Knitting Equipment & Supplies
Published by JoAnn on Tagged Knitting Equipment & Supplies
Knitting needles are an investment and should be chosen carefully. Some knitters like to use long needles regardless of how many stitches they are working while others prefer to use shorter needles. For afghans, my personal favorite is the circular needle. It accommodates a large number of stitches and I like the fact that I can push the work off the needle edge when I am not working on it – stitches rarely fall off my needle this way. As well, I like to be able to spread my work out and check my pattern for any mistakes and it is much easier to view when using these needles. It makes it easier to measure the length of afghans too.
There are many sizes and types of needles – single pointed, double pointed, circular, and cable needles. Single pointed needles are usually sold in sets of two. They are great for making smaller items such as scarves. Double pointed needles are usually sold in sets of four. They are used for knitting socks, hats, and sleeves. Circular needles are great for knitting sweaters or afghans. Crochet hooks, in addition to crocheting items can be used to pick up dropped stitches as well as tucking in the ends of the yarn when the work is finished, by threading the yarn ends through the knitted stitches. Knitting needles are made of different materials such as steel, plastic or bamboo. The darning needle is useful when tucking in those loose ends if you prefer instead of the crochet hook.
When you are ready to get started, you will need a tape measure which will help you keep track of the length of a work. You should always use the same tape measure when making a garment. Scissors obviously are necessary for cutting the yarn, large darning needle or tapestry needle which can be used for sewing seams or for finishing off ends, knitting needles because how can you possibly knit without these. A flat 6” ruler, clear plastic if possible, is easier than a soft tape measure when measuring short distances on the knitting. An aluminum counter is helpful in determining gauge, a crochet hook comes in handy for picking up dropped stitches as well as finishing off those loose ends, safety pins that can be useful to help mark rows as well as hold stitches, and of course, yarn and a pattern.
Explaining Knitting Abbreviations and Terminology
Published by JoAnn on Tagged Knitting Abbreviations and Terminology
When you purchase pattern books or even single patterns, they will usually have an explanation of the abbreviations that are used to knit the item listed, at the beginning of the pattern. I have listed the most common ones here and have also included a few crochet terms. As you knit more, some of these terms will be easy for you to remember, however, I always keep my list handy, just in case there is no explanation of the abbreviations listed on the pattern I am knitting. Hope these are helpful.
alt = alternate
Even More Yarns
Published by JoAnn on Tagged Tools and yarns, UncategorizedCashmere – this yarn comes from the cashmere goat and has always been regarded as one of the choicest yarns for fabric weaving and hand-knitting. Cashmere is also blended with other fabrics such as silk or merino wool. When washing cashmere sweaters and scarves, you have to use a mild soap and hand washing is often recommended. When you do wash these garments, you have to gently remove the water without “wringing” it since twisting it in this manner will damage the fibers in the wool. Washed garments should be laid flat to dry.
Linen – yarn that is made from the flax plant. It is best used in blends with cotton and acrylic because it has a slightly harder finish that makes it less appealing for some finished garments.
Mohair – yarn that is spun from the coats from angora goats. This is a very popular yarn that is also quiet often spun with other types of yarns such as wools and synthetics or a combination of these. Mohair is dyed quite easily and creates warm garments.
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Knitting Yarns by JoAnn on January 28th, 2008