Hi Everyone
Here we are again! Just made it in July! Where’s time going? I wonder where my wandering mind will take us this time? I hope I’m not repeating myself yet.
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It’s something that happens mostly to machine knitters, but is becoming more of an occurrence for hand knitters too. What am I talking about? Biasing—i.e. you knit as normal and instead of ending up with a square or rectangle you find you’ve got a Rhombus or Parallelogram leaning to the left or right depending which side you are viewing from. No amount of blocking or pressing can stop the bias happening. It would come back .
Why does it happen? Well it’s all down to the twist in the yarn and whether it’s balanced when spun and plied. Knitting yarns should be plied with a S twist. A yarn manufactured for weaving will have a Z twist. One quick way to see if a yarn will knit nicely is to pull off a length of it, about a meter perhaps, and hold one end in each hand. Start with your hands apart and slowly bring them together. If the yarn forms a U with little or no twisting then it’s fine for knitting. However if the yarn spins and twists round and round itself a number of times then it probably isn’t suitable for knitting.
I was trying this test on a yarn at an knitting exhibition once, quite discretely but I was spotted by the stand holder who rushed over and asked what I was doing. I told him but he remained cross and anxious, almost grabbing the cone from me and said I didn’t know what I was talking about. He insisted it was fine for knitting. I didn’t buy the yarn as I had had time to complete the test before he arrived and knew it wasn’t!
Another possible cause is the yarn being over spun even if it is in the right direction. This article from the our friends at the Canadian Guild of Knitters has more information. Donna Estin has also posted on her blog about this problem.
There are things you can do to help limit the amount of bias, but knitting from the other end of the ball or skein does not solve the problem! Can’t guarantee any of these will work either as it depends on the individual yarns, but here’s a few things you could try.
1. knit another yarn with it e.g. add a strand of 2/30’s or sewing thread.
2. Use a stitch pattern with a mix of plain and purl stitches in the row e.g. moss stitch or rib
3. Some people say it will bias less if you knit a tuck stitch pattern
4. Use it for knit weave (machine knitting)
5. Plait it with another yarn that doesn’t bias (machine knitting)
If all fail but you’re not ready to give up on the yarn, you’ll have to find something to knit where the bias doesn’t matter or maybe find someone with a weaving loom who might weave it for you! The final alternative would be to leave it on the shelf and admire!
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Following on from last time and the abbreviations, I found another couple of sites you might like. All Free Knitting has a knitting directory that explains lots of knitting terms as well as abbreviations. I also found some knitters slang on Stitch and Unwind. It includes SABLE (Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy), SEX (Stash Enhancement eXperience aka buying yarn!) and TOAD (Trashed Object Abandoned in Disgust). How many muggles do you know? Do you, perhaps, have a frog pond?
I’m sure there must be a whole set that relate to crochet. Can anyone point us in the right direction?
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Last time I mentioned Lorna Hamilton-Brown was a patron of the Knitting and Crochet Guild. I somehow found myself looking at two of her recent videos. One is called Knitting the Blues and the other Learn to Knit. Both worth a watch and yes it is Lorna starring and singing!
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Spring cleaning seems to be a thing of the past especially now we have central heating in our homes. It came about when we all had open fires which are very dirty. As the spring came and the weather improved, housewives were able to open windows and doors, take carpets and rugs up and outside (if they had them) for a good beating and have a good clean through—hence spring cleaning! We might laugh at it now but whilst we regularly clean our homes we don’t often think about our knitting machines, and other knitting paraphernalia.
Sally put her machine knitting on hold in order to give her Brother KH950i some much needed TLC and a late spring clean. After she’d finished she emailed me with a few photographs . Her message read :
"I've been struggling to finish a cotton summer top with a lace motif on the front because it keeps falling off my knitting machine, so after the 3rd attempt, I took the hint that my knitting machine seriously wanted some TLC. It took less time than I thought it would, and it's like having a new machine! I did attend a maintenance training day a few years ago, but I couldn't make much sense of my scribbled notes and photos. Luckily there are plenty of useful videos on YouTube, including a nostalgic digital copy of a VHS instruction video presented by Peter Free with some cheesy jokes, but also lots of useful tips and tricks. 
I didn't quite have all the equipment so pulled together what I could find that was similar and spent the afternoon watching and pausing the video and following along. There was fluff under the carriage, under the main bed, and even in the tension springs. Every adjustment in the video was required, on the carriage and ribber. Some photos attached.
I remember seeing that video years ago. I just love the fact that Peter is wearing a white shirt and a tie to clean a knitting machine! It is amazing how much fluff collects.
