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So what are these nice acrylics I keep hearing referred to? I've been through most of the major craft store brands (Lion/Bernat/Patons/etc) and I can't say I've found one I really like. Caron Simply Soft is probably the best so far; it's pretty nice once it's knitted up, but I find it's got a really weird hand, and it squeaks. On the other end of the scale you've got stuff like Calmer and Skacel, but if I'm going to spend that kind of money I figure I might as well start looking at alpaca, or silk or cashmere blends. Yet my boyfriend has a pretty violent wool allergy, so I keep looking. I mean, I've encountered plenty of storebought acrylic/rayon/viscose garments that are just as soft and warm as you could hope for, so it's obviously possible. Do yarn manufacturers just not bother, or is there some particular brand I haven't stumbled across yet? I don't mind spending money on quality yarn, but at the same time, it's kind of hard to justify $18/ball for Skacel when I can get perfectly good alpaca for $10.
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Jan 22, 2008 07:12
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My favorite acrylic is Plymouth Encore, it only costs a little more per skein than the higher-priced craft store brands. It comes in a nice range of solid and variegated colors, holds up well, and (most importantly) is soft on my hands. I've used it for scarves, hats, and a baby blanket. I'm also becoming a fan of Berroco Comfort. That's an acrylic/nylon blend that starts soft and feels even nicer after washing. It's about $5.50 for over 200 yards. I'm working on a baby blanket with the stuff, I'll try to post a photo of one of my blocks tomorrow.
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Jan 22, 2008 08:28
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Plymouth Encore is an acrylic-wool blend though. I myself tend to shy away from acrylics except for non-wearable things. I just prefer fibers that breath better (also, how cool is it that when wool gets wet, it actually releases heat as it cools?). Not that I look down on acrylic users, just personal preference. Now mohair, that's one thing I can't wear. Too itchy for me.
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Jan 22, 2008 08:38
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That probably explains why I like it so much! In my head, I tend to assume anything that can go in the washer and dryer doesn't include wool. Yeah, I know about superwash, but I avoid it like the plague because my leftover lengths of wool always get worked into something that's going to be felted.
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Jan 22, 2008 08:46
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I use 100% wool yarn because I bought a lot of it for felting, and I don't want to buy a whole lot of different yarn for scarves and whatnot. So it's not because I'm snobby at all.
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Jan 22, 2008 11:34
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effika posted:That is beautiful, I love it! Ozma posted:Yeah, that does happen a lot. I inherited a dead relative's yarn stash- my grandmother thought I'd be overjoyed to get it but my reaction was "thanks but no thanks for giving me 3 boxes full of bright red and green acrylic yarn that smell like old ladies. My well meaning mother in law got me the ugliest Red Heart boucle for a dollar a skein at Wal-mart. A new knitter friend of mine has claimed it for herself (I guess she liked the color), and I'm gladly giving it to her just to get it out of my stash. I am a bit of a yarn snob, just because most acrylics tear up my hands. That's not to say I don't have acrylics though, I've got a huge box of them 
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Jan 22, 2008 17:43
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I use 100% wool yarn or animal fiber blends most of the time, but if I'm going to get an acrylic I get Red Heart. I just really like the way it looks worked up, even more so than most of the 'nice' acrylics. So I guess I'm not a yarn snob. Of course, even if I didn't like Red Heart I don't think I'd be a yarn snob either, because I don't run around casting aspersions on people who like yarns that I hate. I was -really- suprised that so many people like Caron Simply Soft, for example -- when I worked with it every skein was full of knots and it pilled before it even got on the needles. But I'm not going to begrudge it to the people who do like it just because I think it's awful. Here is a hat I made the other day out of Red Heart (It didn't fit on my giant head, so I gave it to my roommate):  And I am making one of the same design for my boyfriend in Rowan Felted Tweed and Nashua Creative Focus Worsted  Alpaca anklewarmers for my friend's birthday -- they were the warmest thing ever and so hard to give away. 
