Anyway, I figured a good knitting reference book was needed in my crafty library since I'm hoping to get serious about learning how to knit this year. This book is pretty extensive as far as techniques and stitches are concerned and the instructions and illustrations actually make sense to me.
Up until this point the only knitting I have done has been rectangular. After a very rough morning with a migraine, I was ready for a good sit on the couch on Friday night. So I decided to give increases and decreases a try. I knitted a few rows and sporadically increased and decreased to get the feel for the different techniques. After a while the knitted rows started to look like a complete mess, so I ripped it out and started looking through the stitch pattern index to get some structured practice. I picked out the basic chevron stitch because it encompasses both increases and decreases. I also taught myself a new way to cast on!
There's definitely room for improvement but I'm pretty pleased with my progress so far. It actually looks like the picture in the book! I seem to be having tension issues especially when I increase stitches. Those stitches seem to be super tight, which I think is what is making the knitting a bit wonky. Anyone have any suggestions?
I haven't knitted long enough to have any suggestions for you. My very little experience tells me that the tension eventurally evens itself out, especially if you block the project. ??? My only other advice is to relax! LOL Whenever I try something new, I'm tense and thus, so is my knitting. Good luck with it all. I'm anxious to see if any experienced knitters have a solution for this!
ReplyDeleteGood advice about relaxing! I loosened up my grip on the yarn and it seems to have helped a bit.
DeleteDepending on the kind of increase that you use, it's not unusual for them to be tight. Your tension will even out a bit as you knit more and more, but like Cheree said, blocking really helps your stitches to look uniform. Make sure you let FO's soak for 15 minutes or so, long enough for all the stitches to plump up evenly.
ReplyDeleteThis really looks great! I love the chevron pattern! How are you liking the book? I could use a basic knitting reference, too, so I'm interested in what you think of it.
The book is great! It has a ton of different stitches and ways to do techniques. I think they illustrate at least 6 different ways to increase stitches, all complete with text instructions and picture diagrams with arrows that actually make sense to me. It's pretty expensive but I think it's definitely worth it. It was lacking in information on blocking, so thanks for the tip! I didn't realize you had to soak for more than 5 minutes!
DeleteI cannot knit or crochet, but I would love to learn, I just don't have any talent! I am following you hoping to learn something. Greetings from Rome, Italy!
ReplyDeleteThanks for following Francesca! I just checked out your blog and your daughter has an AMAZING voice.
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