Finding Great Yarn Can Be Hard!

If you have a great pattern, and you want to make a really nice sweater or blanket for your next project, it can be really hard to find the same dye lot, and the right yarn for your project.  Here is a way to do it, with the available yarn that is at the shop!

Hit the sale racks first!  Your first stop should be the sale area, as you can often find a clearance on the entire line of yarn in a certain style.  It is a great way to find a good start to a project, and get a bunch of colors that are all the same contrasting value of color.  For instance, if you are knitting a baby blanket, you want a nice soft wool, and the colors should all be bright and warm, or cool and neutral.  Never neutral and bright or cool and warm.  The coloration should be mixed to the decor of the home it is going to, so if your project is going to sit in a red room, you do not want to knit cool and neutral.  You will go bright and warm!

This is an easy way to think, and if you are finding a great value on natural wool, cotton or silk, buy the entire lot!   Do not hesitate, or you will really detest yourself later on.  You can always return the yarn if you need to, but often, I find that one lime green ball of yarn, can be worked into my neutral brown pattern, as an accent, and makes a very nice contrast around the neck, wrists, and bottoms of any front or back.  Again, this is bright and warm!

Here are some analogies to give you some inspiration on color:

Blue, mint green, lavender and tan, ecru and cremes

Moss green, olives, red, orange, and burgundy

Silver gray, white, brown, tan, and heather pinks

Yellow, blues and reds with a variety of bluish purples and greens

Do not be afraid to mix colors, and you can find enough yarn to complete any project, and it will be your own!

Crochet a Flat Circle

If you are going to hook a nice series of glass coasters, pot protectors, or round place mats, you can do them in the round!  It makes sense when you want to have a place to set your tea pot.

Here's how to start! 

Get some great natural cotton fiber yarn, as you can easily wash it, and it will be absorbent for drips and water.  You can get some amazing colors, and the price is usually very kind on your wallet.  The hook you use, is bigger for a loose, but fast project, like a US K10.5/6.50MM, or a smaller, tighter, but slower and dedicated project, like a US F 5/3.75MM.  It is your decision, and often I would start out with the bigger hook, and then try a smaller hook later, after I have worked out the kinks.

Then, make a chain.  I would make a chain of 4.  Then, take your chain, join the two ends with a sniped piece of yarn, and tie the two ends together, keeping the ball end of the yarn out of the chain.  You have made a ring!

Next, look for your stitched ring end, and grab your yarn with your hook, and work into the beginning of the chain, not that nice little bump you made with your chain, but into the center of the ring.  You can roll it around, and if you made a chain of 4, you will not have too big a center, but just enough to double your stitches around.  Keep working in a single crochet, and add the number of stitches as you go around.  It sometimes is helpful to add a twist tie to your "start" as you will do 6 stitches in row 2, (not including your first single crochet to get you started), 12 in row 3, and 18 in row 4, etc...  You are adding 6 on each turn.  Always, when you reach the end of the row, join the row you created with the start.

Here is some great yarn to get you going!

Can you slipknot?

I love a good slipknot, and if you are not used to doing it, here are some great starter tips!  You need to have some patience-deep sigh!-and some yarn, and two needles.  Two needles will be needed to get you knitting, but we are only going to use one for your slip knot. 

So, you have the ball of yarn, the end, and your hands.  Yes, I know this is very simply stated, but I want to keep this as simple as I can.  Take the ball of yarn, and pull it on your right side.  Then, pull out maybe two feet of yarn, more if you are making a blanket.  You will see why later...

Take the end, and closer to the yarn ball, wrap around your left index finger and your middle finger.  Do this from back to front, looking at it.  Then, do it again.  Take your ball yarn, and then bring it through the hole.  Drop your left hand fingers, and pull on your loop.  Yippee!  A fine slipknot you have made!

The best part is now to come! Take your knot, and push your needle through it, and do it from the front to the back, with the point further from you.  This way, you have the ball of yarn behind your right hand, and the end to your left. The knot sits under your needle, and the knot is your first stitch in your work. 

Here is a nice video to show you how it looks in action.  Let me know if you have any questions! Cheers!

How do you count rows?

Here are some ways to count rows when you are knitting or crocheting your next pattern!  Be sure to not lose your mind-or your eyesight with crazy row counting during your fun.

1.  Use a row counter at the end of each row.  These little counters can be used on one or both needles in knitting, and near you specifically in a crochet pattern.  If you use a counter in knitting or crochet, be sure to count two, and then turn the counter. This is because the odd numbers are on one needle, and the other is the even rows. Example:  1,3,5 on odd;  2,4,6 on even.

