14
votes
Accepted
My grandma's fingers are becoming too old for knitting. What alternatives are there?
If she has rheumatic arthritis, the best thing she could do is continuing knitting and crocheting for short periods. Many movements that are done during physio therapy for arthritis of the hand are ...
Elmy♦
- 13.4k
11
votes
Accepted
Why and how do some people use circular knitting needles when working flat / not in the round?
I personally only use circular knitting needles. To work flat on circular needles, you do not need to do anything special. Just turn them around when you reach the end of your row, as you would ...
- 475
10
votes
How can I shrink hand knitted wool blend hat to original size?
It doesn't matter whether the hat was made with knit or crochet.
Suppose it has wool fiber content, or unknown fiber content. If unknown, we must assume it has some wool in it, to play it safe.
...
- 508
9
votes
Accepted
Keep yarn slack from developing in my work as I perform a basic knit stitch
From the image you've shown it looks like you're on the first row of knitting after casting on, and it also looks like you've used a loop (a.k.a. backwards loop) cast-on method.
It's common to get an ...
- 331
9
votes
Will a children's pullover rescale for an adult?
No, it almost certainly will not scale to fit you appropriately. But it could work with some reasonably simple adjustments.
Explanation
In general, garments for babies and toddlers have shorter ...
- 121
9
votes
Accepted
Can a wool coffee cozy sustain high temperatures?
In addition to being extremely insulative, wool is ideal for something like a coffee cozy because it is stable in the presence of a fairly high degree of applied heat, it is un-meltable, and it has a ...
- 1,025
9
votes
Accepted
Knitting pattern in the round
As I understand it, the instruction offers 2 different sizes:
Cast on 136 stitches if you want the pattern to repeat 4 times
Cast on 170 stitches if you want the pattern to repeat 5 times
The ...
Elmy♦
- 13.4k
9
votes
Custom name too long for christmas stocking when using duplicate stitch
Several suggestions:
Knit a matching strip in a thinner yarn at a tighter gauge. Sew the strip onto the stocking after stitching letters onto it. That way you have more stitches per inch, so you can ...
- 1,791
9
votes
Blocking Acrylic Yarn
Unlike natural fibers which can be blocked by simply shaping the item while wet, blocking acrylic requires heat. Many people try to wet-block acrylic the same way they would do wool, and they aren't ...
- 1,791
8
votes
Accepted
What is the name of this knit stitch?
This pattern is done in moss stitch/seed stitch, which are two names for the same stitch. There are plenty of resources on line for learning it, but it is really very simple:
Cast on an odd number ...
- 1,576
8
votes
Can you do a Garter stitch on double pointed needles?
Yes.
Assuming you still intend to work in the round, you'll need a stitch marker for the start of the row. You'll need to ironicly alternate between plain and purl each row. Otherwise you'll just get ...
- 389
8
votes
Looking for a difficult knitting style or technique, and how to tell whether it's been done well
Our Wiki answer:
background information
Trust me when I say realistically there's not alot of difference between knitting a 4" by 4" square and a metre by a meter cot blanket. Size of project is no ...
- 389
7
votes
Accepted
Is there an easy way to remove pet hair from knitting projects?
Jo-Ann's lists "Yarn Containers", essentially closed jars with a hole for the yarn to come out, that look like they might work to keep your yarn dog hair free while you work on a project.
You could ...
- 2,605
7
votes
How do I join polyester tubular yarn skeins together?
So, in the meantime, I'm trying something a bit different... It's not the neatest sewing job, but I've managed to sew the strands together, doing a basic up and down through the middle (with the ...
7
votes
Accepted
How to knit a button loop?
Option 1: yarn over (small circle)
A yarn over generally works well. Do remember to reduce afterwards, so your stitch count stays the same. In your example that would be:
k13, yo, k2tog, k12
Knit ...
- 475
7
votes
Evenly spaced increase
Evenly spaced stitches means that the number of stitches between increases is approximately the same. Since you are increase 50 sts over 94 current stitches, and 94/50=1.88 you should put (on average) ...
- 1,791
7
votes
How to rehab tightly wound yarn?
This is a question that comes up occasionally on the Ravelry forums, and the general consensus is that soaking will help with yarn that has lost its tension from being wound into too tight of a ball. ...
- 1,791
6
votes
How to get the perfect center pull?
Assuming this is a commercial skein, I don't generally have issues. I am usually able to pull out the center of a skein. I would never guarantee that you can do this though.
This can be manufacturer ...
- 11k
6
votes
Is a blanket stitch doable for first-time knitters?
As mentioned in 111's answer, a blanket stitch is not a knitting technique to create blankets.
The biggest risk in your plan is time. Babies often decide they want to see the world before doctors ...
Elmy♦
- 13.4k
6
votes
Accepted
How to regain a row of slipped stitches?
When you have a row of slipped stitches that are too tight to fit back onto the original needle, you can pick them up on a different needle, such as:
Use a much smaller knitting needle. Eg, if you ...
- 1,791
6
votes
Accepted
Whats is the mm equivalent of US / old UK knitting needles?
Here's an overview of all the knitting needle sizes I know.
Metric UK US
0.5mm 24 -
0.75mm 22 -
1.0mm 20 5/0
1.25mm 18 4/0
1.5mm 17 000
...
- 475
6
votes
Accepted
Should you reuse your swatch?
You could, if running out of yarn and the small amount would save you.
But after unraveling you should steam (or wash if the yarn does not change by that) to relax the yarn, otherwise you may get a ...
- 2,946
6
votes
How to read a graph knitting pattern
I wrote out the chart below, but here are some general tips that will help you work from future charts. FWIW, this is not a very user-friendly chart. There are some things you can do to make it easier ...
- 1,791
6
votes
Which knitting pattern is particularly heat insulating?
On a fundamental level, heat insulation means trapping hot air around an object (or person) and keeping cool air away from the object (or person). With that in mind I tested a few knitting patterns in ...
Elmy♦
- 13.4k
5
votes
Which needle size will give me the longer scarf?
Take a yarn in a similar weight, measure out a few yards - knit it with the smaller needles you considered (3mm).
Take that same yarn and measure out the same length - knit it with the larger needles ...
- 201
5
votes
Keep yarn slack from developing in my work as I perform a basic knit stitch
The slack in the work between the needles will even out with the next stitch.
The slack in the yarn you are using to make the new stitches should be pulled tight when you make your stitch. While your ...
- 2,946
5
votes
How can I knit faster?
It's very true, as BSMP says, that using small movements is helpful. Here are some additional ideas:
Make sure your fingers and hands don't have unnecessary tension. To achieve this, it can be ...
- 508
5
votes
How can I keep my yarn relatively stationary while working?
I want to say that I love the look of those yarn bowls and would love to have one, but my method is a little bit different from the suggestions. I wanted something that would allow my yarn to unspool ...
- 1,134
5
votes
Is a blanket stitch doable for first-time knitters?
A blanket stitch is used only for finishing the edges of a blanket, not for knitting a blanket. The basic stitches in knitting are the knit stitch and the purl stitch. Is there another name for the ...
- 69
5
votes
Accepted
What size / length needles for beginner knitting?
It depends on what you are knitting, but you probably need needles that are 60 or 80 cm (24 or 32 inches).
The most commonly used sizes for circular knitting needles are 40, 60, and 80 cm (16, 24, or ...
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