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I really like the look and the idea behind the Knitter's Pride Cubics and was really considering them as my first choice, but then I also read a lot of bad reviews about them breaking or having various QC issues. What about the Denise interchangeable circular set? Knittinghelp.com seems to really recommend them, but I have not really heard anyone in this thread or any knitting forums talk about them.
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Sep 9, 2013 19:20
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Denise were my first set of interchangeables, and they were fine for getting me started out without spending a whole lot. But the cords are fairly stiff and thick which made things like magic loop nearly impossible, and the tips twist into place so they can also twist out of place more easily than Addis (which have a little spring that locks them in) or any of the key/grip based sets.
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Sep 9, 2013 19:30
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I have a set of HiyaHiya bamboo interchangeables and I really love them. I've tried KnitPicks and Knitters Pride, and found them to be way too pointy. The HiyaHiya comes in a large size set and small size set, and I have the latter which has sizes 2 through 8. (The two sets are not compatible with one another.) Pros: goes all the way down to size 2 (most sets only go down to 4), the joints are pivotal so your cable doesn't get twisted up, really great quality, has a variety of cable lengths, and comes in a pretty brocade case. Cons: Each set is $80 and you have to get two if you want the full range of sizes. I don't usually use needles above a size 8 so it's perfect for me, but that doesn't work for a lot of people. They're just perfect and buttery. P.S. My first set was a Boye and it was the worst.
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Sep 9, 2013 20:45
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Only set I ever bought was a Boye. I don't knit large projects ever (I knit on 2mm - 3mm and rarely larger), so having a set of the larger needles on hand when I want to make a sweater or blanket is great. I don't mind them, as I'm usually doing a flat project on them, but yeah. Too stiff for magic loop; on the other hand, I have a full range of 'large' needles for when I need them.
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Sep 9, 2013 23:20
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Drei posted:Denise were my first set of interchangeables, and they were fine for getting me started out without spending a whole lot. But the cords are fairly stiff and thick which made things like magic loop nearly impossible, and the tips twist into place so they can also twist out of place more easily than Addis (which have a little spring that locks them in) or any of the key/grip based sets. Another problem with Denise is that I've found that the black connectors on the cords break off really easily. I think I've replaced almost every cord I've owned so far.
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Sep 9, 2013 23:32
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My attempts so far at knitting continental-style (I learned a clumsy English) have been, well, clumsy. I had to look up a few videos. Is it supposed to be this difficult for right-handed people, or do I just need practice?
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Sep 10, 2013 00:01
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Bertrand Hustle posted:My attempts so far at knitting continental-style (I learned a clumsy English) have been, well, clumsy. I had to look up a few videos. You've probably seen it, but this video probably helped me the most. Getting your middle finger in there to help is really important. (Or it was for me.)
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Sep 10, 2013 00:33
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Basically every time I try to learn continental I give up after ten stitches.
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Sep 10, 2013 05:00
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I am left-handed but knit in the "usual" way e.g. right hand working the ball of yarn. Maybe more left-handlers should give it a try, I couldn't imagine trying to knit with the yarn on the left, nor writing with my right hand.
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Sep 10, 2013 07:17
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I don't think it has much to do with handedness tbh, but what you've been taught first.
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Sep 10, 2013 09:00
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For the heck of it I tried continental all last night. My hand HURTS! But my knitting looks good 
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Sep 10, 2013 12:50
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Can I get some tips from the circular needle users? I always end up having to use dpns because with circular needles, it's awkward. Goes like this: Knit onto right needle. Let stitches fall off end of right needle. Need more stitches on left needle - and oh look, they've shrunk a bit under the weight of the fabric and now I have to loop them back onto the needle one fiddly snaggy bit at a time. I don't think my tension's unusually tight; stitches just shrink a little when they don't have a needle holding them open. Or do they? Is this just something you put up with, am I using crappy needles, or am I doing something wrong?
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Sep 10, 2013 13:50
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If you knit tightly even a little, try to relax if you can. Crappy needles are worse for this, although a really tight knitter can have the same issue even on good needles. If you can combine a pretty normal gauge and decent needles, it shouldn't be an issue. This part is called "the join" if you want to look up other needle reviews on Ravelry. Or you can just keep using DPNs if you prefer them! Btw, whoever was considering Cubics above: you will get screwed on gauge. Their circumference isn't the same as normal needles', and I don't think the difference is enough that you can just go to the next size up. Seems like a pain if you're doing anything where gauge matters.
