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So I'm pretty new to knitting (it's been like, 2 weeks  ) and absolutely loving it so far, so I'm looking to the tools I'll need in the future. Specifically, needle sets and what I should invest in and what I should avoid. In the interest of saving some cash and space in having duplicates, I've been looking into interchangeable circulars that won't break the bank. The Denise set looks good but I was wondering if anybody had any experience with the resin (plastic?) and how that feels. I know it's purely subjective, but how do they relate to say, bamboo, or metal needles? I prefer metal, but they're not exactly airport friendly... Any advice would be appreciated. 
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Sep 26, 2008 10:28
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Midnight Sun posted:I don't recommend the Denise set, the needles feel like spaghetti. (I've only tried the smaller ones, I guess the bigger needles are ok.) Exactly the input I was looking for, thank you! Now if only the Options set had a 16 or 17" cable... but they've only got 24 and up.
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Sep 26, 2008 11:39
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Bad Mitten posted:Get the longer cables. Once you go Magic Loop, you never look back. I bought a full set of DPNs that I regret now that I've tried magic loop on circulars. Well, I KNOW the larger ones would come in handy. But smaller ones would be nice too, for those mid-size things to do on circulars, like hats, and big scarves. (I have a lot of family who could use big, warm tubular scarves. ) Should I just buy the few smaller ones I'll need for those?Also, how portable is magic loop knitting? It doesn't seem the easiest to finagle that in and out of a bag... If it's possible though, I'm all over that!
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Sep 27, 2008 05:37
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So I'm working on my first lace project, http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEspring08/PATTlaminaria.html using 2 balls of Dream in Color Baby. After seeing my roommate's mishap with a clear delineation between balls on a sweater using Classy, I'm afraid of that happening and want to switch between the two every couple of rows... the question being, would carrying the yarn up the side be super noticeable in a lace project? If it helps, the color I'm using is Midnight Derby, which is much more subtle than most hand painted yarns, but I don't want to spend hours upon hours working on this thing and cursing it only to have it turn out beautiful... except for the line made where I switched balls. 
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Mar 2, 2009 21:16
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Bad Mitten posted:IIRC, Dream in Color doesn't have dye lots. What I would do is start a swatch with the end of your first ball then switch to the new ball halfway. If you can't tell where the join is, you are good. If you notice a difference, then alternate skeins for about 2 inches before using the new one. It would depend on the pattern, if you want to carry it along the edge or cut it and weave it in on every change. Yes, that's what I thought! It looks like I am in fact gonna have to swatch, but I like your idea of alternating for a couple inches before switching... much less work than through the whole thing! Thanks for the help, Anne Whately and Bad Mitten!
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Mar 7, 2009 20:02
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Gorgeous scarf Sex Hobbit! I loooooove the look of the Noro scarf, but don't think I could handle that much k1,p1 ribbing, unless I gave it long breaks inbetween. But is that all the scarf four balls of Silk Garden makes? It seems so much larger in the pics I've seen... granted, they're all gorgeous, but that's a wee scarf for $40 (or more!).
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Sep 8, 2009 07:03
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Sex Hobbit posted:Oh no, that scarf was only two balls, plus it was 50% off Oh thank god! I looked at it and went thought it looked tiny, then realized I haven't actually seen pics of it on anybody except brooklyntweed's, and his photos are very artfully blurred, so I couldn't know just how big it was... so I checked your post history and saw the 4 balls for your dad's scarf and thought they were the same! Now that I look they're not even close to the same colors.  Sorry Wandering Knitter, I really want it too (and can't afford it...) but I wasn't gonna attempt scrounging up that kind of dough at all if it made such a tiny-rear end scarf, so I just HAD to know.
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Sep 11, 2009 08:17
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Anybody have a copy of the pattern for Tomten that can help me get an idea of how much yardage I need for a 15-18 month old? I've done some googling and found out that the pattern is modular, but I'm buying the book off Knitpicks this payday and want to order the yarn with everything else for free shipping. If it helps I'd be using either DK or fingering weight. Any help is much appreciated!
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Oct 20, 2009 04:57
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Look Under The Rock posted:OH MY CONTINENTAL Weeeell, I've found after some practice I got pretty good at KNITTING in continental, but I can't PURL to save my life, but as hats are in the round, you don't have to purl! I obviously don't know what you've tried before, but maybe you can eventually get the hang of knitting continental style, minus purling. It kinda sucks cos you're basically starting over with learning, but I keep telling myself that it'll be better in the long run... Maybe I'm just masochistic? My left hand isn't dexterous at all beyond the keyboard, so if I can do it, you can too!
