Tips 'n Tricks

Do 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!

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Name: Melanie
Subject: Yarn and needles
Comment: i'm only 10 and i started knitting last year at my school. my schools student store sells cinch sacks. so i bought two. 1 big 1 for all my spare yarn and a small 1 for all my needles.

Name: Anna
Subject: Storage and Such
Comment: If you buy some incense that smell good in the package, but not so great when you burn them, you can put them in your yarn storage bin to make it smell nice.. And if they came in the tube, you can use that for needles!

Name: Laina
Subject: arm warmers
Comment: I just made some arm warmers. the pattern is very easy, just co 30 stitches, rib 4 rows, stockinette 5 inches, and rib 4 more rows then sew up the side, leaving a hole for the thumb.

Name: Andy [Andrea] michaelson
Subject: stockinette stitch
Comment: I found out that when your doing stockinette stitch it always helps to know what side your on! so if your on the [bumpy] side you KNIT. ON the [smooth] side you purl

Name: abby
Subject: fingernail files
Comment: I keep a little book of files i got at target in my knitting bag for fingernails, rough needles, etc.

Name: Jill
Subject: Needle Case
Comment: A great way to make a simple needle case is to use a purchased place mat. Fold one end up longways and sew the edges together. Then stitch up the pocket in neat lines to make thin pockets for individual sets of needles. :)

Name: Marty from Munster IN
Subject: To go knit-crochet accessories
Comment: After having got stuck at some point in my needlework away from home because I didn't have the right stuff with me, I have made up 2 "to go" bags of supplies. I used old zip-up cosmetic cases, and put in a tape measure, small scissors, markers, a pencil or pen, needle point protectors etc. These can then be grabbed on the way out the door to put into whatever project I'm taking to work on. I try to take something with me whenever we go out -if DH is driving. It's amazing what you can get done just around town!

Name: Stephie
Subject: stuffing
Comment: Instead of buying more stuffing one day, i was short, i cut up a plastic bag and used that. It helps the enviroment and works great!

Name: Susan/Red Wing MN
Subject: Keeping track of where you are
Comment: I have read several tips that suggest writing each row of a pattern on an index card and then flipping the card as you knit to keep your place in the pattern. I have a similar idea, but instead of using index cards, I use a small spiral notebook. The process works the same, just turn a page as you finish a row, but you never risk getting things out of order as the spiral keeps all the pages together.

Name: AnnMarie
Subject: Marking pattern
Comment: I often keep post it notes with my patterns. They are self stick. I move the post to each row in the instructions that I am working on. I am able to write on the post it, thus, saving my book....no pencil marks...all notes are made on the post it. When I am done with the pattern...I can throw out the post it...and best of all my books are not marked.

Name: Joan B.
Subject: Remembering where you stopped
Comment: I tend to knit only while on vacations, which frequently leaves me go many months at a time before finishing a particular piece started on a previous trip. I make a small stiff note card of the over all instructions (dec. every other row each edge 10x. -- dec. every 4th row 5x,knit straight for 48 rows, etc.) poke a hole in it and tie it to the loose tail of yarn on the cast on row. As I knit I make tally marks of each step on the card. I also write the size and/or number of stiches originally cast on, the number of stiches on the needle when I stopped, and the size of needle used. It is amazing how quickly one forgets that they had to use a different size needle to get a specific gauge, or decided to knit an extra inch on the length for a tall person. Using my cards attached to the piece itself instead of making notes on the pattern page makes it easy to pick up where I left off, and not get confused if I have used a pattern more than once to make different sizes of the same pattern.

Name: mandie
Subject: stitch holder
Comment: i've found that a large safety pin works just as well for holding stitches and they're much less expensive! also, a scrap piece of yarn works in a pinch, though sometimes the tension needs to be adjusted a little afterwards... :D

Name: Princess G
Subject: Storage
Comment: Do you have millions of balls of yarn and heaps of needles and notions lying everywhere! then this might just be the tip for you!

you can buy one of those nifty scrapbooking totes.. you put everything in there and as a bonus you can wheel all your knitting accessoiries everywhere!

also if you have even more knitting that doesnt fit you can just buy a large clear storage container from your local craft store. they are great because you can fit even more stuff in them!

hope this helped all of you!

have a nice day!

xoxo Princess G

Name: K
Subject: having enough yarn
Comment: When you need to make multiples of something, use a kitchen scale to weigh out equal portions of yarn. And if you're worried about having enough, especially for things like sleeves or socks, work in such a way that you can adjust the length as you come to the end of the allotted yarn - start sleeves at the shoulder and socks at the toe. That way you don't end up with a sleeveless sweater with matching armwarmers or toeless socks with very generous cuffs.

Name: elise
Subject: finishing patterns
Comment: I'm the worst about not finishing my projects. they all get piled up in my room, and take up a lot of space. so my advice is to finish one project before starting another. especially newbies

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