

I used to do a terrible thing, I'd buy beautiful skeins of hand-dyed yarn and rush home and wind them into super tight balls by hand. I now have a ball winder and a lot more sense. I'm rewinding these ...
  • 397
4 votes
1 answer
47 views

How do I make my first cast on stitch a purl stitch?

So I've read that the slipknot is considered the first stitch of a project. Is the slipknot a knit or a purl? If it's a knit, then how does one start with a purl? I know how to do long-tail casts for ...
0 votes
1 answer
68 views

How do I move my yarn to the front or back for the first stitch of a row?

My edges tend to look sorta weird and I suspect it's because I'm not moving my work to the front for purls and back for knits, on the first stitch. When I already have one stitch on my needle it's ...
4 votes
1 answer
132 views

How to avoid knitting the wrong direction in the round?

I often find myself changing directions by mistake and not noticing it until I find a hole, while knitting in the round using DPNs. This especially happens when I’m just starting a project, when the ...
  • 397
7 votes
2 answers
230 views

My grandma's fingers are becoming too old for knitting. What alternatives are there?

My grandma is getting old. She loves her knitting and needlework. Especially with less visitors coming to her retirement home in Covid times, it keeps up her spirits. But now she tells me her fingers ...
  • 173
0 votes
1 answer
53 views

How to read a graph knitting pattern

I’ve never read a graph diagram pattern for knitting. I’m having a really hard time getting this pattern right. I thought I was doing it the right way, but I had too many remaining stitches at the end....
2 votes
1 answer
252 views

What is the name of the knit stitch on these given pictures?

what is the name of the knit stitch in the pictures on this page: https://www.pimkie.fr/p/pull-grosse-maille-408383E23A0B.html Are there some patterns online using the same stitch? Regards.
4 votes
2 answers
854 views

Should you reuse your swatch?

After swatching and blocking, is it common to unravel the swatch and use that yarn in your project? I'm assuming the blocking would change the yarn a bit but that once you blocked the whole finished ...
  • 397
9 votes
1 answer
145 views

How to carry the yarn in stripes?

So, I’m knitting a swatch with both vertical and horizontal stripes, basically a plaid that’s fully knitted and not with the third color woven in. For most multicolor patterns, I have done it by just ...
  • 417
7 votes
2 answers
681 views

Blocking Acrylic Yarn

How do you block acrylic yarn? I just finished a beautiful Celtic Cable neck warmer with Lion Brand Heartland Tweed yarn, which is acrylic, and I want to make some for my friends for the holidays, but ...
3 votes
1 answer
519 views

Blocking knitting using the washing machine?

I know how you're supposed to properly block knitting (get it wet, squeeze it out, stretch it/pin it and let it air dry). However, I'm assuming that if I'm knitting something that will be put through ...
  • 397
3 votes
2 answers
84 views

How to knit a thumb on a (fake) mitten?

I'm knitting a miniature mitten in the round (for a tea cosy). I start the mitten with Judy's Magic cast on, and it goes well until I get to the thumb, where the pattern calls for: previous row = 12 ...
  • 397
4 votes
2 answers
1k views

Custom name too long for christmas stocking when using duplicate stitch

Please see the picture below: I am making the stocking with the Christmas tree. The person’s name is Geraldine. If I use the duplicate stitch, the name will wrap around which I don’t want. I am ...
4 votes
1 answer
96 views

Evenly spaced increase

I have a knitting project in which I have 94 stitches on my needle, and I’m supposed to do an evenly spaced increase of 50 to get 144 stitches. I know how to increase, but I do not know if I need to ...
3 votes
1 answer
64 views

My double knitting pattern is confusing me

A pattern I’m doing has double knitting in it. First off, how do I unravel the cast on stitches w/o unraveling the first rows? Second off, it says that all of the stitches go onto one needle, but then ...
6 votes
1 answer
90 views

Is it okay to cast off for neckline near crosses (cables)?

My wife is knitting me this wonderful cabled sweater pattern: https://knitrowan.com/en/free-patterns/cole and she is about to finish the back panel. However, the very last RS row before casting off ...
  • 163
4 votes
2 answers
246 views

Whats is the mm equivalent of US / old UK knitting needles?

When converting from US or old UK knitting needle sizes to mm, what are the conversions for these?
  • 339
6 votes
3 answers
195 views

Why and how do some people use circular knitting needles when working flat / not in the round?

Some people use circular knitting needles when they are working flat, aka not working in the round. Why is that and how does it work?
  • 475
6 votes
1 answer
257 views

How to knit a button loop?

If knitting an item which needs a button to secure something - like a button on the back of a pair of glittens, (a fingerless glove with a retractable mitten) how would you knit this into a row? ...
  • 339
5 votes
2 answers
80 views

How to regain a row of slipped stitches?

Last night I was doing knit stitch on a practice piece of knitting in a small patch, 26 stitches long. When I got to the end I'd realised I'd messed up and I had 27 stitches. The yarn I'm using is ...
  • 339
5 votes
1 answer
73 views

What size / length needles for beginner knitting?

I'm a beginner knitter. I have a one pair of knitting needles, which are 4.5mm but seem quite short (30cm or less ish? I cannot see a printed measurement for length on them only the diameter). I went ...
  • 339
6 votes
1 answer
76 views

Knitting pattern in the round

I’m following a pattern for an infinity scarf and it’s knit in the round. I can’t make sense of the cast-on portion of the pattern: Cast-on and Setup rounds: “CO 136 (4 repeats), CO 170 stitches (5 ...
  • 397
7 votes
1 answer
135 views

What knitting/weave style is this?

