What's on Sandi's Needles? : How To Knit

Sparkly socks and other wonders

KD Sandi — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 20:46:00 GMT

Finished Object Alert! Plus Sparkly Sock In Progress

Quick note: This post is late! I actually wrote it more than a week ago, before my laptop died and took everything with it. Now I'm trying to catch up with all of you! Here's the latest...with more to come soon. –Sandi

Your comments on the last post about wild WIPs were inspiring and sometimes pretty funny. Apparently, attempting to corral and manage our unruly WIPs is an ongoing struggle for all of us, whether we are one-at-a-time knitters (who may just happen to store FUTURE projects in neat ziplock bags, complete with instructions, yarn, and cable needles), or the take-no-prisoners sort of knitter, who is knitting All The Projects At Once (like yours truly).

I'm happy to report that my organizational strategy has been working so far. (OK, two weeks isn't really a good test of the system, but still.) Projects are still in their bins; I've managed to work on several WIPs without having to tear my house apart and check all my linen drawers for circular needles. I've also moved some of my traveling WIPs to my project bags; the bags are stored on hooks in a corner of my TV room, as you can see in the photo at left.

I have even managed to FINISH a couple of things. Remember "finishing," that part where there are no more stitches on your needles and you can actually wear or use what you made? It's AMAZING how something can go from a project that travels with you everywhere, from doctor's office to car to sofa to airport and back again, to something you can actually USE. It goes straight to your head, that finishing stuff does. You feel as though you have actually accomplished something.

For example: Look at these purple beauties! Those are called "socks," and if I put them on my feet, my toes aren't cold anymore. The pattern is based on Ann Budd's formulas in Getting Started Knitting Socks. I wrote down what I did, and this sock pattern is now my go-to fave for quick DK-weight socks. (Yarn: Indigodragonfly's merino/cashmere/nylon DK.)

I also finished weaving the fabric and one of the straps for a woven tote bag I am doing from Sara Lamb's Woven Treasures. (I know, it's not knitting, but it is YARN, so it counts as a finished object.)

To celebrate this shortening of my work-in-progress queue, I naturally cast on for a new project. Sparkly socks! With lace!

The pattern is Bettie's Stockings, by Hana Jason. I've had this pattern on my must-knit list for a while, after seeing several pairs wandering around Rhinebeck last fall. (The stockings had legs in them, of course. They weren't zombie stockings or anything, walking around the booths under some sort of dark magic. Just to be clear, so you don't send the nice folks with white coats to come and get me.)

The lace pattern is really fun, a variation on the dropped-yarnover theme. There is something about intentionally dropping stitches that is very satisfying to my inner ten-year-old. At regular intervals, you scoop your needle under the column of dropped stitches, gather them up with a new stitch, and voila! A little butterfly-wing design appears. Very pretty.

I'm also in love with this yarn, a soft, rich handdyed merino/silk/sterling silver blend from Shameless Twist called Precious. It has real sterling silver in it, but it's not at all scratchy, not even a little bit. I admit to carrying the skein around with me in my handbag (protected in a plastic baggie) for a while, just to take it out and admire it, letting it sparkle in my hands. The combination of the deep colour and the sparklies is pretty much making me this yarn's slave. (I may have to write the dyer and tell her the yarn wishes to be called "Mistress" instead of Precious, as in "Yes, Mistress.")

I loved all your various storage ideas and tips! (And yes, I did read Every Single One of the many comments from last time. Thank you all for your ideas!) I particularly liked seeing how each of you dealt with your own special circumstances, as what works for some folks might not work for other folks, depending on all sorts of factors. For example, although I would dearly love to have those open fabric bins on shelves for my stash and projects, the three cats who own me would also love those open fabric bins to play in, explore, take naps in, and use as scratching posts. Every needle, every scrap of yarn must be completely stowed away, lest one of their furry Majesties decide that it belongs to them, rather than to me.

I think managing a stash and an assortment of projects is in and of itself a work-in-progress. My favourite comment this time came from knitviv1:

"Thank you all for taking the time to write so that I, another disorganized, yarn addict, can find peace and acceptance in my knitting life. Even though there is a grand plan of getting my WIPs and ridiculous yarn stash under control, I can now freely admit that I just don't want to take the time to actually do it. All your ideas using plastic gallon bags and phone apps will help me greatly until the time comes when the grand plan can be accomplished. And if not, so what? Knit on!"

Knit on, indeed!

If you have more ideas or suggestions for how to wrangle all those Works In Progress, let us know!

– Sandi

Sandi Wiseheart is the founding editor of Knitting Daily. You can find her blogging here on Knitting Daily each week. Want more? Visit Sandi's personal blog, wiseheart knits. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can follow her: sandiwiseheart.

Keeping Those Wild WIPs Under Control

KD Sandi — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:55:00 GMT

I don’t know about you, but my life has been Crazy Town lately, and my knitting has suffered. Over the holidays, I pretty much just grabbed whatever project was closest; when I stopped to do something else, I’d leave the project in a corner, or hanging on a chair. By early January, my knitting projects were literally all over the house. (I found half of an Undulating Ribs sock on dpns in my bath towel drawer. Even I can’t explain that one.)

I am not one of those critters who proceeds in an orderly, calm fashion throughout my crafting life. My crafting life is exuberant, full of passionate yarn affairs, patterns stained with chocolate, needles stowed hopefully in coat pockets, and projects full of cables! and lace! and charts! Oh. My. I knit wherever I am sitting, or standing, or leaning; this means that my projects live a rich life full of many adventures long before bind-off day.

Earlier this month, I picked up my sister’s customized Central Park Hoodie, intending to knit another few inches. After searching the sofa cushions, and the bookshelf, and the kitchen table, however, I realized that my chart for the custom cables had gone walkabout.

“No problem,” thought I, “I can just print out another one.” I hop on over to my laptop, and there in the folder are about twenty different versions of a chart named “Heart Cables Liz Hoodie." EEK.

This Is Getting Silly.

I’m not about to try to restrict myself to a certain smallish number of WIPs, because it’s in my nature to like to work on many different things throughout the course of my week. Having multiple projects is an expression of my personality, of the great joy I take in yarn and all the lovely things one can make with it. I love to experiment and be playful with yarn; I love to look at a clever pattern and sit down to watch the designer’s cleverness become three-dimensional on my needles; sometimes, I even love to just sit and get lost in the simple rhythms of garter stitch.

But one does have to preserve one’s sanity somehow.

Thus, 2011 for me is the year of Project Management. I don’t really want to tame my wild ways, because that’s just who I am as a knitter; but I do want to know where my needles are, and which chart row comes next. Here’s my strategy so far:

1. Make a list of all my current WIPs.

This has been harder than it might seem, especially what with finding half-finished projects in my linen drawers. (Apparently, even my WIP list is itself a work-in-progress.)

2. Place all the bits of each project in a separate small box or bin.

Each WIP gets its own bin; the bin has to be large enough for all the parts of the project.

3. Put a printout or copy of the full instructions in the bin with each project.

Include any notes or modifications; if necessary, put a pen in each bin so I know I will have one as I am knitting.

4. Put a LABEL on each bin.

5. Put all the bins in one place (stacked on my project shelf).

6. Add an important piece of info to each entry on the WIP list: The needles I am using for each project.

(Oh, look. There are ALL my size 6 circs. Who knew?)

7. Print out two copies of the WIP list.

One copy goes on the wall by my desk. One copy goes in my purse, as a reference in case I find myself in a yarn shop.

8. Periodically go through each room, collect all the stray project bits, and put them back in the bins where they belong.

9. Make sure needles-without-projects are put back in their proper cases.

Now I know where all my WIPs are; I also know that I have all the charts, pattern notes, and needles for each one. It’s OK if things get strewn about the house because I can easily collect them again. I have lists to remind me of what I am knitting. I also have a list of all my needles-in-use so I know where they are if they are not in their cases.

And I know which version of the chart to sit down with for Liz’s CPH now. WHEW.

Needles at the ready, Cap’n.

Any of you have clever tricks for managing multiple projects? Share your tips with us in the comments!

– Sandi

I Hear The Frogs Call My Name

KD Sandi — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:19:00 GMT

Up here in Ontario, the leaves are starting to turn, and the temperatures are dropping. This will be my third Canadian winter, and without realizing it, I've started doing actual Winter Preparations for the first time in my life. (Yes, I lived in Colorado for six years, but believe me, those Boulder/Loveland winters were nothing' compared to what goes on up here. Brrrr!) I've been going through our summer clothes, washing them and gradually storing them away–such an odd concept for someone who once lived in San Diego and wore the same "summer clothes" all year 'round!

