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I am making socks again. Got some lovely Noro sock yarn, my word it's gorgeous. Started the first sock, was like "I will give these to my friend," got about to the heel flap and realized the friend is vegan, so I don't want to give her something made from wool. And then later that night I left it at another friend's house and can't get it until, like, Friday. I wanna work on my socks. I'm going to be making a baby sweater with some gray and black Eco Alpaca for a baby due in November. That will be probably the most ambitious project I've ever done, I've mostly stuck to scarves, hats, and fingerless mittens, with a few pairs of socks thrown in. So I'm hoping I've got the stamina to work through it. Then again, doing a 10-foot scarf, 48 stitches in 2x2 rib on size 11 needles, that was hellish. This should be cake.
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Jun 29, 2011 01:57
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Lately, I have had an insane desire to knit socks. I've never made socks, and I usually hate working with small needles, but I feel like I need to make some. My friend Sam loves to knit socks, and all the pattern sites I browse have sock patterns. There's just a couple things stopping me.. and it's mostly that I'm broke. I managed to score a set of metal size 3 DPNs for free (just waiting for them to get here!) but I still need yarn. Sigh. In the meantime, I have many, many projects I need to finish, and I just cast on this to use up some really ugly, awful-textured yarn I had sitting around. My yarn is a lot thinner, so my gauge is about half of what they call for, but I'm sure it will still look awesome and creepy. Just smaller.
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Jun 29, 2011 11:10
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If you have a Michaels or JoAnns' fabrics near you, I found "Premier Yarns Serenity Sock Weight" to be a very decent yarn for the price (less than $6 for a pair of socks worth). It's not the best stuff ever or anything and it only seems to come in self-striping colors (at least as far as I remember) but it's no red heart at all. Of course for some reason I knit the pair about two inches too short for my feet or the feet of any adult human, so I can't really say much about wearing them.
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Jun 29, 2011 15:57
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In a similar vein, what's everyone's favorite vegan yarn? It can be sock or not sock, I just have only been knitting with wool or alpaca for so long that I don't even know where to begin.
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Jun 29, 2011 16:27
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:If you have a Michaels or JoAnns' fabrics near you, I found "Premier Yarns Serenity Sock Weight" to be a very decent yarn for the price (less than $6 for a pair of socks worth). It's not the best stuff ever or anything and it only seems to come in self-striping colors (at least as far as I remember) but it's no red heart at all. My first socks were made from this yarn and they're my favorite.
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Jun 29, 2011 20:10
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Look Under The Rock posted:In a similar vein, what's everyone's favorite vegan yarn? It can be sock or not sock, I just have only been knitting with wool or alpaca for so long that I don't even know where to begin. I made a pair of socks with bamboo yarn not too terribly long ago and it was a dream to work with, plus they ended up super soft and nice. I don't remember the brand unfortunately, but if you want something that's not an animal fiber and not a synthetic, bamboo is the way I'd go.
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Jul 1, 2011 15:12
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Bamboo is stretchier than cotton, although they can feel similar. It can also be quite heavy, so you won't get much for your money (this has been my experience of knitting with bamboo tape, anyway - it was Wendy Pure Bamboo and Sirdar Just Bamboo, for the record). I understand people who've made things like sweaters out of pure bamboo have had problems with the garment not retaining a shape or going funny in the wash. So maybe try it mixed with something else if you're making sweaters or something. Here are some vegan sock yarns and here are some ideas for vegan yarn of other kinds.
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Jul 2, 2011 19:05
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Speaking of socks (though they're not vegan): My first toe-up ones, and my new favorite pair! Judy's Magic Cast-on really is magic (though it probably would have been easier if I had started on a non-black section).
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Jul 11, 2011 16:19
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Are any UK knitters going to Knit Nation this weekend? It will be my first time at an actual knitting convention, I feel like it's my coming out event as a real knitting nerd! I personally intend to home the hell in on the Susan Crawford stall. I have the Stitch in Time book (and pre-ordered the second!) and I want to knit just about every other pattern in there. Oh and now she's produced her own vintage reproduction wool so gosh, I guess I'll have to load up...
