10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

MargaretJ@17 — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 12:39:07 GMT

Evey P queried about tips for blocking. I have not been able to find a wooden blocking board like my mother has, so I've improvised. I went to my local Home Depot/Lowe's equivalent, and purchased a package of 6 styrofoam sheets (fairly inexpensive) - they are about 15" wide, 48" long and 1/2" deep. I pin my damp pieces onto them and lie them on a bed that is not being used. In a day or two (depending on temperature, humidity, etc, I have wonderfully blocked garments and I can put the styfoam sheets in a closet or under the bed until next time. They don't hold water and seem to work well for drying. If i need something wider than 15", I just lie 2 or 3 syrofoam sheets side by side and keep pinning - I've blocked large baby blankets and shawls this way, and it seems to work.

Good luck and happy knitting!

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

cathymoore — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 15:18:02 GMT

WOW! I don't think I've ever learned so much from just one forum. You knitters rock! I taught myself to make my first cardigan by just picking up a pattern and bumbling through it. I can't wait to get this book for even more tips. I too did Knit For Kids sweaters. After about 25 of them I had greatly increased skill & confidence. Plus it is a SUPER organization.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

amcconnell — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 06:12:45 GMT

A knitting tip in general: less stress, more fun! If you're getting the look you want, you're doing it right. So many people focus on the tiniest bits and details, and doing them all "right," but with something like knitting there are fifteen different ways to do just about everyhing. Each one will have merits and shortcomings, and if it's not working for you, try something different. However, if the only problem you see is that it's a different way of doing something, I say let it be.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

DeborahT — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 15:06:02 GMT

I use little girls' hair clips (the ones that look like jaws with needle teeth) to hold sweater pieces together - they hold the pieces securely and don't come out the way pins do.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

ameyers — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 11:12:12 GMT

My favorite tip re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters is No. 7.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

EllenF@3 — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 17:28:28 GMT

1. Butterfly hair clips are great for holding seams together for trying on or while you are sewing the seam.

If you work the fronts simultaneously they will match.

Work the back first, where minor adjustments and learning curve issues will be less noticeable.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

McKennaO — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 12:43:15 GMT

Thank you for an excellent post, Kathleen.

Am I the only person on the planet who actually bastes pieces together? To me, there is nothing like the ease of sewing with good, supple basting holding the pieces together. I keep - and reuse - a skein of fine mercerized cotton and a blunt plastic needle for this. I also use the mercerized cotton to hold stitches for small circumference circles, for example the fingers on gloves.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

MarciaG — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:54:50 GMT

Place your patterns into a plastic "sleeve". Then you can mark where you are up to with a water based marker. When you have finished simply use a moist tissue to clean away the marks and you're ready to go again. Keeps your pattern clean for next time. Also to get a nice edge to your knitting - slip the first stitch knitwise through the back of the loop and purl the last stitch. This gives you a nice chain edge. Very satisfactory for both picking up stitches and sewing up.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

Jenifer M-K — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:15:30 GMT

When I pick up stitches around the neck of a sweater, I go with what "feels" right for even coverage, which is invariably more stitches than the intructions call for. Then I allow the stitches to relax or spread out on the cable of a circular needle, and see how they fit and lie. On my first row after the pick-up, I reduce by the number of stitches necessary either to meet the instructions or make a proper fit. I've never had to rip out, using this method. It also keeps me from having those weird gaps you sometimes get from trying to fit stitches in around a neckline's shaping.

Jenifer M-K

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

LoriGinMN — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:55:01 GMT

Here's something I've learned for knitting with DPNs that helps with the "laddering" problem between needles. When you have both knit and purl stitches in the same row, such as ribbing, arrange the stitches on the needles so that you begin each needle with a PURL stitch. I'm not sure why this helps prevent those unsightly ladders, but it works for me. BTW, I really like knitting with DPNs and I realize this is kind of weird. It's probably why I've knit tons of hats and mittens.

Thanks for all the wonderful knitting tips.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

lillibet — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:38:19 GMT

Loved all the sweater tips, will definately use #6 to stop tangling with the sleeves. Thanks for a great website and greetings to you all from Australia.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

EveyP — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:23:34 GMT

Oh, i forgot this one .... ALWAYS use a row counter. That way your fronts and backs are always the same length, making sewing together much easier. Keep track of the row number where you make increases/decreases, again so they match.

Knit sleeves at same time when you can.

Anybody have any tips for blocking?

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

EveyP — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 20:12:44 GMT

When beginning to knit in the round, i insert an old fashioned bobby pin every few stitches. They weigh down the knitting so that it doesn't twist. If it does begin to twist, it will be immediately evident by the bouncing up of the pins. People used to think i was a bit crazy with this one until they saw that there was method to my madness!

Thanks for the tip about sewing extra yarn into the seams for mending later. What a great idea!

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

Helen M Jennings — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:52:07 GMT

Whenever I know that I am going to be away from my knitting for a while I put it on circular needles. This way the stitches on the needle are not stretched and there is no line where I stopped or began knitting again. I also knit both sleeves at the same time (when they are knit separately) then all increases and decreases occur in the same place.

re: 10 Tips to Improve Your Sweaters

AZKnitter — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:00:22 GMT

Wonderful tips! Thank you for sharing :)