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Nov 4, 2009 08:28
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Genpei Turtle posted:Is there anyone here who went from English to continental and if so, how long did it take you before you could produce stuff that wasn't hideous abominations? I'm wondering if I just shouldn't buckle down and do my next few projects in continental. I've only been knitting for a little less than a year so I guess it wouldn't be too hard to un-learn everything I've done until now... I've only been doing continental regularly now for maybe a month and my projects are coming out just fine! For the Hey Teach sweater I'm making I use combined knitting, because it's back and forth, and for the ribbing on socks I've started using the Norwegian purl. The great thing about the Norwegian purl is that the yarn is still held in back, and all the weird gymnastics are done with the right needle, not the yarn in your left, so it was easier for me to get the hang of. Still took a little while and it was frustrating as all hell (dropped stitches, ripping back alot, etc.) but so worth it! I've also done stranded knitting (one color in each hand) and picked it up fairly easily after just a few months of knitting, so I may not be the best example, but I will say that I tried using English only the first repeat (Endpaper Mitts) and it took soooooo loooong compared to the other method and I'd never have the patience for it. ThreeFish, don't lose hope! I'd practice doing the knit stitch with continental on it's own for a little while before doing another stranded piece... it helped me a lot! Then you'll be more used to it and won't be as tense.
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Nov 4, 2009 20:06
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awapplesauce, I'm assuming you mean the red in the first pic? That looks like a single ply to me. Like Mal worsted.
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Jan 18, 2010 03:30
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Genpei Turtle posted:For all you stranded knitters out there, what's your technique for keeping the fabric looking even? I'm doing the Endpaper Mitts as my first stranded knitting so I don't have a ton of experience, but I've found making sure I hold both pretty loosely helps a LOT. I also tug on it every now and again... not the loop to tighten it, but on the work to sorta even it out a bit. But seriously, loosen up! It's helped with the strain on my hands, too. For some reason knitting Continental makes my left hand cramp, no matter how much I do it, but this practice has helped a bit with that in addition to evening out my gauge.
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Mar 17, 2010 06:05
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madlilnerd posted:Oh oh oh, today I went to my first US yarn store, Bad Girl Yarns (uh... I think) in Wallingford, Seattle. So many beautiful looking and feeling yarns... I might have to go back and pick up a couple of balls of something shiny to knit my boyfriend's mum a scarf as a thank you for having me pressie. Holy poo poo you're in Seattle right now!? Craziness.  And Bad Woman Yarns is in a little mall type deal in what feels like a huge old house in Wallingford, by the QFC. If that sounds right, you were in fact at Bad Woman Yarns. If you get a chance head over to Weaving Works in the U-District, which is actually mostly knitting stuff. They have some gorgeous yarn too, and they're one of the cheapest yarn shops in Seattle. I quite enjoy Little Knits in West Seattle, too, especially for sock yarn, or a nice Malabrigo fix. I hope you enjoy your stay in my fair city! 
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Apr 13, 2010 04:32
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Zombie Pirate posted:So, what are some good things to knit for family members who rarely wear knit stuff? I'm trying to start Christmas presents in advance this year, and I'm stuck on what to do for my Dad. It's not usually cold enough to need gloves and a scarf here. Socks might be good, because they're nice and functional so I know he will use them, but I kind of want to be a bit more creative. Is Victoria's weather similar to Seattle's? Usually about 35-45F during the winter, but rainy and misty?
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May 28, 2010 04:39
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Zombie Pirate posted:
Wool is GREAT in the damp! A nice, lightweight wool hat and skinnier scarf or cowl might be nice. Just enough to ward off the chilly mist stuff we get 6 months out of the year. (And longer than usual this year, ugh) Wool socks are also fantastic in the great Pac NW as your feet WILL get wet in the winter... and the lightweight sock yarns aren't bulky or too warm when dry, but are noticeably warmer than store bought socks when wet. Even if he doesn't get cold easily wet feet will take a man down fast! I work outside year-round and these things have been a godsend for me. Wool/alpaca blends are also awesome, and the alpaca lends a lightness and fuzziness that can't be beat.
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May 28, 2010 05:31
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Wedemeyer posted:
If you want diagonal stripes, probably the easiest way to do it is on the bias, and then you can just do normal stripes. http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bias-scarf-patterns Here is the pattern I used, just omit the YOs for a solid scarf. As for doing it horizontally, you need a circular needle to hold all the stitches! IMHO, you're much better off just saving up for an interchangeable set... the KnitPicks ones are fantastic and very affordable. Trust me, you will not enjoy working with home-made circular needles. o.O If you like the look of horizontal stripes but are on a tighter budget than circs allow, maybe crochet that one?