Here it is used on a simple and light winter hat. Also: is this doable by hand? Front: Back:
  • 171
4 votes
1 answer
105 views

Does a gauge recommendation refer to pre- or post-washing dimensions?

I'm following this pattern to make a sweater. For the gauge requirement, it states: 17 stitches and 31 rows = 4 inches in Seed Stitch Then the schematic shows the front/back panels having a width ...
  • 143
5 votes
3 answers
127 views

Is a blanket stitch doable for first-time knitters?

I have a fair amount of crocheting experience but no knitting experience whatsoever; I want to make something for my cousin’s new baby in time for Christmas, and I think a nice, simple baby blanket ...
  • 51
5 votes
1 answer
134 views

Can a wool coffee cozy sustain high temperatures?

I drink coffee after boiling water and mixing it in the mug. The mug stays hot for a while and then I start drinking it. I have been crocheting for a while and I thought I might as well make a coffee ...
6 votes
1 answer
122 views

How to give a mitt knit in the round a pointy finish?

I'm trying to recreate a certain style of historical mitts: Click here for bigger image. I have worked from the bottom edge (at the ellbow) up in the round and are now at the point where I need to ...
  • 10.9k
5 votes
3 answers
138 views

Looking for a difficult knitting style or technique, and how to tell whether it's been done well

I hope this question is on-topic -- I'm not a knitter myself, and won't be attempting to knit anything you suggest -- I'm actually trying to write a story. I want to show one character realising that ...
2 votes
3 answers
927 views

Why do I keep getting a loop when knitting?

I'm learning to knit and I can cast on just fine. I can also knit stitch quite well. I have not learned the purl stitch yet as I cannot figure out what I am doing wrong. Whenever I knit stitch, the ...
user avatar
3 votes
2 answers
436 views

Second row of knitting pattern has less stitches than cast on

I'm following a knitting pattern to create a 30cm x 30cm cushion cover, which I think should create a rectangle that I eventually fold over a cushion inner. The instructions, verbatim, are as follows:...
3 votes
1 answer
684 views

What is a good stretchy bind-off for 2:2 ribbing?

I knitted a hat top-down with a stranded 2:2 rib edge. What would be an nice-looking and adequately stretchy bind-off?
  • 1,025
4 votes
2 answers
199 views

What type of weave is this?

It's a super durable shirt and I want another like it, but I bought it over 10 years ago. It's 100 % cotton and is a Reebok NBA "Hardwood Classics" shirt.
  • 43
2 votes
1 answer
62 views

What does "work as dropped stitch" mean in knitting pattern?

The knitted sweater pattern instructions for casting off sleeve at shoulder says: "Before casting off, work center st and 5th st on either side as dropped st." Please explain!
7 votes
2 answers
181 views

Will a children's pullover rescale for an adult?

I bought some natural-grey handspun wool in a Slovenian village and want to make a rustic pullover with a classic aran pattern out of it. The problem is that, although the wool wraps to 9 wpi (which ...
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4 votes
1 answer
749 views

Are there alternatives to starch for stiffening finished yarn hat?

I am going to be making a cowboy hat for my niece out of cotton yarn. The pattern I am using is a simple working in rounds i.e. making a bowl shape. The "cowboy" comes from using starch to make the ...
  • 11k
3 votes
1 answer
75 views

Submitting Fabric/Yarn Craft Items to be Judged

What should be done when delivering items to a fair or similar for judging? I have a ~15" doily I want to submit, but I don't know if they want it in an envelope, sack, or nothing. It's sandwiched ...
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3 votes
2 answers
168 views

Turtleneck Sweater Design: What to consider?

I am a knitter and I want to design my own turtleneck sweater with lots of cables. Obviously I have to get the gauge of the cables I want to use first before I can see if I need to subtract a cable or ...
  • 417
4 votes
1 answer
291 views

Can you do a Garter stitch on double pointed needles?

I have been working on some hats for only a little while and I saw a pattern that has on there to work the pattern in garter stitch. Is it possible to do the pattern on double pointed needles?
7 votes
3 answers
194 views

How to get the perfect center pull?

Whenever I try to get the center pull of a commercial skein of yarn, it ends up tangling and I just have to untangle the whole ball. Are there any tips for a better center pull?
user avatar
9 votes
1 answer
633 views

How do I join polyester tubular yarn skeins together?

I'm working on a moss stitch knit baby blanket with Hobbycraft's In The Zone tubular yarn, which is 100% polyester. I've come to the end of my first skein and I'm struggling to figure the best way to ...
6 votes
2 answers
942 views

What to do with tail of yarn to hide it?

When you start or finish a project, you end up with a tail of yarn. What is the simplest way to hide it?
6 votes
1 answer
230 views

Pattern for adding train tracks to a simple stockinette square?

I'm looking to add vertical train tracks going up one side of a stockinette/knit square, all the same colour. I was wondering if someone more experience might be able to help me figure out how to knit ...
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9 votes
7 answers
160 views

What features should I look for in circular knitting needles to make them easier to use with my arthritis?

I have arthritis in my hands and the smaller length needles are a little hard to hold onto. Would longer needles help, if they exist? Is there anything else to consider, such as needle material (wood ...
8 votes
5 answers
16k views

How can I shrink hand knitted wool blend hat to original size?

Over a year ago I was gifted a lovely cat ear hat that was hand knit by an artist on Etsy. I love wearing it but since I've worn it so many times (and sometimes wear headphones over it while at work) ...
  • 1,041
10 votes
2 answers
349 views

How to tell when I have the right ribbing?

I am knitting a gauge swatch in stockinette stitch right now with a garter stitch border to prevent curling and hopefully get a more accurate gauge. I have already measured myself for making the skirt....
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