Oolong knits

Here is my second post on the sweater I'm making. As promised on the first post. I've worked on a swatch and, in this post, I'm going to summon up my conclusions. Third step: first swatch The 4x2 ribbing looks fantastic on this yarn. Definitely a keeper. I've used alternate cable cast-on (yes, I did it in pattern) but I must find a better cast-on method, I don't like the look of it. After some research on this subject, I've concluded that plain long-tail cast-on is the best for this kind of ribbing. My gauge (so far, before washing and blocking, which I absolutely must do before starting the sweater) is 18cm/24st, ie. about 13st/10cm. I haven't finished the third step, as you may realize. I need to knit a much larger swatch and block it to get the right gauge. More importantly, I still need to find a nice cable for the sleeves, the Durrow cable I've been flirting with takes about the entire number of stitches on the sleeve, and that simply doesn...

Have you ever heard or read the tip that you should always start knitting on the wrong side? If you have and wondered if and why that is true, here is a brief post explaining it. The why : long-tail cast-on is equivalent to a loop cast-on plus a row of knitted stitches. Therefore, if you're knitting stockinette, the next row should be a purl one. But, you may say, stockinette curls, so, usually, I don't start knitting stockinette. That's right. The rule is therefore not universal. For example, if you've used a different type of cast-on, this may not be true. It is definitely not true if you used a loop cast-on, in which case you must knit one extra row to obtain the same result as in long-tail cast-on. Note that this is not only more work, it is also looser, because in long-tail cast-on, the loops never go around the needle and are therefore tighter. The universal rule is, if you prefer the look you get if the cast-on row is on the right side, then the first...

With so many different methods to cast-on, you may be wondering what methods are really worth learning and using. Each method is useful for its own purposes, so you should learn them as you need them. There is usually more than one way to obtain the same result. For example, for the long-tail cast-on, there is the thumb, the German, the Italian, and more. You should learn one of them, and only if you find it very cumbersome, consider trying another method and see if you find it easier. There are also variations of the same method, which are not to be confused with different ways of doing the same, because they give slightly different results, like, for example, the loop, twisted loop, alternate loop, etc. So what are the different cast-on methods used for? Here I present a list of the most useful methods, in my opinion. They are well worth learning for their specific purposes, because they are easy enough to learn and provide good results. Other cast-on methods have more specif...

Selvedges (or selvages in American English) are really important to learn for a few reasons: they serve different purposes, they are occasionally not included in patterns, or, when they are, the suggested method might not be the most appropriate (for example, it's a common mistake to recommend "slip the 1st stitch" on patterns for edges that will be sewn, but this is wrong). The reasons to use selvedges are: For visible edges: making a more attractive edge, or one that matches the cast-on and bind-off. A good example of this is the slip-stitch selvedge that creates a chain-selvedge similar to the most common cast-on and bind-off methods. Selvedge"s stitches are also used to flatten out stitches that curl, such as stockinette. Selvedges should always be included when knitting scarves and wraps. For edges that will be sewn or picked-up : selvedges can make either work much simpler. Consider learning them before starting projects that involve a lot of sewing, such...

I know I should be finishing one of the many work-in-progress projects I have, but inspired by my previous post I've decided to start a new sweater for my husband. Don't ask yourself why am I always knitting sweaters for him, against the advice of so many knitters who never knit large projects for other people, and considering that he has never been too enthusiastic about it. I'm not a wise person when it comes to my husband and knitting. So here I'm again... set on knitting him a sweater he truly loves. Here I must clarify that he does wear the sweater I've knitted him a lot, but I feel he doesn't love it enough. I know I don't, that sweater is far from perfect. So here I begin documenting the whole process of knitting a sweater. Something a lot of other knitters have attempted and that I, although not explicitly, had promised not to do on one of my first posts, the one where I stated my intentions on writing this blog (the one about not adding more usele...

This post is not meant to be a nostalgic self-absorbed ramble on my past history, it is instead meant to be of some help for beginners who are planning on knitting their first sweater. My fist sweater My first sweater, or, to be precise, my first attempt at knitting a sweater, was a, or, to be precise, is a, knitted-in-the-round top-down raglan-shoulders sweater with intarsia and fair-isle colour work. You can probably guess why I haven't finished it yet. Here is the history of this project. After some research, I decided that the knitted-in-the-round top-down raglan-shoulders sweater is one of the simplest constructions for a sweater and hence a good model to start with. I've found a very good tutorial by tin can knits on their Flax pattern and the good news is that it is all free! So far so good. Then I started knitting it and... I got bored. Too many knit stitches and I started dreaming of one of those beautiful fair-isle motifs to add to my sweater and I just cou...

Since I've started this blog, I've tried to keep a rhythm of one post per week. I think that, at least for me, this is the only way to make sure the blog does not die an early death. If I wasn't doing the extra effort of keeping up with this schedule, I'm sure post would become more and more sparse, until they'd vanish forever. One trick that I've used to keep up, considering my lack of discipline and the lack of routine in my life, is to schedule posts in advance. This is particularly true when I go on holidays, I always make sure to schedule posts for the time I'm away plus a couple of posts more, because I know that, when I return, it will take me time to settle and find the time to go back to blogging. I was sure I'd done that on my recent trip to visit my in-laws, but, to my big surprise, today, when I checked, I've found I had not. No post for this new year yet. Oh my! Me bad. To make things worse, I'm completely uninspired about what...