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Sep 10, 2013 14:52
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i like nice words
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The stitche may shrink a bit asthey hang on the cord but it should not be a problem sliding them back onto the left needle. If they are snagging you prob need a better set of circulars. What are you using? As for the stitches falling off the left needle; always have your left hand holding the end of the needle. If you need to take your hand off for some reason, either push the stiches back away from the end or completely off the needle onto the cord. Or use a point protector when you won't be knitting for awhile.
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Sep 10, 2013 14:56
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Anne Whateley posted:If you knit tightly even a little, try to relax if you can. Crappy needles are worse for this, although a really tight knitter can have the same issue even on good needles. If you can combine a pretty normal gauge and decent needles, it shouldn't be an issue. This part is called "the join" if you want to look up other needle reviews on Ravelry. Or you can just keep using DPNs if you prefer them! I think I was the ones that you are referring, too. I gave up on cubics, because every review I read talked about bad Quality Control and needles breaking way too easily, having sharp edges, or having bad joins (cord wouldn't screw on right).I liked them mainly form an aesthetic and possibly ergonomic POV, but I don't they don't seem practical, at least not yet. I'm a little sad about that. Maybe I will find a good set of cubics someday and maybe some one will figure out a way around the gauge issue.
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Sep 10, 2013 15:01
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Apple Tree posted:
Definitely try better needles. The nicer needles (usually) have a much nicer, smoother join where the needle becomes the cord, and stitches won't get caught up on it so much. I also make a habit of moving the fabric around with every few stitches. Like, I knit two or three and then pull on the fabric to get more loaded up and ready to go. It sounds like it would be something that would slow me down a lot, but it really doesn't, it's just part of how I knit. It helps with evenness, too. Count me in as someone who can't do continental to save my life. I agree with whoever said it's not a handedness thing either, I'm fairly strongly right-handed but I've been playing piano my whole life so it's not like my left hand is any kind of slouch. I spin left handed too, and didn't even realize it was weird for like a year and a half. And I crocheted for years using the yarn in my left! But I can't seem to knit that way. I think I could probably learn if I just forced myself to knit a few projects that way but it's so much slower I get frustrated so I never get enough practice for it to not be slower. Meh.
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Sep 10, 2013 15:24
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:Count me in as someone who can't do continental to save my life. I agree with whoever said it's not a handedness thing either, I'm fairly strongly right-handed but I've been playing piano my whole life so it's not like my left hand is any kind of slouch. I spin left handed too, and didn't even realize it was weird for like a year and a half. And I crocheted for years using the yarn in my left! But I can't seem to knit that way. If you really want to learn continental, do a colorwork project with stranded knitting/fair isle knitting. That's what did it for me. After a while you get so frustrated dropping one color and picking up another that you force yourself to learn continental just so you don't have to put up with it any more. You just have to be careful since odds are your continental tension isn't going to be the same as your english tension. My English tension is a lot tighter so I have to be careful when doing colorwork like that. When you get used to it, continental is actually a lot faster than english when it comes to knitting. Purling continental on the other hand can go straight to hell, and I don't know what foul sorcery people need to use to do it quickly. I don't think I'll ever not be slow there.
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Sep 10, 2013 15:37
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Thanks people. I have to knit reasonably tight as I mostly do toys for people and if the gauge is too loose the stuffing shows, but moving the stitches more regularly sounds like a better idea. I shall have to get back to you on what brand of needle I used, I'm afraid, because after my last attempt ended in another round of 'Curse you, malice of inanimate objects!', I put them away and now I can't find them. First they thwart me, then they hide from me. It is all their fault and nothing to do with me being dozy. But they'll probably show up when I'm trying to find a ball of yarn or something. On another subject: Christmas is coming up (or at least, 'Start planning your Christmas knits now season' is coming up), and I was wondering if anyone wanted to share Christmas stocking patterns? I did some fun ones last year, some of my own design, some cribbed and cobbled from other patterns, and I wondered if people fancied sharing theirs?
