Swatching

We always recommend making a swatch before starting every project. Most of the time our customers say they hate swatching, they don't swatch, they've never swatched, they can't imagine swatching... etc, etc. So we know there's a lot of anti-swatching out there! But we're going to keep recommending it, and here's just one reason why...

We just rearranged the entire worsted room last week. (Locals... come on in and check it out. It looks great!) And while we were rearranging the yarns, we had to opportunity to touch EACH AND EVERY ball. Sure, we each have our favorites, but by being forced to fondle each ball, we got reacquainted with some long lost loves!

One yarn that I've always loved is Berroco Remix. Remix is a super soft worsted weight yarn that's made of 100% recycled fibers. It's machine washable (another plus for me!) and has a nice tweedy effect. While moving the Remix to it's new location in the shop, I really started itching to knit with it. 

I started looking through the sweater patterns in the shop, and settled on the Chic Knits Ariann sweater. I really wanted a cardigan and I like the look of this pattern stitch. I'm going to make the long sleeves (instead of 3/4), but I'll pass on the belt! The collar doesn't thrill me... I really wanted a v-neck, but I'm going to see what I can do with it. By the time I knit up to the neck, maybe I'll have come up with a way to modify it to suit my tastes.

This sweater pattern calls for a stitch gauge (in stockinette) of 4.75 stitches to the inch. Remix is 4.25 stitches to the inch on an 8 US needle. I started my swatching on a 6 US Addi Lace needle. 

[I went down 1 size from what the ball band said, because I needed to cram an extra 1/2 stitch into every inch, and then another size since I knit a little loose, and normally go down 1 size needle.]

I ended up getting almost 5 stitches to the inch which is pretty close to 4.75. But I felt like I was really trying to knit tight... and it was making my hands cramp up. That wasn't going to be enjoyable for me, and I like to ENJOY my knitting time.

So I threw a purl row into my swatch and tried a size 7 US Addi Lace. And I relaxed to my normal knitting tension. And the swatch... was too loose. It measured in at 4.25 stitches to the inch.

After another purl row, I went back to the 6 US Addi Lace and knit with a normal relaxed tension. The result? 4.5 stitches to the inch.

My final attempt was on a Denise size 6 US with a normal relaxed tension. And it was perfect. I ended up getting exactly 4.75 stitches to the inch.

Why did I keep trying different needle sizes and types, you ask? Isn't 4.5 close enough to 4.25? And isn't 5 close enough? 

Well, yes. However, in an adult sweater, that 1/4 stitch per inch difference can really throw off the sizing of your final product! I am making a sweater with a finished chest measurement of 38". If I used the Addi Lace size 6 (with a gauge of 4.5 stitches to the inch) the finished chest measurement of this sweater would have been 40.2" That's more than 2" TOO BIG. 

And if I had used the same Addi Lace needles (size 6) and concentrated on just knitting a little tighter (with a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch) the finished chest measurement would have been 36.2"... almost 2" TOO SMALL.

Moral of the story? We're always going to recommend you swatch. And if you can't get the gauge on a certain type of needle, you may need to try another type!

Going, Going, Gone!

contributed by Shawn

Last Saturday we introduced several new students to the art and joy of knitting in our Learn to Knit Class. It filled up quickly and in the days leading up to it we still had folks calling to see if they could sign up for the class. I wish we could have accommodated everyone - it would have been a hoot!

So this is your reminder that if you want to join us for any of the upcoming exciting new classes we are offering, don't wait! Do it today. 

There are just a few spots left in our First Time Sweater class that starts on Monday, February 13th. Jill just sent us a really fun striped version of the Roll Raglan Sweater Pattern that we will be using in class. 

Don't worry, you don't have to knit stripes unless you would like to. This sweater is a fun project and you will learn a lot in the class: increases, decreases, working two sides of the neck at the same time, picking up stitches and proper finishing techniques!

In our upcoming Understanding Gauge class on Thursday, February 16th, Barb will be sharing a huge wealth of information - don't miss this class! Gauge is often considered a dirty word in knitting, because people just don't seem to want to talk about it. But it's the most important aspect of knitting. Come and join us so you can understand what gauge is, how you can change it and what effects this will have on your yarn and knitting.

For those of you scarf knitters, it's time to learn a new technique! In our Knitting Basic Mittens class we will show you how to make a pair of simple mittens. 

Mitten we will be making in class

After the class, you'll be feeling so confident that you can make yourself a pair of our Warmest Mittens. These are lined with the coziest, furriest yarn... not visible in this picture.

Our Warmest Mitten sample - come try it on!

If you haven't tried our sample on, please do. We find that most people don't want to take it off, and end up making themselves a pair!

Our Rectangly Hat has been one of the most popular winter projects in the shop.

It's not that difficult (it only looks it!) but people requested that we turn this into a class, so we did. Sometimes it's more fun to knit a project like with a group, and we know you will love learning this double knitting technique!

If you want to join in on any of these classes, give us a call at the shop.

Try-ons, Body Image, Gauge & Center Pull Balls: We covered it all!

For those of you who made it into the shop last night and got to meet Andra and try on some sweaters, it was so great to have you!

