I have (reluctantly) decided to use a buttonhole band with a knit facing on this cardigan I'm working on.  Don't get me started on why (do you ever wish certain pattern writers should be shot and their patterns burned before you can knit to the part where THEY SCREWED UP?)*

Anyway, I just wondered if anyone here has a simple method they like for aligning and anchoring the buttonhole to the facing buttonhole?



*Truth is, probably every Scandinavian who knits could have followed this with no problem, in fact, they don't even use the instructions, just the stranding charts and make the sweater the way they learned at  the age of 9!

I am trying to knit Best Friend as a christmas gift. I'm using Patons Grace, and I'm getting frustrated because for the life of me I can't figure out what the heck is going on with my scrunched up yarn. Case in point this photo:
( Read more... )

Can anyone tell me why my stitches look so scrunched up? Is it me or is it because the yarn simply scrunches up like that?

I have trouble picking appropriate yarns for projects. I mostly crochet and the stuff I do it doesn't make too much of a difference, BUT - I have a fancy scarf I want to knit (for my boyfriend's MOM!) and need help!


I want to knit this Lazy Angles Scarf. From what I can tell, the yarn used is a worsted weight wool/acrylic blend. I want to be able to make this for not too much money, and preferably yarn I can find a Joann/ Michaels.


I want it to be cheap, but nice.
I would love to use something cheap like Vanna's Choice, but am afraid that might be too "cheap". Then I was looking at this Paton's Silk Bamboo yarn, but I don't know if it'd be too "silky" and too slippery for the pattern??


I really honestly have NO idea how to pick yarn!!
Can you help please - maybe recommend a yarn to use for this pattern (keeping in mind I'd prefer something I can pick up near me.)


Thanks!

I'm doing a vine lace scarf, over 51 sts ( from interweave 2000 spring).

And there's 4 yarn overs per knit row, 2 ssk, and 2ktog.

By my math, this should mean one winds up with the same number of stitches at the end, right?

ie: row 1 k4, yo,ssk, k2tog, k2, then a repeated section of k1,yo,k2,ssk,ktog,k2,yo, ( repeat this 3,times,and then k3 to the end.)
row 2 and 4 are purled. row 4 is essentially the same, just offset from the first by one. (I can clarify if this isn't clear.it's late, I'm frazzled.)

But in the repeated section I seem to be gaining more stitches. I don't think I'm doing the yo wrong, but my otherwise great lace eyelets are going all over.

I haven't knit in a while, but never lost my skill, and now I'm thinking I'm thinking it too much, ( 4 yo's per row and 2ssk and 2 ktog should mean no net increase in stitches, right?)

I'm assuming stitch markers will be of no help, it seems to make it worse when gaining/losing stitches.

Hello all you fabulous knitters! I come begging your help. I'd describe myself as a somewhat-advanced beginner, in that I've completed a few toys (a boob, an elephant, and a lobster!) and scarfs and I've started some fingerless gloves, although I just put them down a while ago and can't quite find the motivation to pick them up again. I kind of have a short attention span... but I'm pretty comfortable working in the round on double pointed needles or circulars and I've done some stuff with flats as well. I even taught myself how to crochet to do the ears for the elefante pattern.

My question is this: I have a friend who is a big fan of Avatar: The Last Airbender. I want to surprise him with a gift but I'm having trouble finding any patterns out there, save for a few things I don't think I could finish before Christmas (like the really cool but very big crocheted Avatar blanket at ravelry). I thought maybe a hat with an arrow on it (like the one on Aang's head) or maybe a knitted Appa or something, that might match better with my experience knitting toys. I found a mention of an Aang hat in the community here, but it's kind of old and my searching skills failed at finding the finished product. Not to mention how to do it (and it sounded kind of hard). I also looked in the avatar crafts community but couldn't find anything there.

I'm hoping maybe somebody can give me some recommendations of either patterns or places I could look for one? I've never designed anything myself and I think I might fail miserably at it. I love the idea of knitting a hat with an arrow on it, but I don't know his head size and because I want it to be a surprise I don't want to ask. Which might make that impossible. Plus, I've never knitted a hat before. Also, I live in rural Japan, so finding pattern books in English is a near impossibility for me, unless I can get it off the internet somewhere.