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Sep 10, 2013 15:49
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You can always go down a few needle sizes if you want to get a smaller gauge without having to knit tightly. You also didn't mention what length of circulars you were using (and what type of project), but if you're using too long a circular for the project, the stretching that the stitches are forced into will shrink them as a result. So long as it's still long enough to hold all the stitches, a short cord may help a lot.
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Sep 10, 2013 15:56
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Oh, I do use smaller needle sizes - sorry, that was garbled of me, what I was trying to say is that the smaller needle sizes I use tend to produce relatively high yarn thickness/loop size ratios even if I don't pull the thread tight. But I should dig up my circular needles and try again.
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Sep 10, 2013 16:16
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I did a stranded project hoping I'd pick up continental. Nope, I do one color around the right-hand index finger and the other around the middle finger. But I did fall in love with colorwork!wodan22 posted:I think I was the ones that you are referring, too. I gave up on cubics, because every review I read talked about bad Quality Control and needles breaking way too easily, having sharp edges, or having bad joins (cord wouldn't screw on right).I liked them mainly form an aesthetic and possibly ergonomic POV, but I don't they don't seem practical, at least not yet. I'm a little sad about that. Maybe I will find a good set of cubics someday and maybe some one will figure out a way around the gauge issue.  There are other brands of square knitting needles, but I think they all have this issue?
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Sep 10, 2013 17:17
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I just cannot make this work. None of the "English speed-knitting" techniques I've looked up work for me either. I knit much faster the way I originally learned it.
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Sep 10, 2013 17:36
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Genpei Turtle posted:
Look up Norwegian purl. It's the best way to purl if you knit continental.
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Sep 10, 2013 18:54
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I do this thing when I'm using two yarns for colorwork, where one goes OVER my right index finger, and one goes UNDER the same finger. So I just sort of rotate my hand the opposite way for the other one. That's how apparently dedicated to right hand yarn management I am. I swear one of these days I'm just going to knit like ten dishcloths continental. It's not like it matters what dishcloths look like. Even if I go right back to using my right only for most things, it bugs me that I can't do continental if I want to!
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Sep 10, 2013 19:24
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I learned to knit from books and videos so when I was first introduced to continental knitting I skipped it because I just wanted to get the basics down. But as I progressed and decided that knitting was something I liked and wanted to continue doing, I found that colorwork was much easier when you could knit continental as well as English. So doing a basic project that didn't involve much else I decided to just learn it. And I loved it! So it's my normal way of knitting/purling (I don't get the issues people have with purling) now. So much so that I've neglected English style and I'm pretty clumsy at it. I tried learning to throw early on, but I haven't gotten the hang of it. What I'm saying, I guess is that everyone should at least try continental. And also, does anyone have any good video/tutorial recommendations for learning to throw in English? I do need to get better.
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Sep 11, 2013 01:47
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So, I'm actually attempting Yggdrasil this time. Has anyone else tried/finished it? I'm using Carter and Parker Traditional Aran, and I really like it. Its like Fisherman's but with more body.
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Sep 11, 2013 03:32
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Fooley posted:So, I'm actually attempting Yggdrasil this time. Has anyone else tried/finished it? What size are you knitting that in? Because holy poo poo that looks amazing, but gently caress trying to knit the biggest size. Of course, I've queued it and really want to knit the biggest size  .
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Sep 11, 2013 06:57
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left_unattended posted:What size are you knitting that in? Because holy poo poo that looks amazing, but gently caress trying to knit the biggest size. Of course, I've queued it and really want to knit the biggest size Biggest, of course. I've had it faved since I first went on Ravelry, but its always intimidated me. Now that I'm moving along its not that bad.
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Sep 11, 2013 17:20
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Is it a common occurrence to frog pieces you don't like and reuse the yarn for something different? I received a gorgeous silk lace yarn for Christmas and made a shawlette earlier in the year, but now I'm second guessing whether I actually like it or not. (Also i only ended up using less than half the skein and I cant stand having leftovers.) I'm considering ripping it out (even though I'll lose a little bit from where I wove in the ends), resoaking & drying to unkink the yarn, and then using it for something else. But then I don't know what to knit with it. Also the yarn bled like a son of a bitch when I washed the FO and I'm worried that the leftover yarn and the recycled yarn won't look the same.
