Category: Tips & Tricks

Boss Knitting: The Gauge Swatch Never Lies

9/29/2020

I have a pet peeve. (Shocking, I know) It hurts my soul when I hear people say, “The swatch lied to me!”

I understand why knitters say this. I used to say, "the gauge lied to me again." I was terrible at gauge swatching. I would consistently end up with inaccurate swatches. This resulted in projects that were either too big or too small.

But, the fact is the swatches did not fail me; I failed the swatches. It wasn't all my fault, either. I just didn't know any better. No one had ever taught me how to knit a proper swatch.

This weeks We talk all about swatching, why to swatch and how to swatch.

When learning to knit we are told to "knit a gauge swatch" That's it. But, knitting a fabulous gauge swatch is more involved than just doing it. And when we seek help from other knitters we often get bad advice and incomplete information.

But, I have good news, we do not have to keep living this way. We can get better results from our swatches by following some easy steps. Yes, some of this is about paying attention to details. But, paying attention to details is the difference between handmade and homemade.

To find my top 10 tips for getting an accurate gauge swatch click below to keep reading

*Looking for yarn? Want to support small business, independent dyers, or spinners? Check out these sellers on Etsy!

Don't Fear the Provisional Cast-on

9/8/2020

So often I see it on the Intertubes

“I hate the provisional cast-on.”
“I just can’t wrap my head around it!”
“I avoid the Provisional Cast-on.”

These cast-ons have gotten a bad wrap as hard, fiddly, and worst NOT WORHT THE EFFORT.
Well, I am here to tell you, PROVISIONAL CAST-ONS ARE WORTH THE EFFORT! And I promise if you can cast on, you can do a provisional cast on, and they are totally WORTH THE EFFORT.

To create this hat brim featuring a horizontal cable, I casted on provisional stitches and knitted a strip of cable and with a garger border. When the strip was completed, I unravelled the provisional cast on, picked up the live stitches, and and grafted the two ends together. To start the body of the hat I picked up and knit around the edge of the brim. You can use this same technique to knit cowls, wrist warmers and other tubes flat.

Besides turning flat pieces into seamless tubes, with a provisional cast on you can:

Perfectly mirror ends of a scarf, shawl, or other pieces
Create beautiful, professional cuffs and sweater edges with a turned and hemmed edge
Knit a decorative border without picking up stitches

If you are thinking, "Okay, great, but I cannot do Provisional Cast-on. I have tried it," I promise you are incorrect. The truth is there is no one provisional cast-on. Provisional Cast-on is a type of cast on and there are several methods of accomplishing it.

As I discussed in my video g most Provisional Cast-ons take advantage of the “upside-down” stitches in knitting. These upside-down stitches are created whenever you cast on and knit. So, with some waste yarn, you can turn your favorite cast-on into a Provisional Cast-On.

Keep reading to learn how to do this, and see an exclusive video demonstrating this technique.

A book I LOVE is Cast On, Bind Off: 211 Ways to Begin and End Your Knitting by Cap Sease. This is one of my most beloved reference books. I constantly refer to it to refresh my memory on rarely used cast-ons and bind offs. Sometimes, I just open it up and start trying out cast-ons I never heard of before.

The illustrations and directions are very good. This book describes so many different Cast-on and Bind-offs you are sure to find new to your techniques. Some of which may become your new favorite.

*As a Knit Picks affiliate I earn on Qualifying purchases

CRAFTAGON: DPNS VS MAGIC LOOP VS TWO CIRUCLAR KNITTING NEEDLES

8/22/2020

This week I reviewed the Addi FlexiFlips. Knitting has been around for so long it is not often there is a real innovation. But, in 2017 Skacel, maker of the ever-popular Addi Turbos, introduced something new: the Addi FlexiFlips.

Check out the my needle review

FYI: One of my favorite circular needles is the Addi Rockets. They are hands down my fastest needles.* Check out my blog post which discuesses a speek test comparison I did.

Crafting in the Age of Coronavirus

3/23/2020

How are you? How is your social distancing going? (Please be social distancing)

It's hard to believe that it's only been four days since California went under a Stay at Home Order. Although, in truth, my family had started practicing social distancing two weeks ago, a few days before LAUSD closed down.

It's not easy. It definitely takes a mental toll. Simple things like going to the grocery store now take on much greater significance. I actually insisted that I was the one going to Costco because I needed to get out of the house and have some alone time.

I do believe it's important in times like this to find joy, and crafting has always brought me joy. Like a good crafter I have a stash. It should, hopefully, last through this period in time.

This week's video is about cleaning and sanitizing your knitting tools. I focused on knitting needles, but the information I share can be applied to any surface made of similar materials.

Cleaning my knitting needles has never been something I thought a whole lot about, but it's good to know how to properly clean and disinfect any surface.

The information I share is what I have learned on the internets. And below are links to helpful resources I found.

Hang in there. This will end.

REFERENCES:

CDC: Prevening Covid-19 Spreading to Others: (read further down for information on washing clothing)

The Atlantic: Now is the Time to Overreact:

BBC: Covid-19: How Long Does Coronavirus Live on Surfaces:

Business Insider: Another article on how long Coronavirus survives on surfaces and how to disinfect

Consumer Reports: Cleaning Products that Destroy Coronavirus:

WebMd: The Most Effective Ways to Kill Coronavirus at Home

California Childcare Health Program: Handout on Cleaning & Disinfecting:

Newsweek: Can I catch Coronavirus From My Phone, Clothes, or Other Surfaces?

Knitter's Pride: Care and Maintenance of Knitting Needles

Knit Tea is born

12/4/2019

Tonight finished editing my latest video and thumbnail. Gonna be honest. Kind of disappointed that my Monday tutorial on is languishing. Le Sigh. I've gotten nice feedback on my I knew going into this YouTube journey there were already a lot of videos out there and building an audience would take time.

Anyhoo, my next video is something different. I call it Knit Tea. I sit, knit, drink some tea and get chatty. I hope it's enjoyable and informative. It goes live Friday.

Happy Knitting!

Weaving in Ends with Duplicate Stitch

12/2/2019

Weaving in ends, is it my least favorite step in knitting?
Quite possibly.

Is it extremely important?
Most Definitely.

As I'll probably state a million times, I first learned to knit from reading books and I have to say most of them did a really poor job of explaining good techniques for weaving in ends. It was only a few years ago I learned about using duplicate stitch to weave ends and it makes so much sense.

Because the tail is following the stitch path of the work, and thus taking the shape of a stitch, it moves and stretch with the fabric avoiding any distortions. Plus the tail stays put. This is my go to method for weaving in ends

Below are directions for making a sample swatch with a contrasting color so you can practice recognizing the stitch path.

Duplicate Stitch Practice Swatch

Supplies: Circular or DPN
Worsed Weight Yarn: 2 colors
Tapestry Needle

Any yarn will do but I would recommend a smooth yarn that provides good stitch definition. I like worsted weight because the stitches are large enough to see, but you still have to do some work to identity the stitches.

Directions:- Cast On: With Color A 20 - 30 stitches.

-Knit Stockingette for 10 rows ending with a wrong side row.

-Cut yarn leaving a 4-6 inch tail.
(More tails to practice weaving in your ends the better)

-Join Color B being sure to the new yarn has a good 4-6 inch tail.
Do not use join methods like spit join, Russian Join, magic knot etc. that do not leave a tail to weave in

- Knit 1 row.

- Cut Color B leaving 4-6 inch tail

-Slide fabric down to other end of needle

-Join Color A the same as you did Color B

-Knit Stockingnette for 10 rows.

-Cast Off