Help me, please?

Dave: I stayed up all night. I read the entire Bible cover to cover. I don't know what it means.
Mrs. Kim: David...
Dave: You have to tell me what it means. Is it "yes?" Is it "no?" I can't feel my right elbow any more. I don't even know why, but I... I can't.
Mrs. Kim: David!
Dave: (pleading) Please. Just tell me. I'm so tired.
Mrs. Kim: It's not from the Bible.
Dave: What?
Mrs. Kim: It's Shakespeare. Henry VI. I like to goof off now and then too, you know.
Dave: Shakespeare?
Mrs. Kim: That is a very difficult thing to do, reading the Bible in one night. I myself have only done it three times. You need great determination and excellent light. I'm very impressed.
(Dave looks at her expectantly)
Mrs. Kim: All right.
Dave: All right what?
Mrs. Kim: You can go to the prom, but you can not get married.

I'm looking to buy an encyclopedia of knitting stitches and wonder if you could tell me what your favorite book is.

I'd like to have the most complete volume as is possible but I want pretty pictures and it has to be hardcover.

Thanks!

I knit up a lace baby headband with ( a bow. )

I have a friend who will dress her son up in ridiculous hats, so it is very fun to knit for him.

I made him the ( baby chicken hat ) last year.

I decided on the ( Shrek hat ) this year.

I wanted to knit it top-down so I followed the thorpe pattern until I was happy with the length and did some ribbing along the bottom.

The original idea for the pattern came from the ogre my ogre pattern on Ravelry.

I can't crochet very well, so I made up my own knit pattern for the horns/ears. To make them, I picked up 8 stitches in a square (like the outside squares of a tic tac toe board), and knit i-cord for awhile. Then I did a row of k1, kfb in the round. Next row was kfb, k2. Then I just knit for a few more rows and let the natural curl of the stockinette work for me. I tacked the rolled edges in place with the yarn tails before weaving them in.

This was made from Mission Falls 1824 Wool which is superwash. I used US size 5 needles (I'm a very loose knitter). I put it through the washer and dryer to make sure the little ears still stood up. If I were to do it again, I would knit the horns on smaller needles as they did droop a bit after the wash. If this were for an adult I might have woven pipecleaners in.

I have been working on a blanket project and have reached the final step - adding a border.

The blanket is 5ft x 6ft, so the total perimeter is 22 feet. I believe I have read in the past that you need 3x as much yarn to knit across a length. So a 22 foot border requires 66 feet of yarn for one row. 66 feet = 22 yards. So, if I want to do 6 rows of border, I need 132 yards of yarn.

Is that reasonable/logical? Does that make sense to anyone else? Am I off in my thinking?

I ask because I would LIKE to do a garter stitch border, but I only have 170 yards of yarn, and I feel like garter stitch needs at least 3 ridges (6 rows) to look good as a border. If I won't have enough for that, I'll have to do seed stitch (as much as I don't want to do 22 feet x however many rows of seed stitch, ugh).

Thanks!

I want to make a queen-sized blanket/afghan. I suspect that this will take about 3000 yards of worsted-weight, or heavy worsted/light bulky, yarn, provided i use only knits/purls or a simple lace pattern and no cabling. I figure that as long as I finish this project before I'm dead or I move to a warmer place, it's 100% worth it. I want to make it out of all-natural fibers, I want to to be soft, and I want it to be warm.

Where do you think is the best place to buy 3000 yards of worsted-weight yarn, natural fiber, possibly a low-end luxury blend, for less than $200? Here's some stuff that I"m considering now:

Schoolhouse products Yak/Merino 3000 yards is about $180, but I'm not wild about the colors.
Knit Picks Cadena, if I decide that for a bulky weight yarn I'd need 250 yards, it comes to 23 balls, or about $135.
Valley Yarns Lenox or Stockbridge both come to around $112
Plymouth Suri Merino, comes to about $154
Cascade Pastaza, comes to around $110

Does anyone know of the existence of short metal knitting needles? I am fairly new to knitting (my best friend taught me in June -- seriously one of the greatest days of my life!) and am still in the stereotypical "scarf phase"...and am COMPLETELY OBSESSED. Anyway, I learned on bamboo size 10's, but have scaled down and switched over to metal circular size 5 Addi Turbos (which are positively BRILLIANT and CREAMY), but I was wondering -- specifically as a preference and for ease of use -- does anyone know of any company that makes straight, metal needles that are say, 5 to 7 inches long with a stopper on the end? This length would be easier for me to handle and certainly long enough for the scarves I am making. Do these even exist? Thanks!