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Jun 5, 2010 01:36
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I hope it's okay to solicit advice here here, but....
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Anybody got a good resource on how to do small rufflies? I found a shawl I'd really love to do, but it's only to be found on some Swedish website, so I wouldn't understand it anyway. There's also the fact that it's pretty easy to reproduce... as long as I can learn how to do ruffle!
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Jun 20, 2010 23:02
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Whoo, thanks for the quick replies Drei and Bob Shadycharacter! I knew it was something to that effect, but I didn't know how many increases to do how often, etc. etc. Most of the ruffled edge shawls I came across on Rav you had to pay for, and I didn't wanna do that just to learn how to do ruffles! I think I'll do some swatches with leftover sock yarn to figure out exactly how I want it, now that I have a better idea how to go about it.
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Jun 21, 2010 03:54
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Izzy posted:Finished my first pair of socks ever! Congrats on the wearable pair of first socks! I love the Yarn Harlot recipe, though some say all the stockinette is boring, you can motor through them while watching movies or something, so you have something to keep your hands busy but not the mind/eyes. SS is also very soothing after a really stressful day at work. The only thing I don't like about the pattern is the wedge toe... I like to wiggle my toes a lot and I have kinda wide feet, so I like going with a more rounded toe. Speaking of motoring through socks... I started some vanilla socks from the toe up using that new sport weight sock yarn from KnitPicks. That stuff is CRAZY soft, they go SO FAST, but it's so freakin' splitty! I'm barely past the toe and I've got a knot that won't undo because when I tried to pull it apart the plies were like "psh, I'm sicka you!" to all their fellow plies and it became a big snarled mess, so I just pulled the knot tight and will cut and rejoin. Even just doing the increases for the toe were putting a strain on their togetherness, so I would not use that stuff for something that calls for a lot of stitch manipulation! Has anybody else had this issue, or is it just me/my needles?
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Jul 13, 2010 01:44
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Put it in Your Mouf posted:The socks look great. I'm too much of a wimp to try making any, but I love looking at the finished products! I love the sport weight Felici, despite the splittiness, but I'm not the biggest fan of the regular sock weight. It's just too... stringy? to me. Not enough bounce and cush, especially considering it's merino. The sport weight solves that problem for me... it's cushy and soft and smooth all at the same time. It's very, very smooth though, so even if you're not a wool fan I still think you'll like this stuff. Knitpicks stuff in general is pretty great, especially for the price. I haven't had issues with anything being especially rough, and I made a giant-rear end Ravenclaw scarf out of Wool of the Andes, which I think is about as woolly as their yarn gets and it's still quite nice. It's def not merino, but it holds up a bit better, is cheap, and is a drat sight better than Vanna's Choice or Red Heart Super Saver. What I'm saying is, you really can't go wrong on that site. Sex Hobbit, do they still have the Rainbow for sale? I have it in the catalog but I can't seem to find it on the actual website.  I'm not a huge fan of Felici, but for rainbow stripes I am soooooo all over that.Look Under the Rock, it used to be online, but then she put it in one of her books. Knitting Rules, I think? Basically all there is to it is "CO X sts, knit 2 inches of k2p2 ribbing, k 5 inches (or whatever) of stst, turn heel (much easier than it looks!), form gussets (just decreases every other row until you're back to the original number of stitches), knit until toes start, decrease for toe, close off, done!" It's just her own vanilla pattern that obviously you change to fit you, but instead of having miles of ribbing down the body of the sock as many "vanilla" beginner patterns do, it is stockinette. I know this is already a huuuuge post, but to everybody who thinks they can't knit socks, you totally can! Do 'em in worsted first if you're afraid of little needles, but really just dive in, the water's fine! As long as you're confident in your knit/purl you'll be OK, I promise. Your socks may not come out the size intended the very first time, but they'll fit someone. Also, turning a heel makes you feel like the smartest person alive, no joke!
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Jul 13, 2010 06:33
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:Ouch.  And it's just acrylic microfiber, that I guess is extra fur-like when knit up? My mind? Blown.
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Jul 14, 2010 03:16
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And yet, people still bought it! People with more money than sense, but it was sold all the same. That Procrastination Pullover is lovely, and so cheap! Too bad I am too busty, have too much shoulder, and no hips, it would look awful on me. Stupid body structure... 
