I
truly believe that anyone can learn to knit – however, how pleased you
are with your knitted projects, and consequently how inspired you’ll be
to go on to bigger and better things, is very dependent on how your
early attempts turn out. There are two of three simple, but essential,
steps which will transform your final outcomes from the satisfactory to
the simply sensational.
Before you start: Needles and Tension.
Once
you have identified a knitting pattern you need to choose your needles
and believe me, choosing a needle you’re comfortable with makes a real
difference to the knitting experience. Needles come in a mind-blowing
choice of sizes and lengths and are made from a variety of materials.
Straight, metal needles, usually aluminium, have become the staple of
the knitting kit and are useful for knitting synthetic yarns because
they are smooth and allow your work to slide along easily. However, they
can become either “sticky” or feel cold to work with. The more modern
needles manufactured from plastic or acrylic are light and strong and
useful in larger sizes where the equivalent metal needle would be heavy
to use. Traditional wooden needles have recently returned to popularity
and are now made from a range of sustainable woods such as birch, and
most knitters, once they’ve made the change to wooden needles, are
resistant to using anything else. The heat of your hands warms the wood
and makes them very comfortable to work with adding to the whole tactile
experience of knitting. Wooden needles also tend to be smooth but not
too slippery so are appropriate to all levels of skill. They are
obviously more brittle than other types of needles so need to be looked
after but a “broken in” pair of wooden needles, where a natural patina
has developed through use, can’t be beaten. With experience and as a
project demands, knitters require circular or double-point needles to
“knit in the round” or for distributing the weight of a larger project
like a blanket or afghan, but investing in good quality wooden needles
is invaluable.
Whilst
every knitter just can’t wait to cast on a new project (which is
probably why knitters have so many WIPs: works-in-progress) I can’t
emphasis enough the importance of checking your tension. Whilst almost
all patterns give a standard idea of the number of rows/stitches across a
given distance, we all knit slightly differently and it is essential to
check your tension if you don’t want to finish up with a “sloppy Joe”
instead of a “skinny rib” jumper! Using your pattern or your yarn’s
“ball band” as a guide, make up a tension square measuring 15cm x 15cm
(6” x 6”). Top tip; garter stitch (knit every stitch) for the first
three rows and then on the first three stitches of every row to prevent
your square curling. If you are knitting something patterned, work your
tension square in the pattern to check the tension. (This also gives you
a good indication of whether you’re going to like the finished article
or not!) Cast off and gently smooth your swatch and pin to a padded
surface (ie. a folded towel) making sure you don’t over stretch your
square. Using a large headed pin as a marker, place it vertically
between two stitches then, using a ruler, measure 10cm (4”) along the
row and place another pin in the knitting. To check row tension, insert a
pin horizontally and then measure vertically 10cm (4”) up the work and
place another. Count the stitches and rows between the pins noting any
differences in the recommended tension. If your tension matches you can
start knitting! However, it you have more stitches/rows than stated,
your knitting is too tight and you need to use larger needles. If you
have less stitches, your tension is too loose and you should try smaller
needles. Either way, it is worth trying another tension square to get
it right. I used to think of tension checking as not only a waste of
time, but also of yarn. I now combat this by labelling (yarn/pattern and
needle details) my tension squares and they then serve as a useful
reference for future projects.
It doesn’t end at “Cast Off”
Once
you’ve got towards the end of your project it can be tempting to cast
off, pin the bits together, sew up and admire. However, it really is
worth taking a bit of time over the finishing process. Top tip for
casting off, if you find that your knitting style is quite “tight” you
may choose to change to larger sized needles for the cast off edge.
The
process of “blocking”, basically wetting or steaming the knitted
piece(s) to even out the stitches and allow the fibres to adjust and
relax into place, is well worth the extra effort. Whilst you won’t need
to block every piece of knitting, for most garments it can make a huge
difference. Essential for fine yarn knitting such as lace shawls,
blocking is also really beneficial to individual pieces to assist with
the sewing up process and helps give a professional finish. You need to
find a flat surface larger than the biggest knitted piece, for example a
spare corner of carpet or your dining table, alternatively, you can
make your own “blocking board” by wrapping a piece of hardboard with
foam, wadding or an unwanted towel and then covering this over with a
heavy cloth and securing in place with stapes or panel pins.
Most
natural fibres such as wool, cotton, linen, cashmere and alpaca can be
steam pressed or wet blocked, whilst mohair, wool blends and synthetic
yarns don’t usually respond well to steaming but can be wet blocked.
I’ve tried a variety of blocking methods, from steaming to fully
immersing pieces in water (heart-stoppingly scary!) before wringing out
and pinning to shape, but I much prefer the following more gentle
method. Lay your piece of knitting out on your blocking surface but
don’t pin yet, using a spray bottle, dampen the pieces, using a fine
mist but also ensuring the pieces are quite damp. Using long pins,
secure the pieces to the surface starting with the length, then the
width and lastly curves and corners. Use a tape measure and check
dimensions against pattern guidance regularly and don’t be stingy with
pins – every few inches will prevent the shapes distorting. Allow the
piece(s) to dry naturally. Cautionary note: avoid blocking any ribbed
areas unless you want the elasticity of the finished piece to be
diminished.
Bringing it all together: Sewing up
Sewing
up is probably viewed as the most disagreeable part of knitting. All
those boring ends to sew in and then making sure the right bits (and
rights sides) are together can be particularly tedious – but again,
taking that bit of extra time will pay dividends. There are two main
stitches used for sewing up; back stitch and mattress stitch. Back
stitch gives a good strong seam ideal for curved and horizontal seams
such as around armholes and along shoulders. Mattress stitch is a very
neat joining stitch for side seams and seams which don’t need too much
elasticity. If pieces are blocked correctly, pinning them together
should be a much easier job – use plenty of pins and ease in any
fullness as you go. On a conventional sweater or cardigan you will
usually sew one or both shoulder seams together, work the neckband, sew
the sleeves into place and then finish by sewing the side and sleeve
seams. Use the same yarn you used to knit the garment (this isn’t always
feasible with some novelty or specialised yarn in which case you need
to choose a suitable smooth yarn in a matching colour). Secure your yarn
by working a couple of back stitches close to the seam edge and
then work your way along the seam using your chosen stitch, pulling the
yarn firmly but avoiding puckering, and checking the correct side of
the garment as you go. Finally, press the sewn seams using one of the
following methods. Place a clean, damp tea towel over the seams (garment
should be inside out) and using a gentle heat, press the seams with
your iron, lifting the iron on and off the fabric rather than using a
sliding motion. Alternatively, spray the seam on the inside of the
garment and finger press to flatten and allow to dry naturally. Pressing
the sewn seams “sets” the seam stitches and helps prevent any yarn ends
from working free.
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