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Jul 14, 2011 19:59
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I need advice. I taught myself how to knit back in 2005 or so and I've never progressed past scarves and one bag. What's a good summer project to help me get better?
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Jul 21, 2011 07:41
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Lackadaisical posted:I need advice. I taught myself how to knit back in 2005 or so and I've never progressed past scarves and one bag. What's a good summer project to help me get better? Learning how to knit on the round is a super great way of opening doors to new projects. Once you get the hang of it with simple stuff like beanies, you can get into socks and mittens and all kinds of cool stuff!
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Jul 21, 2011 09:30
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Might not be the best weather for it, but knitting something in the round that's eventually going to be felted is a good way to practice - if you screw up the felting hides all the evidence.
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Jul 21, 2011 11:10
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Lackadaisical posted:I need advice. I taught myself how to knit back in 2005 or so and I've never progressed past scarves and one bag. What's a good summer project to help me get better? I've posted it before, but this is a great beginner's bag since all it is is garter stitch and i-cord.
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Jul 22, 2011 01:49
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Wandering Knitter posted:I've posted it before, but this is a great beginner's bag since all it is is garter stitch and i-cord. I made one of these and it was a fantastic learning experience. If you can knit at all you can do this bag, and if you don't know about picking up stitches or the ~*I-cord bind-off*~ then you'll learn a thing or two.
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Jul 22, 2011 02:54
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So I mentioned a while back I was going to do up a hat with some Ultra Pima. I did. Hooray! Here it is before blocking.  And here it is after. Not that it was that heavily blocked, but I stretched it around a plate for half a day or so to set the lace a little more and to give it a bit more slouch. I used this pattern out of Knitty though I found that a ball of Ultra Pima was only going to give me enough yarn for 7 repeats instead of the 8 the slouchy version called for. Either way, it worked out and my sister, who it was a gift for, was suitably delighted.
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Jul 24, 2011 21:04
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I have two (maybe three?) balls of Debbie Bliss cashmerino (http://www.debbieblissonline.com/Yarn.asp?yid=11)that I'd like to do something with. I'm a very basic knitter with some repetitive stress injury issues, so whatever I do needs to be something I can work on for a couple of weeks and set aside for two or three months. Lace is out of the question. What should I make?
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Jul 25, 2011 04:26
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How about just a plain ribbed scarf? k2, p2, or k2, p1, something like that, 30, 40 stiches across? It's a very cozy and soft-feeling yarn, so it's nice to have on your face.
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Jul 25, 2011 04:39
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I think I'm leaning toward a hat - I already have knit some things on circular needles/dpns, so it shouldn't be too hard. How forgiving would a 2x2 rib hat be, as far as small changes in tension?
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Jul 25, 2011 14:37
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I think it would be pretty forgiving--the 2x2 rib will help pull it in and make it stretchy, which can hide a lot of tension as well.
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Jul 25, 2011 15:48
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I have finished making a cushion cover, with the zip sewn on and the cushion put in and everything. Well, it's actually got two cushions in, my measurements were over-generous. Something to remember when next making a cushion cover - it'll stretch to fit.
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Jul 30, 2011 19:10
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Have any of you ever knit for pay? I agreed to knit up this crazy jumper for a fashion design student and I've got no idea how much to ask for. I'm calculating it'll take me about 140 hours to knit this up, at $8/hour that's $1120! I really don't feel comfortable asking her for that much since she's paying out of her own pocket. I don't know how to strike a balance between what's fair for the amount of work I'm doing and what a student can reasonably afford. Anyone have any insight?
