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Knitting Class, Week 2 Follow-up
I did actually finish my swirly dishcloth. My goal was to finish it before my friends' party Saturday, and I did, by working on it during lunch and on the bus one day instead of walking and reading.
I also learned a photography tip: stand directly over the knitting when I have set it on the couch to photograph so that there is no glare on the leather.
Circular bamboo needles
I also went shopping. I got circular bamboo needles, recommended because for big projects they help keep the weight of the knitting off your wrists and in your lap, plus they don't get in the way like long needles can--with the ends catching on things and tapping people in the elbow, plus a few other reasons I'm forgetting now.
I tried to move to these new needles onto my swirly dishcloth project, but that started as a (subtle) slapstick comedy routine. I'd start with one new needle and one old needle, but then I'd do a short row, not taking the rest of the stitches off the old needle, turn the work around, and slowly work the stitches back off the new needle. I had to wait until the end of a section to succeed.
The bamboo is great. It's prettier than my aluminum needles. I was worried that it might not be slick enough with my cotton yarn, but it really seemed just the same--very smooth. The work on my new needles matches the work on my old needles. Occasionally the circular part got twisted in a way that was uncomfortable and that I couldn't figure out how to fix until the end of the row (though I didn't try that hard), but it was fine. In sum, I love these.
Interestingly, I only just at the store realized that the list of required materials included circular knitting needles but not straight ones. Ha!
Hat Planning
While I was at the store, I also looked for a nice wool yarn from which to make a hat. There was nothing I loved, but there was a 100% wool that Robin loved and he said he wanted a hat, so I got that.
I measured his head and it did not match any of the sizes on my "universal" pattern. I knitted up some fabric with my new yarn to check the gauge and it did not match any of the gauges in the pattern. Fortunately I have the powers of math and google.
The pattern says to cast on the same number of stitches that, with the indicated gauge, would add up to the the number of inches shown as the size. That seems too big. And I am right. Google research showed that the actual hat should be 1 - 1.5 inches smaller around than the head.
Math in real life
So, I took the Robin head measurement minus 1.5 inches times my gauge of 4 stitches per inch and did the same for Robin's head minus 1 inch to calculate an acceptable range of cast-on stitches.
Then I looked at the pattern. First you cast on some stitches, so the number of stitches has to be divisible by one. No problem.
Then you knit 2, purl 2, etc. So the number also has to be divisible by 2. No problem - one number in the range (90) was divisible by 2.
Actually, you knit 2, purl 2 and end with a knit 2, so the number minus 2 has to be divisible by 4. (90-2)/4 = 88/4 = 22. Check.
Then you do a bunch of stockinette, which works for any integer.
Then you shape the top by knitting one, then (knit 2 together twice followed by knitting the number of stitches in the chart) four times, then knit one again. So the number has to equal 1 + [(2 + 2 + x) * 4] + 1. Or the number has to equal 2 + (4 + x) * 4. And x has to be an integer. So I was hoping x was an integer for 90 = 2 + (4 + x) * 4. So 88 = (4 + x ) X 4. So 22 = 4 + x. So 18 = x. Score!
Things that go without saying
While watching other people knit, including on YouTube and in Denver, I decided there are certain things that go unsaid in knitting instruction.
For example, no matter what style you use, it looks like everyone has some way to hold most of the knitting on one needle while pulling a single stitch off. And it looks like everyone puts a finger on the end of the needle pulling the stitch off so that it stays on that other needle.
Sometimes people do mention which things tend to be done too loosely and which tend to be done too tightly, which is great.
Lots of people like to say that in knitting there are only two stitches: knitting and purling. Yet, you can't do a project if you know only how to knit and purl. You at least have to know how to cast on (as far as I can tell). And I think you also have to know how to decrease or cast off. Many project call for "yarn overs" which are not knit or purl by any stretch of the definition.
I've decided to make a list of all the things I'm learning, along with notes about tightness and hanging on to stuff.
Hat Making
Oy. Knit 2, purl 2, how hard could it be? After about an inch, I noticed that one end was a couple of rows shorter than the other end. One of those times I quit in the middle of a row and came back, I must have started in the wrong direction. I unknitted and unpurled until I got to the problem area and started again, but it turned out the problem was still there. I ripped it all out and started over. It took all the rest of Sunday to catch up.
Later, a knit stitch disappeared. I don't know where it went. But I did know exactly where it should have been. I kept pulling up different parts of the yarn until it looked like a knit stitch and continued.
