Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Knitting is the oldest craft among all the crafts. Knitting threads or yarns are used to create cloths or warm cloths. Knitting is the process done by the loops, and these loops are stitched through each others and this way, you will get different patterns of the cloths and fabrics. But to develop this fabric you will need some devices with which you will be able to knit with.

These different materials need to knit the fabric are as follows:

Yarn:

These yarns used for knitting are generally sold in the form of balls or skeins, also called as hanks or otherwise it may be wound or bobbin or cones. These balls are usually sold with yarn bands which will give the details of that yarn which you are purchasing. These details are regarding yarns weight, length, dye lot, fiber content, washing instructions not only this it will give suggestion, about which needles are to be used and the gauge. While knitting it is most probable that the yarn will finish; therefore you should keep some yarn bands for future reference for additional purchases. Mostly you should prefer the yarn with single dye lot. This will tell you the group of skeins that are from different dye lots, though they are dyed together and this will give different strips while knitting. You should keep some extra yarn while knitting, which will not affect the efficiency.
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Knitting Tools:

Besides this other necessary thing for the knitting, are the knitting tools. These tools are knitting needles and ancillary tools.

While knitting you have to complete three basic tasks these are: holding an active stitch, second task is when these stitches becomes secure, then you have to release them, and the third thing is that, new tights of should passed through the fabric generally from active stitches by securing them.

To carry all these tasks, you can make use of your fingers, without making use of any knitting tools, but in general practice knitting is done with the help of knitting tools, like knitting needles, knitting machine like rigid frames. These knitting rigid frames are called knitting boards, knitting rings or knitting pools according to their size and shape. All these frames are called as knitting looms.

Besides these tools and other tools, are used to prepare yarn for knitting, to measure and design knitted garments and also makes knitting easy and more comfortable.

Ancillary Tools:

Crochet hooks and the darning needles are used for binding the joints, of two knitted pieces edge to edge. Among these the darning needles are used for duplicate stitches and also called Swiss darning. Whereas the second crochet hook is used for skipped, or drooped stitches specially stitches like tufting. These all are regarding small fabric, but if you are working with large fabric, then it is most probable that you will forget about the stitch then for this purpose there are many tools, for counting the stitches, identify the number of specific row or stitch which will cover circular stitch markers, hanging markers, extra yarn and counters.

These are the different tools which can be used while knitting at home.



DERRICK
Oct
06
kliz03 asked:

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Before starting to knit, get the stitches on the knitting needle. To start, take the Worsted Weight Yarn and measure out a length, and first of all start with a slip knot and it’s just a standard slip knot where the thread is looped through and then the loop is pulled through and the slip knot slides back and forth. It’s like a child’s finger knitting. The slip knot slides onto the knitting needle and this is the first stitch.

This procedure takes both hands. You hold your knitting needle, which is your working needle with your one stitch in your right hand and with your left hand you have to take your yarn and form an L with your fingers and go between those two strands of yarn. With your remaining three fingers you want to grab the tail ends, so that your yarn looks like that in your hand.

Now, to get the stitches on to the knitting needle, you have to take the point of your needle and scoop up the bottom thread, bottom yarn on your thumb and then reach up and scoop the yarn on your index finger through that loop on your thumb. Release your thumb and snug up your stitch and that is your second stitch. Do it again. Take your knitting needle; Scoop up that bottom yarn on your thumb and now scoop the top thread on your index finger through the loop on your thumb, releasing your thumb and snugging up the yarn. Do that a few more times. It takes a while to get used to the cast on, but once you do, it can go very quickly.

The cast on edge is different on both sides. There is a smooth side or a public side. This would be the right side of your knitting project and then there is also the back side which is a little bit bumpy, doesn’t look quite as tidy as the public side. Once again you have your tail of your yarn and the yarn connected to your skin of yarn. You take your thumb and index finger and go in between the two yarns threads and spread them out and grab the remaining tail yarns with your remaining three fingers. Take your point of needle and scoop it into the bottom yarn on your thumb and then catch the yarn on your index finger and pull it through the loop. Release your thumb and snug up the stitch. You will do this procedure for as many stitches as you need for your knitting project.

This article has described how to cast on when learning how to knit. For more lessons, here are a few basic how to videos with great tips on knitting: http://www.monkeysee.com/play/5538-knitting



ROMAN
Sep
30
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jo asked:


ssell

In this brief article we aim to just give a basic understanding of knitting needles, their sizing and what you need to look out for.

Size IS important…………….

Knitting needles come in different sizes. It is important to know the size of your knitting needles because their size is related to the size of your stitches and, implicitly, to the appearance of the finished work.