Currently, I am checking through our supply of winter warmies: socks, hats, mittens, scarves, and sweaters to see what needs mending, what needs washing, and what we need more of. I've needed a new hat ever since I got here, and I just finished the new hat I've been working on: Connie Chang Chinchio's Blume Hat from Knitscene Fall 2010. I wore it the first day I finished it, in the pouring rain...and you can see the result in the photo. My cute well-fitting hat somehow has become a too-large floppy moptop hat. (A gorgeously hand-dyed floppy moptop hat, but floppy nonetheless.)

I Promise: I really had been a Good Girl and done The Whole Gauge Dance: A gauge swatch, washed and blocked, gauge re-checked as I knit, blah blah blah. This yarn, a lovely, firmly spun merino/cashmere/nylon blend from Indigodragonfly, isn't stretchy; it's actually got quite a memory to it. But apparently my cute wee hat remembers belonging to a giant, rather than to wee me.

I went to check the gauge swatch...and realized my mistake. RATS. How many times have I advised knitters to do a gauge swatch in-the-round if their knitting is going to be in-the-round? Over. And. Over. A. Zillion. Times. And yet, here I was, The Princess of Gauge Swatches, looking at a FLAT gauge swatch for a CIRCULAR hat.

I'd plead insanity, except that even the Martians have stopped talking to me these days.

Flat vs. Circular Knitting

I've been thinking about this quite a bit, trying to figure out why there is such a big difference between my flat swatch and my circular-knitted hat. Both were blocked, both knitted on the same needles, same yarn, same knitter, within two weeks of each other. The only difference, to my eye, is flat vs. circular–and it's the circular knitting that got bigger when worn and blocked.

The usual explanation is that flat knitting is half knit and half purl stitches, while circular knitting is all knit stitches. But I've compared my knit and purl gauges many times, and there's not a noticeable difference. Not enough to make my hat grow by an inch or more in circumference, anyway.

I got to wondering about the actual structure of the knitting itself–could that be a factor? Flat knitting, back and forth, has natural "fences" on either side of each row, in that at the end of a row, the yarn makes a tight 180-degree turn to form the first stitch of the next row. In circular knitting, the rounds are actually forming a spiral, with the last stitch of one round flowing right into the first stitch of the next round, with no breaks or turns or stops. Could it be that the tight turns at the end of each row in flat knitting slow down, or even stop, the yarn from endlessly pulling one stitch after another out of shape as the item is stretched? In circular stockinette, the stitches can just keep pulling on each other, round and round and round...which is why making a circular gauge swatch would give you more accurate information about what the knitting will do when worn, washed, and blocked.

I'm not a structural engineer, so I don't really know if the above is The Reason or not. But nevertheless: I know better than to make a flat swatch when what I'm knitting is round.

I've started the matching gloves, but methinks I will mentally convert what is on my needles right now from "a pre-glove" to a Gauge Swatch In The Round. Well...and then there is the hat. The entire HAT is now a lovely, huge Gauge Swatch In The Round, isn't it?

Excuse me, I have to run. I hear the frogs calling...

– Sandi

P.S. The hat and gloves won't take me long, even with an interlude in the frog pond...what should I knit next? Leave a comment with your suggestions!

Sandi Wiseheart is the founding editor of Knitting Daily. You can find her blogging here on Knitting Daily every Thursday. Want more? Visit Sandi's personal blog, wiseheart knits. Or, if you're on Twitter, you can follow her: sandiwiseheart.

One Great Knitting Tip Deserves Another

KD Sandi — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:03:00 GMT

Note from Sandi: The response to last week's tip was wonderful, thank you! So I thought for this week's post, since I am stressing about working on two important end-of-the-month deadlines, I'd repeat a tip that people are still requesting links to a year later. This was originally posted July 9, 2009. Below the tip, I've put the rest of the original 2009 post...because I find it amusing that the only two times I have written rants about stockinette stitch have been exactly a year apart. At least now I will be ready for July 2011...I'll make sure I'm knitting lace!

– Knit in beauty!

Sandi

A Better Long-Tail Cast-On

I promised you a cast-on tip that would rock your stars, so here it is. This tip was taught to me by some brilliant folks at my local guild.

It seems no matter how many little tricks and spells knitters use to measure the tail for the long-tail cast-on, sooner or later, that tail is either too short or waaaay too long--and you end up having to rip out the 873 stitches you just cast on for some lovely shawl or pullover or, er, baby blanket (you're a better person than I if the ONLY thing you end up ripping out is yarn and not a hank or two of your own hair).

So here's a nifty, never-fail tip: Every yarn ball has two ends, right? Pull out the two ends and, leaving 8" tails, tie the two ends together in a knot. Place the knot over your needle, and lookie what you have--two long pieces of yarn connected to the same ball of yarn to do the long-tail cast-on with! Wow! Go for it--cast on a zillion stitches--but don't count that knot-over-the-needles as the first stitch. When you are done casting-on, count, double-count, and triple count your stitches, then cut one end at the working end of the needle (leaving enough to weave in later), use the other end to knit with, and voila. Knit your heart out.

After you've worked a few rows, undo that first knot, weave in the ends, and you're done with that silly knot thing.

Brilliant, eh? No more long-tail cast-on agony ever again. (Thank you, Toronto guild folks!)

The Rest of The Original Post:
What is it about that Gorgeous Stockinette?

I am now happily knitting away on the second set of stars on the Star Light, Star Bright blankie--however, I have to admit that the knitting right before this new set of stars was not so happy. The knitting-before-the-stars was downright Cranky Knitting. This is not the blankie's fault; it is simply the fact that mixed in with the pretty sections of stars are long sections of my Knitting Nemesis: Stockinette Stitch. (The only thing that could be worse is my Knitting Doom: Garter Stitch.) Each section of my Nemesis on this project means nearly 4,000 stockinette stitches to be endured before the next star appears.

I don't understand it. I'm a knitter, down to the marrow of my bones. When I see anything stringy or vaguely knittable, I'm swatching it in my head. When I see sweaters on TV, I lose track of all dialog and plot because I am yelling at the screen: "MOVE OUT OF THE WAY SO I CAN SEE THOSE CABLES ON HER SLEEVE!" Stockinette stitch is the foundation of our beloved craft. Garter stitch is the mortar that holds everything together. Some of the most ingenious designs in knitting history are done in all-garter stitch (EZ's Baby Surprise Jacket is the most famous of these). Stockinette stitch not only brings drape and beauty to our lives; it also is the canvas upon which my beloved lace and cables are painted.

To despise wide swaths of stockinette stitch is illogical. To feel tortured by acres of garter stitch is un-knitterly.

And yet, I humbly admit: I seriously thought of handing over the blankie to someone else at the beginning of the 22 rows of stockinette (with the strict understanding that the blanket come back to me the minute a yarnover or k2tog was called for).

In the end, it was a four-hour movie marathon that kept me going, grimly working along until that first yarnover came into sight for the next band of stars. (At that point, there were Huzzahs and deep sighs of happy relief...we shall not speak of what happens when the next band of stockinette rears its impish little head.)

(By the way, the free pattern for the Star Light, Star Bright Baby Blankie is here.)

P.S. Feel free to leave a comment because everyone has something to say... :)

And the needles just keep on clicking...(plus a fit tip)

KD Sandi — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:48:00 GMT

Dear Stockinette Project,

First of all, I still love you. I have always loved you, from the moment your beautiful purple, shiny yarn met my fingers, from the second we cast on together for this new adventure in our lives. You have been, and still are, so beautiful to me.

However, I am frustrated, and even a bit impatient, with this particular stage in our relationship. I know you are trying...yet no matter how many hours I spend with you, we seem to be going nowhere. I knit and I knit, for weeks on end, and yet it appears that we are still at the same 14" length.

What more can I do? I've spent time watching movies with you–romantic comedies, so that we might charm each other with laughter; scary thrillers, so that we might cling to one another in the darkness when the killer is on the other side of the door; action movies, so that we might find that heart and needles beat faster as one. You've joined me in all life's mundane joys: waiting in the doctor's office, visiting with friends, sitting on park benches while the dog romps in the grass. I've even gone with you on long walks at sunset. And still we are at 14"...

I thought perhaps you might feel unappreciated, so I bought you pretty stitch markers. I've lovingly posted blog photos of you on basil plants, on lilies, and now, even on the hanging chives basket on the front porch! I've lavished my favourite project bags upon you, my best knitting needles...and still, we are at 14".

I am at wit's end, my darling project. We need to move on to the next stage in our journey together, we need to discuss the subject of...armhole shaping. Yes, my dear knitting, it is coming to that. I fear we must give up on our dream of a hem that falls past my hips, and continue realistically on with the work of making space for arms, and shoulders, and the other necessities of life.