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Jan 22, 2008 18:29
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Just finished this hat It's a big basic slouchy beret. I'm thinking of putting a giant button on it. Sorry about the crappy camera. 
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Jan 22, 2008 22:02
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Strelnikov posted:Here is a hat I made the other day out of Red Heart (It didn't fit on my giant head, so I gave it to my roommate): May I ask where you got the pattern or where I could find a pattern of my own? I am in love with that hat! (Heh, sorry, I am a sucker for houndstooth...) I should probably post something soon. I'm not that great at knitting (and I'm the slowest person alive when it comes to knitting) but I have knitted some HP scarves for my sister and me.
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Jan 22, 2008 22:32
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ackapoo posted:May I ask where you got the pattern or where I could find a pattern of my own? I am in love with that hat! (Heh, sorry, I am a sucker for houndstooth...) I just kind of made it up as I went along. I'm writing out a pattern for the grey and black version (thinner yarns, smaller needles) but the houndstooth pattern itself is just a repeat over four stitches and four rows: Row 1: *K1 color A, k1 color B, k2 color A* Row 2: *k1 color A, k3 color B* Row 3: *k3 color B, k1 color A* row 4: *k2 color A, k1 color B, k1 color A* This is for working it in the round, so in the flat you would of course want to purl rows 2 and 4. I love houndstooth too, so I'll probably be putting this pattern on everything possible. I kind of want to knit up a houndstooth pencil skirt in black and yellow, but I'm not sure if this would be awesome or ridiculous...
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Jan 23, 2008 02:06
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Strelnikov posted:Alpaca anklewarmers for my friend's birthday -- they were the warmest thing ever and so hard to give away. Eeee! Those are so cute and I love the buttons! Do you have a pattern for them?
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Jan 23, 2008 02:39
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Drei posted:Eeee! Those are so cute and I love the buttons! Do you have a pattern for them? It's basically a trapezoid shape in a 4x2 rib. I just figured out how much width I needed at the bottom for the cast on and at the top for the bind off, and decreased a stitch every other row on either side until I got there. The buttonholes were yarnovers because I think they're the easiest, but if your buttons won't fit through a yo there's lots of different ways to make a buttonhole. I'd write a proper pattern if I had any idea what yarn I used, but I forgot when and where I bought it and it didn't have a label.
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Jan 23, 2008 03:54
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Got a Ravelry invite today, and I'm in as Midnattsol.
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Jan 23, 2008 10:16
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Shnooks posted:Just finished this hat oo! nice. What pattern/what yarn did you use? That yellow is fabulous, and it's got a really cool sheen to it! Micomicona fucked around with this message at 00:44 on Jan 24, 2008 |
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Jan 24, 2008 00:40
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Micomicona posted:oo! nice. What pattern/what yarn did you use? That yellow is fabulous, and it's got a really cool sheen to it! The pattern is Le Slouche(pdf) by Knit and Tonic. It's a super easy pattern that can be changed around and altered for any type of stitch or yarn. I used Lions Brand Jiffy for it, which is surprisingly soft  . It's a much more deeper goldenrod color but it's pretty funky. I'm going to find a big round wooden button for it.The only thing I'd suggest is stitching some elastic around the bottom of it when you're done so the hat doesn't slide off. It could just be my tiny head though. Mightnight Sun posted:Got a Ravelry invite today, and I'm in as Midnattsol. I'm on Ravelry too as Shnooks! Anyone else on Ravelry?
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Jan 24, 2008 01:31
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Shnooks posted:The pattern is Le Slouche(pdf) by Knit and Tonic. It's a super easy pattern that can be changed around and altered for any type of stitch or yarn. A bunch of us are -- I'm knitterrobot there. We have a group, too... look up Show me your Knits. 
