Knitting Thoughts

I have been knitting since my grandma taught me as a little girl. I did not learn the throw or wrap your thread around method, but the put your thread over your left fore finger and scoop it through onto the right needle method. Some people call this German, some people call it English. I call it knitting and get on with it. My first knitting projects were pot holders made from rug yarn, all cotton then, not so now. They made wonderful Christmas presents. All the ladies got them. In the summer I knitted pillowcase edgings out of crochet cotton and in the winter I knitted with wool. Some of the beautiful things that I made, I still have, while others are gone from me and from my memory. I am always up for new challenges.

One of the things I have trouble understanding is, that women seem to be married to their patterns. Perhaps this is because I sew. When I am in a store, I see women walking around with a pattern picking out exactly the same thing that the person who made the pattern used. My body, quite frankly, never looks like the person's in the picture. I know that even if I duplicate the original knitting, I won't look like the person in the picture. Most of the sweaters either won't go around me, or they will hang off my arms. Immediately I have to adjust the patterns one way or another. I know that horizontal stripes are only going to make me look rounder, but a vertical design will make me look longer.

I can adjust almost any pattern to the size I want. It is rare for me to buy a pattern. It has to be really special for me not to be able to figure out how to adapt it and steal from it to make the garment I want. I have a large stash of yarn. I am constantly trying to make it smaller. I avoid yarn stores like the plague, because they are a source of constant temptation. I have drawers full and people give me more because they know that I will use it.

Here is how to make decisions about a project. Using the size needles recommended on the yarn, knit in stockinette stitch (knit a row, purl a row) on twelve to fourteen stitches for two inches and look at it. Does the piece look too tight or too loose? This is a personal choice. If it is too tight, try using needles two size larger and continue to do that until you are happy. If it is too loose reverse the process by, decreasing the size of the needles. When I am satisfied that I will have the weight that I want for the project, I count the number of stitches in an inch and make a note. I also measure the center ten stitches. The two numbers should work out so that you will use the same number of stitches for whatever width you want to make. This needs to be done since no one knits exactly the same. Then because I am thrifty, I rip those samples out and use that yarn in the project.

If there is a complex pattern I use the size needles that I have chosen and cast on enough stitches to work a repeat of the pattern plus some edge stitches. If it is a wide pattern, I will do one repeat, if it is narrow I will do two. I should do two, but I am always impatient to start working. Sometimes I forgo this step if I can tell that the pattern will not have a large amount of draw in. Sometimes, I should have done this step, but don't. What a lovely gift for a smaller person. But if you are making a scarf, you should be okay. Figure out if you want a large warm neck scarf, or a small fashion statement. Some yarn says one thing some says another. Multiply the width you want by the number of stitches per inch, adjust so that the pattern will work out and then knit to your heart's content, or until your yarn runs out. Be sure to leave enough yarn to bind off.

If you have found out that this method works for figuring out the size of a scarf, try working on a baby blanket. It is always a good thing to have a baby blanket available to give to people for new babies and they don't have to be an exact size. A baby blanket is a good place to figure out if you like a pattern or not. You can learn how much a pattern of stitches draws in so that you can know how many repeats to use in a garment. Be careful though because the yarn selection may change the appearance or the draw in.

From my experience sewing, I know what different pattern pieces look like and how to adjust them to fit a particular body. If you think of your knitting as making a piece of cloth that will be the same size as the cut out pattern piece, you are no longer forced to buy a specific pattern. You look at patterns for ideas and inspiration. They are guidelines and do not have to be followed slavishly. Then you buy books for instruction on techniques rather than because there was a cute sweater. If I decide to follow a pattern like those in Myrna Stahmen's book "Stahman's Shawls and Scarves" it is because I am happy to allow her to do the calculating for me and I love the shawls. The calculating to make the patterns work out is already done and I am too lazy to waste knitting time on math.

To make any piece of knitting be the same size as a pattern piece, you need to be able to add and remove stitches and to be able to add rows in certain areas. When adding stitches if you want a hole, you can do a simple yarn over, or knit in the front and back of a stitch, but if you don't want a hole, you can reach down and knit a stitch through the bar of the next stitch before you knit it. The easiest method to decrease is to knit two stitches together. That will give you a slanting decrease. To get the opposite slant you slip a stitch and knit a stitch. Then you pass the slipped stitch over. To increase certain rows, you need to turn your work in the middle of the row and work backwards, slipping the first stitch with the tread wrapped around it. That is called working a short row and there are lots of illustrations available for that. You might visit KnitPicks.com to see all kinds of tutorials.

I am always looking for the easiest and best way to make something work. I hate to end up with small quantities of yarn that won't blend in with anything else. That means that I like to knit sweaters from the top down and I knit socks from the toe up. Both of those meant that I had to investigate which cast on and bind off methods would be most appropriate for the tops. If the sweater neckline isn't firm enough, your neckline will sag to the waist. If your sock top isn't loose enough it will cut off your circulation. There are lots of different ways to cast on or bind off. They have different characteristics that meet different needs.

I have certain patterns and techniques that I have written down so I can easily find them. I have altered several patterns in various ways. That way when I want to make them I only have to consult my notes. Years ago I got a book called "The Sweater Workshop" by Jacqueline Fee. It gave directions to do just about anything I wanted to do to a sweater. One of my favorite projects for a toddler is to make a hooded sweater that zips up the back, with a sweatshirt pocket. It can be made larger or smaller. It is wonderful for the mother because once it is on the child can't wiggle out of it and the sweater never lets cold air get onto their baby's belly. (See picture) You can make the sleeves long enough that they can be rolled up and the sweater can be used for two years instead of just one.

The best advice that I can give any beginning knitter is to find knitting that you like and write down what size needles and threads you use for every pattern. Take pictures of your finished pieces before you give them away or wear them. Knit for fun. I have been working on refining a socks pattern, which I will try to put up later.