My new baby grandson has a small head. This is a family trait, as both his father and paternal grandfather have small heads and this is always an issue when they are picking out new ball caps….
So, I have been making the little guy some smaller hats. I started out by checking on what the “newborn” head measurement is — which my references state is “14 – 15 inches”. I cast on the appropriate number of stitches for the gauge of the worsted weight baby yarn I was using — three rows in and I thought: “Too Big.”
After some experimenting, I got what looked like the right circumference and knit up a beanie type hat — one inch of 2 X 2 ribbing and then straight stockinette until the hat measured 3 1/2 inches. I used the standard K2tog decreasing to form the top of the hat. I guessed correctly, because the hat fit perfectly. The circumference of this first hat was 11.5 inches.
The new parents were impressed and asked me if I could knit up a few more in different colors so that they could use them to coordinate the baby’s outfits. Now, being a new grandma, I said, “Of course!” —
So — I knit 3 more hats — each one only took about 90 minutes to knit up and I varied them a little just so I wouldn’t get too bored with them. The bright green one and the baby blue one were knit using Berat Cottontots yarn and the aqua one was knit using double-stranded Baby Ull (Dale of Norway) washable wool.
BTW — I didn’t get a picture of the first hat — also knit with Bernat Cottentots yarn — but it was baby blue with a bright green stripe.
I have completed the first three swatches for the TKGA Master Knitter Level I program. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I discovered an issue with tension that I did not realize I had. And over the last few weeks, I have done quite a bit of reading about tension and an equal amount of knitting, reknitting, and being much more aware of HOW I knit. This is one of the purposes of the Master Knitter program — it makes you think about your craft and helps you identify the bad habits you have developed over time.
I have decided to use this blog as I way for me to document the lessons learned as I proceed through the Master Knitter Level I program. Hopefully, others will find my notes and comments helpful and will also learn from them. So, here is the first of my “lessons learned”:
Swatch #1 — 2 X 2 Ribbing & Garter Stitch Garter stitch (knit all rows) was fairly easy for me — the key is to maintain an even tension throughout knitting the rows.
Tension can be a real issue with 2 X 2 Ribbing, because most knitters tend to purl more loosely than they knit. [I do]. The result of this tendency is that your ribs are formed of uneven stitches and appear “wonky”. My first attempt at this swatch was definitely “wonky”. After much researching, knitting and reknitting, I determined that I was really out of practice purling because I had been knitting projects mostly “in the round” and this was part of my problem. So, I spent some time just purling and working on my tension — trying to get it more consistent. I eventually managed to obtain a fairly even tension with my ribs. From my reading, I think that the unevenness on the edges is normal and should be satisfactory.
Swatch # 2: 1 X 1 Ribbing and Stockinette Stitch Tension was also an issue for me with the 1 X 1 Ribbing. With this ribbing, I found that my looser purl stitches really impacted the shape of the ribs. Again, I found that I really needed to practice purling and focus on keeping my tension even when doing the ribbing.
For the Stockinette Stitch, I was able to obtain the even fabric required — but only after I had worked on my purling. The evenness isn’t as noticeable on the right side — you need to look at the wrong side of the fabric and make certain that there isn’t a distinct difference in your rows between the knit rows and the purl rows. Along the way, I discovered that I knit fairly loosely and I had to go down one needle size to achieve a decent fabric.
If you are trying to correct uneven tension when ribbing, here are a couple of ways to do so:
1) Just try knitting with an even tension; 2) Give your yarn and extra tug when moving it to the front of the needle and before purling; 3) Try wrapping your yarn under your needle when purling — note, this makes the stitches sit on the needle with the back loop leaning forward — to avoid twisting the stitch you must knit through the back loop rather than the front when knitting; 4) Try purling using the Norwegian Purl method [link to video here].
Swatch # 3: Seed Stitch
Swatch # 3 was a sample of Seed Stitch — which is K1, P1 across the row over an even number of stitches. The goal here is to produce a nice even fabric with no visible holes between the knit and purl stitches. This is another tension challenge. It took me three swatches to produce the swatch shown. I finally came to the conclusion that I was over-doing the tension, basically trying too hard — and once I relaxed a bit on this, I got a better result.
