For readers who find knitting patterns difficult to read and understand, I have written a few pointers and tips and soon you will be knitting your first project.
The basics
· Like exams – read the whole question – read through the entire pattern so you can see what order pieces are made in and where the tricky bits come.
· At the beginning of most patterns, there will be a section which indicates what materials you need to make the project:
Yarn
Which yarn is suggested for the project and how many balls of yarn will be needed to make the project in the size you wish (see buying yarn section later).
Needles
The majority of garments normally need two set of needles at least, a smaller size for the ribbed section – the stretchy bit at cuffs and lower edges – and then larger sized needles for the main body of the work. If the pattern has no rib or is very simple you may only need one set of needles.
Sometimes if the item is very wide, or you have a yoke or neck band, then circular needles may be required (see circular needles explained below).
Needle sizes given are usually metric in the UK and in Europe ie 2.75mm is a fine needle, 10mm a very chunky needle. Imperial UK (8,10, 12 etc) or and US sizes can be found on some patterns but just use the needle gauge conversion chart to ensure you are using the correct size.
Double pointed needles come in set of 4 - 6 needles and there is no stopper on the end to stop the knitting slipping off. These needles are used in a circular fashion (for example making socks), by firstly dividing the knitting in say 3 parts, putting a third of all stitches on each needle and knitting round and round, with the fourth needle, moving from one needle to the next. Care must be taken to ensure you do not lose stitches off the end of the needles, but you can buy stoppers for double pointed needles, if this is a problem for you. Also, make sure the gap between stitches, when moving from needle to needle, is pulled tight, to keep the knitted fabric even.
Notions
If buttons, zips, beads, ribbons or lining pattern is required, this should be indicated here, so you can ensure you have all your materials ready before you start the project.
· Check the pattern for anything unusual, any stitches you are not familiar with or perhaps there is a crochet edge. If there is something you are not familiar with, then try a few stitches out on some old yarn oddments and see that you are happy that your stitches/ pattern look like the photographed image. If not and it looks tricky, find an experienced friend to help or failing that, there are lots of clips on YouTube on the internet, with short videos showing how to complete certain stitches.
· Sizes -this is the area where most disappointment come from, getting the size wrong and it does not fit you. Sizes can be given as dress sizes (UK, EU and US) or bust sizes. Bust sizes are normally given in both cm and inches. Check to see if the pattern mentions ease, this is the extra added to the bust measurement, to allow you to move in the garment. Negative ease means that the knitted garment will stretch to fit you, and it will be a very close fitted, body hugging garment. Positive ease means the garment will be semi- fitted or loose fitting and not skim the body so closely.
Tension square
This tells you what the knitted tension is of the photographed garment, so to get the correct proportions, you must follow this tension. Example for a very standard double knit yarn would be 22 stitches by 30 rows, over a 10cm square on 4mm needles.
Do it! Do it! Do it! I cannot emphasis this enough, especially to beginners, as you may get to the end of the project and find it is completely the wrong fit. Nothing is more frustrating or disappointing and puts you off knitting. Do the tension square test and you will stay serene throughout! It is also useful to take the square with you when you go shopping for matching buttons or zips for your project.
To make up the tension square, cast on a few more stitches than the square indicates, so on the example above, cast on say 25st and knit say 12 cm length in the garment pattern stitch and then cast off. Lay the fabric flat and use a ruler and pins to mark the start and end of 10cm in height and width and then count the number of rows and stitches you have knitted. Compare this to the suggested tension.
Now, suppose you find that you have 25 stitches and 32 rows over your 10cm square. This means your tension is tighter than expected. If you stick to this, your garment will turn out too small. So try to change your needles to a size up, try 4.5mm and see if this gives you the correct tension. If this is still too small, go up to 5mm needles.
If you find you have say only 20 sts and 28 rows to your 10cm square, the you need to work the other way, try smaller needles, say 3.75mm or 3.5mm to get the correct number of stitches.
When working lace stitch, often you need to block the fabric, to open up the lacework and so check whether the pattern indicates the tension before or after blocking. This is similar with bamboo fibre yarns, which will relax a little after steaming.
Reading the pattern
Most patterns will indicate which stitches to knit row by row, unless you are making a piece which is all one pattern. Examples
Row 1 Knit to end
Row 2 Purl to end
This now sets stocking stitch pattern and repeat until work measures 10cm
Here row 1, knit all stitches to end
Next row, purl all stitches to the end
These two rows repeated many times form the pattern, so you now repeat row 1, row 2, row 1,row 2 ….. Keep measuring the work until you get the desired length. The instruction should indicate if you finish with a RS row or WS row ie a right side row or wrong side row. If you finish with a RS row, then the next row you are now ready to work, you should have the wrong side facing you. Similarly if the instructions say finish with WS row, then when ready to start the next row you are working, the right side of the work should be facing you.
When measuring the work, do not stretch it as it will mean the finished item will turn out too short. Lay the knitting on a flat surface, smooth out the knitted fabric with your hand and measure from the bottom edge to the bottom of the needle to get the correct measurement.
Right side, wrong side
Which is which?
Well this depends on the pattern, on most patterns it will be obvious but where there is a rib or a lacy pattern this may not be so clear.
Stocking stitch
The side where you can see the v shape of all the stitches, rather than the – shape, is the front of the work.
Reverse stocking stitch
Where you see horizontal loops (with v shape stitches on the back – so the reverse of the stocking stitch)
Where it is not clear, either look closely at the image given on the pattern and see if you can deduce it from that.
