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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.
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.
no subject
Date: 2010-02-04 11:21 pm (UTC)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
no subject
Date: 2010-02-04 11:32 pm (UTC)Also I'm moving back to within shouting distance of my MOTHER. Who is GOOD WITH THIS SORT OF THING. I forsee much "muuuuummmm, fix my thiiiiing". :D
and then I RAMBLED
Date: 2010-02-05 12:01 am (UTC)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 12:10 am (UTC)Already found knittinghelp! It's awesome. I'm knitting continental, I think, don't know why. :D
Re: and then I RAMBLED
Date: 2010-02-05 12:27 am (UTC)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 12:33 am (UTC)... I will probably have to get my mother to show me how to do the draw-up thing, though.
Re: and then I RAMBLED
Date: 2010-02-05 12:37 am (UTC)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 12:41 am (UTC)1. It says "cast on 145 stitches". CAN YOU EVEN FIT 145 STITCHES ON A NEEDLE????
2. It says the pattern is knitted with two strands of yarn for each colour. It appears that you only use one colour at a time, but you use both of the balls of yarn for that colour whenever you use that colour.
I am a bit perlexed. Do you think that means you... knit double? Put your needle through two loops and wrap two strands of wool around it? Or would you alternate between strands every second stitch? Or is this utterly incomprehensible and I should take the pattern to my mum?
Re: and then I RAMBLED
Date: 2010-02-05 12:47 am (UTC)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 12:57 am (UTC)Clearly there is going to be some trick to this, and I remember really sucking at it last time I knitted. So my important question is probably: what's the search keyword I should use to find a youtube video of someone changing colours while knitting?
Re: and then I RAMBLED
Date: 2010-02-05 01:02 am (UTC)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
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