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Jul 14, 2010 05:53
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OK knitting goons, I have a question. I got this kit from KnitPicks, and it's made with two strands of laceweight held double, so that you can two strands of the same color and switch colors around to make color gradations but... I don't have a yarn scale to divide up the yarn into two cakes and am just generally not sure the best way to do two strands from the same ball. I have a ballwinder and swift and just generally love those little center pull cakes they make... would pulling from the outside as well as the inside create a huge mess? I don't want to start a method and then have it tangle on me... it's laceweight merino. 
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Jul 18, 2010 19:21
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Look Under The Rock posted:That's so pretty, I totally want to make one. Yeah, I saw that right after getting my first bonus as a GM, and for $23 could not resist. It's all of my 2nd foray into lace, and the first was a total failure... I was doing lace for the first time with midnight blue yarn, not a great idea! Once I figure out how to knit with two strands from the same ball without them tangling all over the place I'm off!
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Jul 18, 2010 19:56
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Anne Whateley posted:I think it would make a tangled mess, or at least that's likely enough I wouldn't want to risk it. You can't find anyone else with a little scale? It doesn't have to be yarn-specific or anything -- I use a food scale I got at Target for all of $20 a couple years ago. That's definitely doable, but I'm also kind of confused as to how to go about measuring it... like, when you think you're getting close, do you take the yarn off the swift to measure how much is left? Knowing me, that's an accident waiting to happen....
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Jul 19, 2010 03:04
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Bob Shadycharacter posted:The way I do it is hold the ball with the strand that's coming from the inside DOWN. So if the center pull string is coming from the bottom of the ball... genius! A hassle, sure, but it's not like I'm gonna be speed-knitting on lace! And way easier than trying to divide it into differently sized cakes. Thanks for the suggestions, all!
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Jul 19, 2010 16:24
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Shnooks posted:Seriously, gently caress socks. Probably not so much. Jaywalkers do not have a whole lot of give, so from what I've experienced with them, they can either stay up and barely get past my heel (if they do at all...), or slouch and go on nicely. Maybe make sure to use a nice, stretchy yarn for it? Hmm, giving me ideas for my sock yarn that's got elastic in it.... Captain Stinkybutt, that looks like some gorgeous yarn, I'm sure the shawl is coming out just fine! It doesn't look complicated, but still something that non-knitters will think is smashing! I did La La's Simple Shawl as like my 3rd project and it's really super easy, but everyone is soooo impressed with it! My mom gets comments on it whenever she wears it.
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Jul 23, 2010 04:12
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Aardvarklet posted:Has anybody tried one of the silk blend yarns from Knit Picks? Any that you'd recommend? Knit Picks in general is pretty awesome, only thing I've tried that I don't like is the Felici fingering weight yarn. I haven't used any wool/silk blends, but one of my earliest projects was made out of Elegance (DK alpaca/silk). I like natural yarns with some bounce and stretch, hate cotton... but I loved this stuff! Alapaca tends to stretch and sag, but my mom's shawl is holding up fairly well, and it's incredibly soft and sleek. The color practically glows, it's really quite beautiful. And I made a huge shawl out of it on size 5 needles for only $35! It looks like they might be discontinuing it as there's only 3 colors left, which is a shame... I wanted to make one for me! XD
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Aug 20, 2010 01:47
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SquirrelFace posted:I'm a bit of an inexperienced knitter....so of course I have decided to knit Christmas gifts for my whole huge-rear end Irish Catholic family.. But... yarn overs are supposed to give you holes?  If you look at this one, you can see how the holes mark the outside of the diamond pattern.
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Oct 23, 2010 22:47
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Amykinz posted:Does anyone know of a decent quality, not-expensive, fingering/sport weight yarn? Have you checked out KnitPicks? They're stuff is hellaciously cheap for natural fibers, and feels pretty good too. Obviously it's not as soft as a silk blend or something, but I like it just fine. They're tweed is in DK weight though, but I know they released a new line of sock yarn a bit ago that just fit your needs!
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Nov 21, 2010 05:07
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I too have the Harmony set and have been very happy, though I've found I hate magic loop and will be getting a collection of larger sized DPNs as soon as finances allow. The sock set of wood DPNs is very affordable though! I like the laminate on the needles, which allows the yarn to slide nicely along (without being as slippery as metal needles). This is very important (to me) because I knit rather tightly, whereas if you knit loosely you might enjoy bamboo more. As far as plastic needles... I got a single needle/cable set to try out the Denise set and can't stand them! The joins suck and the plastic needles bend too much in my fingers, which makes my hands hurt if I knit for more than like 20 minutes. But again, I knit tightly so I'm probably putting more pressure on them then I should.... Another thing I've picked up is don't discount all aluminum needles when you just try cheap ones. Pointy-ness of the needle and the quality of the cable can make a huge difference! On a recent project I tried a different style of knitting on my old Boye straights but couldn't stand it because the stupid things were so blunt compared to my Harmony set!