I think we can get through this together. Please do not think for a moment that I am suggesting anything as dreadful as a trip to the UFO bin, or worse, the horrible fate of being fr-gged. No, dear project, I will stay faithful to you...but it is time to face facts. We do not have forever together–autumn is coming, and I must soon turn my needles to a warm cardigan for the cold–but there is still time. We still have August.

I'm here if you want to talk.

Your loving knitter,
Sandi

Knitting-for-Better-Fit Tip:

I hear a lot of knitters say they prefer to knit top-down sweaters "because you can try them on as you go." This has always puzzled me greatly...why can't you try on bottom-up sweaters as you go, as long as there aren't seams involved? You don't even have to put the stitches on waste yarn, if you have three more circulars in the same size as the needle your project is on.

First, check to make sure that the lengths of the four circular needles, when added together, are a few inches greater than your hip measurement. Ready? Good! Next, mentally divide the stitches currently on your (single) circular needle into four sections. Go ahead and knit the next round, switching to a separate circular needle for each quarter-round. Think of how a sock looks when it is one four dpns–it's the same idea, except with four circulars holding your stitches! When you are done knitting onto all four needles, spread the stitches out evenly along the needles, and step into the top as though it were a skirt. Pull it up to the proper height, and presto! If you like, pin the top to whatever you are wearing, using the cables of the circulars to help anchor the pins. I find that it really helps to quickly weave a contrasting thread in and out (using a yarn needle) of a round at the waist of whatever I am knitting, so I can more accurately place the garment on myself. And finally: A full-length mirror is your best friend in such fitting adventures! I've been the one standing on the toilet, trying to be high enough to see the hem of my new knitted top in the mirror above the sink...not fun.

I hope you have a cool, breezy place to sit outside and enjoy the summer weather (with your favourite knitting project, of course!).

– Sandi

To Knit As Written...or not?

KD Sandi — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:26:00 GMT

Last time, I showed a photo of the beginnings of my Tattoo Tank from Knitscene Winter/Spring 2010. I also gave instructions for how to choose the right size for this little summer top, only to find out that I myself had gone and cast on for a little summer top big enough to fit Godzilla.

Hmm. You know, I don't think Godzilla is really into little knit tops this season.

Once I finished that particular slice of humble pie (oooo, tasty!), I cranked up the Carrie Underwood and started pulling out all five inches of the Godzilla top. ("I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped-up 4 wheel drive..") Whoo-HOO!

After a day or two of letting the yarn sit in the corner and think about its bad self, I cast on the proper number of stitches for my size (and re-counted twice, just to be sure).

As I worked the first round, I considered The Big Question: Would I follow the pattern as written this time, or would I go ahead and add a wee lace border to the hem, as I had done previously?

I meekly did an entire two rounds–560 entire stitches!–strictly according to the pattern. While knitting, however, I noticed that one part of my brain was off somewhere else, gleefully dividing the stitch count into manageable chunks and inventing a pretty lace pattern that would compliment the lace heart "tattoo" on the back.

Apparently, my fingers and needles have minds of their own. Before I knew it, I was several repeats in to my pretty little lace pattern, and that, as they say, was that.

I have been asked this question many times: Sandi, why on earth do you always have to change the pattern?

Let's look at some reasons I might modify a perfectly lovely pattern...

1. I can't help it.
You know how there are some folks who can never follow a recipe exactly as written? I'm one of those folks. Even if it's a simple chocolate chip cookie recipe, I'm in there adding cinnamon one time, ginger the next, substituting this for that... Even the very first time I make a recipe, I make changes. Can't be helped. Nature of the beast.

2. Normal alterations (a.k.a.: Tailoring-to-fit).
Let's face it: Most sweaters are not designed for women of my shape and size. I have to alter them just to get the finished project to fit and look great on me. Thus, the changes I am making are necessary changes sometimes, rather than whimsical.

3. Curiosity
Deep down, I'm wonderer. I am constantly wondering what would happen if I knit it this way, or that way. Sometimes I use a basic sweater pattern as a laboratory to find out What Happens When I Do This. I knit, I learn.

4. Patterns as guides
There are times I love everything about a sweater...except for this or that or this. I love it except for the collar. Or the sleeves. Or the stitch pattern. So I use the published pattern as a template, as a starting place, and go from there, knitting the sweater I see in my mind instead of just the one I see in the photo.

5. Teaching tool
You may have noticed that I love to teach knitting. (Yes, I do.) And you may have noticed that I love to write about knitting techniques. The best way to teach and write about knitting is to use real-life examples, actual sweaters-in-progress. So, if I'm planning what to write about for the next few weeks, and I see that I haven't yet written about how to do a steek, for example, I might just take the very sweater I am knitting and create a steek where there wasn't one before, so I can show you folks how to do a steek in a real sweater.

Have I ever knit a sweater exactly as written? Yes, of course. I'm just like anyone else: Sometimes I want EXACTLY the sweater in the photo, that precise style and yarn. Barring a few teensy modifications for fit, I zoom away into the instructions, and end up with That Very Sweater.

How about you? Do you knit as writ, or do you fiddle with the pattern? Chime in, leave a comment; because I'd sure like to see if I'm the only crazy person here or not.

Now that the lacy hem is done, I promise I am knitting the rest of this top exactly as written. (Except: I am adding sleevettes. Sorrryyyy.)

I hope you can knit in the sunshine a bit this weekend...

– Sandi

Knitting A Summer Top: Determining The Right Size

KD Sandi — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 18:16:00 GMT

As you can see from the photo, I have worked several inches of the Tattoo Tank by Marlaina Bird from Knitscene Winter/Spring 2010. This is a very loose fitting sleeveless tee shirt that flares out at the hem for a bit of swingy, drapey, floaty fun.

It can be a challenge to choose the right size for a top like this, where a good bit of positive ease is part of its natural charm. Choose a size too large, and you look like you're wearing your camping tent all summer. Choose a size too small, and the hem will fit, but the bust will be too tight.

Rule of thumb for choosing a size: Always select according to your bust measurement, and alter the rest of the garment's measurements as needed. Why? Armhole shaping is proportional to the bust measurement, and all those increases and decreases and bind-offs needed to get a non-gaping armhole are very tricky to adjust. If you choose a size based on the bust measurement, you won't have to fiddle with the armhole shaping. Simple as that.

Problem: What if you choose a size based on the pattern's finished bust measurement, but the corresponding hip measurement (or waist measurement) in the pattern is too small? Hip and waist shaping are easy to alter. A few moments of math, and you can add inches to either waist or hip as required.

Example: My full bust measurement is 41". Thus, I have a choice of sizing between the 46.5", the 42.5", and the 38.5". This tank is supposed to be worn with positive ease, so the 38.5" will be too small. The 42.5" gives me only 1" of positive ease, which isn't really very much. the 46.5" gives me 5" of positive ease (wow!). That's too much, methinks.

I know I'd like more ease than one inch; but 5" is a LOT of ease! When you wear something too loose, it becomes a visual illusion: Other people, when they see you wearing an oversized, loose sweater, will mentally "fill in the space" between you and the sweater. In other words: A flowing tee shirt with tons of positive ease may make you feel as though no one can see your love handles, but in reality, that flowing shirt makes you look as though you are many pounds heavier than you actually are!

I'm going to make the size closest to my full bust measurement–the 42.5"–as this will give me the best fit in the armhole area. I think the 46.5" will have an armhole with Gaping Possibilities, if you see what I mean.(NOTE: However, if my cup size were a D or above, I would have chosen the size larger.)

The garment begins at the hip, where the finished measurement is 56". Yikes! My hips are 46", which means that I would have 10" of positive ease Down There. My hips are my widest point. I'm worried about that much swing around my widest point, especially as this is a worsted weight yarn–the thicker the yarn, the more visual bulk is added to one's silhouette.

All that makes me a bit nervous. The summer tanks I have made previously were done out of sock weight or, at the most, DK, yarn. I pull those tops out of my closet to compare them...and I notice that my two favourite tops have lace detail at the hem. Every time I wear those tops, I get compliments. (I rather like compliments.)

Hm.

What if I added a bit of lace at the hem of the Tattoo Tank? An hour or so after I have that little idea, I've swatched and I like the way the lace looks. So I cast on, and knit a simple lace edging I adapted from the top of the tattoo heart chart in the pattern, carrying out the rhythm and feel of the heart on the back of the tank.

All should be well. My new top-to-be is purple. It's a lovely cotton/tencel blend. It's silky and shiny and it's got lace at the hem.

All right then–why is something niggling at me about the few inches I have already knit? I can't put my finger on it, but something isn't right here.