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Jan 24, 2008 01:47
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My daughter's dress is complete for the most part--I have to replace the ribbon on the bonnet, as it's not placed exactly where it should be. It's too far back, when it should be on the bottom scallop on each side. All I have to say is finally! I've been working on this on and off since last March.  She wouldn't sit still, so I couldn't get everything in the picture. This was made for her first birthday, which was actually Christmas Day. I knew I wouldn't be getting professional photos done for a while after, though, so I took my time with it. More details are at my Ravelry page (freyathegrey). I can tell you that I got the pattern from http://www.vintage-knitting-patterns.com and that it was the dress from the Dress, Bonnet, and Bootees pattern from Paton's Babies in Limelight (it's in one of their Knit Baby collections, I think the second?) Sometimes vintage patterns are a pain in the butt to work from. The yarn was a gift from some coworkers. It's Dale of Norway Baby Ull. I don't like it much--it seems to split pretty easily. But it was a gift, it was my first try at making anything in lace, and also a first with making a full outfit, and so I can't complain much.
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Jan 24, 2008 02:25
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boobookitty posted:My daughter's dress is complete for the most part--I have to replace the ribbon on the bonnet, as it's not placed exactly where it should be. It's too far back, when it should be on the bottom scallop on each side. I'm tucanchild, the group mod on ravelry. That dress is beautiful (and your daughter is adorable)! I'm going to try to knit it for my friend's alien baby. What size is it in the picture?
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Jan 24, 2008 03:15
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hamburgerbreakfast posted:I'm tucanchild, the group mod on ravelry. That dress is beautiful (and your daughter is adorable)! I'm going to try to knit it for my friend's alien baby. What size is it in the picture? It's for a size 18-19" chest. Yet again why vintage patterns are a pain. That works out to a 12-18 month old child or so to my best estimation, although in one of the vintage books I looked at, they had that size listed for a 6-month-old. My kid isn't small; she's in the 50-75% percentile for weight and height, so she's smack dab in the middle. I'd say an average-sized 12-month-old should fit fine in it if you use a similar yarn and needle combination (I used size 5, 3, and 2 needles). The collection is indeed Knit Baby Vol. 2. I forgot I had the CD in my drive, as I had to reknit the picot edging for the neck a little bit ago and had to reference the pattern. There are 10 books in the collection for $35. It seems kind of expensive, but then you see how many patterns it features, and it's not bad at all. The people who offer that on CD have a contest every month for their newsletter. If your item (knit from one of their pattern collections) is chosen as the featured item of the month, you get $100. I'm totally going to submit this outfit when I get a better picture .edit--I just looked at the website to make sure the price is right, and it is. However, I see 8 books on there, and I have 10 on my CD here. Hmmm.. boobookitty fucked around with this message at 04:00 on Jan 24, 2008 |
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Jan 24, 2008 03:49
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Shnooks posted:The pattern is Le Slouche(pdf) by Knit and Tonic. It's a super easy pattern that can be changed around and altered for any type of stitch or yarn. I'm making it! I'm on the hunt for a hat that doesn't look awful on me. I made that cabled rasta hat from stitch and bitch nation and it looks OK on me but it also makes me look like I'm trying hard to be cool. 
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Jan 24, 2008 04:11
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Ozma posted:I'm making it! I'm on the hunt for a hat that doesn't look awful on me. I made that cabled rasta hat from stitch and bitch nation and it looks OK on me but it also makes me look like I'm trying hard to be cool. It's super easy! I really wanted to do a mesh stitch but my yarn was too thick
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Jan 24, 2008 04:55
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I was feeling adventurous last night and bought some circular needles and the set of 4 needles with the pointed ends. This pattern I have calls for only 18 co and they recommend circular needles, so how on earth am I supposed to do this with circular needles? I don't even get the "science" behind it.