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Dec 2, 2010 22:30
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Sex Hobbit posted:I got a $20 KnitPicks gift card from my sister, just enough for the Options tips and cables I need Curses! If you hadn't mentioned this I would be avoiding KnitPicks like I'm supposed to because I need to be saving up for adopting kitties... but instead I have to buy Chroma in worsted... because worsted weight socks knit up seriously fast and they're in such fun colors! Or in the case of "fossil," nice and sedate for my friend's dad. My bank account hates you, but I say thank you!
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Dec 27, 2010 03:10
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Drei posted:Gah. I'm still waiting on my summer stipend from my work, but KnitPicks had to email me with their sales, and the Gallatin Sweater Kit is 40% off. Do I go for it anyways? It's not like I don't have a backlog of projects to cast on... Oh my god, thank you for telling me about that! For $30 I am aaall over it.
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May 13, 2011 17:59
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Toootally! Especially since KP's stuff is just so freakin' affordable, and the free shipping limit is so low! This is the knitting law. 
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May 14, 2011 04:14
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marchantia posted:I'm interested to see what people do with the Takoma cardi - it's so...big. And really unflattering in all of those pictures. I really have no use for it where I am now, but growing up in the upper midwest, it is somewhat appealing on a visceral level. But...the sleeve-to-shoulder seams are so sloppy, and then they do a close-up on it and why isn't the 3-needle bind off flipped to the inside uuuugh! Knitty posted:Note: Three-needle bind off is usually worked with right sides held together; for this project it is worked with wrong sides held together, so that a decorative ridge is formed on the RS of the work. It's decorative!
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Sep 21, 2011 06:03
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Oh my God you guys, I finally got to fondle some of Jared Flood's yarn Shelter. It's so woolly and stretchy and adfkljsdlhakld it's so awesome! I took my birthday yarn extravaganza over to Churchmouse on Bainbridge Island just to be able to get some of that. Well that and because they have many, many other beautiful things that aren't really found at my LYSs here in Seattle. Somehow. Despite the fact that there's like 12 yarn shops in this city... There really was a stumble, and swiping the good ole' debit card on the way down.... One thing I found was Blue Moon Fiber Arts does this yarn called "Twisted" that is great for anybody who is looking for fairly affordable handpainted yarn. It was $32.50 for 560-ish yards of hand-painted worsted! And I live in an area with pretty high mark-up on everything.
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Sep 26, 2011 04:01
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Anne Whateley posted:Because it's so saturated with dye that it also bleeds it everywhere oh noes! I hope it's not too bad... I'm in the middle of knitting Catkin (which uses Madelinetosh light) in a very dark, woodsy green and a light creamy color. I don't want to spend that much time on something and then the green bleeds into everything.
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Oct 30, 2011 05:09
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Anne Whateley posted:I would take a break and experiment with washing some green-and-cream swatches. Well that's one good thing about having actually swatches for this project, eh? But god, I hope it's ok. I'm halfway through and it's a big-rear end shawl.
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Oct 30, 2011 22:02
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Believe it or not, I think the bestest fiber ever is an alpaca/wool blend. The yarn retains the fuzziness and lightness of alpaca, but the wool gives it a bit more memory and bounce so it doesn't stretch out so fast. I've got a skein of Cascade Eco Duo just waiting to become a cowl! Just have to finish Christmas stuff first... I'm curious how angora knits up? Does it stretch out like alpaca or is it a bit better at retaining its shape? Unfortunately, my best friend is allergic so I have to avoid it.
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Nov 4, 2011 01:28
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Anne Whateley posted:Angora is also known for shedding like a mad thing. A while back the yarn harlot got some angora (blend?) yarn that from the sounds of it, was def on the upper scale price-wise that wasn't bad about the shedding. I don't think she mentioned the brand, just remarked that "you get what you pay for." Someday! Though if it's 7x warmer than wool, I'll stick to lace with the stuff. It just doesn't get that cold here in the maritime pacific NW, just a few days of snow (maybe) and the rest of the time it hovers in the upper 30's- mid 40's all winter long and drizzles a lot. In good news, don't know if it was the vinegar or what, but I washed my Catkin swatch, and no bleeding! Not even any dye in the water, the green is as dark and rich as when I put it in.
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Nov 4, 2011 05:18
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