The Sewing Place
The Emporia => A Good Yarn => Topic started by: Lowena on November 28, 2017, 15:08:26 PM
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Well, over almost before it started.... the sorry tale :'(
I knitted a bunny and a teddy ... knitting was fine but couldn't stuff evenly or sew the bits together properly ( joining to the body was the problem ).
Second idea... try some more toys or try an easy jumper for myself.
Found a really good sounding local shop ( on the industrial estate so my hopes sank a bit ) and ventured there this afternoon.....
tale of woe: overwhelmed by all the different yarns, needles, accessories so I sat on a sofa with a table full of patterns in front of me.......not one pattern was easy enough for me to even attempt. :'(
I can knit, increase,decrease, knit 2 together, pass slip stitch over, but I cannot, use a stitch holder ( what's that??? ) pick up cast off stitches to make neck bands ( ???? ) rejoin yarn previously cut off ( join to what??? how??? ) or a million and one other things it assumes you can do to make the simplest jumper. Toys were not much better... so complicated.
So, I came home empty handed ( despite my flexible friend burning a hole in my purse ) and decided that knitting now joins crochet,stained glass and jewellery making as crafts which are beyond me :'(
Thanks for all your helpful suggestions, you didn't reckon with me being such a Grade One Numpty....I'll slink back to The Dark Side and lick my wounds :ninja:
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Can't use a stitch holder? Did you try?
A stitch holder is just a piece of plastic usually, or a stick, and all you do is slip the stitches onto it and that's it. I'm sure you can do it. If you can knit, you can use a stitch holder. If you can put hula hoop crisps on the ends of your fingers, you can use a stitch holder.
Picking up stitches isn't hard either. It takes practice to space it out better but you can do it as a beginner easily. Did you try?
The wonderful thing about knitting is that if it goes wrong, you just unravel and start again.
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A stitch holder is like a giant safety pin. I'm sure you'd manage. :) As for picking up stitches, there's bound to be a YouTube video. IMHO, a jumper would be simpler than toys.
There are plenty of us here who would be happy to help you if you came unstuck. Had you found a pattern you liked?
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Lowena, don't be sad. I think knitting is one of those things like Marmite which you either take to or don't. It was the one thing I could never get on with. I could sew, crochet and even do some upholstery, but knitting was anathema to me. For a start I couldn't stand the clicking of the needles against each other.
My solution (not necessarily yours though) was to get a knitting machine. I took to that like a duck to water and even became a store demonstrator for the company - teaching customers as part of my job. If it's any consolation, I found that experienced hand knitters, on the whole, were the people who took the most teaching to use the machine - it's a whole different array of techniques and they were reluctant to switch from one to the other.
Cheer up and plunge into something you know you're good at!
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I learnt to knit after a fashion years' ago but when I tried to take it up again, found that I had lost the knack completely despite having some refresher lessons.
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Lowena, why not try this http://www.belindaharrisreid.co.uk/diamond_baby.html so lovely as a wrap in the evening.
You CAN do it :) everybody here is rooting for you and we will all help you :)
Find a very easy scarf pattern and some super, luxury wool and you will feel so proud and happy when you have made something gorgeous for yourself :)
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Thank you all. Fran, I don't haven't tried a stitch holder because I don't / didn't know what one is ( thank you for the explanation Pearl )
I'm useless with YouTube / Craftsy as I am not a visual learner. It all just wafts past me :| I need clear, concise, step by step instructions. I always read instruction books for everything and can never deviate from a recipe.
I have a need for a long jumper, which is where I got the idea, and I would love to make toys ( I know not why )
Perhaps a scarf is the way to go even if I feel like a 5yr old :| Do I need a pattern? ;)
No, Pearl, I couldn't find a pattern without a very complicated neck band :(
A knitting machine sounds both big and scary Greybird ;)
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What size bust are you? I can write up instructions for the jumper I posted in your other thread. I promise it's easy!
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RTW size 16 - 41" according to both ASOS and my tape measure ( but I like a bit baggier to accomodate a t shirt) :).
