Fat Knitting Superhero, disguised as Mild Mannered Yarn Shop Employee.

Archive for the ‘knitting’ Category

Positively Negative

I’m always so sad when a knitter brings in a beautifully made sweater that doesn’t fit or flatter them.  More often than not, it’s because the sweater is too big.  A too-big sweater can easily give one that bulky kid-in-a-snowsuit look.  The counter-intuitive secret to well-fitting sweaters?  Negative ease!

Ease is often poorly understood.  It means “the difference between body measurements and garment measurements.”  In garments made from woven fabrics you must have positive ease, meaning that the garment is bigger than the body, because woven fabrics generally have little or no stretch.  We have no such restriction in knitting, because knitting stretches beautifully!  Negative ease means that the garment is actually smaller than the body measurements and must stretch a bit when worn.  Socks are a great example.  A sock has to be narrower than the foot or it will feel baggy and uncomfortable.

Another rule of ease?  The lighter and more drapey the fabric, the more ease (looser) the garment can be.  Think of a really lightweight rayon or silk blouse.  It needs lots of extra fabric in order to take advantage of the fluidity of the material, but it doesn’t add visual bulk to the body.  Heavier fabrics, like suiting, denim, and most handknitting, need to be fitted more closely.  They don’t drape well, so they tend to stand away from the body, creating bulky silhouettes that don’t flatter anyone.

Many knitters, not understanding that less ease will look better, choose patterns by picking the one that is the same as or a couple inches more than their own chest/bust measurement, even when working with thick wool yarns.  This usually creates a sweater that will stay in the drawer and never be worn.  Instead, choose your size with ease in mind.  Very drapey, fine-gauged yarns like rayons and silks and some linens and cottons can be made with a small amount of positive ease.  All others should be made with negative ease.

Knitting Daily made a great video illustrating this concept and I hope you’ll watch it, and learn the positive side of negative ease!

Category:

ease, fit, knitting, Uncategorized

Nice Tidy Edges – a Superhero Knitting Tip

One of the most common questions I’m asked is, “How do I make my edges look nicer?”  Many knitters have heard that they should slip the first or last stitch of each row, or that they should pull the first stitch tight, but none of those methods really does the job.  I have a better way and it’s really easy!

Knit or purl the first stitch of the row as usual, without worrying about tension.  Stick the needle into the next stitch, but before you wrap it, give the working yarn a hard sharp tug, then go ahead and wrap and complete the stitch as normal.

This is a variation on tightening the first stitch, but it works much better than just tugging that first stitch tight.  When you just tighten the first stitch, it will just loosen up again as you move the needle to stick it into the second stitch.  With the needle already in the second stitch, the first one will stay nice and tight.

Category:

knitting, tips

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Christmas in July – Stockings!

We had a lot of fun in this class!  The ladies learned to read color charts, and knit with two colors – one in each hand!  Look at the beautiful results!

Fair Isle Christmas Stocking

Category:

Christmas, class, Fair Isle, knitting, Stranded colorwork, student work

Get Gauge!

I’m slowly adding helpful pages of helpful superhero knitting tips.  The first one is on making a gauge swatch, which is the question I’m probably asked most often at the yarn store.

I know that gauge swatching isn’t as fun as just diving in and making something, but you know what’s even less fun?  Making a whole sweater and finding out that it is big enough to use as a circus tent – or small enough for a chihuahua.  Don’t let that happen to you!

Instead, make swatching fun!  Get a nice beverage and call it a “getting to know your yarn” session.  A first date, so to speak!  Get cozy with your yarn and start asking it what needles it prefers, or if it has ideas on the pattern you’re planning to knit.  Find out if your yarn and your hands get along.  THEN and ONLY THEN are you ready for the long-term commitment of a garment.

ps. Please Please PLEASE wash your swatch!  They can lie to you if they’re not washed.  They’ll sweet talk ya and whisper sweet nothings in your ear and promise that they have the right gauge, but a good swish in warm water is like truth serum for a gauge swatch, so always SWATCH & SWISH!

Category:

basics, knitting, swatch, tips

Lace Shrug Class

Here are some crappy cell phone photos from the design-your-own lace shrug class.  In this class, students had to choose a lace pattern, chart it for themselves, then knit a basic shrug beginning with a  provisional cast-on at center back.  They had a lot of fun!

She was afraid the pattern wouldn't look right when she did the second half, but her fears were unfounded! It's gorgeous!

Diana's shrug looks like autumn leaves. Can you see the lifeline over on the left?

Vivian is working away on her shrug, while wearing the shawl made for her by Kris (just visible at right).

I love how Judy's white lace looks against her black top.

Category:

class, knitting, lace, student work