Tips and Tricks for Knitting Success

I am a knitter. I love knitting. I have written a few articles about knitting which you may enjoy but today I wanted to share some more tips and tricks to help you enhance your joy and love of knitting. I think the world would be a better place if we had more knitters. So a happy knitter is a healthier happier person and this is my part to help that happen.

A really clever idea that a friend figured out is really good for getting rid of the frustration of having your sleeves be different lengths or widths when finished. I know, I know, follow the pattern. Well if you know anything much about knitting you know that each time you make something it always turns out a little bit different. A little less tension, a little longer sleeve. Whatever! It's different! Well how about this for an easy...duh!...solution.

When you have finished casting on for the sleeve, put down that ball of yarn. Pick up another ball of yarn, same as the first, and cast on again for the second sleeve. Both sleeves on one needle. Keep your yarns straight by placing each ball in a different zip lock bag and then putting both of those bags in a larger zip lock bag. This will prevent you from getting all tangled while working two sleeves at once. It's brilliant! Not only are your sleeves the exact same length and tension but they are both done at the same time.

This next tip has saved me many tears of frustration. I already wrote an article about correcting mistakes in your knitting. If you would like to read that one you could check it out, it is called How to Unknit. But why not just stop the frustration before it starts. This is a lifesaver tip.

When you are knitting along in your pattern and you are about to start a new part of the pattern that you are a little unsure of, just take a darning needle and use some contrasting color embroidery thread or a piece of throw away yarn or thread. Just run the yarn through the last row just knitted and loosely tie off the ends of the throwaway yarn at the ends so it won't accidentally pull through and then continue on with the new section of your pattern. If it does turn out to be a problem and you need to try again. You can quickly and easily just rip back to a known good row. It is very easy to reload the knitting needle and restart the pattern. Be sure to mark on the pattern exactly what row it is that you are marking with the life saver line.

Then the last tip for today is how to cast on using the long tail version of casting on without making a slip knot. Now you may wonder why not use a slip knot? Well all I can tell you is try it with and without a slip knot and see which you like better and then you decide.You must of course know how to do the long tail cast on to get this, but here goes. Instead of a slip knot, just put the yarn over the right hand needle with the two long tails hanging down. Place your first finger on the yarn on the right hand needle holding it in place. Now go ahead and do the cast on. Normally you would have had a slip knot, but now you are just holding the yarn with your finger and when you do a cast on, it will work the exact same way. The difference is the look. It Is smooth and looks the exact same as any of the stitches you cast on. When you make it with a slip knot, you have a little bump or knot on that first cast on stitch. It's up to you how you do it. It is what you prefer. But at least give it a try.