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OK I have that pattern I can scan it tomorrow at work and send it to you so you can get started, then I'll pop the book in the post when I have time (it's hard to get to the postie and I'm away this weekend).
But if you'd like to knit it, I am happy to help you along with it and I'm su re others will. There are a few stitches that might be new to you (knit front to back for example) but none are difficult and honestly, the best way I find with knitting to learn is to try because it always sounds more complicated than just sticking the needle in and doing it.
And if it all goes wrong, send me the yarn and I'll knit it for you on my commute ;)
Edit: If you want to get shopping, the jumper requires 865m of aran weight wool, with a tension of 14 stitches and 20 rows to 4".
You'll also need 5.5mm circulars, 4.5mm circulars, some stitch markers and possibly a stitch holder through scrap wool works too.
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Thanks so much Fran.....even if the last bit sounds like a foreign language :D ( stitch marker, front to back :o )
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Stitch markers are little dangly decorations that go on the needle to help you keep count easier.
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Well, over almost before it started.... the sorry tale :'(
Oh, do give it another go! We're here to help if there is anything you don't understand.
Remember when you started a different hobby and you didn't understand everything at first and now it all comes as second nature - well knitting will be like that. I'm surprised the shop didn't give you more help. There are videos and tutorials online. I used the Golden Hands Part Work to learn, but I'm sure someone can suggest some good books.
Here's a link (http://www.learn2knit.co.uk/howtoknit.php)I hope helps.
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Aren't people here lovely and supportive. :toast: :loveit:
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Think of it this way - there is actually only one knitting stitch same as you get if you make a chain with a piece of yarn and your finger. (purl is just plain done from the back)
All knitting, even complicated looking arans and lace, is just doing things with that one stitch.
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All knitting, even complicated looking arans and lace, is just doing things with that one stitch.
Yerp, one stitch at a time. Even if it takes you ten minutes to figure out that one stitch, it's progress.
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I have an earlier edition of Montse Stanley's Knitters' Handbook. It has been revised and updated in several editions
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Knitters-Handbook-Comprehensive-Principles-Handknitting/dp/0715312863/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511982665&sr=8-1&keywords=montse+stanley
It explains all the weird stuff you don't understand, in words and diagrams you can.
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Think of it this way - there is actually only one knitting stitch same as you get if you make a chain with a piece of yarn and your finger. (purl is just plain done from the back)
All knitting, even complicated looking arans and lace, is just doing things with that one stitch.
Exactly
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Thanks DOB
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My favourite beginners scarf is extra long, and then turned up at either end to make dangling pockets :) Great for those of us who can't be bothered to knit gloves. Keep going Lowena, if you want to, you CAN do it.
Best wishes
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Stitch markers - I have kept the little coloured rings from my electric toothbrush. I intend to mark the beginning of the round next time I do a sock - If I put it after the first stitch, it shouldn't fall off - is that what one is supposed to do?
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I intend to mark the beginning of the round next time I do a sock - If I put it after the first stitch, it shouldn't fall off - is that what one is supposed to do?
Yeeess... But you'll have to move it each round or it will get knitted in.
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When you reach it on each round just slip it on to the right hand needle before knitting the first stitch of the next round.
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I wasn't going to knit it in, but I could imagine it dropping off as I turned the needles. Wouldn't second in stop that?
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When I knit socks, I move the knitting around the needles as I go - um, how to explain?
Suppose I've got 60 sts on 4 needles - well I'd knit 15 - the allotted number - and then 1 more, and I'd do that every time I got to the end of a needle. So the sock would gradually shift round on the needles. Does that make sense? It stops lines of baggy stitches forming like ladders along the length of the sock, because the ends of the rows move along. SO the marker is never left at the end )I'd knit 2 when it got back to the end, to shift it onto the next needle quickly)
Can anyone explain that better?
Please?
:)
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That sounds a great explanation and very clear. It's a good idea too. :)
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Today I got a thank you note, well, an email:
"Thanks for the hat o really love it and it goes great with my coat also it really keeps my head warm thx."
As his mother says, this is how the youngest generation write emails - in textspeak. I'm just glad he likes it.