Tips and Tricks for New Knitters

Here are some things they don't teach you in knitting class, or if they do, you're lucky!

Tags: knitting, tips, tricks

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Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on September 8, 2009 at 10:52am

The little stitch markers that sort of look like safety pins:

These have a lot of uses, but they will last a lot longer if you store them open, as pictured here.

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on September 8, 2009 at 10:58am

Are you getting close to the end of a ball of yarn and want to know if you have enough to make one more row or rnd? Measure off 12" or length of your choice from the needles. Put a safety pin into the yarn at that point. Knit your pattern until you get to the safety pin, and count the sts as you go. Stop when you get to the safety pin. That will give you the number of sts/foot (or the number in the length you chose). Measure what you have left and compare that with the number of sts you have in a row/rnd.

Permalink Reply by Carol Meissner on September 19, 2009 at 10:14am

I used this technique when i was running out of yarn this morning and it worked just fine! Thanks so much for the tip.

Permalink Reply by Irene Soileau on December 7, 2009 at 12:44pm

This has served me well for years, thanks for remindering all that this old method still works so well, Irene

Permalink Reply by paganinigirl on October 3, 2009 at 2:27pm

What I do is I wrap the yarn around the needle once for every stitch then add the length of the piece. I do this for Long-Tail Cast On too.

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on October 3, 2009 at 3:38pm

It's amazing how many ways you can accomplish the same thing. (I was going to say something about cats, but I'm too kind-hearted.) --P

Permalink Reply by Jenny on November 3, 2009 at 6:08am

i do this too - i love it!!! i actually wrap around two needles, very tightly, and find it works great. I might even just wrap for 10 stitches, then multiply (like if i need 80 stitches, i will just wrap 10 and then estimate 8 times as much yarn for my provisional cast on)

Permalink Reply by Christina on January 4, 2011 at 7:42pm

That's a great tip and one I've never though of. That is going to save a ton of headaches. Thanks

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on September 8, 2009 at 5:40pm

Finished one sock and want to know whether you have enough yarn left for the second sock? Weigh the sock on a kitchen or postage scale, then weigh the yarn you have left (without the label), and if the sock weighs less than the leftover yarn, you're OK. --P

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on September 10, 2009 at 12:38pm

If I have to frog several rows, I usually go back to one row before my mistake. Then I place one st at a time back on the needle, going to the st below the top row and then pull out the st above the one I've just picked up. I end up with all the sts back on the needles and can fix my mistake. Remember, the right side of each st should be in front. I try to pick them up this way, but I watch while knitting the first row just to be sure no sts are twisted and fix any that are. --P
(Frog, frogging = rip out your knitting, as in "rip-it, rip-it)

Permalink Reply by Peggy Stuart on September 10, 2009 at 7:45pm

New Use for Toilet Paper:
Well, for the cardboard roll, at least! If you have a ball winder, save a few TP rolls for ball-winding time. Fold one end towards the inside all the way around. Put the end of the yarn from your swift (or an obliging friends hands) through the other end of the roll and out the folded end. Leave a little tail, and slide the TP roll over the center of your ball winder, folded side down. Begin winding. When the ball is wound, tuck the last end in some of the yarn on the outside of the ball and gently pull the TP roll and ball off the ball winder. Here's what it will look like:

You can store your yarn this way until you need it, or remove the cardboard and use it again. When you remove the cardboard, pull it out from the non-folded end. You will have a perfect center-pull ball with no tangles in the center. The inside end of the yarn will come out with the roll. My spinning teacher taught me this, and it has made ball winding a lot easier. I tried taping down the beginning end of yarn. I tried folding it and putting it into the little slots mine has. One time I launched a partly wound ball of yarn clear across the room! (That was a mess, I can tell you!) So dig into your recycle bin and find a TP roll. --P

Permalink Reply by wendy on September 10, 2009 at 8:14pm