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Aug 2, 2011 09:11
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concreteelephant posted:Have any of you ever knit for pay? I agreed to knit up this crazy jumper for a fashion design student and I've got no idea how much to ask for. I'm calculating it'll take me about 140 hours to knit this up, at $8/hour that's $1120! I really don't feel comfortable asking her for that much since she's paying out of her own pocket. I don't know how to strike a balance between what's fair for the amount of work I'm doing and what a student can reasonably afford. Anyone have any insight? The old rule of thumb I normally follow is "x3 the cost of materials."
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Aug 2, 2011 16:49
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Wandering Knitter posted:The old rule of thumb I normally follow is "x3 the cost of materials." Fair for most projects, though if there are curveballs or things like a ton of colorwork I'd bump it up more. What's your estimated cost of materials at the moment, concreteelephant?
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Aug 2, 2011 21:35
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The girl I'm working with bought 30 balls of this yarn at $10.90/ball, so that's $327 for materials. So that times three is $981! It's all one colour and it's not *that* difficult except that there's a lot of knitting to be done and some kind of tricky shaping to do on some of the pieces. There's also the fact that she doesn't understand knitting so the pattern pieces she's given me don't all really work as a knitted garment- you know, some stuff is really easy to cut out of fabric but a major pain in the rear end/ impossible to do when knitting. So I'm also "translating" the pattern to be knit because it wouldn't work as she has it. That said I'm not the most experienced knitter around. She is taking a bit of a gamble having me do this so I feel weird charging for expertise when I don't really have any. I didn't think that she needed a whole 30 balls but she wanted to be on the safe side so we agreed in addition that if there was yarn left over I would either keep it as part of my pay or return it for store credit as part of my pay (they don't do refunds). I don't think I'll need more than 25 balls so it's possible I'll get as much as $55 store credit as well which I'll definitely use (assuming I don't hate knitting by the end of this project, haha!). Within the context of the rest of her collection $981 isn't totally outlandish. Apparently she got some leather smocked (whatever that means) in India and it was $600, and she's still got to sew it together into a skirt and had to pay extra to get it shipped, etc. So she's clearly willing to drop a lot of money to see her vision done justice to.
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Aug 3, 2011 01:25
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$327 for materials  Do you know what yarn it is? Or have a picture? I need to see what yarn would make someone go "I will totally pay $327 in hopes of this one day becoming a jumper!" e: And the pattern. Please.
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Aug 3, 2011 02:42
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This is the yarn, Morris & Sons have a few yarn stores around Sydney & Melbourne (I'm in Sydney) and do a range of their own yarns, so this is one from that range. We're using the colour sesame. This is a pretty midpriced yarn around here so I'm surprised by your surprise. For comparison a 50g ball of Noro Silk Garden Lite is $17.60 (which I just looked up goes for ~$12 in the US  ) at the same store.I feel a bit weird about posting her design since it's her own design and I don't know how she feels about it being shared on the internet. As I work on it I'll probably post pictures of pieces of it for feedback, etc. though.
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Aug 3, 2011 07:53
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I'm shocked because I'm poor as gently caress and $327 is probably my yarn budget for the past three years v v
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Aug 3, 2011 20:59
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This is one of the reasons i don't knit big projects and/or only try to buy yarn one ball at a time so that i never have to know the awful truth... of course i basically haven't bought any yarn since i started paying back my student loans 
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Aug 3, 2011 21:44
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Scooty Puff Jr. posted:This is one of the reasons i don't knit big projects and/or only try to buy yarn one ball at a time so that i never have to know the awful truth... The reason that I fail to embark on many large projects isn't just that of patience/attention span (though it factors in) but the fact that I'm flipped out by yarn cost if it goes above about 50, let alone 300 bucks.
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Aug 3, 2011 21:58
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I've kept my yarn costs down in the last few months by reknitting projects I'm not 100% satisfied rather than starting new ones. v v
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Aug 3, 2011 21:59
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I think the only time I've bought a bulk amount of yarn was either for dyeing for the shop, or once, for a sweater, because I worked at the yarn shop and could order whatever i wanted for basically half price because it was straight from the supplier.