Marc brought the girls in quickly before the customers came. They always love to see Andra when she's in town. They arrived looking like drowned rats - they came straight from a cross country race in the pouring rain. It's amazing what a hair brush and some great hand knits did to change their appearance! They both loved the Kerr hat: Helen (left) is wearing the Kerr Hat and Cowl. This is a free pattern on Andra's website, and was quite popular last night! The hat takes 1 skein of Borealis and the cowl takes 2 skeins. This yarn is really pretty in the hank, but knit up, it's just gorgeous. Don't worry, Helen was only drinking seltzer with a lemon. Doesn't it look like a cocktail though?

I knew it was only a matter of minutes before Helen would start grabbing other samples and trying them on. We let her "vogue" for a bit and then Marc dragged them home to get their homework done.

One thing is clear from last night - we all have different body images, whether they are accurate or not. I think most of us think we know what will look good on our body, and look at garments in stores (or in yarn shops!) and immediately rule them out. We learned last night that it really is important to give things a try, and sometimes it takes another person to force you to try it! Here's Andra sharing (and wearing!) some pearl of wisdom with Deb, who is trying on Avocet B: And here's Sue looking so AWESOME in Stratus (free pattern!) in Blackstone Tweed. In addition to our mini fashion show, there were some other lessons learned last night, too. Another customer, Andrea, is making the Stibnite sweater, from Norah Gaughan Volume 7. She had a question with her gauge. She had checked it several times at home and even though she had already gone down one needle size, she was still getting 4.625 stitches to the inch, instead of 5. She wanted advice about continuing (since she'd already worked about 8-10" of the back and was hoping to not have to r-i-p).

If Andrea had continued, that "little" gauge issue would have made the back of her sweater about 1.5" too big. It doesn't sound like a lot, but too big is too big. I recommended she rip back and go down one more size. Nobody wants to rip back and start over. And it can be confusing when you have never had to worry about switching needle sizes to get gauge. I explained that any number of things can make your gauge change: stress, happiness, needle material, yarn content, etc.

The great news is that Andrea actually checked her gauge early on in the project, and knew to come in and ask about it, before she went any further. We called Andra over for another opinion, and she agreed that going down another needle size was the right thing to do. She also gave Andrea a great tip... most people start sweaters by following the directions as written. And directions usually call for a knitter to make the back first.

Andra's tip? Start with the sleeves. Even if you've done a small gauge swatch, the sleeves can serve as another swatch. And if you realize, after 4 inches of knitting, that your gauge is off, you have a lot less to rip out. Great tip!
Andra also showed me her way of winding little center pull balls. I just started an intarsia project and I need to wind a ball of self striping sock yarn (Berroco Sox) into 6 separate balls. I usually do figure-8 twists, which is great for small bits of yarn. Each of my 6 balls is about 15 grams, which proved a bit big for figure-8 twists. So hey, I learned something too! There's nothing better than a bunch of knitters getting together and sharing. There's always something new to learn!

The importance of a good needle collection, and checking your gauge

And by "good" I guess I mean "extensive".

I took home a project the other night. Some Noro Silk Garden and the Jane Ellison Designer Mini Knits pattern book. I am making Design #26, which is a cute short sleeved raglan top, with a button closure at the neck. The gauge is 18 sts to 4" on a size 8 US needle, or 4.5 sts/inch. I typically go down one size for needles, so I pulled out my 7 US Addi Turbos and started swatching. After a nice 4 inch swatch my gauge measured 4.25 sts/inch. Only .25 stitches off, so no biggie, right? WRONG!

Had I gone ahead with that needle size, the back of the sweater would have been an inch too large. and the front would have been too large as well. See 82 stitches divided by 4.5 sts (the correct gauge) = 18.25 inches. But 82 stitches divided by 4.25 = 19.3 inches.

So I pulled out my size 6 Addi Turbo needles. And swatched. Typically (and this is not ALWAYS the case) your gauge should change 1/2 stitch for every needle size you go up or down. INCREASE your needle size, your number of stitches per inch should GO DOWN 1/2 st. And DECREASE your needle size, your number of stitches per inch should GO UP 1/2 st. And in this case, this happened to me. My gauge on size 6 Addis was 4.75. But do the math... 82 stitches divided by 4.75 sts (the correct gauge) = 17.3 inches, this time an inch too small.

Luckily, I own a Denise Interchangeable Knitting Needle Kit. I normally use it for emergencies - when I can't find my Addis, or when I am travelling and want all of my needles in one handy case. But yarn slides very differently over Addis than it does over the plastic Denise needles. So it stands to reason that my gauge should be different. I pulled out the Denise 7s and BINGO! 4.5 stitches to the inch.

But beware, the danger of the Denises...

I cruised throught the back of the sweater, and then finished one front. As I was getting ready to bind off the front, I happened to look at the needle in my right hand. It had a "5" stamped in it. Egads! After I had finished my ribbing on size 5 needle tips, I had only switched ONE needle tip to the size 7. So I just had knit the whole front with one 5 and one 7. Gauge? Yes, it was off. So frog, frog, frog.

It's a good thing I really like knitting with this yarn. :)