Alternatively, where the instruction give you a set of rows which define the pattern, ie repeats of 6 rows or repeats of 10 rows, the look at the first row of the pattern – this is normally the front ( check instructions that is the case) and see if you are looking at the front or back of the stitches given in that row.
Some US patterns have the second row as the front of the fabric, with the first row forming a foundation for the second row, so take note when reading US patterns.
With rib patterns it is harder to decide, unless is an uneven rib, ie k4, p2. With an uneven rib, you will be able to see from the image of the garment, if the raised stitch is narrower or wider than the recessed stitch. If the rib is even, then your best indicator is the tail of the cast on: on the front, the cast on tail is at the bottom right on the front, or bottom left on the wrong side.
Using accessories
Stitch markers
Used to mark a change in a pattern or where a pattern commences. They are frequently used when knitting in the round and to indicate where the sleeves and front and back start and finish, so you know where you are. You can get solid stitch markers or ones which you can open and close- locking stitch markers. The solid ones have to be slipped on and off the needle as you work the stitches and you come across them. So say the marker what in position 10th stitch on row 1, as you work row 2 and get to that 10th stitch, you would pass the marker over from the right needle to the left, so the marker moves up the rows with you as you work the knitting.
Unlocking stitch markers can be left in their original position, as they can be taken out at will, so there is no need to move them. So depending on what you are marking out, the pattern will suggest one or the other.
For beginners, the unlocking stitch markers are useful when you are working a pattern repeat, so you can see where you began the last pattern repeat and thus which row you are on, in your pattern, after having set aside your knitting and now come back to it after a cup of tea!
Cable needle
These can be either straight or kinked. I prefer the kinked, so that the stitches transferred stay on it, rather than slide off, on straight ones. Although some fast knitters prefers the straight ones.
In cabling you are moving a number of stitches sideways. This is done by transferring a number of stitches on to the cable needle and either holding the cable needle to the front of the work or the back, working a number of stitches behind ( or in front) off the main needle and then transferring the stitches held on the cable needle, back on to the main needle and knitting them and carrying on.
Where the pattern might state CB4F, then the cabling is over 4 stitches and indicates that the stitches on the cable needle are held to the front of the work. So you would transfer 2 stitches to the cable needle, hold it to the front of the work, work 2 stitches off the main needle and then slip the 2 stitches off the cable needle back on to the main needle and work those 2 stitches.
Stitch holders
Where a piece is started but not cast off until joined to an adjacent piece, then the pattern will indicate, to transfer these stitches to a stitch holder. This is essentially nothing more than a very large safety pin, and so stops those stitches from coming undone or dropped, and the stitches can be easily transferred back on to the main needle when required. If you do not have a stitch holder then just use a spare strand of thickish yarn instead and thread it through the loops of the stitches and tie the ends togethers, so you do not drop any stitches.
When transferring the stitches off a stitch holder, make sure you have the correct side facing you when recommencing the knitting.
Selvedge
Some patterns include one stitch at either edge of the work that is not part of the pattern but will disappear when the seam is sewn up. This is called the selvedge stitch or just selvedge. It is most often used to try to prevent the work from curling too much.
For example if you do a piece that is just stocking stitch, the edges will tend to curl in backwards towards the centre of the work. By working a selvedge stitch which alternate knit and purl, it will flatten the edge to some extent. However, some designs make use of this curl, for instance at the neckline, to give a nice curled edging.
Circular needles explained:
Sometimes if the item is very wide, or you have a yoke or neck band, then circular needles may be required. This can be due to two reasons:
1. circular needles come in different lengths ranging from 40cm to 150cm, which allow you to make small or larger gauged items from socks to sweaters. With such long lengths of needle available, wide knitting is easier to manage on longer circular needles or if the work gets very heavy.
2. You can use circular needles just as normal needles, just by knitting to the end and then turning the work around and knitting the next row. So for right handed people, you are knitting from the left needle on to the right needle, at the end of the row, all the work is on the right needle. Turn the entire work around so that the right needle is now in the left hand needle position and start knitting the new row.
3. Circular needles can be used to make a neckband/ collar all in one piece with no seam by working round and round in a spiral. The fact that there is small step in the work as you cast off the last stitch can be disguised by finished off the cut end of yarn as normal, weaving in amongst the knitting to hide the end and also ensure you flatten the last stitch back to row below.
4. Socks are frequently made with circular needles, so the whole sock tube is just worked round and round in a spiral, with adjustments for shaping the heel and maybe widening for cuffs.
Buying yarn
Most patterns are test knitted, and the professional knitters who make them up, will tend to knit exactly to tension, so if you are a loose knitter or a tight knitter, this may affect the quantity of balls/hanks you need. You will learn this after you have made a few projects, but if in doubt on the first project, you may want to check with your friendly wool supplier if they will set aside a spare ball for you ( with a time limit!) and see if you need it or not.
Yarn is dyed in lots and generally the shade will not vary too much, but when making a project, try to buy all the yarn you need from one lot number, to avoid disappointing mismatch of shades.
If you do have different lot numbers, there are ways to get around it.
- You can knit 2 rows lot no 1 yarn, then 2 rows lot no2, then 2rows lot no1 and so on, this way changes in shade with be masked.
- Use the odd lot no. yarn to knit the ribs of the garment, where a sight colour change might look as if it was intended!
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Use the odd lot no. yarn to knit in a multi coloured piece of the garment if such a section exists, and shade change would be masked in that way.
It better to pull out only one piece and reknit that piece, than to have to pull out the entire garment and start from scratch.
If you have any issues not commented up on here, please do email in and I will answer it for you. Email jadwiga@serenityknitting.co.uk