I take the tank off the needles and measure, just for the sake of curiosity...only to find that the hem circumference is (ready?) seventy-two inches. 72. Three score, plus ten-and-two.

That's...that's...that's Gi-gant-o-nor-mous. HUGE.

Well. Let's look at the bright side. At least now I have a really good-sized swatch.

Leave a comment and console me. Or laugh with me. Distract me with yarn photos. Something. Anything.

Other than that: It's raining. The giant irises are in bloom. I'm going to clear my mind by working on a sock for a little while.

May your knitting help ease whatever stresses weigh on your mind this rainy day.

– Sandi

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My Knitting Is Laughing At Me

KD Sandi — Thu, 13 May 2010 17:00:00 GMT

Yes, my knitting is laughing at me. The Star Light, Star Bright Baby Blanket? It is just a little ol' baby blankie, for heaven's sake. I have finished the inner rectangle; all I have to do now (she says blithely) is pick up stitches around the edges, knit a few rounds of garter stitch, knit a simple edging pattern, then bind off.

Easy peasy, right?

Oh, plueeeze. I've often thought that the patron saint of knitting is Raven, the Creator/Trickster of the First Nations' stories from the Pacific Northwest Coast. (Or, if you prefer: Coyote, Raven's Southwestern persona.) As Raven walks alongside us, beauty is created, beauty knits amongst us, knitting is of beauty, and then wham! We find a dropped stitch ten rows back in our beautiful lace knitting. Or we try on a sock knit in intricate twisted stitches...and it won't fit over our heel.

Or, as in my case, I plan a simple, yet beautiful, knitted-on border...and all along the way I sense Raven hopping alongside me, laughing in his rough birdish voice: "Can't! Can't! Can't! You can't knit worth worms, my girl! Can't!"

Begone, you tricksy old bird. I'm a knitter. I can do this.

Knitting With Confidence

Sooner or later, no matter what your knitting task, you will come to a place where you have to go off-road a bit. Perhaps something goes wrong, and you think, "There's GOT to be a way to fix this without ripping the whole thing out." Or, perhaps you decide you don't like that edging or this neckline, you want a different one. These situations require the skills to meet the knitting challenge, and the confidence to employ those skills.

I believe many knitters actually have more skills than they give themselves credit for. When I teach, I absolutely love that moment when a knitter's face lights up, and she (or he) says "Oh, I didn't know it was just that. I can do THAT! Sure I can!" Much of what I do, either in my teaching or in my writing, is to demonstrate new ways to think about one's skill sets. We're all taught to think in such a linear fashion: Follow the rules. Do the instructions, step-by-step. Make the knitting look just like the picture. We're not necessarily taught how to puzzle out the challenges. It's not the skills we lack; it is the confidence to set the rules and the instructions aside and to knit what we need to knit rather than what someone else tells us to knit.

In storyteller's terms: We lack the confidence to stand up to Raven and say: "Nonsense. I can figure this out! Now be off, before I start knitting with your tail feathers."

All-righty then. Back to the baby blanket. I know that I have the skills to rearrange the pattern details to suit myself. Let's see what happens when I take those skills into unknown territory.

Challenges in a Knitted-on Border

I'm halfway through the border at this point. Here are some challenges I have faced so far, along with the solutions I came up with. See if you agree with my solutions–and if you have a different approach, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!

1. What needle can I use for the loooooong edging?

Challenge: The center section isn't very big, but since I want to work the edging in rounds all the way around the entire edge, I would need at least a 40" circular, if not a 50" circular, in order to hold all those stitches. I don't own a super-long needle...

Solution: I am using five, count 'em, five shorter circular needles (already in my needle stash) to knit this edge: four to hold all the edge sts, and one as the "working needle." Think of it as using five flexible dpns; it's the same principle. Important tip: Because a lot of yarnovers happen at each corner, the ends of each "flexible dpn" are in the middle of a side rather than at a corner. In other words: Each circular needle begins in the middle of a side, goes around a corner, and ends in the middle of the next side. This ensures that I don't drop any yarnovers at the corners.

2. Pick up stitches knitwise or purlwise?

Challenge: I didn't even know this was a possible problem until I was waaaay past the picking up stitches stage and well into knitting the long border rounds. (Whoops.) I picked up the stitches knitwise, meaning that the bump for each picked-up st was on the back. Later, the bumps pushed the fabric to the inside, folding the border to the right side. In addition, the picked-up stitches formed an odd-looking band on the right side of the fabric. WIth a laceweight yarn, this band wouldn't look odd, it would look...well, open and lacy. But with this yarn at this gauge, it just looks...weird.

Solution: I absolutely refuse to rip this out and start over. Instead, I bought some charming narrow pink grosgrain ribbon which I am going to weave in and out of the pickup band to hide it. The ribbon will also serve to stabilize the edging so that it will not fold to the inside. (Take THAT, Raven Sir.)

3. Converting a lace border pattern for working in the round

Challenge: I chose a lace edging from a shawlette I had just made for a friend. The lace edging on the shawlette is meant to be worked back and forth along a single edge, in rows. I have to work mine in rounds, around a square. Could I convert this to work in the round, and what do I do with the corners?

Solution: I decided to treat each side of the blanket as a flat edge, and work the pattern as though there were four single edges. I adjusted the stitch counts so that the multiples worked out evenly on each facing side. As for the corners, I am working them as (yo, k1, yo), and as the stitches increase on either side of the corner, I am working them into the edging pattern.

4. A Big Honkin' HOLE!

Challenge: There's a huge hole in one corner. It looks like a yarnover gone wild. I've tried fixing it, it's just too big. It might block out. I doubt it. ARGH!!!

Solution: I have decided that I will have the ribbon trims end here with a big bow; then, I will knit or crochet a small removable star for the center of the bow. This will not only cover the hole, it will make the entire blanket look so cute I might not want to give it up. (Dear Niece Delaney: Yes, you will get this blanket for your first birthday, I promise. Love, Auntie Sandi.)

And with that, I think I have chased Raven off for a little while. How about you? Are you facing any knitting challenges this week? Tell me about them in the comments, and maybe we can come up with a solution together!

Oh, and try this: If your knitting laughs at you, laugh right back at it.

– Sandi

P.S. I mentioned that I a summer project in mind. I have yarn. I have needles. I have the pattern...what will I cast on for next? Tune in next Thursday and see!

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Button, Button: Tips for Bringing Closure to a Pretty Sweater

KD Sandi — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:11:00 GMT

The cute little Bolero from Interweave's book Feminine Knits is indeed done. I bound it off Wednesday morning, and then made some coffee, turned on an audiobook, and sat down to be a good girl and weave in all the (double-digit) ends. (It took two cups of coffee. There were a LOT of ends!)

Closures

Then a gleeful pawing-through of my button stash ensued, as the bolero needed a closure. The pattern called for a ribbon to be woven through the collar ribbing and then tied in front, but I wasn't really happy with the idea of a bow sitting center front at my bust.

My button stash is a small but enchanting place...a few dozen carefully chosen vintage and handmade buttons, made of glass, polymer, bakelite, shell, steel, and plastic. My stash is small, because I know myself too well: Let me loose in a button shop and I am likely to lose my wee tiny mind and wake up an hour later standing on the sidewalk with an armload full of bags of precious sew-on sparklies. Thus, buttons shops are forbidden territory for La Sandita; online button vendors are also (mostly) off-limits for me. However, if you are free to indulge your inner magpie, I encourage you to invest in a modest button stash, so that when that last end is woven in on a new knitted sweater, you can pull out your box of buttons and start playing matchmaker.

Tip #1: To really see how a button might look on your sweater, use a twist-tie or a small piece of craft wire to attach the button to your sweater. This method allows you to quickly switch from one button to another as you try to make your final decision! Be careful not to snag the yarn with the wire; if the ends of the wire are too rough, file them down with a metal file (or even a stray emery board).

The closure for my bolero has to be simple, as I want this mini-sweater to be a summer wardrobe staple; thus, no big funky-coloured buttons which might clash with half my little sundresses. That eliminated about half my button stash right away. (However, I might have had to lay out all my funky buttons first, in order to properly admire them and adequately judge their suitability. This admiration time might or might not have caused the clock hands to move halfway through the hour.)

I tried some small black vintage buttons, with loop closures; they seemed too fussy. I then tried some larger handmade polymer clay buttons by one of my favourite Colorado artists, Sarajane Helm, but discovered that a large button right at center front detracted from whatever necklace I happened to be wearing. That's important to me: I wear only handmade jewelry, either of my own design or someone else's, and I don't want my pretties to be overshadowed (even if the thing doing the overshadowing is a gorgeous handmade button!).