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Sep 11, 2013 19:25
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ackapoo posted:Is it a common occurrence to frog pieces you don't like and reuse the yarn for something different? I received a gorgeous silk lace yarn for Christmas and made a shawlette earlier in the year, but now I'm second guessing whether I actually like it or not. (Also i only ended up using less than half the skein and I cant stand having leftovers.) I'm considering ripping it out (even though I'll lose a little bit from where I wove in the ends), resoaking & drying to unkink the yarn, and then using it for something else. But then I don't know what to knit with it. Also the yarn bled like a son of a bitch when I washed the FO and I'm worried that the leftover yarn and the recycled yarn won't look the same. Wash the leftovers before you mix the two.
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Sep 11, 2013 19:54
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Making my sister a scarf out of Patons Melody. Yeah, it's acrylic, but she picked it out and she says she likes it. Also, it's got a really cool texture, it's all lumpy and squiggly and bulky as heck. Knitting it on 15s right now and the colors look amazing. If you hold out a piece of yarn, it's a green-blue-purple gradient, but when you knit it, the colors go all over the place and it looks fantastic. Just doing garter stitch because I want the texture of the yarn to stand out. Also using it as an opportunity for continental practice.
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Sep 11, 2013 20:07
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Admiral Goodenough posted:Can you describe what the problem is when you try to knit with the berocco yarn? Maybe it's something that can be fixed I've had issues with it too. I switched from metal to wood needles and it seemed to be a bit better. My suggestions - buy different yarn!
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Sep 11, 2013 22:42
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Fooley posted:Biggest, of course. A man after my own heart  .
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Sep 11, 2013 23:02
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Fooley posted:Biggest, of course. I've had it faved since I first went on Ravelry, but its always intimidated me. Now that I'm moving along its not that bad. RESPECT! Can't wait to see your progress! Pic of the yarn?
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Sep 12, 2013 02:54
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 Not much so far. Im going to focus on it more this weekend. How you do the increases make it lay flat once all's said and done.  A Very Big Yarn
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Sep 12, 2013 03:29
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Whelp, new Knitty. Lots of hats this issue. As I look terrible in knitted hats, I will not be taking a second look at them. Deflect looks kind of nice. Not a big fan of the other sock pattern. I think a lot of the sweaters/cardigans look decent, at least...and then there's Agata and...uh. Yeah. Beer Mitt: ...okay, Knitty. Okay. You do what you want, I know. I dunno. Batting about average for Knitty, I think.
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Sep 13, 2013 01:03
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I really like the leaves of grass scarf, and...that's about it.  I do like that scarf though. I'd start on it now if I already didn't already own a dozen drat scarves.
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Sep 13, 2013 01:13
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For a submission based online magazine like Knitty, I do not understand how things like Double Rainbow get in. It's just a 100% plain, simple, zero effort to design sweater that has rainbow stripes on the sleeves. I always consider Knitty to be some of the best independently designed, original, unique patterns. Interesting constructions, patterns, designs, creative ways to do things, etc. etc. But for the last two years or so it seems like it's turned into the place people dump their sweater patterns that, if available through Ravelry, would be free. I mean, this pattern is free for God's sake and I guarantee Sivia Harding put at least twice as much work into that pattern as the designer of Double Rainbow did. Maybe I'm just grumpy that there are NEVER any men's designs in Knitty, either. The last one I remember was a pretentious sweater by a pretentious designer in her pretentious (and also loving crazy expensive) yarn she was pimping out. Knitty just seems to be slipping lately. I haven't been really impressed with anything from them in a long time. That said, I do like Theobroma and may cast on for it this weekend. I have a good yarn for it, though the yarn is deep wine red and about half my stash/FOs are red. Oops. eta: I take that back slightly, there's been a few in back issues I forgot about. Nothing I liked though, and they're all basically ribbed sweaters or cables. Safari Disco Lion fucked around with this message at 01:21 on Sep 13, 2013 |
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Sep 13, 2013 01:17
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I like some of the zero effort sweaters because they usually come in big sizes, with easy to understand instructions, and are free. Some of the most plain looking cardigan/sweater patterns on ravelry are $$$.
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Sep 13, 2013 01:25
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I sort of like Sophie Loren, but I like colourwork and I like that particular set of colours. I've generally just gotten really disenchanted with it though. I look when they go up, but there's not usually a ton to write home about anymore.
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Sep 13, 2013 01:27
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