I just finished knitting a knit/purl chart. Some of the stitches pop out and others sink in. Can I fix it?!?
Can you provide more information? For example, are you making an afghan, a sweater, or a dishcloth? The "fix" might differ depending on what you're making. Can you provide a more detailed description of the problem? Where are the stitches popping out when they are not supposed to and where are they sinking in when they are not supposed to? What stitches surround the ones that go the wrong way? In what way does the completed design look ridiculous? Is it consistently that way, or is just a portion of the design affected? Who designed the chart, and is there a copy online where we can examine it? We may see something you don't see. Edited to add: The vertical purl stitches "pull in" or sink behind the knit stitches because they are acting like "rib" stitches. In knitting, purl stitches knit in rows will stand out. Thus, Quaker stitch is horizontal bands of purl stitches "on" horizontal bands of knit stitches. Ribbing is vertical bands of knit stitches "on" vertical bands of purl stitches. You could probably have a row or two of vertical stitches, but that chart has a section straight up the middle and on either side that will recess like 4 x 4 ribbing. That chart will work fine for 2-color knitting, although it is probably better for intarsia than for stranded knitting where the unused color is carried across the back of the work until it's needed again. It will not work so well for purl-on-knit to make the pattern stand out (as you have learned through trial and error). At this point, what can you do to make your peace symbol look like a peace symbol? I believe I would take a contrasting color of yarn and a large-eye tapestry needle and duplicate-stitch over the entire peace symbol. Or if you don't like the duplicate stitch over purl stitches, cross-stitch over the purl stitches. Next go-round, you can try using seed stitch (alternating knit and purl stitches). The seed pattern should stand out on either a knit or purl background, although not as much as knit on a vertical purl background or purl on a horizontal knit background. Or maybe lace (k2tog, yo for each stitch of the design on a plain knit background). You could experiment with techniques and come up with something that will work that's uniquely yours.
Knitting, Crocheting or Cross-stitch - Which one and why?
All 3 are great skills to have ~ I am a knitter. I've tried learning crochet, but haven't mastered the tension.. My preference is knitting, but crochet comes in very handy, when finishing edging/borders on blankets, sweaters, etc. Knitting and Cross Stitch would be my first two choices. I finished a baby blanket a few months ago, and tried to cross stitch cute little fuzzy sheep on the squares. I had a friend give me a "quick" lesson, and each sheep took 2 hours to complete. (I stopped at 4 sheep instead of 16). Someone who is adept at cross stitch can do wonderful designs on knitted items. Where I live, most shops and magazines cater to knitting. Not being a crochet'er, I hear you don't use as much yarn in crochet as you do with knitting. I can't top the other responder with knitting links :-), they are all great! I would also include utube. Do you know anyone who knits? Most knitsters are very generous with knowledge and are happy to teach others and help you out when you get stuck with a knitting 911 emergency. (Cause we've all been there!) There are a million and one different techniques and ways to knit, and the great thing is, they are all correct! Check out your local yarn store, and make friends with the owners and regular customers. Most shops have charity knitting and will provide knitting and crochet help in exchange. The possibilities are endless! Good luck whatever you decide and above all ~ Have fun!
Knitters, what is the most difficult and frustrating about knitting patterns?
I’ve always been fortunate to be able to read a pattern and image the construction of a garment in my mind thanks to my visual thinking. This has saved a number of hair-pulling conflicts when a pattern … usually from a magazine that should know better … has not been tested and recalculated to confirm reasonable accuracy in count of stitches + rows for the gauge. One can knit by measure, but if the draft of the pattern by gauge isn’t reasonable the end result is heart-breaking for the time invested.The last time I knitted a sweater for my daughter about 6 years ago, the piece was on the cover of a popular periodical for knitting. To my complete annoyance as I began decreasing for armhole shaping, I realized the painfully short cap of the sleeve and the armhole were incorrect in depth. They were never going to match, ease, nada, zilch … so many novice knitters would have given up assuming they were somehow at fault. After redrafting the pattern, I was able to finish the sweater easily myself. I looked up the publisher online and sent them an email alert of their need to do an errata update for this pattern. They even replied with a “thank you” for my input and an explanation of how complex pattern writing and instructions can be. Uh, yeah, this is why they need to proofread and be sure draft calculations are checked!Never saw a pattern correction online. THIS is what frustrates me with published patterns. I actually find it much easier to figure out my own sweaters with my own gauge. Magazines are purchased when I spot something that I’d convert to my own use and that has largely been supplanted by glorious distractions of the internet and, ohgawdhelpme, Pinterest.
