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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: Jessica Subject: acrylic Comment: NEVER, EVER make clothing (scarves included) out of acrylic yarn. It will itch like crazy. Name: Fred Subject: Point protectors Comment: I recently knit an afghan with a circular needle. About halfway through, I found that store-bought point protectors either wouldn't stay on the needle ends when the weight of the project pulled against them, or were not quite big enough to prevent the stitches from slipping over them. I found a solution in those pet toys that look like miniature tennis balls (and I'd bet regular tennis balls would work well too). Use an awl or ice pick to make a hole in the ball just a little smaller than the diameter of your needle. Poke the needle into the hole when you need to put your knitting down. The ball will stay on the end of the needle, even when the weight of a heavy project pulls against it, yet it's easy to put on and remove. The balls won't scratch the finish on your needles, and they're too big for stitches to slip over them. Name: Babs Subject: Joining in the round Comment: You can make a nice join when knitting in the round with circulars by switching the two end stitches onto the opposite needles after casting on. More specifically, take the first and last stitches and move them to the opposite needle (crossing them over each other in the process). Then knit regularly. This helps to avoid that "hump" that always seems to occur on the edge when knitting in the round. Name: Babs Subject: knitting that second sock Comment: If you aren't sure that you have enough yarn left in your skein to make that second sock, here's how to find out. First weigh the sock. (I use a small postal scale, but a kitchen scale will work.) Then weigh your leftover yarn. If the weight of your leftover yarn is equal to or greater than the weight of your sock, you have enough. Name: Pat Subject: Patterns Comment: I put the pattern I'm using into a sheet protector. It stays clean and doesn't get crumpled when you slip it into your knitting bag. Name: yinn2yang Subject: hi, i'm new to knitting and my best friend me to use simple rubber washers Comment: hi, i'm new to knitting and my best friend me to use simple rubber washers from the hardware store as stitch markers. their cheap, come in a wide range of sizes and have no sharp edges. Also try tieing a small piece of yarn to each one that way when you drop one it's much easier to find them in your carpet Name: Dorris Watersmith Subject: concentration Comment: when knitting it is important to go into a quiet room, this is for beginners (more confident knitters can challenge themselves to go knit in a noisy room i've tried it, it works! Name: Maria Subject: needles Comment: To prevent your work slipping off the ends of your needles (especially DPNs), use old wine corks to stick on the end of each needle. I have a mushroom-shaped champagne cork for my regular needles, and now I just need to collect about ten wine corks for my DPNs. This tip might already be on here, but I just learned it the other day from somewhere else. Name: Nancy Swartz Subject: scrap yarn Afghan Comment: I save my leftover yarns, and then combine them to knit a super thick rectangle on size 35 or 50 needles. I used to just let them mix colors and tones randomly. Now, I try to keep similar tones or colors together. Like browns with yellow, orange, or reds. Black or dark browns with blues & grays. Greens with yellows. Whites with pastels. Put together 8-12 skeins of scrap yarn-knots where one starts and another stops are fine. Depending on the total thickness of 8-12 skeins together (like one super, super bulky yarn), use size 35 or 50 needles. Cast on 36 stitches and knit 35-40 rows- just remember what your standard is for the next rectangle you knit. All garter stitch- stockinette droops too much. Bind off- I tried making the rectangles longer to cut down on finishing, but it will sag horribly. After you have made as many rectangles as you think you want in an afghan, get all your rectangles together and lay them out in whatever order you think looks most attractive. Sew the rectangles together- also, use the tails from the cast ons and bind offs to tie them together at the corners for additional support. This is a very heavy and warm afghan. I made one for my grandmother (who did not have central heat) about 25 yrs ago, and she said it was very heavy, but it kept her very warm. I made a very large one for my sister, and it weighed 15 pounds. This also uses up yarn you find on sale, garage sales, etc. If you have someone who wants just red and black, you can make one to order. Enjoy. Name: Deborah Gray Subject: Charts & Graphs Comment: When working from a graph get it photocopied so that you can colour the rows in as you work each one. Saves counting from the bottom every time you start again. Name: Kathy Subject: Keeping track of pattern Comment: When you are knitting a pattern from a chart, get a sticky post-it note and place it on the chart so that the row you are working on shows. Keep moving the sticky note every row, so you always know where you're at. Name: gail Subject: remembering which needle Comment: when you are working a pattern that requires you to keep track of one needle over the other (when one side is always the "increase", or "pattern" side, for example), rather than marking one of the needles, use two different needles of the same size. I might use two wooden needles that are different shapes. I have also often used one wood and one metal needle and found it works beautifully. This way I am sure to remember which side I am working on and rarely have to go back and undo my work! Name: elise Subject: needles Comment: any experienced knitter should know that knitting with metal needles is actually dangerous and can lead to arthritis i knit on bamboo circular even when i don't want to knit in the round and what a difference, no more aching shoulders or searching for the other needle it is also less dangerous to leave lying around Name: elise Subject: knitting Comment: my hands get sweaty and my knitting gets tight so now i add talk to my hands and it stops the problem and leaves the finished product smelling lovely Name: katy Subject: stand Comment: i put my knitting patterns on a music stand, that way they last longer and it is a lot easier to see them, you dont have to keep looking down at the pattern and it doesn't keep falling on the floor lol 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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