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Jan 24, 2008 21:17
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DaisyDanger posted:I was feeling adventurous last night and bought some circular needles and the set of 4 needles with the pointed ends. This pattern I have calls for only 18 co and they recommend circular needles, so how on earth am I supposed to do this with circular needles? I don't even get the "science" behind it. Use magic loop knitting: http://www.knittinghelp.com/apps/flash/video_player/play/14/1 If you haven't made anything with circular needles before, it's really easy, but you might want to watch the videos on this page just to see how it's done: http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/advanced-techniques. Great custom title by the way
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Jan 24, 2008 23:06
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Got my ravelry invite as well In as yukmistress. I've already picked a project!! I'm making a needle case, super easy and right up my alley. I bought this awesome looking but horrible feeling yarn, It had a pic of Vanna White on the cover, I shoulda known better. I'm just excited that I get to use it for something I don't have to wear.
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Jan 25, 2008 02:11
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effika posted:It sounds like you've learned to knit English style. Give continental (German) a try. The yarn comes from the left and is manipulated with the left. There are some great videos on Knitting Help! This is from a ways back, however I've taken a good look at that site, got some new needles, new yarn, and am halfway into a new scarf. Just wanted to update everyone because I'm way excited about it. Thanks to this thread I've got a new hobby! 
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Jan 25, 2008 02:50
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elbow posted:Use magic loop knitting: http://www.knittinghelp.com/apps/flash/video_player/play/14/1 drat! I've been going to that website but I didn't see that video. Thank you twice, for the link and compliment!
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Jan 25, 2008 05:16
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I'm a huge newbie with no idea what I'm doing, but I made a hat and scarf! The scarf is really warm and turned out decently enough, but the hat is a bit small and odd. It was my first time trying a hat and I ended up kind of making it up at I went along. I'm really inept at this point, no idea what yarn I used since it was a labelless thrift store grab, and clueless as to what I should do differently next time. But it was fun and it's finished so  The knitting help site is great, I'm definitely going to be looking at that to try and figure things out.
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Jan 27, 2008 20:06
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Pickle Pie, those are really cute.
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Jan 27, 2008 20:58
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Ok, more scarves. I've started knitting the Skull Illusion Scarf, because I got tired of knitting one color in the round on the HP scarf.  Now I have an idea for a 1-up mushroom messenger bag. I've kinda written a pattern that I think will work, but hey, I usually make things up as I go along anyway. This will be the pattern on the lid, and I think I'll felt it:  Yay mushroom! 
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Jan 28, 2008 03:13
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Midnight Sun posted:Now I have an idea for a 1-up mushroom messenger bag. I've kinda written a pattern that I think will work, but hey, I usually make things up as I go along anyway. This will be the pattern on the lid, and I think I'll felt it: It's cute! Knitting stitches are not square, though, so your mushroom won't come out in the same proportions as it will on the chart. Here is a site that will generate graph paper in whatever gauge you want, so you can know exactly how your chart will look when you knit it.
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Jan 28, 2008 20:31
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Strelnikov posted:It's cute! Knitting stitches are not square, though, so your mushroom won't come out in the same proportions as it will on the chart. Here is a site that will generate graph paper in whatever gauge you want, so you can know exactly how your chart will look when you knit it. I don't have a printer, so I won't be able to print out the graph paper, unfortunately.
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Jan 28, 2008 22:30
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I learned to knit! I'm so proud: Sure it's just a scarf. But it's a scarf I made.
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Feb 3, 2008 00:16
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I love the colors you picked, and your edges look a hell of a lot neater than the ones from my first couple of scarves.
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Feb 3, 2008 03:44
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Nrapture, that's a cool scarf! I agree with deety, very nice and neat edges.
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Feb 3, 2008 14:47
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I forget if I mentioned this in a previous post, but when you knit a scarf completely in garter stitch, you can slip the first stitch of every row and the sides will come out really neat.
