14
votes
Accepted
What's the difference between crochet, knitting, and tunisian crochet?
The distinction between the crafts are the tools used and how many stitches are held at the same time.
Crochet is done with a single hooked needle and typically only a few stitches are held at one ...
- 2,615
14
votes
Does knitting needle material make a difference in knitting?
This question cannot really be answered. And the answer to why is both easy and complex.
TL;DR: Start with one kind of needles, it doesn't really matter which kind, preferably one you can borrow, or ...
- 291
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♦
- 12.6k
12
votes
What circular knitting needles can I use if I am allergic to nickel?
Non-metal circular knitting needles (wood or bamboo) are also available.
This is an example of bamboo needles with a plastic cord connecting them:
- 4,356
12
votes
How can I keep my yarn relatively stationary while working?
Yarn Bowl
This is the easiest suggestion I can think of. You just need a bowl or bowl like object with a hole or path for the yarn to come out. The hole is large enough for the yarn but small enough ...
- 11k
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
How can I keep my yarn relatively stationary while working?
What you need to do is put your yarn in a container of some sort. It should be wide enough that the yarn can roll around a bit (don't want it to rub hard against the sides) and deep enough that the ...
- 926
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♦
- 12.6k
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 ...
- 1,771
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 ...
- 1,771
8
votes
Accepted
Should I use a graft or a seam when attaching sweater shoulders?
Seam. The shoulders of a sweater are a high-stress area; the entire weight of the sweater hangs from them. A nice, solid seam gives a sturdy structure for that hanging. A graft - which is designed to ...
- 926
8
votes
Accepted
When casting onto circular needles how can I make certain that the tightness is correct?
Getting a circular cast-on up and running can indeed be tricky. Fortunately, there are several techniques that can help.
Use a sturdy cast-on The long-tail cast-on is a good one for this as it ...
- 926
8
votes
How to starch crochet snowflakes (and other lace items)?
This question is difficult to answer without knowing exactly what your finished unstarched piece looks like. Even with a lot of "extra" stitches in each row you should be able to eventually create a ...
- 551
8
votes
Accepted
How can I knit faster?
I have a couple suggestions. If you knit in the French Method, try the German Method. If you knit in the German Method, try the French Method. Try a peg loom knitting. Or even machine knit. Else ...
- 392
8
votes
Accepted
How important is hand/finger position in fiber crafts?
The finger positioning—actually the way the yarn loops around the fingers—controls the overall tension of the yarn. Think of it like the path the thread takes on a sewing machine—all those ups, downs ...
- 551
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
How can I knit faster?
One piece of advice I've seen consistently in articles and videos on this subject is to make whatever knitting technique you use highly efficient. You want to make your movements as small as possible.
...
- 595
7
votes
Accepted
What circular knitting needles can I use if I am allergic to nickel?
There are a number of non-nickel options available, though the good ones tend to be more expensive than the mainstream options and the inexpensive ones of poorer quality. The most established options:
...
- 926
7
votes
Does knitting needle material make a difference in knitting?
I started knitting last winter, and have since made about a million hats. In my experience, wooden/bamboo knitting needles are great for beginners because they are not quite as a smooth and slick as ...
- 376
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 ...
- 2,615
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) ...
- 1,771
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. ...
- 1,771
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