Tip #2: Pretty buttons, whether functional or not, are essentially jewelry. So if you plan on wearing a handknit item with a particular set of outfits and existing jewelry items, make sure the buttons on the handknits fit in.

I found a small silver flower button that I really liked. However, I was puzzled as to how to actually CLOSE the bolero if I used this single button. The fronts of the bolero don't overlap, they meet in front, so I couldn't use a buttonhole. I could make a crocheted loop, but I didn't like the look of it when I tried it.

Then I remembered that I have an assortment of decorative hooks in my beadwork stash–these hooks are meant to be used as part of a pretty necklace closure. Another bit of Happy Stash Time passed (I may or may not have gotten slightly distracted by some crystals along the way), and I found a silver hook embossed with a leaf and flower design. Laid next to my little silver flower button, it looked as though the two pieces, hook and button, had been made as a set from the very beginning.

The button-and-hook closure is still only temporarily wired on to the bolero, as I want to find two little squares of black grosgrain ribbon or woven fabric to sew to each side of the back of the collar's fronts, giving body and support to the place where the closure pieces will go. This will help prevent sagging and tearing of the knitted fabric itself, as well as provide a more stable and strong surface upon which to sew the closures.

Tip #3: If you are sewing buttons down the front of a cardigan, find a matching strip of grosgrain ribbon or other firm woven fabric and stitch it firmly to the back of your button band. Stitch the buttons through the knitted fabric to the ribbon. Not only will this give a more professional finish to your sweater, it will also provide stability and support for the knitted fabric you spent so many hours knitting.

Sources for Beautiful Closures

Where can you find beautiful closures and buttons for your handknits? First, look at the ads in your favourite Interweave magazines, of course! There are several fine button vendors who advertise there. (Don't forget the bead magazines! You can often find some very unusual toggles and buttons in those pages.) Second, search through the handmade offerings at Etsy.com–support an artist! Third, haunt your local antique/thrift/secondhand stores, as well as flea markets and estate sales. Some people have been known to buy worn-out garments in the thrift shop only for the unusual buttons found on them. (But I have no idea who those people might be. Really.)

Do you know of any good sources for buttons? Share them in the comments! Of course, I am not asking for myself. No, never. That would be selfish and wrong. I am asking for button resources only as a selfless public service for my beloved fellow knitters.

I hope you find some luscious yarns to play with this week!

-- Sandi

P.S. I have a summer project in mind. I have yarn. I have needles. I have the pattern...what will I cast on for next? Tune in next Thursday and see!

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In Which I Shamelessly Cheat On My Knitting

KD Sandi — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 12:32:00 GMT

First of all, I am feeling MUCH better, having recovered from that awful stomach flu. You folks in the comments were so sweet to send me little get-well wishes; thank you.

Second of all, I have a confession to make. I, Sandi Wiseheart, did indeed cheat on my knitting this past weekend. I not only cheated on it, I left it at home while I went out and partied with another yarn-using project...All. Weekend. Long. And as long as I am confessing my sins: The yarn-using project I was partying with was not even another knitting project. It was a weaving project. AND I even used my knitting stash to cheat weave with.

I know. I'm wicked and I hope you can forgive me.

Wanna hear about my weekend-long cheater's party anyway? Sure you do.

Let's just get the story straight up-front by saying that there were several other big-time knitters there, cheating on their knitting all weekend right along with me. I know it doesn't make my sin any less by saying that a certain Yarn Harlot was happily weaving away at the next table–too many of you are moms to let me get away with the excuse "But, all the OTHER knitters were doing it!" (RacheloftheComments was there. Denny was there. Beth was there. Abby-of-the-Spindle-Book was there. See? All knitters, all cheating on our knitting.)

But I thought maybe you might let me get away with a little bit of weaving if I told you I was at least doing it in respectable company.

The party was a weekend class taught by Sara Lamb; she was teaching us to make a cut-pile bag like the ones in her book Woven Treasures. (I'm warning you: Don't look at that book unless you are Very Strong. It has made many a dedicated knitter go weak in the knees and order a wee loom. Just sayin'.)

The first question Sara asked us all was: "Why are you here?" I gaped at her: Why? I had no idea. I had just driven six hours and several hundred miles for a three-day weaving workshop, and I had no idea why. I had just quite blithely jumped into the car with a bag of my stash yarns, abandoning my knitting for a loom no bigger than a bag of rice.

I mean: I have a gorgeous cardigan collar on the needles in my office. I have a lace shawlette three rows away from binding off in the TV room. I have socks on my favourite rosewood dpns in my go-bag. I am a knitter, for EZ's sake. I have responsibilities. And yet, there I was, cootchy-cooing with a tiny warp as though I was as fancy-free as any commuter who thinks a train ride is for catching up on the newspaper.

Shameless, I tell you. Just shameless.

But...the BAGS. They're so PRETTY. And making them is so easy... The yarns were even already in my stash–a little worsted weight cotton, and a handful of two-ply DK wools–and really, it was such fun to plan out the design and colours myself. (I sketched out a simple heart design, with purple, pink, green, and blue on a cream background.) The cut-pile weaving is done knot-by-knot, with a simple variation on a knot I already knew, the lark's-head knot. Lay the yarn over the warp, twist the knot into place, trim the ends, repeat until pattern emerges...

And most seductive of all: When you trim the knots, an amazing thing happens. The cut ends of the yarn bloom out a bit, and you realize, with a little shiver, that you are seeing the yarn in a way you'd never imagined as a knitter: You are seeing the cross-section of each little yarn end, and the surface of the bag is like a field of waving grass, with all the different yarns shimmering and changing as you move your hand lightly over the top.

I was entranced. Sara had brought a selection of her finished bags from the book, and I couldn't stop petting them. Tiny meadows of yarn under my hand...

Although a couple of knitters finished their bags by the end of the weekend, mine is still not done. Oh well. That just means that I brought a little something home with me to play with this week.

So: Yes, I cheated on my knitting for an entire weekend, and I am not sorry one itsy bitsy little bit. I got to look at yarn in a whole new way; I learned some techniques that will help keep my fingers nimble and my design skills sharp. I also found a new way to quickly use up stash yarns (if we have to get practical about this whole thing). I found both inspiration and delight in Sara's little baglets; her teaching opened the doors between the crafts of knitting and weaving and let the breezes stir things up a little for me.

I didn't knit a single stitch all weekend long. I did, however, weave several inches of cut pile, and I'm happy as can be.

It's all yarn. It's all good.

All right, so now it's your turn: 'Fess up. Ever cheated on your knitting? Tell All! Leave us a note in the comments so we can all live vicariously through each other's adventures.

Knitting has brought so much richness into my life. It's brought me endless skeins of colour; talented teachers like Sara; and, of course, all of you. Thank you for sharing my knitting journey with me. I hope some delightful adventure enriches your knitting this coming week!

– Sandi

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Seven Tips for Seaming Mojo

KD Sandi — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 13:15:00 GMT

I'll admit: I truly love seaming my sweaters. (Does this make me a freak?) I actually enjoy the finishing steps of a big knitting project. I've been happily sewing up the pockets on my Farmer's Market Cardigan, and am looking forward to seaming the sleeves when I finally finish them. And as you can see from the photo below, there'll be lots more seaming ahead after I finish the edging for the pockets and collar. (Why yes, thank you, I do use rather a lot of stitch markers.)

A lot of you have shared your knitting stories with me over the years, both the triumphant and the not-so-triumphant (or, as I prefer to think of them, the not-yet-triumphant). Many of you, it would seem, actually dislike seaming your sweaters. Yours is not a minor dislike, of the I-dislike-doing-the-laundry sort, because despite a collective dislike of laundry-doing, most of us are able to get past it and wander about with (mostly) clean clothing on our bodies.

Those of you who dislike the finishing steps of a big sweater project are more of the I Hate Seaming With A Fierce Growling sort of dislike, more akin to what most of us associate with full-on tax audits. Seam-haters admit that they love the knitting bits, but would rather ring up the auditor themselves and brew them some tea than seam up the sides and sleeves of a cardigan. Just imagine it: Secret confessions have been made to me of baskets, closets, and drawers full-to-brim of unfinished objects...the infamous and discussed-in-whispers Objects Without Seams.

How many thousands of these gorgeous handknit OWS (oh, GREAT acronym, didn't even try for that one) are out there? The very thought makes me shiver. All those poor sweater parts, longing to be made whole, yearning to be worn and enjoyed. (OWS, indeed.)

I feel sad for all those OWS lurking in closets and drawers and bins. I also feel sad for all you knitters who have fewer pretty things to wear because of this sorry state of affairs.

I want the world to have more happy knitters clad in beautiful sweaters. Therefore, I hereby offer these Seven Aids to Seaming Mojo to help those of you who haven't yet conquered your seam-shudders. The tips fall into two categories, Mental Preparation and Skill Preparation.