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Feb 6, 2008 04:08
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I'm making a really simple scarf for my boyfriend, 24 sts, 4k 4p etc, so basically just a really broad rib. Of course now that I've started it, I noticed that the edges are curling up along the length of the scarf. The yarn I'm using is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, it's 55% merino wool, 33% microfibre, 12% cashmere. Can I block this after it's done, and if so, will that stop the curling? edit: Okay, I think it'll be okay if I just spray it and block it that way, so I'm going to keep on knitting this. If anyone thinks this is a bad idea though, please let me know 
elbow fucked around with this message at 23:31 on Feb 8, 2008 |
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Feb 8, 2008 22:11
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elbow posted:I'm making a really simple scarf for my boyfriend, 24 sts, 4k 4p etc, so basically just a really broad rib. Of course now that I've started it, I noticed that the edges are curling up along the length of the scarf. The yarn I'm using is Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky, it's 55% merino wool, 33% microfibre, 12% cashmere. Ribbed scarves are pain in (my) rear end. I found a pattern a while back for a ribbed scarf that started to garter a few stitches in the beginning of the row and again at the end. So like... k4,p4, k4, p4, k4, p4, k4. Then second row, you would k8 p4, etc. You get the idea. And apparently the garter on the edges is to prevent it from curling. A few years ago my friend made me a ribbed scarf but it curled really bad and she didn't know to fix it. So I tried to block it and it didn't do poo poo. I ended up tearing it apart. Here's a neat pattern for a rib scarf: http://www.fuzzygalore.biz/patterns/reversible.shtml And another: http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/archives/2008/01/mistake_rib_wha.php The one I mentioned before was on a guy's knitting blog and I can't find it to save my life. But those two links have really neat patterns that I'll probably try when I have time. Nevermind, I found it. 1) I'm retarded and bookmarked it a while back, 2) it's not a guy's blog, it's a site labeling the scarf as a guy's scarf and 3) Tada! http://www.ballostringdesigns.com/free/knit/bensscarf.html MallcoreMotion fucked around with this message at 05:42 on Feb 10, 2008 |
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Feb 10, 2008 05:39
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My whole life I've always wanted to learn how to knit. I ventured into crotchet a while ago but probably forgot how to do it. What is the best way to learn how to knit? Are there instructional DVDs, books, or is taking a class better? I love hats and always wanted to learn how to make them, because what I want is usually so hard to find. Hopefully someone here can give me some pointers!
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Feb 10, 2008 08:02
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Hobo Camp posted:What is the best way to learn how to knit? Well that depends on how you learn. Some people really need to be shown in person how to do it. Other people can read a book and pick up on it. And yet others do well with a video. Think about how you best learn in general--do you learn stuff easier by hearing it? Seeing a demonstration? Reading about it? Does having someone hover over you when you are trying to do something freak you out? We can only say what works the best for us. I personally learned from the first Stitch 'n Bitch book, and that was after trying to learn unsuccessfully from a couple of sources before (one of those learn to knit kits and Knitting for Dummies). As mentioned before in this thread, http://www.knittinghelp.com is an invaluable resource, especially since it shows you how to do stitches in both the continental and English styles. Sometimes books can have confusing diagrams, and that's where the videos can come in handy. But I know people who absolutely feel that they need to be taught in person, too. It all depends on what you think works best for you.
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Feb 10, 2008 08:38
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MallcoreMotion posted:Ribbed scarves are pain in (my) rear end. I found a pattern a while back for a ribbed scarf that started to garter a few stitches in the beginning of the row and again at the end. So like... k4,p4, k4, p4, k4, p4, k4. Then second row, you would k8 p4, etc. You get the idea. And apparently the garter on the edges is to prevent it from curling. Thanks for the advice! I guess I'll start over and do a k2p2 pattern with two strands of yarn, that should help. I just hate switching yarn every two stitches boobookitty posted:
Now I'm really enjoying learning how to do new stuff -- on Friday I learned how to do a zigzag and cables all by myself, you wouldn't believe how proud I was, haha.
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Feb 10, 2008 11:22
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