Finishing the hat
I assume during my computerless week off that you have been hard at work on those hats. Well, if not, that’s ok. The nice thing about hats is how quick they are to knit up. You could probably do a whole one in a day or two, which is why they’re my favorite suggestion for first projects.
The swatch doesn’t need to be quite this big, but you do want at least 4 inches by 4 inches.
Now that you know all the technical stuff – how to knit, what tools to use, various kinds of yarn, etc. – let’s have a little fun. How about we cast-on a project?
With so many great knitting adventures out there, where do you start?
Now that you’ve got the basics of knitting, I’ll bet you’re ready to tackle a real project. The first time with a pattern can be a little overwhelming if you don’t know what to expect.
The tools
This week has just flown right by! Anyone else having trouble getting it to stay still for a moment? I forgot Tuesday and Wednesday (cat-related mischief), and I nearly forgot today, but I think we’re back on track. Today’s 101 topic covers some of the lovely knitting tools we knitters get to use!
Shopping for yarn when you’re starting out can be terribly confusing. I know when I first began, words like worsted, sport, DK, and bulky meant nothing to me. I didn’t know how you could tell!
Pre-blocking (above), the stitches are uneven. Blocking evens this out!
Now we’re at the final step for a project: Blocking. This is when you take all that hard work and make it beautiful!
Cast-Off Piece
By now, your sampler has some length on it. You may have kept it washcloth size or may have continued on until it was the length of a scarf. It doesn’t matter how long or short you made your practice piece; it’s whatever you are comfortable with. Now, though, it’s time to cast it off.
As you can imagine, issues come up with purl stitches and stockinette as much as with knit stitches and garter. In fact, a lot of the same issues come up. I hesitate to call them mistakes, though. While that’s exactly what they are, I think “learning experiences” is more accurate, particularly because these so-called “mistakes” will become techniques in other forms of knitting.
Purl bumps on the back of stockinette
If you’re following along, you’ve been working on just the knit stitch up to this point. We’re going to take this one step further now and add the purl stitch. Once you’ve got the knit and purl down, you’ve mastered the basics of knitting!
Holy Swiss Cheese!
It’s been a week since the last lesson. How is your knitting coming along?
For the Knit of It 