Knitting needles are given different numbers according to their measure. Do not think of their length! It is important how big round the needles are. However, these numbers can differ from one country to another. For example, a knitting needle of 3.75 mm is number 5 in American measurement and number 9 in British measurement, or you may see on the bag of the knitting needles you buy it is simply written as a 3.75 mm needle.

Notice that the American measurement has low numbers for needles with smaller diameters, and the numbers can go up to 50 for a larger diameter like 25 mm, while the British measurement has high numbers for low diameters and the numbers decrease when it comes to high diameters like, for example, 000 for knitting needles of 10 mm, Therefore, you need to look up a knitting needle conversion chart to ensure you end up with the correct needle size.

To confuse you still further if you have a 4.5 mm knitting needle, in that case the size number coincides; with both countries calling it size 7.

Understanding Gauge …………

In knitting, there is the concept of gauge and it means the number of stitches in a given length. This concept is related to the pattern you have and, if in your pattern it says there are supposed to be, for example, 5 stitches to an inch and you can make only 3, than you should and need to change the size of your knitting needles. Each pattern requires that you knit a certain number of stitches using a particular yarn and a specified needle.

However, it is not necessary to stick to the yarn or the needles specified in the pattern, but it is important to get the correct number of stitches per inch in order to have the right size, length and other characteristics of the pattern.

Different Kinds ……….

You can also choose between circular needles and straight needles. Some people prefer circular needles because they are more comfortable to use and you can knit both in the round and back and forth like straight needles. You can find circular knitting needles, double point knitting needles and also single pointed knitting needles made of different materials such as steel, wood or bamboo. There are also different types of knitting needles like Addi knitting needles, Clover knitting needles, Misc knitting needles, Crystal Palace, Rosewood and HiyaHiya

To find out more pay a visit to a good knitting or haberdashery store & ask for advice.

FOREST

Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Knitting is not only a craft by which thread can be turned into cloth or it is not only for grannies or babies; now it is in style and is really cool. The most important thing you will need to start with knitting is knitting needles.

Now the most important thing about these needles is their size. All different types of knitting needles are available, in many various sizes and these sizes are denoted by numbers. Knitting needles are also called knitting pins, knitting sticks, wires, rod or even knitting wires. As length and thickness of knitting needles changes depending upon type of yarn and what type of fabric to knitted.

Modern knitting needles that are available in the market place were invented in the beginning of the 19th century; these needles are usually known as straight needles. These needles have one narrow end and another end of the needle is caped with knobs. You can easily knit flat patterns like squares or rectangles. These needles are so popular because of their knobs; these knobs prevent sliding off the stitches.

There is one more type of needle, circular needles. Using these circular knotting needles you can create seamless tubes. But when you knit with circular needles, you are knitting on only one side of fabric, which is not the case with straight needles, so this means you have to change patterns accordingly. The great advantages of these circular needles are the weight of knitted fabric is evenly distributed. This is great option for four pointed needles.

There is another type of needle called double pointed needles. Even these are used for knitting tubular fabrics; however, these double pointed needles have tapered ends on both sides. The length of needles depends on what kind of fabric you want to knit, if you want to knit small fabric for socks; for example, then smaller needles will do. But if you want to knit longer fabrics like shawls, then you will need long needles.

Needles can be made of different type of materials. It can be made of metals or wood. Antique needles are also made up of ivory, walrus tusks or tortoise shell. Modern day’s knitting needles can be made of many different materials like aluminum, steel, bamboo, wood, glass, plastic or casein. Circular needles are also made up of metals and connecting tube of circular meta,l is usually made up of PVC or plastic.

To keep needle points sharp for many years it is very important to store them properly. Usually needles are stored in tall, cylindrical container with padding at the bottom; this will keep points of needle sharp. Usually this container is made of plastic or fabrics which have compartments with which you can keep needles together but separate. It is very important to keep circular needles dangled in maximize space. It is very important to keep check on tubes, as they can easily wound up. To uncoil these plastic or nylon circular needles keep them soaked in hot water for some time and they are ready to knit.



SPENCER
Amara G asked:


I just picked up the knitting needles yesterday, and I am so confused! I’ve tried watching videos, reading the books, but I CANNOT figure out what is suppose to happen after you cast-on. When I follow what the book/video says, I just end up transferring all the stitches from one needle to the other! Is this suppose to happen?? Please help!!!

OSVALDO
Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Knitting is no longer only for grandmothers or just any mothers. Now it’s a fun, creative hobby for anyone. Just get some basic information before you start knitting. All you need to start knitting are knitting needles, yarn and good patterns or instructions.

Let’s start with some basic patterns. Before you start with a pattern as a beginner, you should know the basic stitches including the knit stitch and purl stitch. For the first, pass the right needle through the first stitch of your left hand needle. Now wind your yarn over cross of two needles, over the right hand needle. Just gently pull through the loop. After that just slip over first original stitch from left needle to right hand needle. Repeat the whole procedure till you transfer all stitches from left needle to right needle.