2. Make a copy of your pattern, my favorite method!  Then when you complete your steps, just cross them off. If you want to refer back to your pattern use a highlighter and you will know where you are.

3.  Use stitch counter rings, paper clips or other metal twisty ties!  Then, when you get to the end of the body area, you can know where the start and stop is.  This can be really helpful when you are creating some complex patterns that have to join together.

Binding off Your Knitting

If you are knitting a row, and it is the last row, Yippee!  Great job, wow, look at you go, what a great knitter you are!  Then, you want to bind off in a knit row. 

The fact that all good things have to end, can be very happy!  I am always happiest when my work is turning out to be a masterpiece, and I am really ready to bind off.  At the same time, it kind of is a tricky emotion too, as you are now done, and well, it was so much fun when you are in it.  Eat your cake and have it too kind of thing...

So, what if your last row is a purl row?  What do you do? Purl and bind off sugar!  Do not knit that last row in a bind off, unless the pattern calls for it.  It will look funny.  Great video for you!  Have fun at your knitting.

Knitting with Circular Needles

Whoo, scary idea huh?  Actually, it is not as bad as you think it might be!  There are some things you are going to need to learn, and one is the mental hurdle of getting past the straight row.  This is going to be fun, trust me!

When you are knitting a cap or a sock, a neck band on a sweater, use a circular set of needles.  The great thing is you can really whip this thing together, as it is kind of like a crochet in a knit.  When you do not have to turn the darn thing all the time, you feel like you can just keep going.

This presents another problem, as you need to watch how many rows you are going on, and if it is joined to a sweater body, that is fairly easy.  But, if you are working on a sock or a hat, well, you need to either count your rows once and awhile, or stick in a tag at row 10, or 15.  That way you can have some organization to this loose way of knitting.  By the way, if you like it, you will love crochet!

So, here we go!

Lets do a hat, and you need to follow your pattern, and buy a set of circular needles that will create the right size of circle.  The 8 needles will make a 8 sized knot, and a 22 need will create a 22 sized knot.  Your sizing is coming into how many stitches you cast on.  So, you can make socks with a 22 needle, but wouldn't it be nicer with tight little knots?

Be sure to use the size needle that your pattern calls for.  So, cast on your amount of stitches, just like you would on straight needles.  Then, go back to your first cast on, at the end of the left needle.  Make sure the bumps or knit heads are pointed down when you do this.  Then, start your knit process.  When you get to the end of the row, you can then knit away, continuing round and round until you have the circle going in the right direction.  Your pattern will tell you when to increase, and when to decrease.

Play with this, and enjoy your round about! 

Abbreviations for Knitting

Here is a handy list for you to use for your knitting patterns.  The knitters of the world hate to spell anything out, but I promise to never abbreviate speak, first, and explain it to you in every pattern I create for you, before using this list.  It just is not fair to new knitters! 

Source: Yarn Standards

alt	alternate	psso	pass slipped stitch over
beg	begin/beginning	pwise	purlwise
bet	between	rem	remain/remaining
BO	bind off	rep	repeat(s)
CA	color A	rev St st	reverse stockinette stitch
CB	color B	RH	right hand
CC	contrasting color	rnd(s)	round(s)
cm	centimeters	sk	skip
cn	cable needle	skp	slip, knit, pass slipped stitch over
CO	cast on	sk2p	slip one stitch, knit two together, pass slipped stitch over
cont	continue	sl	slip
dec	decrease/decreases/decreasing	sl1k	slip one knitwise
dpn	double-pointed needle(s)	sl1p	slip one purlwise
fl	front loop(s)	sl st	slip stitch(es)
foll	follows/following	ss	slip stitch (in Canadian patterns)
g	gram	ssk	slip, slip, knit those two stitches together
inc	increase	sssk	slip, slip, slip, knit three slipped stitches together
K	knit	st(s)	stitch(es)
k2tog	knit two together	St st	stockinette stitch
kwise	knitwise	tbl	through back loop
LH	left hand	tog	together
lp(s)	loop(s)	WS	wrong side
m	meters	wyib	with yarn in back
M1	make one stitch	wyif	with yarn in front
M1 p-st	make one purl stitch	yds	yards
MC	main color	yfwd	yarn forward (yarn over)
mm	millimeters	yo	yarn over
oz	ounce	yrn	yarn around needle (yarn over)
P (or p)	purl	yon	yarn over needle (yarn over)
pat(s) or patt	pattern(s)	yo	yarn over
pm	place marker	[ ]	work instructions in brackets as many times as directed
pop	popcorn bobble	( )	work instructions in parenthesis as directed (also used to indicate size changes)
p2tog	purl two together	**	repeat instructions after asterisks as directed
prev	previous	*	repeat pattern following asterisk as directed

Crochet is So Much Fun!

