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| Featured Pattern of the Week: Luscious Little Pumpkin |
        Interested in crochet? Visit our sister site: Crochet Pattern Central  | Tips 'n TricksDo you have a helpful hint or handy trick that will make any aspect of knitting easier? Share it! Post ideas on scrap yarn usages, stitch markers, color changing, maintaining your sanity while following a difficult pattern, etc. There is most probably someone out there that will benefit from your help. Need ideas yourself? Read others' comments--we all live and learn! Name: Joseph Eisner Subject: Counting Rows Comment: I find that if a stitch marker is placed on the needle which is cast on to, counting rows is much easier. If your work is on the needle with the stitch marker, it is an even row, if not, it is an odd row. Have fun out there. Name: Sue Subject: Beg, and End of Knitting Comment: If you always slip the first stitch on every row of knitting and always knit the last your knitting will be easier to sew up and be neater. This tip was given me by an elderly relative that was a Tailoress in her youth and she never ever had nothing in her hands. I always remember her knitting somethin or other. Name: linda Subject: stretched stitches Comment: never put down your knitting in the middle of a row, as this causes a stretched stitch and makes it looks uneven on a finished project Name: Kathy Subject: Knotty Yarn Comment: if your like me (which you probably are:P) and you hate sitting there for hours on end untangling the yarn from your most recent project, before you start your project put your yarn in an empty coffee ground can (a bigger one gives you more space for the bigger balls of yarn) and cut a slice in the lid for the yarn to come out the top. plus when your not working you can just slide your needles into the slice in the top also helping you keep track of your projects if you have trouble with that. Name: BR Subject: tails of yarn Comment: Use the small plastic tabs at the ends of loaf bread to wind tails on while knitting the product. Name: Maddie Subject: Yarn Comment: Here are a few tips! 1) If you are a new knitter (or an experienced knitter1) I found that you can go to Goodwill and buy a large bag of yarn for very cheap! It's nice if you're new to knitting because you can mess up as many times as you want and not feel bad about wasting expensive yarn! 2) If you are part of a knitting club or have a circle of friends who knit, have a get together and bring all your extra yarn bits. If you have done many projects and have lots of extra this is great because you can trade with friends and get new yarn exchange... Then if you knit them all into one scarf the outcome is reallllllly cool! Name: Winifred Kennedy Subject: row counter Comment: I usually use a pencil and paper to mark my rows and that way you always know where you are if you have to stop in the middle of knitting, but it isn't always easy to use paper and pen say when travelling so I use one of the row counters you put on the end of your knitting needles and use an old necklace chain and hang it round my neck that way it is always with you and you cant lose it. Name: Jacqueline Subject: Storing needles Comment: I was at a loss about where to store my needles. I didn't want them in with my stash, because they would get tangled with the yarn. I came up with the idea to store my needles in a flower vase. It is very effective, and looks very interesting! :) Name: Vanya Subject: Swapping between purl and knit stitches... Comment: When a pattern calls for u to knit and purl stitches within the same row, u have to move your yarn to the front or back of your work before switching between knitting and purling, depending on what stitch u r swapping to. So if u are knitting a knit stitch, and your next stitch is a purl, bring the yarn forward (from the back of your work), between the two needles to the front of your work BEFORE purling the next stitch. Likewise, if u are purling and the next stitch is a knit stitch, bring the yarn from the front of the work, thru the 2 needles and to the back of the work before knitting the knit stitch. (note, this is similar, but not the same as the "yfwd" and "ybck" instructions). Therefore, before knitting a knit stitch, ensure your yarn is at the back of your work - conversely, before a purl stitch, ensure that your yarn is at the front of your work. This may be an obvious knitting truth, but i was unaware of it until recently, and now the possibilities of patterns seem endless to me! Name: Magii Subject: Strengthening Bags Comment: I recently found that by combining my second favorite hobby (fishing) with my first(knit/crochet), the bags I make won't stretch all crazy and bug me anymore. Along with my favorite yarn, I just use a strand of nice cheap lightweight fishing line from walmart. It makes it much sturdier, without needing to add a cloth liner or felting. Hope you find it helpful Name: conny van Subject: knitting Comment: When you start a sweater for cuffs I knit 1 purl and 1 knit but instead of knitting the knit stitch in the front I knit in the back of the stitch this way it looks nicer. Name: Emma Subject: Wrong Way Knitting = Less Yarn Comment: I recently found out that I learned to knit the wrong way, but I end up using less yarn in my projects, and the stitches still look exactly the same. All I do is wrap my yarn around the needle counterclockwise instead of clockwise. Name: Alison Subject: Cable Comment: I was recently on the go and misplaced my cable needle midproject. Since I wanted to be able to continue, I found that a bent paperclip works well in this type of situation since they are cheap and easy to bend to whatever shape needed. Name: Cindy Subject: Knitting needle storage Comment: I buy needles wherever I see them (garbage sales, Salvation Army, anywhere cheap!), so I have tons of them, but could never find the second needle in all the mess. I was keeping them in a cake pan, but now have them in three tall vases so I can see the size of everything at a glance. I have the 10" ones in a smaller vase, and the longer ones in two vases, with the largest ones in a vase by themselves. Name: Cat Subject: stitch counter Comment: i mainly use circulars, which makes using stitch counters difficult. i make my own stitch markers with beads and wire, so i took one of the cheap stitch counters that slide on straight needles and turned it into a marker. that way it can double as and eor marker different from my others. Select a Page << Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 Next >> Share your own hints by filling in the form below... |
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