My ribbing looks like seed stitch. What's wrong?
I am knitting the ribbing of a hat on circular needles. I switched from using English knit and purl to continental knit and Norwegian purl. For some reason, though, my ribbing looks more like a strange version of seed stitch. I checked to make sure that I was doing the stitches correctly, and I did a small swatch to make sure I hadn't just gotten off on my counting. But my k1, p1 still looks nothing like ribbing.
How do I switch needles while knitting?
CO and join the round with the bigger needles. I like to complete two or three stitches into the next round before I switch to the smaller needle. Now, treat the circular needle like a straight needle and pick up one end of the smaller circular needle. Knit the stitches from the large needle to the smaller one just like you would use a straight needle. This is a good way to prevent your CO edge from being too tight, especially if you're using an easier cast on method with little stretch. Another good option would be to go to knittinghelp.com and find a video that teaches you a stretchy cast on.
Why don’t US knitting needles come in size 12?
Because US knitting needles originally came from Europe where they use the metric system. The conversion is not exact, so they rounded up to the closest US number. We have the 10.5 because that is a match to the mm size. This lady explains it better than me.deemail“because originally our needles came from europe with mm sizes... these are not a straight conversion...1 inch equals 2.54 cm so they got as close as they could and eventually, one became so close in size to the next one that they skipped a number to make the 'equal' sizes come out better...notice we have a 10.5 but no other 'half sizes'? that's because the 10.5 comes out exactly to its mm equivalent and they threw it in there to try and straighten them out....”
Is knitting hard?
At first it is, as you try to get the hang of the various movements involved; and purl seems harder than knit. But if you really want to learn, and you persevere, eventually you get comfortable with the movements, and next thing you know, you’re making actual clothes from a pattern and it’s not difficult at all.Then you start wondering about all the different knitting patterns out there, Aran knitting and Shetland knitting and cables and all that oh-so-hard (looking) stuff, and one day it hits you: it’s *all* just knit and purl. The very first things you learned. Just knit and purl.If you decide to take up knitting, look for books by Elizabeth Zimmermann, who will utterly charm you into doing things you never believed you could - like designing your own patterns. Yes, you really can!So get some needles and yarn, learn how to cast on - a good yarn shop has lessons for beginners - and persevere long enough to make a scarf or something like that, long enough to figure out if you might like to continue this as a hobby. It’s incredibly relaxing, and recently it’s been discovered that knitting has health benefits, too - the repetitive motion has a soothing effect on the heart. Go for it!
Turning a Crochet Star into a Square?
Start by turning the star into a circle by chaining between the points. Then use a wagon wheel pattern to turn the circle shape into a square. Now is as good a time as any to learn to read a pattern. http://onepinkhippo.blogspot.com/2010/03/wagon-wheel-granny-square.html (start with round 4 after you've turned the star into a circle) Abbreviation chart for interpreting patterns: http://crochet-mania.blogspot.com/p/crochet-abbreviation-chart.html This blog also includes MANY how-to videos for crochet and is an excellent resource for crocheters. --- edited to add --- You could fill in the triangular space between the points by using stitches of varying heights, including sc, hdc, dc, tr, dtr, etc. You'd have to play around to find the best combination of these stitches in order to fill the gap. Like this: http://craftsmumship.com/2010/11/star-crochet-blanket/ Examples of my first suggestion: http://www.crochetnmore.com/starsquare.htm http://dayna.tdgservices.com/ShowPattern.aspx?PatternID=49 A third option using tapestry crochet: http://www.crochetnmore.com/rowcountstarafghansquare.htm
Can someone help with a knitting pattern?
After enlarging the picture, I determined that this is brioche stitch - you can learn how to do that on You Tube. It is a simple easy stitch. Find a top down raglan pullover pattern on Ravelry - I like top down, knitting in the round, but you could also use bottom up or knitting flat and seaming. You wOld then start the top down pattern with the contrast color and knit to where you would start to incorporate the main color with intarsia. You can learn how to do intarsia on You Tube - this would be really simple since it is not a design but a color change. And you would have your sweater. Take notes on what you do so you can refer to the process as you go.