Knitting Tips: What Are “Sock Blanks”?

Well, I never! Ya learn something new every day. Today over at Ravelry (I’m katknit there, too) I read a post about sock blanks. Followed the link, but still couldn’t figure out exactly what they are. Apparently they’re about to become very hot in the wide world of knitting. Sock blanks are white knitted cloth that you buy, dye, then use to knit socks. It’s an ingenious way to design your own color and stripe pattern. What’ll they think of next?

http://knitpicks.com/images/PDF/sockblankdyeing.pdf

Knitting Tips: Fix a Too-Long Sleeve without Frogging

There are few things more aggravating than finishing a sweater and discovering the sleeves are an inch, or 2, or 3, too long. All that knitting, all that seaming. Though still not fun, I recently figured out how to shorten the sleeves without taking everything apart.

Snip a stitch or two at the cuff. Good project for when you’re watching TV. Unravel back to the length you need. Then, using some of that raveled yarn, take a crochet hook of the appropriate size and crochet a new border around the sleeve bottom. I use single crochet, but you can do picots or whatever you please. No, the cuff isn’t ribbed, but it’s still pretty and now you can wear a sweater that fits properly. Ta daaa!

Knitting/Crochet Tips: Joining 2 Loose Ends

The Weaver’s Knot
There are many ways in which to join yarn ends, one of the best being the weaver’s knot. The ends can be woven in, or snipped very closely, and rolled together to from a nearly invisible, strong join. This is also a good way to tie the drive band on a spinning wheel.

Make your first loop, with the end under and behind the thread. Hold it between your index and thumb.
Put your new thread under and up through the center of the loop made.
Put that thread behind the end piece of the looped thread.
Drop the thread down into the center of your index and thumb, making sure the thread is in front of this thread.
Drop it down in the loop top of thread, and under again.
Grasp the tail end and the ball thread with your left hand. And the tail and the other thread with your right and pull them together.

How to undo any weaver’s knot and know if you’ve tied it correctly

The key to knowing you’ve tied the weaver’s knot correctly is to be able to release or undo it. To undo it, you want to straighten out the thread that makes the “U”in the completed knot. No matter which way you tie it, there is one thread in a U-shape and the other thread winding itself around the first. Pull on both ends of that “U” thread-in opposite directions-to unbend it and straighten it out. The squiggly portion can be slipped right off, and even the squiggles relax so you have two fresh threads when you’re through.

Information from http://groups.msn.com/NeedleTattingTwo/weaversknot.msnw

which also shows additional step by step diagrams.

Crochet Tips: Make your hook more comfortable

I used to buy those elongated vinyl tubes to slip over the shaft of my crochet hooks to make them more ergonomic, but those little devils are expensive. Then I remembered the little soft “grips” my kids used to use to hold their pencils. They cost only about $1.50 apiece, are widely available in art stores or stationery aisles in discount stores and pharmacies, and now I can have a big supply. (I was always mislaying the tubes or leaving them with some unfinished project). I’ve posted a picture of one style, but there are others to choose from.

Felting - ooops!!

mittens

Originally uploaded by katknit.

Felting (fulling) is an inexact art, unless you use the same yarn every time and really get to know how it will respond with respect to shrinkage. Here’s a way to restore size when a bit too much felting (oops) has occurred. It may also help if your piece has become creased.

Dissolve about 3 ounces of Epsom Salts in boiling water and let cool. Submerge item and soak for about a half hour. Squeeze excess water and stretch into correct shape on a flat surface.
When almost dry, press under a dry cloth with an iron on low to medium heat. Steam may help.

Before and after felting -when size does matter

I’ve been doing different kinds of felting for several years now, and people sometimes ask how I know how big to knit something when I want it to be a specific size after it’s felted. The simple answer: it depends. You have to know your wool. Some yarns, like Paton’s merino, shrinks for me by about 1/3, so I always knit things made with that yarn about 1/3 larger. Other yarns, like those specially designed for felting, I’ve found shrink far more, at least by half and sometimes more. The only way to relative certainty is to knit a swatch, measure it, felt it, then measure it again and calculate the difference. I know this is heresy in the eyes of some felters, but I’ve been known to spin wet knits in the dryer set on medium, let it tumble for about 2 minutes, take it out and check the size, and repeat as necessary. Works for me.

This bag was knitted with Lion Brand Monet yarn, which unfortunately has been discontinued.