BEDLAM!

Feb. 5th, 2010 07:53 am
highlyeccentric: Angel Coulby's feet in red boots (angel's feet)
[personal profile] highlyeccentric
I am getting bored of knitting stretches of long wonky pink scarf, and then re-starting because I fluff it up. As I can now competently knit and purl, but clearly not for more than 20cm at a time, I wish to make a Thing.

You recommended facecloths. I have found A pattern of which I like the looks.

Important question: doesn't yarn just go soggy when you wet it? Is there some secret to buying yarn so it doesn't just turn into a damp mess when used?

ETA: HELL YES. I NEED THE ROYAL SYMBOL OF FRANCE ON MY FACECLOTH.

Date: 2010-02-04 11:21 pm (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
Use 100% cotton yarn -- I don't know what's available in Australia, but when I'm knitting washclothes, I use Peaches and Cream. I buy the big 1 pound cones and just use those up -- although I haven't been using them mucch lately ever since I got into socks, but oh well. I swear by cotton for washclothes -- they make really nice facecloths, and I also use them for doing dishes and so on.

Do not use wool for washcloths, or any other animal fiber. I think some people like acrylic, but just...no. I'm not sure about bamboo, since I've never knit with it.

I don't know if I threw this link at you or [personal profile] snacky before, but here it is again, with a couple of washcloth patterns in the post itself, and then I had a fairly long comment with my favorite washcloth patterns and my generally vague advice in it.

and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 12:01 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
...oh my god, I totally didn't notice that the title of the post was MY NAME. *facepalm* As we can tell, I am the observant one.

I said this before, but my favorite dishcloth pattern is the Lacy Round, which is good because it teaches yarn-ons, decreasing, short rows, and increases, and it looks really cool. So I advise that one as an excellent start-off dishcloth once one feels they can move past the plain garter stitch stage (and the body of that dishcloth is mostly garter stitch -- garter stitch makes a really good washcloth stitch; plain stockinette, not so much; I've also done waffle stitch, but since I gave all my waffle stitch washcloths away for Christmas, I cannot tell you how that works -- although I have the feeling it would make a good facecloth, it felt like it. A lot of people swear by the ballband dishcloth, but I've never gotten into that one -- too fiddly for me. Bubbles is pretty similar to the Grandma's Favorite Dishcloth, but a little snazzier. (More fiddly, though. I like Grandma's Favorite, myself.)

*coughs* I knit a lot of washcloths last year. If/when you decide you want to go back to scarves, my absolute favorite and default pattern is Edgar, which is straight garter stitch with just enough increases and decreases to keep it interesting -- this is my default watching movies in the dark project, with the lacy round dishcloth coming in second, because I can do both of those on sheer basis of counting in my head and not looking at them; I cannot do this with scarves.

I also recommend Ravelry -- I'm not into the knitting community very much, but I love their pattern database -- and Knittinghelp.com, which has videos, in both English and continental style. (I'm a continental knitter, myself; most Americans knit English. I learned from my Japanese mother, though.)

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 12:27 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
YO = yarn over. YF and YB also translate to yarn over. (Yes, knitting abbreviations have not yet standardized themselves.) Basically, you bring the yarn forward between the needles, loop it over the right needle, and take it back between them again and knit the next stitch as usual, which will give you an extra stitch -- slip it back to the left needle and continue knitting as usual. It should be under increases/decreases on knittinghelp, I think, which will probably explain it better than I can. After the YO is k2tog, which is knit two together -- knit the next two stitches together as one. (I would look up the knittinghelp videos rather than listening to me, honestly.)

It ends up round because you're doing short rows -- because you're getting one less stitch on every other row in that pattern (before you increase again), you're creating a wedge. When you increase again, you're starting over again using the side of the previous wedge as a starting block for the next wedge. When you put all the wedges together, you end up with a circle. With a hole in the center, which is where the draw-up instruction comes from; after you (a) bind off and then sew the two remaining sides of the piece together (the cast on edge and the bind off edge) or (b) do what I do, which is slightly more complicated; I do a fancy bind off that goes through the cast on edge and sews it up in one, which has a name I do not remember, then you can thread the loose end of the yarn through a yarn needle and draw it through the ends of the wedges in the center, pulling them tight so that there is no longer a hole in the middle.

I realize this is the most confusing thing I have probably ever typed; I...could probably explain it better with pictures?

(Congratulations, you have successfully distracted me from my paper! DAMN YOU GREEK ART. *shakes fist*)

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 12:37 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
Well, I do need an excuse to learn how to use my webcam. *grins* (Have one, never used it. *cough*)

Once you learn to do yarnovers, then you can do lace! (I hate lace. Uh, mostly because I hate knitting really long things that are not knit in the round; there are too many stitches on one row! So I tend to stay away from lace except when it appears in narrow scarves, socks, and dishcloths.)

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 12:47 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
1. Yes, you can use a circular needle for that. A circ is basically two needles connected by a long cord; the shortest that I know of is, I think, 9" (used for knitting small things in the round; I personally prefer double pointed needles for anything that small) and then they can go up to much longer. I think I heard of a 120" one? But I might be making that up. You can use circs to knit wide projects flat or round projects...uh, in the round. (I actually use circs for everything, just because the needles themselves are shorter and fit more comfortably in my hands than most straights. Also, I don't have to worry about losing the other needle when I put it down.)

2. You're knitting with two strands of yarn for every stitch, I think -- knitting double-stranded, which will make the fabric much thicker. Basically, you'd just treat the two strands of yarn as one.

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 01:02 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
Okay, so the fleur de lis is illusion knitting -- you can just google that, if you'd like; it's a basic stripe, the easiest form of colorwork. With stripes, you can just carry the yarn up the side as you knit -- just leave it alone when you switch to the next stripes, and pick it up when you come back and leave the other one hanging. Pull them gently, but not too tightly, or that will scrunch up the work.

There are two other forms of colorwork -- Fair Isle and intarsia. I've never done intarsia and will probably attempt it at some point. Fair Isle is like the HP pouch I linked to in [personal profile] synecdochic's post, which is -- I think you twist the yarn? That's the only time I've ever done Fair Isle, anyway.

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 01:12 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
Yes. I think you can also carry up the side with wider stripes, but I'm not sure -- otherwise you'll cut off the yarn with a few inches left, then just start it up again from the skein/ball when you get to the next stripe.

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 01:27 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
Any time!

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 01:03 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
If you don't want to try colorwork, there's a fleur de lis pattern here that's just knits and purls, no colorwork. And this one is by a New Orleanian! Perfect for the Saints going to the Super Bowl on Sunday. (I am in New Orleans, I have priorities.)

Re: and then I RAMBLED

Date: 2010-02-05 01:27 am (UTC)
bedlamsbard: natasha romanoff from the black widow prelude comic (Default)
From: [personal profile] bedlamsbard
ONE CAN TAKE THEIR KNITTING ANYWHERE. That is why this pattern exists!

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highlyeccentric: Sign on Little Queen St - One Way both directions (Default)
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