Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

memegreen — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 12:59:32 GMT

In adding to the darning egg, if you go to any major hardware store, in the cabinet handle department, find wooden balls (knobs) that work great. If you have a clever friend or can operate a drill press (my favorite tool of all!) you can drill a hole part way through and take a length of doweling, glue it in and make your own Knitting Egg, or ball, what ever you call it.

I inherited some very old, worn out ones I ahve had about 40+ years and they were very very old when I got them. Wouldn't trade them for a bucket of money.

Look around your house. Be creative and think outside the proverbial "box". I find great clips and things at the hardware store all them time.

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

joan sickles — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 12:43:51 GMT

these are great. the cast on has been around for a while . I have been teaching my students how to do it that way for a while. I saw on the inter-net a number of years ago. I go to the fishing dept and I get the small contener that has one side and the flip it over and has another one . I put all darning needles and small markers and anything eles that will fit in it . I can carry it with me and have it at all times

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

BethP — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 17:21:12 GMT

Wow! That last tip IS amazing! Wonderful column, thanks!

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

Salli@5 — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 19:58:59 GMT

You should know there is a downside to eliminating that slip knot on the cast on. That corner of your knitted piece will not have a nice corner, but will be a rounded corner that doesn't seam very nicely and is a bit unsightly on flat pieces.

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

aksam — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 18:08:10 GMT

Another option instead of the light bulb.....the fillable plastic Easter eggs. These are available in different sizes and pretty cheap...easy to have different sizes for adult + child socks. Superglue the two halves together if they keep popping open while you're working.

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

SusiW — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:40:46 GMT

strangely enuf i have done the no slip knot cast on ever since i learned the long tail cast on. then i saw others start with a slip knot, and because the first stitch was always a little bigger than the others, i tried a slip knot and liked it better. why do others not like the slip knot start?

i like the idea of the plastic light bulb, cuz i have a lot of curly cfl bulbs. i am lucky enuf to have either inherited or found at a tag sale, a wooden darning egg. my mother had one, but i didn't get hers, just lucked out and found one when i was more mature and realized the value in having one, if for no other reason than it is pretty and very cool.

susi, in plainfield, mass

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

HarmonyO — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 20:01:25 GMT

The coolest hand-darning tool I've seen is my Granny's. She was born in 1886! It's wood, shaped like an egg with a handle at the narrow end, and about the size of a light bulb. You could probly find them in a junk/antique shop. Granny called it a Darning Egg.

My mom, born in 1918, darned socks with a special contraption on the sewing machine that used no "pressure foot" so you could stitch in any direction "freehand."

I think the Needle-Felted Patch should get the award for Most Creative! Plus, I bet there's no lumps at the edges of the patch to bug your foot ~ I LOVE IT! THANK YOU (:

I will start knitting socks now that I can see a way to really make them last!

Do you suppose you could Needle-Felt a patch onto a thick cotton or poly sock?

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

SmithC — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 14:24:55 GMT

Duh, why didn't we all think of that. LOL

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

Karen_183 — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 11:24:09 GMT

Kathleen

Thank you so much for the no slip knot cast-on. I knew there had to be a way to do that and I couldn't figure it out by myself.

re: light bulb darning egg. If you are worried about glass breaking, my husband points out that you can get fake plastic light bulbs that are designed to go over fluorescents to disguise them.

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

Diane@2 — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 01:16:51 GMT

After I read the "tip" about using a light bulb as a darning egg, I was so shocked that I read no more tips. Although it sounds good in theory, and probably works very well, ask yourselves this question: What happens when that "darning egg" BREAKS?(especially if children are around) The shattered glass of a light bulb can be potentially very dangerous.

I know your heart was in the right place, but it was (to me) quite irresponsible to pass along that bit of information.

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

CathyJ@14 — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 01:00:59 GMT

It's interesting to read Kathleen's tip about the slip knot, until now I thought I was the only one (apart from my mother) who doesn't knot when casting on. When mother taught me to knit when I was eight she never mentioned slip knot, and just taught me to cast on without one, except her method is slightly different to that shown in Kathleen's video, instead of holding the right needle under the yarn, we hold it above and pull the yarn downward and do the loop around. This way you don't need to hold the yarn over the needle. (sounds a bit confusing but it's actually really easy)

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

dgoric — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:33:35 GMT

Kathleen: Thanks for all the tips! It was interesting to find that you had lived in Hendersonville TN, I live in Brentwood and I make time for knitting everyday!

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

jean01 — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 20:31:02 GMT

Here is a link to the you tube felt mending video (if this comment box allows links)

www.youtube.com/watch

thanks so much for this!

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

JLC — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 19:44:17 GMT

I've used the no-slip-knot technique for years and it's great. Another way I use this technique is in joining for knitting in the round. I cast on the first stitch with no knot, then use the long-tailed cast on for the rest of the stitches + 1 more. When you join in the round, slip the last stitch over the first stitch -- which should be your no-knot stitch -- so that the last stitch now is wrapped around the base of the no-knot stitch. If you've cast on correctly, the loose end of your yarn can be pulled to tighten the wrap around the base of the first stitch. Now you have a join without an ugly knot, and the edge of the kitting looks uniform.

re: Knitting Tips and Tricks, from You!

capless — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 17:11:15 GMT

Years ago I asked my friend Sharon to help me learn to knit and this was the co method she taught me. It's so easy I've used it ever since. I've always wondered why it's never explained in the "learn to knit" books. I never asked her where she learned it.