Kay's Korner - A Knitters Notes

As not only an avid knitter, but also an instructor, I have developed habits that make knitting go more smoothly. I have yet to meet a knitter who enjoys ripping back work or wearing a project that has turned out disappointingly. Hopefully, these tips will help to make your own knitting more satisfying and with fewer frustrations.

Of course, swatching is your best tool for successful projects. Not only does it properly size your work, it is a good opportunity to become acquainted with the yarn and stitch pattern used in your project. Many beginning knitters see the gauge given at the top of their pattern instructions and regard it as general information, rather than necessary data. Seasoned knitters at times go straight for the cast on, especially working projects where size does not seem critical, such as scarves or throws. But even when size is not such an issue, if your knitting is turning out much larger than the given gauge, you very well might run out of yarn, an irritating and costly mistake.

Even when knitting at the recommended gauge, there are times when more yarn is needed than is suggested in the pattern. I make it a habit to buy at least one extra skein of any primary yarn in a project so I won't be caught short. I avoid the possible hassle of having to run down another skein of the same dyelot or the even bigger hassle of running down a discontinued yarn or color. I keep the extra yarn in a ziplok bag along with my receipt, to facilitate a return should the yarn go unused. Note - most yarn shops have a time limit in their return policy and will not allow returns if the ball band is missing or if a yarn sold in hanks has been wound into a ball.

Another good habit is to take the time to visually check your work every few rows. A friend was sailing through her first lace project, when near completion she noticed that the stole was lopsided. And I mean WAY lopsided. At some point, she had put down her work in the middle of a row and when she started back knitting, she had begun knitting in the wrong direction. In fact, she had done this on two separate occasions, making several unintentional short rows. Her stitch count was accurate, but the work was a real mess. A quick visual check would have caught the error and averted the frustration of ripping out days and days of work. I make it a habit to complete a row before putting down my knitting, to avoid this very mishap.

Even when knitting a foot of stockinette with no shaping, I find myself counting every few rows. This is a habit left over from my early days, when frequently a split ply or a wayward yarn wrap would unknowingly be knitted and add to my stitch count, a common beginner's error. Dropped stitches, though easily corrected, are a challenge, as well. If your count is not right, you know there is a problem somewhere and you will become a better knitter by finding the cause. I don't make as many mistakes these days, but my counting habit still serves me well. I love that little feeling of satisfaction when I get to the end of a row and have the proper stitch count. Whee! It never gets old.

Taking a moment to read all the way through your pattern is always recommended. So many times a designer will add information at the middle or the end of a pattern that alters the instructions that came before. More than once, I've gotten far into a pattern, then read "at the same time" and had to rip back to include those instructions, never a happy scenario. Recently, I was knitting a striped pullover and knit the back and front pieces first, as is usual in patterns. But the designer had instructed that the sleeves be knit first for a reason, to make it a simpler task to match the stripes when joining the sleeves. I had to rip out both sleeves and knit them from the shoulder down in order for the color stripes to match horizontally when the sleeves were sewn into the body. A great tip, stockinette looks the same whether you knit bottom up or top down,

Speaking of sleeves, lately I have gotten into the habit of knitting both sleeves simultaneously. I cast on both sleeves on a circular needle and work back and forth, using two balls of yarn, of course. This way, I only have to deal with the shaping increases and decreases in the pattern once and I end up with perfectly matched sleeves. Many sock knitters have converted to the magic loop technique and knit both socks simultaneously, for the same reason. This is surely the easiest way to avert falling into the dreaded second sock syndrome. I have taken this idea even further and cast on both left and right fronts of cardigans at the same time on the same circular needle. Again, I only have to navigate the shaping once and my pieces are beautifully matched. If you try this, be sure to reverse the shapings for the left and right fronts.

Over the years, I have developed many personal habits that help me to be a better knitter, to accomplish great results, but these are my habits, my preferences. With time, we all come up with our own modus operandi. Where my checklist suits me, I encourage you to experiment and develop your own way of navigating a pattern, a project. We can learn from others, but ultimately, it is our own project, our own path. And after all, don't most of us savor the journey as much as the destination, if not more?

Happy Knitting!

On Kay's Needles

The project giving me the most satisfaction over the holidays was the Urban Adventure Bag, designed by Noni. Not a difficult or time consuming knit and the end result was so gratifying! With some basic finishing, the simple construction became a sturdy and savvy shoulder bag. A double strand of Cascade 220 quickly knit into the body of the bag. An I-cord handle and some chunky notions pulled it all together. Though my choice of a heathered yarn was all the pizazz I needed, the generous sides of the bag body offer the perfect opportunity for embellishment. A needle felted emblem comes to mind, though a separately felted adornment would look nice, as well.

If I were to have a New Year's resolution associated with my knitting, it would be to finish the small stack of my projects that only need a bit of sewing. It is not entirely finishing phobia that has thwarted me. Year after year, I knit beautiful, warm, winter sweaters, only for an early spring and warmer weather to divert my attention to designs more suitable to the changing climate. The winters in Georgia are getting warmer over the past few years. I am told that El Nino is the culprit, but it does bring to mind what the future will hold if global warming goes unchecked.

Happy Knitting!

Kay Mather

Copyright 2009