Crafting for Sanity
My edges Keep Curling, what is going on?
If you are knitting using stockinette (knit one side, purl the other) the result will always curl at the edges. To stop the curling it is common to use garter stitches for at least the first and last three stitches of each side of the pattern. Most patterns will have some technique in place to avoid the curling.
What is this blocking thing I keep Hearing About?
Blocking is the process of soaking or steaming your project to set the shape of it. Not all projects require blocking but most shawls and all laces should be blocked. Blocking is best done using blocking pins and mats but you can be creative in how you get your results.
It should be noted, that wet blocking (soaking) does not really do a lot for acrylic yarns because of the nature of the yarn. There are a number of You Tube videos that address blocking.
What are the best needles?
What the best needles are is really a matter of preference. I prefer metal circular needles and specifically I like the metal interchangeable needles by ChiaoGoo. On the other hand I have friends who swear by the Karbonz needles by Knitters Pride which combine metal tips with wooden shafts. Others prefer Addi.
- Bind off – the process of ending your knitting. Like casting on, there are many ways to bind off, they vary in look and stretchiness.
- Blocking – the process of soaking or steaming a finished project to set the shape. Not all projects need to be blocked, but most shawls, especially lace shawls should be.
- Cast on – the process of starting your knitting. There are many ways to cast on from basic slip stitches to more decorative options.
- Decrease – reducing the number of stitches in a row. Common decreases include knit 2 together (K2tog), and slip slip knit (ssk).
- Frog/Frogging - the process of ripping out stitches, named so because you ripp-it, ripp-it, ripp-it.
- Garter stitch – a pattern where you knit all stitches for each row.
- Increase - adding a stitch in a row. Common increases include yarn overs (YO), knit front and back (kfb), and make one (M1, M1L, M1R)
- KAL/MKAL - A KAL/MKAL is a knit along. It is where you and a few (or a lot) of other people pick a pattern and all start knitting it up at the same time. You may all use different yarns, needle sizes, etc. but you all use the same basic pattern. It is a fun thing to do and comes with others working on the same patter in case you get stuck. The M comes in when your KAL is a bit of a mystery. The usual form of a MKAL is the designer announces it and provides yarn suggestions. Then at set times, portions of the pattern are released. You don't know exactly what the final result will be until you bind off.
- Knit (K) – the most common stitch in knitting. When reading patterns, knit stitches are abbreviated K usually with a number following it that indicates how many knit stitches to make. For example, K8 would indicate that you knit 8 stitches.
- Moss stitch – a pattern where you alternate one knit and one purl stitch every row.
- Purl (P) – the second most common stitch. The combination of knits and purls is what creates patterns.
- Repeat – to complete the same step or set of stitches previously noted. When there is a repeat within a row it is often noted to repeat everything between ( ), [ ], or * *.
- Selvage – The edges that were the first and last rows of stitches.
- Slip – to move a stitch from one needle to the other without knitting or purling it.
- Stash - Your supply of yarn. It may be yarn that you have earmarked for a project or just yarn that you saw and just HAD to have. My stash is mostly made up of the latter category!
- Stockinette/Stocking stitch – a pattern where you knit all stitches on one side of your pattern and purl all stitches on the other side.
- Tink - literally, knit spelled backwards. Used to describe un-doing knitting stitch by stitch.
- Yarn over (YO) – the process of wrapping your yarn over the needle without completing any other action. This typically creates a hole used in lace patterns.