Three Tips for Mental Mojo

One of the most common anti-seaming comments I hear is: "I love to knit, but I hate to sew." This is a strong mental block to seaming, one that can be gently addressed in the name of being able to actually wear the sweaters we knit.

It's true. Knitting and sewing are two different sorts of crafts. Knitting involves sitting in your comfy chair, getting into a rhythm, and being able to do other things whilst you knit (carry on a conversation or watch TV). Sewing involves having to look at your work, often having to concentrate on each stitch, and being able to listen to (but probably not watch) a TV show.

Since the two crafts–knitting and sewing–are different, it is important to treat them differently, and to give them each their due. Like this, perhaps:

Mental Mojo Tip #1: Set aside a special day and time for seaming up your knits. I pick a morning when I know the house will be relatively quiet. (Relatively. Key word there.)

Mental Mojo Tip #2: Find a designated Stitching Place in your home for seaming your sweaters. You have a special knitting chair, right? Don't sit in your knitting chair and try to stitch; rather, look for somewhere more comfortable for the task at hand. I clear the dining table (OK, I clear part of the dining table, sheesh) and work there, where the light is good and there is space to spread out sleeves and sweater bodies.

Mental Mojo Tip #3: Assemble a Stitch Kit that has all the things you need in it for seaming. You have a special knitting bag with all your knitting tools in it, why not have a Stitch Kit ready to go? The key here is not to rob your knitting toolkit, but to have a separate, dedicated Stitch Kit so everything will be right where you need it and you won't have to go hunting for where you last left things. If you need to, go find a second tape measure (look in the sofa, that's where they have their little tape-measure guild meetings), as well as a second set of scissors (Oh Pluuueeeze. You do so have a second pair. You just don't know where they are right now. Pay your kids to find them.). I keep a little basket on the shelf next to my dining table that contains all the basics: a tape measure, a pair of scissors, a pen, a crochet hook, a set of yarn needles, a tin of stitch markers (the locking kind, useful for "basting" seams), and a little skeinlet of smooth cotton yarn in a light color.

Four Tips for Skill Mojo

The other comment I hear most often about seam-hate is: "My knitting looks great, and then when I stitch it up, the seams look horrible."

I'm going to make a wild guess here and say that this may be because you know how to knit really well, but you don't know how to seam really well. That's all it is. Remember the first few things you knit? They didn't look so hot either, I suspect. Well, if you don't know how to seam properly, then of course things will look wonky and you'll get discouraged and think that seaming sucks. It doesn't suck. The particular technique you used for seaming sucks. There are better, non-sucky techniques. Techniques which I am about to show you, so you can learn to Suck Less (and therefore, Get Better) At Seaming. But first, two important Factoids of Life:

Factoid of Life and Sewing:

Factoid of Life and Knitted Fabric:

Now, on to the Mojo Tips:

Skill Mojo Tip #1: Learn to read your knitting. Sit down with a piece of knitting under good lighting and really look at it. This is the first and most important step to good seaming. You have to know what the stitches look like, how the yarn goes around itself in each row and column, in order to be able to "match up" the stitches on either side of a seam.

Skill Mojo Tip #2: Baste along the "seamline" on each knitted piece. It's much more awkward (not to mention frustrating) if you have to stop and figure out where each and every stitch goes as you are seaming things up. There lies madness, as well as plenty of opportunities to make mistakes. So take a contrasting piece of smooth waste yarn, and baste along the column/row of stitches you will use as your seamline. It only takes a minute or two, and can save you a lot of frustration, especially for tricksy seams like armholes and necklines.

Skill Mojo Tip #3: Match Legs to Legs in Horizontal Seaming: See the curved loops that form each stitch along a row? Each side of a stitch is called an arm (sometimes) or a leg (other times–are you confused yet?). Same difference. When you stitch a horizontal seam, row-to-row, like a shoulder seam, you match the legs of stitches on a row on one piece of your sweater to the legs of stitches on a row on the other piece, making the alternating stitch legs interlock like zipper teeth. Catch two legs on one side with your needle, go to the other piece on the other side of the seam, catch two legs with your needle, and repeat. That's it. Want a photo tutorial? Sure you do.

Skill Mojo Tip #4: Match Bar to Bar in Vertical Seaming: Look at the columns, up and down. Spread the knitting apart a bit–see the bars that are between columns? It's almost like there are little ladders between the columns. When you stitch a vertical seam, like the side seam of a sweater, you match up a bar on one side of the seam to a bar on the other side of the seam, and voila. Mattress stitch. And of course, there's a tutorial for this, too. Yay!

And there you are! I hope these hints help your seaming mojo, and maybe even cause you to dig out some Objects Without Seams from your closet and stitch them up to wear with pride.

Anyone have any more useful hints for successful seaming? Any tricks you use to help your seams come out beautifully? Share your tip with us in the comments!

Well, it's time for me to get back to working on that collar edging. I want to be able to wear this sweater this weekend, so I'd better keep knitting!

P.S. Special thanks to all those who sent in well-wishes while I was ill last week. You people are so sweet! And no, I haven't ripped out that darn evil second left sleeve yet...but I will.

Wishing you much knitting mojo this week!

– Sandi

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The Frayed Steek Edges are TOAST

KD Sandi — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:06:00 GMT

I keep thinking I'm going to get bored with the Farmer's Market Cardigan, but every time I sit down to work on it, I enter some sort of strange space/time warp. You know the one I mean, the one where there's only you, the needles, and the yarn, all happy in a little space/time continuum of your very own. Back in the real world, dishes languish unwashed in the sink, cats re-decorate entire shelves ("Oh, I'll pick that stuff up after I finish this row" as the cats bat small statues of sheep and geese about the room), and the lasagna does not come out of the freezer in time for anyone's dinner anytime soon.

Ah, yes. That space/time warp. I know you know the one I mean. I think I've seen you there, in fact...

A morning of work on the Farmer's Market Cardigan

This morning I sat down to stitch up a bit of the knitted steek facing I'd done for my red cardi, thinking I could take a few minutes to sew up an inch or two just for the purposes of taking blog photos. A half-hour at most, and then I'd be ready to get started on writing the actual post.

That was five hours ago. I started tinkering with the knitting at, oh, 9:30 AM. It's 2:35 PM, the dog needs to be walked, I haven't had lunch yet, and the dining table is a disgrace of stray balls of yarn, snips of embroidery thread, two unfinished knitted sleeves, one tin of stitch markers, an empty coffee cup, an assortment of knitting needles, camera widgets, and, of course, The Sweater. (A cat was part of the fray earlier, as you can see in the photo. That's Dusty, and he felt the need to closely supervise every stitch. I'm sure he's thinking that there was no need to bother with sleeves since this lovely soft red thing is clearly a blankie for him and what do I need another sweater for?)

Ahem. Let's get down to business, shall we?

Frayed Edges

I was going to happily ignore the frayed edges you can see in the photo (right) from last week's entry, because the blue knitted facing was going to cover them, effectively locking them away from any chance to come undone. But a few commenters called me on my flagrant disrespect for Murphy's Law, wanting to know how to prevent fraying No Matter What.

I gave it some thought, and decided to go the extra mile in this sweater. After all, I want it to last for years, and I want to be proud of the end result. I decided to whipstitch the fraying edges, tacking them down to the wrong side of the facing as I stitched. This would not only take care of the fraying; it would also flatten the selvedge and ensure a crisp turning edge for the entire front opening.

Gory Details (you know you want them): I threaded a sharp point needle with three strands of embroidery floss. For the purposes of photography, I chose a light (but still coordinating) colour; however, if I weren't taking photos for all you nice folks, I would have chosen a darker floss colour that matched the main yarn colour.

I smoothed the frayed edge down against the knitted facing, then whipstitched the two together, catching as many of those loose ends of yarn in the loops of my stitches as I could. To help things along, I used my finger to fold down the frays as I sewed. I also stitched over some places a few times to ensure that things were sewn down to my satisfaction.

Truth be told, the neatness of the actual stitching did not matter to me so much, as the stitches would be forever hidden underneath the facing. My main concerns were that the frays stayed put, and that the whipstitches not show on the outside of the facing–thus I turned it over frequently to check.

Sewing The Facing to the Sweater

Once the entire raw edge of the steeked opening had been whipstitched to the facing, the sweater and I had a short session with the steam iron, steaming the facings flat and reminding those selvedge edges who their momma was.

When the edges cooled, it was Stitch-Down Time.