My memory is failing me.

Has anyone seen those little clawed clamp things to hold knitting pieces together prior to sewing them?
Do you know where I could get them?
They look like the little clawed clamps that you might put in a child's hair, like these:

But they are used to hold the pieces together.
Thanks so much for your help!

Hey all!

So I'm looking to do some experimental knitting of a large tube collar thing. I was hoping to do this with magic loop, but I'm having trouble finding size 10+ circulars with 40"+ of cable. Does magic loop not work for things bigger than socks? I've used it before to make Kindle covers, but those aren't much larger. Just trying to figure this out. Thanks!

I've cast on for this sweater http://www.lionbrand.com/patterns/kwe-mockTurtleneck.html?r=1  which calls for 8 balls of wool-ease yarn. I'm using knitpick's swish worsted weight yarn. I just realized that I mis-calculated the yardage. The swish comes in 110 yard balls, and the wool-ease comes in 197 yard balls. I should need about 14 and a third balls of the swish, and I only have 14 balls.

The pattern calls for 6 rows of stockinette stitch around the bottom, the cuffs, and the neck, which I am cutting out of the pattern because I do not like the rolled edge. Do you think that cutting the rolled edge out will make up for the fact that going by the pattern, I'll be about a third of a ball short? Or should I make a size down, and hope that it will fit?
*edit to fix HTML fail*

I very rarely post here, but I've finished some things recently that I am really proud of and I wanted to share. First up is Margot from the Fall 09 Knitty.

( Margot )

Next up is Bella's Mittens for my sister for Christmas.

( Bella's Mittens )

The next thing I finished was a Christmas stocking for my son. I did all of the knitting back in September, but finally finished it off with a braided loop and duplicate-stitched name the other night. I wanted to get some languishing projects out of the WIP stage. I love how the stitching came out and I think my son will really like the stocking. I've got it hidden away until we decorate, though.

( Christmas stocking )

The last thing I finished was just tonight - a log cabin blanket for my son. It's his "baby" blanket because I never knit him one when he was a baby. He'll be six at the end of the month and I started this blanket when he was 4 1/2! I felt guilty after knitting my nephew a baby blanket and I cast on for this in July 2008. I set it aside for huge blocks of time, but picked it up two days ago to finish the last two strips.

( Joshua's 'baby' Blanket )

Thanks for looking! I'm really proud of all of this stuff. I feel really accomplished for finishing off two languishing projects and now I'm being productive by working on some more Christmas gifts. I don't have anything outrageous planned - a mini scarf, a dishcloth, and finishing up two more WIPs. I've got so much weight off my shoulders with that blanket finished that everything else is gravy. :)

I'm knitting a pair of slippers for a friend and I'm using LionBrand Wool-Ease. My question is: Should I block it? It's 80% acrylic and 20% wool so I'm not sure if I can and should block it. Has anyone used this and did you block it?

What ever happened to Sweet Baby Jane's ( shoes? )

I have lots of FO but I especially liked this one...

( a pic and a cut to my journal )

Don't faint... I have finished items... which will be Christmas gifts.... BEFORE CHRISTMAS!

First scarf is for my sister --- It's made from a pattern called "Ann's Neck Warmer Knit Scarf". I used some lovely merino sport yarn, which I got from the NYS Sheep and Wool Fest, last year. Hand dyed -- a lovely color called Saffron. Is it bad to not want to give this away?

( Neck Warmer )

Next is a scarf for one of my best friends... pattern is from Morehouse Farm "Merino Knits" book....a simple 2x2 rib -- made with Merino yarn from Schaefer Yarn, also purchased at 2008 NYS Sheep and Wool Fest. This is a hand painted yarn called "Miss Priss"

( Fringe Binge )

Now if I can just get the pictures in, and under a cut....