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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Larry on January 21, 2012 at 6:29am

Hi Charlene,

I'm not certain, but I think it means one purls through the back loop instead of the front loop. It might feel a tad uncomfortable if you do the knit stitch in the "regular" way. You'll have to reach for the loop. Hopefully someone can confirm this.

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Permalink Reply by cherylbwaters on January 25, 2012 at 1:19am

Charlene, I hope this video helps you!

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Permalink Reply by charlene l. angell on February 2, 2012 at 12:09am

cherylbwater,this is the answer i was looking for. Thank you so much!I

I have been knitting for 40 plus years. being . thought i knew just about everything

and being smug about it, well i guess you know this humbled me. I will no longer

be so uppity about something. lesson learned.

again thanks for taking the time to answer my question. charlene l

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Permalink Reply by cherylbwaters on February 5, 2012 at 9:32pm

Charlene, we also have a group called Ask the Fairy Godknitters. Please feel free to ask questions over there as well. I think more people see the questions there.

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Permalink Reply by Jessicat on February 24, 2012 at 12:33pm

I am sure there is a guide to this question somewhere but I don't know where to start. Can anyone tell me how you approximate a yarn weight when you are doubling strands. For example if I take two strands fingering weight wool what wieght would that give me approximately? Is there a rule of thumb anyone knows? Would it give me sport weight? If I double the wool strands would I double the needle size? I know I could knit a gauge but it seems so time consuming I am looking for a short cut :)

Thanks for any thoughts

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Permalink Reply by Nutty4Knitting on February 24, 2012 at 12:38pm

A simple rule of thumb is this:

Take the sts per in of the yarn, multiply by 2, then divide by three to find out what the sts per in gauge should be for the doubled strands.

EXAMPLE: For a fingering yarn at 7 sts to the in: 7 x 2 = 14/3 = 4.67 st/in

So, your doubled fingering weight yarn would be DK/worsted weight for knitting and you would want to use the needle that gives you that gauge when knitting.

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Permalink Reply by Jessicat on February 24, 2012 at 12:59pm

Thanks that's exactly the kind of info I was looking for thanks so much!

I need to write that rule of thumb in my notes somewhere or I will be looking for it again next month :)

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Permalink Reply by Nutty4Knitting on February 24, 2012 at 1:10pm

LOL! I found it on Ravelry a few weeks ago but didn't write it down, or bookmark it! Yep! Had to go do a post search on Rav to find it for you! I'll not be forgetting it now! So Thank You!!

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Permalink Reply by Jessicat on February 24, 2012 at 1:16pm

Thats funny because first I was on Ravelry and I thought where am I ever going to start to find an answer to this question and then I saw the "question that doesn't fit" line of conversation over here at knitpicks and thought "hey I can be lazy and post my question and maybe someone will have the answer :)

Thanks for saving me a bunch of time!!

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Permalink Reply by Nutty4Knitting on February 24, 2012 at 1:19pm

You're welcome! I wouldn't have known the answer, nor probably thought of a post search on rav if I hadn't stumbled across it before! It worked out well for both of us!

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Permalink Reply by Holly Beimler on March 28, 2012 at 8:13am

Help! Despite my trying to be very careful with my 65% alpaca/35% acrylic sweater when carefully handwashing it, it grew signficantly. The sleeves now hang down past my finger tips and the body hangs to mid-thigh. (This was a gift from my mom, and I think she maybe didn't do a test swatch and block it to ensure proper gauge.) Is there any way to get it to shrink back to a normal size? It would probably fit my husband, but my mom gave it to me just before my dog passed away. I wore it a lot as it was like having a warm hug from her during that hard time. Am I really going to have to frog back and re-do the cuffs and waist? I'm capable of doing that, and it is a top down sweater, which would make it relatively easy. I have the pattern, and I have made myself a sweater of the same design in a 100% wool. I guess I'm being lazy not wanting to frog, so I'm hoping one of you might have a suggestion. I'm hesitant to put it in the washing machine, as I'd like to avoid felting. Any ideas?

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Permalink Reply by cherylbwaters on March 28, 2012 at 9:48pm

Holly, I think your best bet is what you have already suggested, rip back the sleeves and bottom. I would do the sleeves first and then decide if the length of the body needs to be done as well.