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!

Monday, February 14, 2011Name: mb

Subject: Easy tip for holding the knitting from falling off.

Comment: I use the finger right next to my thumb to hold the knitting.I started just a few days ago, but I knitted on my SUMMER HOLIDAYS! Weird right? Hope you use my tip.

Thursday, February 10, 2011Name: martha

Subject: knitting

Comment: we all have used the wrong yarn after we have cast on our stitches, and there is a long tail, so prevent from using the wrong one, use a bread wrap and wrap the yarn around the yarn end you do not want to use, also this is great for small amount of yarn on this, used as a yarn bobbin when changing colors to knit designs in your work

Thursday, February 10, 2011Name: mmacknits

Subject: knitting

Comment: i always use a big zip lock bag for my small knitting projects and print the directions out, to have with the project, so if i should leave that project for awhile and get back to it later, it will all be there.

Tuesday, February 08, 2011Name: VanessaFas

Subject: cable needles

Comment: I've lost all mine in the past few years, and have come to use whatever is handy, and free:
bendy drinking straws
pens or pencils
hair barrettes
unfolded large paper clip
You don't need to buy anything fancy, as long as it works. Be creative.

Monday, February 07, 2011Name: Linda

Subject: button holes

Comment: When knitting a cardigan for a baby that has not arrived yet and you dont know if its a boy or girl put button holes on both bands then when baby has arrived you can sew the button over the button hole you dont need.

Friday, January 28, 2011Name: Nancy

Subject: Cable holders

Comment: I use large safety pins. If they are going to be in place for any length of time it's easy to close them and keep things tidy!

Thursday, January 27, 2011Name: jen

Subject: substitute cable needle

Comment: I am a poor college student, or was a few months ago. I don't have a lot of money for crafts and spend most of the available on yarn. But, I love cables. So, what to do? Use a toothpick. It is big enough to hold the stitches, cheap and sometimes free, and easily replaced if lost. Necessity really is the mother of invention.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011Name: Vera

Subject: keeping pattern handy

Comment: I always scan or print my patterns and use a clip board to hold the pages. I can easily make notes, mark rows or make changes. When doing socks I make a note of how many stitches i pick up on first sock so i make the second the same,

Sunday, January 23, 2011Name: Donna Ridenhour-McHenry

Subject: Circular CIRCULAR Knitting Needle Storage

Comment: Materials:
Trapper keeper (3-ring binder)
Zip (see-thru) bags to size
Permanent felt marker
Hole punch
Needle sizer & measure
~~~~~
** Size your needle and measure length one at a time, ONE PER BAG then mark the bag with info, hole punch twice to fit top (or bottom) and middle rings; Place in bag - carry bag with you when needle is in use so you don't have to remeasure when done.

** Place in keeper by smallest to largest or vise versa.

** Label trapper keeper (3-ring binder) as to contents. Decorate the outside of the trapper keeper - draw a circular knitting needle? LOL!!

Monday, January 17, 2011Name: Pj

Subject: Easy Cast-on

Comment: For an easy beginner cast-on, wrap the working yarn around your index finger, and slip the needle into the loop. Then just pull. Also, for an easy slip knot, do a crochet slip knot. You can't knit from it, but an extra cast-on stitch fixes the problem!

Monday, January 17, 2011Name: PJ

Subject: Patterns

Comment: Being 13, I have to get all my patterns online. So, I need to keep all of them organized without printing them out. If you have an iphone/ipod, it is very easy to organize your patterns. First download ibooks and KnitMinder. You can then copy and paste your favorite patterns into word, save them as PDFs, and upload them right onto your iphone! They barely take up any space. Then, you can put the patterns for your current projects onto KnitMinder. This is how I keep track of my patterns.

Monday, January 17, 2011Name: Matthew

Subject: cable needle

Comment: I am a 12-year-old boy and i always knit and crochet and i was making scarves when i first started and i was making very intricate scarves with cables in them. well i am just a KID, so i loose things. and i lost all my cable needles in a month. so i just used some chop sticks we had and i cut it down to size and then i put both ends in an electric pencil sharpener and then i take a small piece of sand paper and smooth the ends.

Monday, January 17, 2011Name: Clarity

Subject: Using diff yarn thickness to pattern

Comment: To use a finer yarn than your pattern says, add 4 stitches for each half millimeter smaller your needles are. So a pattern intended for worsted weight where you'd cast on 30, you would cast on 38 for dk. If you're using a thicker yarn, subtract 8 there to make a bulky item with 22 stitches. For scarves and the like, I add or subtract 5 each time as it's easier to count. So my dk scarf has 40 stitches, which drops to 35 and then 30 with thicker yarn.

Saturday, January 15, 2011Name: Lily

Subject: Needle tips

Comment: To prevent my work from falling off, I use wine bottle corks. Half a cork for each needle.

Saturday, January 15, 2011Name: Gail

Subject: scrap yarn

Comment: I Loved knotty knitters use for scrap yarn....ty...here's mine..I save up a baggy full and in the spring I throw it out in the yard and the birds pick it up for their nest building...I;ve seen my yarn in the nest they built on my deck and it was colorful.

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