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Ever wondered about industrial knitting machines and how they knit, not just garments but other items too. Take a look at this video by Shima Seika. It’s around four years old now so I’d expect later modern machines to be more advanced still. Other videos from this company are on line if you want to see more!
The commentary on this video from Argentina is in Spanish but it’s still interesting to watch even if you don’t understand the spoken word. I also found a much longer video about these whole garment machines.
Have factories that produce textiles changed much over the years? Doesn’t look like it as there are still rows and rows of machines with a few operators. The big difference is that they are now cleaner, lighter and airier and much, much safer. This is the website of Jack Masters, one of just a few manufacturers remaining in the UK. They use modern machines. Contrast them with G H Hurt & Sons who still use machines from the 1900’s.
I-cords
I-cords often get a mention in the world of knitting. There are YouTube videos of an i-cord cast on and cast off for hand knitters, as well as an i-cord cast off on the knitting machine.
You can knit a length of i-cord by hand using double ended needles or a circular needle. You might prefer to use a knitting dolly to speed up the process or you could treat yourself to the smallest knitting machine in the world (other makes/models available) to make your cords. There are a number of YouTube videos showing machine knitters how to make i-cords on their machine.
So you’ve got a few metres of i-cord but what can you do with it. Plenty is the answer. There are any number of ideas on Pinterest (search for i-cord knitting projects). You can also use the cord to make Chinese Ball Buttons and Chinese Frogs to match. Instructions again on line via Pinterest or a search. There were so many sites it was impossible to choose just one!
Here’s a few pictures of necklaces I’ve made using i-cords! They were made as part of the knitted necklace workshop I wrote for The Guild of Machine Knitters a while ago. Hair decorations and bracelets could be made to match. If you’re making for someone who has a nickel allergy then you could use a glass or wooden bead as a fastener.
My Stay and Home and Keep Busy List
Yes I’m still finding things to do, although there is less choice now! (Will I have to resort to spring cleaning to keep busy?)
After the last newsletter I did some weaving. I started by finishing something that got a mention in the 4th Newsletter back in May. It’s clasp weaving (link in No 4 for more info about the technique) using ECD cotton. A pale blue for the warp and pink and grey for the weft. It’s quite a slow process, but different to anything I’d tried before. I’d like to give it another go, using more textured yarns, and maybe having a more planned design rather than just being totally random as this one is. The fringing is platted, rather than twisted.
Once that was off the loom I quickly set about warping up for an idea I had been thinking about for some time. Ages ago I’d purchased some skeins of Colinette yarns (they stopped producing in 2016) and collected together other assorted yarns with the intention of making a garment on the knitting machine, sideways and using the technique of weaving. Needless to say it never happened but I still wanted to use the yarns, and what better way of doing so than weaving on the loom!
As with the clasp weaving I learnt a lot as I worked on this project. A couple of the yarns are mohair and they stick to the yarns next to them. Still, I sorted out a way of working and I love the finished results. I think this will be a keeper, but then again I still have plenty of the yarns left and could swap out the mohair and get something I like better. I’ll have to go through my stash to see what else I have that will work colour wise with the other yarns so watch out for more to come.
I’ve also finished knitting a pair of socks and a scarf. Both take out or front of the TV projects when you need to pay a bit of attention elsewhere! They are pictured in show and tell. I’ve gone back to another WIP scarf and started a cowl but I will have to see what I can find that’s small and simple to knit next for when they’re done.
Keen to continue destashing, and cooler weather, I returned to my knitting machine. I decided that a simple summer top would be a good place to start. Found a pattern and looked through the nearest box of yarn. I selected a part cone of Bramwell Celebration and sat down at the machine. Oh - the row counter hasn’t been fixed, but never mind I was going to put markers in each side for making up, so that would keep count. I think I got it right, but it is easy to let you mind wander when knitting 200 rows without shaping even when putting markers in every 40 rows!
As soon as the knitting was off the machine I got my screw driver out and took the top off to see if I could work out why the row counter wasn’t working. Everything seemed ok, so the engineer took a look. He worked out that time had caused one little bit to stick and a quick clean sorted it out. I was left with the small task of putting the screws back in the cover I’d taken off—and I managed to muck that up. One of the screws dropped inside the machine. It had to come out! Goodness knows where it would end up if I left it as this is a machine that doesn’t stay up all the time. Torches, micro-camera, magnets and various tools and bits of wire later and the screw was extracted. I was not left to put it back in place again!
After all that effort I definitely must do more knitting on this machine.
Mind you whilst preparing for this Newsletter I’ve added a couple more things to my list of things to do. If I get distracted you might well see the results here next time!
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Browsing the world wide web
Just a few for you this time!