In summary, here’s what worked for me: 1) After practicing, I needed to relax a bit — I got to the point that I was pulling my purl stitches so tightly that I made my knitting even less consistent. 2) Remembering to do that little extra tug when putting the yarn in front to purl. 3) For the edges — giving the yarn an extra tug when knitting off the last stitch on the row, followed by giving an extra tug after knitting the first two stitches on the next row. (more…)
In my last post on knitting needles, I discussed the various options for needle materials and types of needles. Today, I will go over needle tips and cable lengths for circular needles.
Needle Tips:
Needle tips vary in both length and sharpness. The sharpness of your needle tip can be an important factor in how your knitted stitches turn out. For instance, it is easier to do knit lace patterns where you are doing increases and decrease with a needle tip that is fairly sharp. A sharp point is helpful when you are attempting to insert your needle into two or more stitches to make a decrease. Sharp points also work well for knitting cables. If you are using a yarn that tends to split when being knit, a blunter needle tip may be a better option than a very sharp one.
Tips of Different Brands of Needles
Now, if you are a knitter that uses your finger to push the left needle tip while transferring a stitch to the right needle – you probably won’t enjoy knitting with very sharp pointed needles. (Your finger will get quite sore as you knit. So, if you decide to use a needle with a sharp tip, you may need to alter your technique to avoid this problem.) The sharpness of knitting needle tips varies from brand to brand. In my experience, my Knit Picks needles have a sharp tip, while my Addi needles are less sharp. Likewise, the sharpness of needle tips can vary with different needle materials. I find my new Hiya Hiya interchangeable tips to be sharper than my Knit Picks needles. I have also purchased a few ChiaGoo needles and they have sharp tips. I actually poked a hole in my index finger while knitting with the ChiaGoo’s.
Needle and Cable Lengths:
The length of a circular knitting needle is measured from tip to tip – and includes both the needle and the cable. This is true of fixed and interchangeable needles. Most fixed circular needles have tips that are about 5 inches long. Interchangeable needle tips can be purchased in lengths from 2 ¾ inches to 5 inches. The matching cables come in lengths that result in the total length of the needle – i.e., if you buy a 24-inch cable for a 2 ¾ inch tip, the cable is actually 18.5 inches – but when you attach the needle tips the total length will be 24 inches. The length of the needle tips is a matter of preference, and you may need to try different lengths to determine what works best for you.
For general purpose knitting, a 24-inch circular needle will usually handle enough stitches for a project. I have several 24-inch cables in my collection and use them frequently. Shorter length needles work better for projects like hats, mittens, and socks. I use 16-inch circulars to knit hats most of the time. Some knitters love using 9-inch circulars for knitting socks – but I have not tried them.
Longer cables are good for projects with a large number of stitches (100+)– like shawls and large size sweaters. Longer cables are also needed when using the Magic Loop method for small diameter knitting. When using Magic Loop, I use either a 40-inch or a 60-inch cable. You can purchase cables for longer lengths from 30 inches to 60 inches.
If you prefer to use the Two Circular Needle method for small diameter knitting, 24-inch circulars work well. Some knitters like to use one needle that is longer than the other when using this method as it helps them know which needle to use for each side of the knitted item. Again, it is a matter of personal preference.
DPN’s and new options
I have a few DPN’s but I rarely use them. This is a matter of preference. Some knitters are devoted DPN users and don’t like to use magic loop or two circulars for small diameter knitting. Technically, circular knitting needles are double pointed needles. But I usually think of DPN’s as a set of double pointed, straight needles with either 4 or 5 needles. The information above regarding materials and sharpness of tips apply to DPNs also.
New options for DPNs are now available. These needles have a short flexible cable in the middle. They are used in the same manner as straight DPN’s. These include:
I finished the hat to match the Chevron scarf during our snowstorm. I washed and blocked both the scarf and the hat. Since the hat is supposed to be a tam — I dried it over a large round platter:
However — once dried, the tam was too loose and too big!. So I dunked it in some water and threw it in the dryer — it’s made of superwash sock yarn. And I ended up with:
Which — when placed on the head, looks like a basic beanie hat with two-color chevron stripes. Not what I envisioned — but still a nice result. Now I need to wrap the scarf and hat and get it mailed off.
The new parents were impressed and asked me if I could knit up a few more in different colors so that they could use them to coordinate the baby’s outfits. Now, being a new grandma, I said, “Of course!” — 