I knitted like crazy but did not get to where I wanted to be (the place where the instructor then explains how to do the very pretty decrease) by the time class started. Good thing I had two sets of needles: one to hold the hat and one to use during class.
I also learned a photography tip: stand directly over the knitting when I have set it on the couch to photograph so that there is no glare on the leather.
Circular bamboo needles
I also went shopping. I got circular bamboo needles, recommended because for big projects they help keep the weight of the knitting off your wrists and in your lap, plus they don't get in the way like long needles can--with the ends catching on things and tapping people in the elbow, plus a few other reasons I'm forgetting now.
I tried to move to these new needles onto my swirly dishcloth project, but that started as a (subtle) slapstick comedy routine. I'd start with one new needle and one old needle, but then I'd do a short row, not taking the rest of the stitches off the old needle, turn the work around, and slowly work the stitches back off the new needle. I had to wait until the end of a section to succeed.
The bamboo is great. It's prettier than my aluminum needles. I was worried that it might not be slick enough with my cotton yarn, but it really seemed just the same--very smooth. The work on my new needles matches the work on my old needles. Occasionally the circular part got twisted in a way that was uncomfortable and that I couldn't figure out how to fix until the end of the row (though I didn't try that hard), but it was fine. In sum, I love these.
Interestingly, I only just at the store realized that the list of required materials included circular knitting needles but not straight ones. Ha!
Hat Planning
While I was at the store, I also looked for a nice wool yarn from which to make a hat. There was nothing I loved, but there was a 100% wool that Robin loved and he said he wanted a hat, so I got that.
I measured his head and it did not match any of the sizes on my "universal" pattern. I knitted up some fabric with my new yarn to check the gauge and it did not match any of the gauges in the pattern. Fortunately I have the powers of math and google.
The pattern says to cast on the same number of stitches that, with the indicated gauge, would add up to the the number of inches shown as the size. That seems too big. And I am right. Google research showed that the actual hat should be 1 - 1.5 inches smaller around than the head.
Math in real life
So, I took the Robin head measurement minus 1.5 inches times my gauge of 4 stitches per inch and did the same for Robin's head minus 1 inch to calculate an acceptable range of cast-on stitches.
Then I looked at the pattern. First you cast on some stitches, so the number of stitches has to be divisible by one. No problem.
Then you knit 2, purl 2, etc. So the number also has to be divisible by 2. No problem - one number in the range (90) was divisible by 2.
Actually, you knit 2, purl 2 and end with a knit 2, so the number minus 2 has to be divisible by 4. (90-2)/4 = 88/4 = 22. Check.
Then you do a bunch of stockinette, which works for any integer.
Then you shape the top by knitting one, then (knit 2 together twice followed by knitting the number of stitches in the chart) four times, then knit one again. So the number has to equal 1 + [(2 + 2 + x) * 4] + 1. Or the number has to equal 2 + (4 + x) * 4. And x has to be an integer. So I was hoping x was an integer for 90 = 2 + (4 + x) * 4. So 88 = (4 + x ) X 4. So 22 = 4 + x. So 18 = x. Score!
Things that go without saying
While watching other people knit, including on YouTube and in Denver, I decided there are certain things that go unsaid in knitting instruction.
For example, no matter what style you use, it looks like everyone has some way to hold most of the knitting on one needle while pulling a single stitch off. And it looks like everyone puts a finger on the end of the needle pulling the stitch off so that it stays on that other needle.
Sometimes people do mention which things tend to be done too loosely and which tend to be done too tightly, which is great.
Lots of people like to say that in knitting there are only two stitches: knitting and purling. Yet, you can't do a project if you know only how to knit and purl. You at least have to know how to cast on (as far as I can tell). And I think you also have to know how to decrease or cast off. Many project call for "yarn overs" which are not knit or purl by any stretch of the definition.
I've decided to make a list of all the things I'm learning, along with notes about tightness and hanging on to stuff.
Hat Making
Oy. Knit 2, purl 2, how hard could it be? After about an inch, I noticed that one end was a couple of rows shorter than the other end. One of those times I quit in the middle of a row and came back, I must have started in the wrong direction. I unknitted and unpurled until I got to the problem area and started again, but it turned out the problem was still there. I ripped it all out and started over. It took all the rest of Sunday to catch up.
Later, a knit stitch disappeared. I don't know where it went. But I did know exactly where it should have been. I kept pulling up different parts of the yarn until it looked like a knit stitch and continued.
I knitted like crazy but did not get to where I wanted to be (the place where the instructor then explains how to do the very pretty decrease) by the time class started. Good thing I had two sets of needles: one to hold the hat and one to use during class.