Learn to Knit a Scarf and Hat Kit

If you are knitting the Learn to Knit Scarf and Hat Kit, post about your progress and questions here!

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on August 14, 2009 at 6:04am: This looks like a really great beginner project! I like the colorways, too! --P; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brett on August 17, 2009 at 5:12pm: I thought it was wise to start my Learn To Knit A Scarf & Hat project a little early, so I'd have a head start as a very, very green knitter. Its been a bumpy head start. Kate made me start over (frog?) my hat after my first few rows, then I failed to reverse stockinette my CC color (I knit 8 rows instead of reverse stockinetting 6). After that mistake, Angela convinced me to hide it from Kate and keep going. She's good at PR, so she told me to sell it as "artistic license". Yeah.... I meant to do that.

I think I'm starting to get the hang of this though. The more rows I do, the less I have to think about what I'm doing and the less I panic and run to Kate's desk with knitting emergencies. (Apparently, I am a knitting hypochondriac, because most of my emergencies are false alarms. They've started calling me "the Boy Who Cried Kate".)

Tally-ho

Caught 'red-handed' - knitting at my desk.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on August 17, 2009 at 5:35pm: Brett,
The important part, aside from the fact that you are learning to knit, is that apparently you are having fun, too. When I as first teaching myself, I would get to a point, and think, ooo, I did something wrong. The girl that sat next to me at work was a avid knitter, and I would take my project into work, and say, "What did I do wrong?" She would look the situation over, and say, "Nothing, that's how its suppose to look." They may be false alarms, but you are trying and trying to do it right. Way to go! --S; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on August 17, 2009 at 6:13pm: Hi, "Boy Who Cried Kate!" Isn't this your first project? Sounds like you're already a designer! I don't hesitate to change things in a pattern if I want to, but I didn't start out that way! Sometimes you want it to look like the picture, and sometimes you make a mistake and say, "Hey, this is cool, too!" The main thing is to have fun, not to produce a product. If you finish the project and can use it, it's delightful. Happy knitting! --Peggy; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Knitnsewmom on September 3, 2009 at 4:08pm: I have a question about this project. I know that the yarn is supposed to be a hank. How do I unwind it into a ball? I thought that this was a beginner's project! I love the looks of the pattern. I would love to be able to make the scarf and hat. But the yarn being in a hank scares me.
Thanks!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kate on September 3, 2009 at 4:17pm: Here is a tutorial on how to wind a hank of yarn into a ball by hand.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on September 10, 2009 at 12:41pm: Anyone doing a lot of knitting should get his/her own ball winder, and, if possible, a swift. I knit for 50 years winding each one by hand, including enough lace-weight Shimmer to do the Rona Shawl. I think that was what cured me. I asked for both ball winder and swift for Christmas and birthday. Now that I spin, I don't know how I would get along without both! --P; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on September 10, 2009 at 1:19pm: Peggy,
I totally agree! The first time I purchased a hank of yarn, and my DH had to help me wind it without the help of either... he bought the swift for me for my birthday, and I found a ball winder on sale at about the same time. I don't use them every day or anything, but it's a lot easier to wind a ball of yarn, and you can do it without the assistance of anyone!

And if you spin as both Peggy and I do, these items are an absolute must have.

--S; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kate on September 10, 2009 at 3:01pm: I've been knitting for 5 years, but I did not own a swift or ball winder until a few months ago. I was a college student, and I just couldn't justify the price of those tools when it is possible to wind hanks of yarn into balls by hand. Now that I have a swift and ball winder, I use them all of the time, and I am always amazed how quickly I can wind a ball of yarn!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on September 10, 2009 at 7:48pm: Susan and Kate: See my tip about using a TP roll on your ball winder in "Tips and Tricks." Did you already know about this? --P; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on September 10, 2009 at 7:59pm: Peggy,
Yes, I saw you mention this before... I don't use it on all balls of yarn, but on some I do and it really helps.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kate on September 11, 2009 at 8:57am: Sometimes I use a TP roll as a nostepin when I'm winding handspun off of my knitty noddy. I usually leave my other yarn in a hank until I'm about to wind it, then use my ball winder to make a center pull ball and knit it right away.; ▶ Reply to This