Purl stitch when viewed from purl side of pattern. First you have to take the yarn in front of the needle, then insert right hand needle in first stitch on left hand needle. Wind yarn around back of right hand needle from right to left, then just draw loop backward which will allow stitch to slip off left needle to right hand needle. The main thing to remember about this stitch is that you have to take the yarn in front of needle. Continue till all stitches are transferred from left needle to right needle.

There is a specific way to read the patterns. First the skill level; it can be easy, medium, hard or beginner, intermediate or advance, each pattern has specific skill level, you can start with beginner and then go for complex advanced patterns.

For an easy or beginner level there are usually easy patterns, like different types of scarf or shawls or even some sweaters with easy knitting patterns. You can even make some easy handbags, mats to begin knitting. For medium or intermediate levels you can have patterns like stocking caps, sweaters and knitted scarves; usually patterns with altered stitches and patterns for advanced levels, you can have patterns which are complicated and which require lot of shaping.

If you are beginner then start with a no pattern, this means just start by knitting with a combination of just two basic stitches, knit and purl. To begin you can knit a nice pashmina style stole, just with three hundred stitches, if garter stitch means only knit stitches no purl stitches. To start you can even make some simple combination of stitches.

If you are knitting with circular needles, you can start making tubular scarf for this cast around 300 stitches, and join them together in a circle. You can try stockinette stitch it produces nice curls at the end which gives the scarf a very different look.



DEVON
Sep
08
Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Knitting is a skill of turning threads into pieces of cloth. A traditional knitting technique gets a new and easier roll, so if you don’t have an experience with knitting before, it will be much easier. Knitting is done by stitching those threads into each other. Knitting may be hand made or machine made. By hand, there are many styles and ways. So many different fibers and needles are used to make those different varieties of cloth pieces, such as table cloths, handkerchiefs and etc.

According to the research results it has been found that a woman in Virginia, her name is Woods Bellamy, invented a type of knitting in the year 1940 it was “number knitting” later known as “modular knitting”. In this method with the use of small knitting pieces, you can combine to get a single large piece. She used different shapes, for knitting such as squares, triangles, parallelograms, and rectangles.

For this type of knitting she was using graph paper, first all plots were made, these are lay outs, that are then converted in to the fabric patterns in successions and knitting creates parts one by one, beginning of each knitting part by knitting it to preceding part. Bellamy obtained just ideas and few patterns of modular knitting snot a full modular knitting concept. Bellamy may have know some another inventor of modular knitting, at that time there was not that much growth for knitting, so her interest brought her to a level where she known as inventor of “number knitting”.



If you know the basics of knitting, and you know how to cast on, blind off, knit, increase and decrease, all the twists and turns are used in modular knitting, it may happen sometimes that you’re stitching is complete, and there remains a gap in between, these stitches you can easily add some more stitches or even release those stitches, to make them in equal in numbers. So this is the advantage associated, with modular knitting, this method is flexible compared to others, so you don’t have to waste your time in rearranging the stitches.

Modular knitting normally involves creating individual patterns, which are squares, triangles, diamonds and combinations of them to create fine pieces, then stitching another piece, then all are combined together to create a beautiful modular pattern. By using modular knitting techniques, you can knit skirts, scarves; the art of yarn can be used here to create hexagonal shapes and that too in many different colors.

Even if you are beginner with modular knitting, you will feel comfortable. The new techniques that are used nowadays will help you, to knit shapes continuously without cutting yarns and picking up stitches it’s very easy compared to old methods. So by using this kind of knitting, you will be able to create your own funky clothes, for your family members, like kids, husband, and grandparents, all of them will look extraordinary in these clothes. They are also better options for gifts, anyone will be happy to receive such beautiful gift.



DARREN
May
11
Filed Under (Howto) by Kert
knittinghelp asked:


More free videos available online at www.knittinghelp.com. Double Cast-On aka Long-Tail Cast-On aka Continental Cast-On My favorite cast on method. This creates a nice, stretchy edge that works well for stockinette stitch or for ribbing. Easy to knit from, easy to pick up stitches from, this is also the fastest cast-on I know, once you get the hang of it. It’s even faster than Single Cast-On when you take into account that this method creates an already knitted row. (By the way, purl the …

EMILE

May
08
boomsheekaa asked:


I just started knitting and I can’t keep it loose. After a couple of stitches it becomes really tight and I can barley move the row. Help!

WILMER
Waterblitz365 asked:


Or having dropped a stitch? I also want to know how to go backwards in your knitting.
and one more thing. I want the proper way to fix it. If i realize say 10 stitches down. I don’t want to simply let that stitch go.

CODY