Since these stitches might show on the outside of the cardigan, I absolutely had to have a matching thread. The yarn itself, being worsted weight, was far too bulky. I could have used a matching embroidery floss, but I chose to experiment. My main yarn, Dream in Colour Classy, is a four-ply yarn. I pulled the plies apart, so that I had two 2-ply strands in my hands, and called that good. (I considered using the singles, but a gentle tug on one resulted in the singles pulling completely apart. The 2-ply was much stronger.) You can see the two plies of yarn I used in the photo at right.

Starting in the middle of the front edge, I carefully folded over the facing so that the purl "turning ridge" was exactly at the "hinge" of the fold. Why start in the middle? For a long edge, especially one with a curve, the shorter the working distance, the better "fit" you will get for the facing. If you start at the middle and work outwards towards each end, you don't end up "running short" or having "leftovers" as you might when working from one end all the way to the other. (Think of it as less chance of any errors accumulating over distance.)

I caught one of the purl bumps from the sweater body in my needle, then one of the edge loops of the facing (see photo). I constantly checked that my fold had the purl ridge exactly down the middle, re-adjusting every few stitches to ensure flatness and smoothness.

Where does this leave me now in terms of overall sweater-finishing status?

- I've picked up stitches for the facing on the left front, so have to knit that, whipstitch raw edges down, and sew the facing to the sweater.

- I've knitted several inches on both sleeves (I'm doing them two-at-a-time on a circular needle).

- I've started one of the pockets.

So I have sleeves, pockets, one facing, and the entire shawl collar and pocket edging to do. My goal is to wear this sweater to a weekend getaway with some knitting friends the last week in February. Do you think I'll make it? Let me know if you have any tips to speed my progress along! Leave a comment, you know I read each and every one.

May you find your heart wrapped in some completely gorgeous yarn this Valentine's Day!

– Sandi

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Steeks, Continued: Of Facings and Frayed Edges

KD Sandi — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 13:23:00 GMT

Are you ready for the next installment in my adventures knitting the Farmer's Market Cardigan? Sure you are!

Last week, I was so high on the whole cutting-my-knitting-experience that I blithely typed the following bit of knitterly hand-waving:

Remember, the steek panel itself will become a facing–I will turn the edges under at the purl ridge. Then I will whipstitch the raw edges down.

Once I sat down with the actual sweater body to work on the actual front-edge facings it became clear, once again, are-you-bored-with-hearing this-yet, that nothing is as easy as it seems.

There were two tasks ahead of me with respect to the facing:

(1) Secure the frayed edges in some neat, tailored sort of way; and

(2) Stitch the facing down to the sweater without it being seen on the right side of the garment.

The dilemma: I'd never seen a steek facing done in real life. I'd seen photos of pretty grosgrain ribbons sewn neatly along front edges, and I had a few blog entries and Internet articles showing how to stitch things down with blanket stitch or whipstitch. But no step-by-step photos, no detailed instructions.

I was not born with the knowledge of steeks imprinted in my synapses. I require tutorials. I require hand-holding. (I also need to have this sweater done in time for the fibre retreat I am going to at the end of February, but that perhaps is a different level of need...)

And then one blogger mentioned knitting a facing by picking up stitches along the frayed edge. She even described knitting a pretty little design into her facing to complement her lovely sweater.

A knitted facing?! I could KNIT a facing? No one said anything about a knitted-in facing. In fact, I had been planning to use grosgrain ribbon to cover the cut edges of the steek. I just hadn't found the perfect matching grosgrain ribbon yet.

But a knitted facing...And that's when the lightbulb went on. Suddenly, I could see the whole process, and how one did it, and what it would look like (and the fact that my sweater could be done in time for my retreat. Yay!). I grabbed a swatch I'd done with the sweater yarn, and pelted upstairs for a bit of a rummage through my yarn bins.

I wanted to use a thinner yarn for the facing in order to reduce bulk. I chose a lovely handpainted merino sock yarn (Koigu) in complementary colours and a needle size that corresponded to the sock yarn's weight (size 1.5 U.S./2.5mm). Note on colour choice: Normally, I might have chosen something that would blend in a bit more, but for purposes of photography, I figured a little extra colour couldn't hurt. But still: Pretty, yes?

Inserting a Knitted Facing
I picked up the vertical loops one full stitch-width away from the purl turning column.		Step 1: Pick up and knit stitches along the cut edge of the sweater front. How many stitches? I picked up three stitches for every two vertical loops, given the standard ratio of knitted stitches being about a third higher than they are wide. The truth is that I just winged it. I never counted, I just picked up stitches and adjusted the total until it laid flat and "looked right." (I trusted myself and since we're all fearless knitters here, you can trust yourselves, too.)

		Step 2: If you are like me, you pick up stitches with the right side of the work facing you. Thus, the next row is a wrong-side row. Work the first WS row as a KNIT row, so that it produces a ridge of bumps on the right side of the work. This will help the knitted flap you are making to lay flat.

		Here you can see the purl turning column of the steek, indicated by the blue arrow. Notice how there is one full column of stitches to the right of the arrow. This is the column of stitches between the purl turning ridge and the picked-up stitches for the facing.

		Here's what it looks like all along the right-side edge of the right front of the sweater.

		Here's what it looks like from the wrong side, in case that is helpful. Look at all those spiky raw edge thingies. My cool knitted facing is going to cover those and rock the planet. Promise.

		Step 3: After working that first knitted (wrong side) row, turn and knit the next, RS, row.

		Step 4: Work in Stockinette stitch (back and forth in rows), until the facing covers the raw edges and extends past them by at least one-eighth to one-quarter of an inch. Step 5: Bind off LOOSELY (use a larger needle for this if you need to) on a RS row. How many rows did I work? About ten; my facing measures seven-eighths of an inch total.

		Step 6: Block your sweater when all the facings have been knitted. Step 7: Fold the facing and the edges of the fronts to the wrong side, pinning in place as you go. Be careful to follow the purl turning ridge, ensuring that the purl ridge is the "hinge" exactly in the middle of the fold. Step 8: Steam the facing and the edges down. Be careful not to scorch your knitting–be aware of what type of yarn you are using and what kind of heat it can tolerate before you do this step. Step 9: Let the knitted fabric dry and cool completely after steaming. Seriously. LET IT COOL COMPLETELY, preferably without moving it.

Aaaaaannnnndddd....we'll stop there. (I know, I am such a tease.) I have to knit the facing for the left front, and figure out a graceful way to stitch these facings down. I'll report back about this next week.

Have any hints to add to this process? Do you have photos of knitted facings you have done? Leave a comment and share with us!

Till next Thursday then: Knit your hearts out.

– Sandi

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Cutting the Steek, Step-by-Step

KD Sandi — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:17:00 GMT

I did it. I cut my knitting, and the sweater survived, and no one fainted, and in the end, it wasn't as big a deal as I thought it would be. (Two cups of coffee, max. No chocolate required, not even afterwards. No alcohol required. Strictly PG-13.) I recommend Eunny Jang's article "Steeks–Cutting the Edge" ("Beyond the Basics," Interweave Knits Winter 2006) as a reference for learning the basics of steeking. I ended up having this article open on the table next to me for every stitch and snip.

Ready to cut!		I learned that cutting your knitting is all about the preparation; if you prepare the knitting properly, then the cutting itself is a bit of an anticlimax–a few snips and the deed is done! Here are step-by-step photos of how I "steeked" the body of my Farmer's Market Cardigan. Just remember: The steek isn't in the original pattern; I put it there as an experiment in converting a flat pattern to knitting-in-the-round. (So far, so good!)

SHOWN HERE: The green dotted line shows the cutting line. The blue arrows point to the purl ridges marking the "foldover" for each edge. You can see the columns of neck decreases off to the side of each purl turning ridge.		Step 1: First line of stitching (and materials) To prepare a piece of knitting for cutting, you need to secure the stitches in the steek panel so they do not come undone when you cut them. To secure my knitted stitches, I sewed VERTICALLY between columns of stitches, splitting the knitting yarn as I went. Sewing materials: At first, I tried using embroidery floss and a sharp-pointed needle, as shown here. As I sewed, I noticed that the floss was slipping through the yarn really easily–but I didn't want something that slipped easily through the yarn, as the stitches might just slip on out! I switched to a somewhat sticky sock yarn, and that worked beautifully. (The sock yarn also shows up in the photos better.) Method: I backstitched from bottom to top of the steek panel, between the two columns of stitches as shown. Stitch placement: My first stitching line was one full stitch-width away from the cutting line.

		Step 2: Second and third stitching lines Next, I stitched two more vertical lines, each one-half column away from either side of the cutting line. I followed the middle of each column of stitches as shown here, again backstitching with sock yarn. IMPORTANT HINT: As you stitch, pierce the yarn strands of the sweater with the sewing needle. Don't sew between the strands of your knitted stitches, pierce the strands themselves so that the yarn splits. The twist and stickiness of the knitting yarn will help hold the sewn stitches in place.

