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!

Sunday, July 22, 2007Name: pommy

Subject: yarn dying

Comment: This morning, I tried to use the water color that we use in painting. I soak the yarn in the bowl and pull the water in the bowl. Stir it. I use white left over yarn to dye. It is cheaper. When I squeeze the water out from dyed yarn and I hanged them on aluminum cloth-liner. Today, It is sunny. When they dry, I tied them together and roll them on the bobbin. I used the paper in the tissue paper. They are different from the expensive yarns in the craft store a little bit. Because I dye it by myself. Any one can use my technique. It is money-saving too.

Saturday, July 21, 2007Name: silvia de castillo

Subject: knitting needles

Comment: Two for one. When buying incense sticks, look for the very long ones. The boxes or cans make excellent containers for your knitting needles.

Saturday, July 21, 2007Name: Teri

Subject: Following Your Pattern

Comment: My knitting teacher taught me to keep track of my knitting project by making an index card for each row of a pattern and as you complete each line of a pattern you turn the card over. That way you always know which row of the project you are on. Example: Row 1 (RS): K2, * yo, k5, k3 tog, k5, yo, k1, rep from * to last st, end k1. Row 2: K1, p to last st, end k1. Rows 3 and 4: Knit. Rep these 4 rows for Pat St. For each Row, you have an index card with this specific info on it. That's how I kept track of my first scarf when I started knitting 20 years ago and you know, it worked. If you don't have index cards on hand, use anything you can put in a pile and turn over as you finish a row. Good luck!

Wednesday, July 18, 2007Name: leia

Subject: casting off

Comment: when your casting off to make it easier you can use a crochet hook

Sunday, July 15, 2007Name: EP

Subject: Keeping scarves from curling

Comment: Work a border of 3-5 garter stitch stitches around your pattern, sl 1 purlwise, knit one more on the reverse side. the edges will not curl

Saturday, July 14, 2007Name: heather

Subject: keeping your yarn from the kids

Comment: My son, 8, loves to help me knit, and his favorite is to unwind the skein so I will make him something. My daughter, 6, just steals the yarn, and hordes it until she had enough to demand a blanket. To keep yarn untangled, and unstolen, teach your kids to knit and crochet. If they can learn to read, they can learn to knit. Teaching them allows you to spend quality time together, and it makes it less likely they'll want your yarn, because they have theirs. I don't have to tell you you will cherish their first scarf.

Saturday, July 14, 2007Name: heather

Subject: keeping things neat

Comment: To keep all the little things a knitter needs in the knitting bag from getting lost, get an inexpensive resealable box, like the ones used to store leftovers. Put your measuring tape, cable needles, stitch markers, bandaides, scissors, counters, and a small bottle of lotion inside, along with dpns. Then, get a Bailey's canister, and put all of your knitting needles inside.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007Name: Sultan

Subject: Keeping track of complicated patterns

Comment: I've found that the only way to keep track of complicated patterns is to use a small piece of a sticky post-it note with a large arrow on which I move along the pattern as I'm knitting.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007Name: Emily

Subject: keeping patterns neet

Comment: Print out or photocopy patterns and place them in plastic sheet protectors (the kind that fit in 3 ring binders). You can then write on the sheet protector with a dry erase marker as you work on a project and just erase when you are done. This is a convenient way to keep track of your progress on a project, and it keeps your knitting books looking good as new.

Monday, July 09, 2007Name: Tera

Subject: Learning Pattern

Comment: I have found it is better to write down (or typed into a computer) the pattern before I start my project. I even break down complex patterns rows in to three or four lines. Yes, this takes time, but save so much time when working with the yarn.

Sunday, July 08, 2007Name: Sue

Subject: Keeping track of where you are.

Comment: To follow a more complicated pattern, get a stack of 3 x 5 cards and write ONE row of the pattern on each card. As you finish each row, put a mark on that card and turn to the next card. Your "mark" can be numbers (1..2..3..etc) so you know how many patterns you have knitted, or any symbol you choose. I sometimes keep the cards in order by punching a small hole and tying yarn through them.

Thursday, July 05, 2007Name: Becky/Gresham, OR

Subject: Storing markers/counters

Comment: Hi - just found this site & haven't read all the pages of great tips yet. I store my stitch markers, row counters, large-eyed sewing needle, thimble in one of the little Tupperware "midget" containers. The lids seal real tight & I use the sewing needle to find & bring up the right size marker very easily as they all sift to the bottom. It's amazing how many items one little midget will hold.

Thursday, July 05, 2007Name: Frances

Subject: Scarves

Comment: Hi
I have found that knitting 4 rows of ribbon or ostrich wool and then 2 of a plain wool stops the scarf from rolling into itself.
They also look very nice, take less of the expensive wool. I also like to cast on/off with the plain wool.
I love this site.
Thank you so much for it.
Frances

Sunday, June 24, 2007Name: caitlyn

Subject: needle holding

Comment: i hold my right needle in my underarm when i'm sitting down

Sunday, June 17, 2007Name: "Sarah"

Subject: Ribbon Yarn

Comment: Too often people buy ribbon yarn because it looks cool, only to, alas, realize that all the character of the yarn is lost after knitting. Luckily, there is a solution: If you knit with ribbon yarn in the "drop" stitch pattern, the yarn is exposed and you can see its ribbon-like quality :)

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