Firstly, what colours should we be wearing now? This website from Pantone will tell you and also what we will be wearing for Autumn/Winter 20/21.
I also found a blog from Karie Westermann which gives insight into choosing a knitting pattern anyone that is a bit busty i.e. D cup and above regardless of size.
Read on line or Free to download for limited time magazine from Knit Much . Back issues are available to read on line or purchase.
There’s a BBC article about how knitting became cool. Look around as there must be others on this subject!
Sally sent a couple of links for this section. One is to The Journal of Dress History. I haven’t had opportunity for a good look round yet, but Sally said there was an article on crochet in the Summer 2020 issue. Other issues are worth investigating too.
The second link is to Fruity Knitting. It’s a YouTube channel with lots of videos/podcasts some of which are over an hour long. You can skip through if time is limited. Some of the titles look interesting so I will be going back for another watch.
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Show and Tell
Gaynor was the first to be in touch after the last Newsletter. After thanking me for the Newsletter she said: I am still here and still interested but not knitting or crocheting at the moment but have taken on other challenges instead just to keep things different and fulfilling a promise to myself that ‘one day I will’ ..... you know the rest. I know how difficult it is to fill a newsletter as I too have been doing this. Your efforts are really appreciated.
Ah! Just thought - I have done some knitting. I was requested to make (by my granddaughter) an emergency pair of trousers for my granddaughter’s new teddy. He didn’t have a thing to wear! We had to put that right straight away and get them to him asap. I’m sure Teddy will look very dashing in his trousers.
Jean was the next to contact me. Her message read: Thanks Liz, you have thought up so many things! May I add some more for next time? Re tension squares- I usually do more than one at a time than let them rest for at least 24 hours- then give them a good wash and press according to the yarn, as they will be as garments; THEN measure them to get a ready to wear tension. I hope this makes sense. I suppose that we all should do this, hand or machine knitters.
Another thought-has anyone got a favourite yarn/shop/book etc.?
I finished a milk jug cover and added knitting beads and moon beads round the edge; and a garter stitch blanket I was knitting and have started a bigger one (probably 1½ times bigger). I ordered some more lambs' wool from Uppinghams at the weekend and had a chat with Nick. I think he was by himself but all seems OK for the company. Goodness knows how long it will take to arrive, it depends on which company is used.
Keep safe, love to all. God bless. Jean xx Thanks Jean. Sounds as if you’ve had plenty to keep you busy.
Carole send a photo of her latest project. She said: The yarn is Stylecraft Special DK. It’s to fit a 24” chest with extra body and sleeve length for a growing child! I used a stocking stitch cardigan pattern for the basic shape and made the rest up as I went along including adding a stitch pattern which isn’t easy to see in the photo. As usual I knitted the body and sleeves in the round up to the armholes then joined together so the only seams are at the underarm.
I asked Carole if the yarn was really as bright as in the photo and she said yes. She’d ordered it on line and hadn’t anticipated it would be quite so bright!
Hoping you and yours are all well. See you sometime Sylvia. Thanks Sylvia. I don’t like doing cross stitch on linen either!
As for me—well, there’s not a lot of my knitting and crochet to show. I’ve finally finished the last pair of socks from part balls of “Happy” yarn. I added a bit of ribbing around the instep area. It’s not something I’ve done before so it will be interesting to see how it feels in wear. 
I’ve also finished a sock yarn scarf, made from the part balls left after making pairs of socks. The pattern is called Happy Magic and is a free download from Universal Yarn. It’s an easy to remember two row repeat pattern, and small enough to take out and about when I wanted knitting with me.
Lastly, an update on the summer top I knitted using a part cone of Bramwell Celebration. It is unwearable and only fit for the bin! I’d used Celebration before (in different colours) without any problems. It was a pattern I’d knitted before without any issues. It looked ok when it came off the machine so I spent a few evenings doing three of rows of double crochet, and one of crab stitch round the hem line, armholes and neckline, something I’d done many times before. As I was crocheting the yarn kept twisting back on itself but I put that down to my twisting the yarn in my hand as I worked. When it came to sewing up the two side seams I realised that the whole thing was biasing. The side seams were exactly the same length, but if they were straight the shoulders and neckline were all out of kilter. Match up the shoulders and neckline wasn’t easy and then the side seams were twisting and ending up almost centre front and back rather than at the sides where they should be. Added to that the neckline and armholes were far too tight! I did try steaming it, but it still wasn’t right. I can only assume that there was a problem with that particular batch of yarn. And it’s back to the drawing board for a new summer top.
Until we meet again
Keep Calm
and carry on
Knitting or Crocheting!
Stay Alert, Control the Virus, Save Lives
Stay Positive, Keep Active—We will meet again
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