		Step 3: Final line of stitching I made a fourth line of vertical stitches, this time one full stitch-width to the left of the cutting line. In the photo, you can see three of my four vertical lines of stitching. Remember that you can't see the first line of stitches, as the embroidery floss I used for the first try disappeared into the knitting. And then I was ready to cut!

		Step 4: Beginning to cut Using a small, sharp pair of scissors, I made that first somewhat-scary cut...only to realize that I could Trust The Stitches and snip away happily (but slowly). Why did I use a small (rather than large) pair of scissors? I found I could get better control and accuracy–it was easier to "aim" the blades so they cut exactly where I wanted them to cut. TIPS: Go slowly. Snip no more than about two stitches at a time. Place the tips of the scissors carefully between stitch columns, and check before you cut that only the horizontal bars are between the scissor blades.

		Here's a close-up of the scissor placement between two columns of stitches. Note the two stitching lines to the left of the scissors. You can make out one line of stitching to the right, but the other stitching line is hidden.

		Here's what the knitting looked like as I cut into it. What about the ragged edges? Remember, the steek panel itself will become a facing–the edges will be turned under at the purl ridge. Then I will whipstitch the raw edges down. The shawl collar and pockets will cover the front edges here so nothing will show.

		Almost there...no chocolate has been needed (yet)...

		And I'm done! The raw edges here are rolling under all by themselves at the purl ridge, eager and ready to become a neat little facing.

		I folded the edges under neatly at the purl ridge in this photo so you could see what it might look like after I have finished whipstitching the facing into place.

		The fun part: Trying it on Look: Waist shaping! And hip shaping! And a lovely armhole! The whole sweater body fits perfectly, so my math was a success. Whoo!

		And a final shot of the graceful V-neck! Wait till I add the shawl collar–this sweater is going to be gorgeous. Oh, and sleeves. Perhaps some sleeves would be nice, too. And don't you love the humble shot with my purple bath towel in the background? Cinema verite, right here in my bathroom.

So what do you think about steeks? Are you nervous about trying a steek for yourself? Or, if you've done them already, do you have any hints for future adventures in steeking? I love to hear from you, so leave a comment and let me know your tips and thoughts for cutting into one's knitting.

I'm do think a couple of sleeves would be good, so I have already cast on for a pair. To amuse myself, however, I might just have to try a pocket. Just for grins.

See you next Thursday!

Till then, I hope you have something truly satisfying on the needles. (What ARE you knitting, anyways? I'm curious to know!)

– Sandi

Sandi Wiseheart is the founding editor of Knitting Daily. You can find her blogging here on Knitting Daily every Thursday. Want more? Visit Sandi's personal blog, wiseheart knits.

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Knitting On, Through All Things

KD Sandi — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:51:00 GMT

As I write this, a 6.1 aftershock has just hit Haiti. In light of the suffering of Haiti's people, to some it may seem trite to be discussing knitting, especially knitting we are doing for ourselves and not for a charity of one flavour or another. I stand with Elizabeth Zimmermann on this one: "Knit on, with confidence and hope, through all crises." Knitters are already by nature a generous lot, as the current total from Knitters Without Borders demonstrates. (Another group of knitters, who wish to remain anonymous, have raised nearly $32,000 in the one week since the first quake. Wow!)

Generosity like that requires strength–strength of mind, strength of heart, strength of body. Perhaps we, as knitters, have the strength to give because knitting itself gives our hearts respite, our minds quiet time to reflect, our bodies time to rest. Knitting allows us to collect ourselves, to build strength, so that we in turn have something to give back when and where it is needed.

We are stronger, because we knit. Let us knit on, therefore...

I present to you: The Farmer's Market Cardi–A finished sweater body!

Ta-Da! It's a cardigan body, complete with steek panel right up the center front, front darts, back darts, armholes and all the standard accessories.

Well, except the sleeves, of course. Sleeves would be nice. And pockets. And a nice cabled shawl collar. Hm...OK, so perhaps I am not as close to being done with the Farmer's Market Cardi as I would like, but boy howdy, I feel a sense of accomplishment here. Woot!

Cap'n Frog is in the photo because his services were alllllmost needed, and he was on standby mode for a while there until I figured out how to solve the problem without frogging a zillion stitches. I noticed the problem when I counted stitches in the final rows before finishing the fronts and found, to my dismay, that I had several stitches too many at the shoulders.

Oops. I was completely done with all the planned decreases at neck and armpit and bust and everywhere, and I had too many stitches. If I didn't correct this somehow, my front shoulders would be too wide and would not match the back shoulders at the seams.

Where did the extra stitches come from? Remember when I cast on, I added a few extra stitches to the fronts to gracefully cover a rather rounded belly? Ohhh, yes. Those stitches. Well. Ahem. Errr...I apparently forgot to figure those into the math in the bust area, and thus I never decreased the extra away at the top of the sweater, where the extra room was not required. As the shock set in, I realized that to fix this error "according to the books" I would have to rip back the entire cardigan down to the WAIST.

I had to go and take a couple of good deep steadying breaths after that realization sunk in. Cap'n Frog joined me about then, reminding me of the hours of work all those potentially ripped-back rows/rounds represented. That's when I put my foot down, and Just Said No To The Frog.

After a bit of math, and a bit of careful re-reading of the instructions for the zillionth time, I decided to remove the extra stitches via a combination of one extra neck decrease and some evenly spaced decreases right at the shoulder seam, where they would appear to be little graceful puckers–or so I hoped.

An hour later, voila! Extra neck decrease, check. Evenly spaced decreases at the shoulder seam, check. Correct number of stitches achieved, the sweater fronts look great, and The Frog was banished back to his lilypad.

Knitting lessons learned

First, do a "reality check" of stitch counts at regular intervals along the way. This, along with regular measuring and comparison to the printed pattern specs, will prevent nasty shocks later. Second, if massive ripping back seems required, stop and put the project down for a bit. If you give the problems some time and thought, you may be able to come up with a creative fix that works into the pattern and prevents a session with Cap'n Frog. That alone is worth a bit of patience and a few deep cleansing breaths!

As a final note, I'd like to point out that my fix works because it's a cardigan, with an opening down the front–thus, a few extra stitches–and the resulting extra ease–over the bust area aren't as much of a concern as they would be in a pullover. (Not to mention that the addition of the shawl collar will cover a multitude of decrease sins. Yeah, baby!) It's important to read the instructions thoroughly to make sure that any fix you come up with fits with the overall design and style of your sweater.

Now that the body's done...what next? You know what this means, don't you? Next week is Cut The Steek Week! See the pretty steek panel down the front (click the photo above to embiggen)? Want to see me cut my knitting? Want to see what REALLY happens to all those scissor-snipped stitches? Join me next week!

Till then, I hope you find joy (and strength) on the needles. Knit on, my friends.

– Sandi

Have a question or some feedback? Leave a comment and let me know!

Sandi Wiseheart is the founding editor of Knitting Daily. You can find her blogging here on Knitting Daily every Thursday. Want more? Visit Sandi's personal blog, wiseheart knits.

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Keeping Those Wild WIPs Under Control

I Hear The Frogs Call My Name

Flat vs. Circular Knitting

One Great Knitting Tip Deserves Another

A Better Long-Tail Cast-On

The Rest of The Original Post: What is it about that Gorgeous Stockinette?

And the needles just keep on clicking...(plus a fit tip)

Knitting-for-Better-Fit Tip:

To Knit As Written...or not?

Knitting A Summer Top: Determining The Right Size

My Knitting Is Laughing At Me

Knitting With Confidence

Challenges in a Knitted-on Border

Button, Button: Tips for Bringing Closure to a Pretty Sweater

Closures

Sources for Beautiful Closures

In Which I Shamelessly Cheat On My Knitting

Seven Tips for Seaming Mojo

Three Tips for Mental Mojo

Four Tips for Skill Mojo

The Frayed Steek Edges are TOAST

A morning of work on the Farmer's Market Cardigan

Frayed Edges

Sewing The Facing to the Sweater

Steeks, Continued: Of Facings and Frayed Edges

Inserting a Knitted Facing

Cutting the Steek, Step-by-Step

Step 1: First line of stitching (and materials)

Step 2: Second and third stitching lines

Step 3: Final line of stitching

Step 4: Beginning to cut

The fun part: Trying it on

Knitting On, Through All Things

I present to you: The Farmer's Market Cardi–A finished sweater body!

Knitting lessons learned

The Rest of The Original Post:
What is it about that Gorgeous Stockinette?