Here is a great video showing some fun little animals you can make in a day.  It is a great way to connect with your kids, a neighbor, or just a way to make some fun gifts for any occasion.  The animals are your invention, so keep in mind you are just chaining, and it is so easy, any level of crochet expert can do it!

Making a Buttonhole

If you are knitting, you can easily make a buttonhole, by deciding where in your body of your work it needs to be, and then simply bind off(BO).  The transition back is as simple as the binding off, and then beginning to knit again, when you end the row.

Simply turn the row around, and then continue knitting or purling, whichever your pattern calls for, and then when you get to the bound off section, where your button hole is, become a button hole expert, and try the following trick:

Switch your needles from left to right hand, and vice versa. Then, cast on the same amount of stitches, and be sure to bring your yarn forward, upon your last cast on(CO) stitch, to transfer back your needles right to left, and left to right.  Continue your purl or knit, and you have the best darn buttonhole.

Creating a Knitted Kitty Sweater

Easy peasy!  You can create this great sweater for your dog or cat.  I just won't promise that they will love it.  I made this for our 20 year old cat last year, and it was really long for her, but I just rolled it up, and stitched it shorter, making it even more warm around her belly.  We had to let her go last November, so this was something that got her through a period of 20 below weather.  She would sit in her sweater, on my lap, and just purr.  It moved with her well, and she only wore it when she needed to.  Here are my directions!


Measure your pet, (1)around the neck, (2)from neck measurement-to front legs, (3) around the belly, (4)from neck to belly, and (5)down the back from head to tail. Start with a cotton or wool, and never use acrylic, as some animals can be allergic.   I always use the economical Paton Classic Wool Yarn, so if you are looking for a match to Sheeba's sweater, I believe the color is called Rosewood!  I only used less than one ball of yarn for this project.  You can join together colors, and use up some of your stored yarn, be creative!

Start with a US needle 11, and cast on enough to match your neck measurement.  You are going to create a big rectangle, and then drop some stitches, and add some to fashion your sweater.  It is really easy, so do not worry too much.  Continue with your knitting by turning and knitting one row, and then one row purl. Continue k,p until you have enough knit rows, and enough purl rows to reach the legs.  You can really see how this is going to work now!

Now, you are going to skip some stitches to create a button hole for the legs.  The seam for the sweater is on the underneath or belly of your pet, so the leg openings will be on the  edges of the rectangular piece. 

SEE NOTE BELOW ****When you are ready to knit, and you have reached the measurement where the openings will be, Go in 5 stitches, and then bind off 10 stitches.  Continue to the end of the row, and be sure to watch, that you bind off 10 when you get to 15 from the end, and then knit 5 more.  Turn, and Purl 5, bind off 10, and continue to the last 15 stitches, 10 BO, and then P 5.   SEE NOTE BELOW***

Continue on, completing two rows K and P to even it off!  Now, you are going to increase or decrease towards your belly measurement(3).  You should now refer to measurement (4) and see where you are from your leg openings.  Compare your Belly Measurement(3), and see how much your increase or decrease is.  Some animals have a decrease, like a bull dog or a doberman.  You should add 2 K and 2 P until you get to the belly measurement, and do it so that it is fashioned at the right point.  Do not worry if measurements (3) and (4) do not meet perfectly, as it is a stretchy garment.

Now, measure your fashioned piece, and see how much more you need to stitch.  If you are knitting for a boy dog, you might want to stop shorter, to allow some freedom for bathroom breaks.

BO when you reach the end of your measurement length (5), and if it is still too long, you can roll it over, and stitch to make it work.  You should then stitch it closed at the ends, near the leg openings, and then roll it over your pet's head, and pull out their little legs. 

***NOTE: Before performing the leg opening step, check your pet!  If you find the legs are too close together, using the example of knitting 5, then BO 10, then continuing,  you can rework your work, and move then further into your square.  Meaning, instead of 15 st into the work, try 20, or 26.  It is going to be a custom piece for your pet, so try to imagine how much space you will need for their legs to move and be comfortable.

The best way to keep this clean is to just brush it off, and if you find it is really dirty, a hand washing may be in order!