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Aug 3, 2011 22:31
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Scooty Puff Jr. posted:I think the only time I've bought a bulk amount of yarn was either for dyeing for the shop, or once, for a sweater, because I worked at the yarn shop and could order whatever i wanted for basically half price because it was straight from the supplier. I worked at a yarn store part time in college. I got paid to knit samples for the store. God I miss that job
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Aug 3, 2011 23:05
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My wife is having trouble with a lace afghan pattern, something about losing stitches. I thought maybe you guys could help. I think I am typing this correctly. Row 1 - k2tog tbl, YO Row 2 - p2tog, YO She's losing stitches on her second row. I had to help her count a few times. I don't know how you people do this. Does anyone have an idea why this would be happening?
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Aug 4, 2011 01:16
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Operating Rod posted:My wife is having trouble with a lace afghan pattern, something about losing stitches. I thought maybe you guys could help. It's a bit tough to say without actually looking at it myself. Off the top of my head one possibility is that the YOs are dropping off the needles by accident - it's hard to tell when that's happened sometimes because it doesn't leave a loose stitch hanging there. EDIT: another thing is are there really YO's at the end of each row? No border or anything? Because it's pretty tough to keep track of a YO at the end of a row too. A good idea might be to put little markers every ten stitches or so, that way you can count between the markers and find EXACTLY where the stitches are getting lost. Helps to narrow it down. And it's much easier to count to ten 20 times than it is to count to 200 once. Or you know...1242 if you're knitting a huge rear end lace shawl (that was a really bad day). Bob Shadycharacter fucked around with this message at 14:17 on Aug 4, 2011 |
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Aug 4, 2011 02:08
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How many stitches is she typically losing? My immediate thought was my typical mistake on purl row YO- that I simply don't do the YO part when I think I am. But I imagine she's already considered that
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Aug 4, 2011 02:53
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Drei posted:I've kept my yarn costs down in the last few months by reknitting projects I'm not 100% satisfied rather than starting new ones. v This is my method too! My hobby isn't really knitting- it's knitting, frogging and reknitting. It is a lot of money and I tried to talk her into cheaper yarn especially since it's a fashion object rather than a jumper that she'd wear everyday. In the latter case I'd use nicer yarn that would hold up better, plus you'd get your money's worth. But whatever, it's her money  Well anyway, thanks everyone. I think I'm looking at a range of $800-$1000 which sounds like a lot of money but seems to be in line with how people normally charge for commissions. She said she wants to pay me by installments so she doesn't have to think about how much the whole thing is costing in total....I'm so glad I'm not a fashion student!
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Aug 4, 2011 12:11
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:EDIT: another thing is are there really YO's at the end of each row? No border or anything? Because it's pretty tough to keep track of a YO at the end of a row too. She says it's five knit stitches for the border. She's been yelling out her knitting moves like they're special attacks in a fighting game to not miss them. YARN OVERRRRR! Oh and I think she said she drops two stitches on the second row. Thanks again goons.
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Aug 5, 2011 01:42
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Is it possible to show us a picture of what she's working on? It might be easier to figure it out if we can see it.
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Aug 5, 2011 03:20
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Operating Rod posted:She's been yelling out her knitting moves like they're special attacks in a fighting game to not miss them. Oh my word, I thought I was the only one who did this.
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Aug 6, 2011 18:16
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So I finished this months ago and only now managed to get the photos taken three weeks ago up. I am as speedy at my photo-ing as I am my knitting apparently. I don't know how you guys do them both. :P     It's Lizette from this year's spring Twist Collective. I love this sweater. I actually liked the acrylic/cotton blend yarn it called for too (plus I had a gift card and the yarn wasn't expensive to buy, so sweater cost me the $5 for the needles to knit it woooo). Lots of nice detail here and there, but really relaxing to knit in the midst of the chaos that was graduation and full-time job after while packing to move.
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Aug 6, 2011 22:43
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