Hi Everyone
First off - an update. The school is still closed to almost everyone so no July meeting even if we wanted one. They can’t yet confirm our bookings for September onwards either so it’s a case of “watch this space” to find out when our next meeting can be held there. Until we meet again please keep your emails coming in. It’s getting harder to fill the pages now so, pleases, any help suggestions will be gratefully received.
No news yet about whether The Southern Wool Show will go ahead at the beginning of September. If it does it will probably be ticket only and these would go on sale about four weeks beforehand, so early August. Keep an eye on their website for latest information.
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Last time I wittered on about knitting (and crocheting) tension swatches and how to knit and measure them. It’s great when you find that you’ve got it exactly right and you can start straight away on your chosen project. But I stopped short of including anything about what to do when your tension doesn’t match that given in the pattern.
You basically have two options.
A) change needles/hook/tension dial
B) recalculate the pattern using the tension you achieved
You could also try knitting a smaller, or larger, size if it is a multisize pattern but that is rather hit and miss and would affect things, like proportion, everywhere so no guarantees a garment would fit especially at the armhole or neckline.
Hand knitters - if you opt to change needles sizes you will need to knit and measure another tension swatch. Some people already know they knit tight or loose and adjust their needles size automatically. If you’ve not tried using different size needles before do you go a size bigger or a size smaller? Go bigger if you have more stitches than the pattern says, and go smaller if you have too few stitches. You could even try a different pair of needles of the same size but of a different composition e.g. Metal to bamboo especially if the stitch count is ok but the row count is off. Longer or shorter needles could also make a difference, as you would hold them differently, as could the style of knitting, so try switching from English to Continental knitting.
The long explanation about what to do if you don’t get the tension/gauge can be found on Glenna Knits webpage.
Crocheters - the same goes for you. Briefly, different size hooks, different composition/style of hook and different style/way of holding the hook and tensioning.
Machine knitters – You’ll have to play with both your tension dial and the tension discs on your yarn mast. The tension dial has most effect on the stitches, whilst the yarn mast tension discs will have a small effect on your rows. On the tension dial, the bigger the number the bigger the stitch. On the yarn mast + increases the tension so less yarn comes through and - opens the disc up so more yarn flows through.
Don’t forget that the final fabric is important. Changing stitch/row size by using different needles, hook or tension will give you a firmer or softer fabric especially if you’re not using the yarn specified in the pattern. So after all this swatch knitting/crocheting you may not like the look or feel of the fabric produced so opt for option B and recalculate.
It’s pen and paper, and perhaps a calculator for recalculating. No degree in mathematics necessary, just basic arithmetic. There are a number of sites with explanations but this one by Ann Budd is fairly easy to follow. She only mentions stitches but the rows would be calculated in the same way. If this doesn’t work for you then do a “Google” search and you’ll find other sites.
Don’t want to do the maths - here’s an on line calculator to do them for you. There are other similar sites if you look for them.
You’ll still need to do a bit of recalculating around sleeve armhole area, especially for the sleeve head, so this Berroco blog may help.
Machine Knitters can find help for converting/recalculating in editions of Machine Knitting Monthly on their pattern information page as well as other useful information. In the magazine only, not on their website so consider buying one or taking out a subscription.
So now it’s as clear as mud! If you have any queries let me know and I’ll try and answer them either directly or here in the Newsletter and we can also cover this further when we can meet again.
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The Knitting and Crochet Guild has six Patrons.
Kaffe Fassett is someone you have probably heard of, especially if you’ve been crafting for a while and love colour. Kaffe has been busy in the textile industry for many years with exhibitions and shows all round the world. He has also written books.
Lorna Hamilton-Brown MBE is also someone you may have heard of. She was speaker at the Guild of Machine Knitters National Guild Day a few years ago. She is an artist as well as a knitter, researcher, educator, performer and filmmaker.
Debbie Abrahams is an author, teacher and designer. She travels widely visiting knitting shops and groups across the UK and America.
Jane Crowfoot is also a designer specialising in crochet. She travels all over the country giving workshops as well as attending some shows. Jane has exhibited at Unravel, Farnham.
Sasha Kagan is another British hand knitwear designer. Her designs are both knitted and crocheted. She travels the country attending shows, festivals and workshops.
Louisa Harding is also a British designer who has her own range of yarns to go with her patterns. She also teaches, including at knitting holidays in Italy. Louisa has exhibited at Unravel, Farnham.
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The Knitting and Crochet Guild 2020 Convention has now become the 'Un-Convention' and will be digital, running from 9th to 15th September 2020. The 2021 Convention will take place in Leeds from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th September 2021. See their website for more information. (Don’t forget to renew your subscription when it’s due as we will no longer be doing this together.)
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Do you read the abbreviations at the start of your pattern or just take a guess? UK abbreviations can be different to those in patterns from the US and not all designers use the same abbreviations so check your pattern. Love Crafts has a page with UK abbreviations and explanations. There are a number of other websites that have a list of abbreviations including Lets Knit, The Knitting Network and Deramores. The US has a Craft Council web page for abbreviations including lots of links to other pages on the right. Remember you are on a US website some terms may be slightly different to the UK.
Janie Crow has a free download for crochet abbreviations and US equivalents, plus the crochet stitch symbols.
Most machine knitters are familiar with the UK abbreviations as we use them all the time, but if you are using an US pattern they call things slightly differently, like bind off for cast off. I didn’t find a site with conversion chart but I did find one with UK and another with US abbreviations.
Vintage patterns used abbreviations as they were often created either on a typewriter or hand written. They condensed some terms but there was little standardization. We probably do the same when we make notes so we can knit the same again. We understand what we mean, but we might need to translate if we give a copy to anyone else. Over the years there has been a certain amount of standardisation, but even now there are variations.
Check your pattern for abbreviations and understand them before you start. Sometimes the pattern writer may have used something a bit different. I found a pattern the other day that had most of the abbreviations at the beginning of the pattern and a couple of additional ones at the end! Now that’s why we say read all the pattern before you start! While you’re reading the abbreviations cast an eye over the rest of the pattern for instructions you’re not familiar with. Much better to find them before you start than when you reach that point in the pattern.
Browsing the world wide web
Not so many this time!
There’s some interesting knitwear in this Dawei Ready to Wear catwalk collection for Autumn/Winter 2020 and in this Vogue collection. Not all the garments are knitted but many are. I can’t see me wearing any of them to the supermarket any time soon!
When you’re on YouTube try searching for “Upcycle Knitwear”. There are a number of videos with suggestions for recycling knits. Did you see the 2020 Sewing Bee when they recycled knitwear? It’s Series 6, Episode 6 (try BBC i-player)
I always like a bit of history. The East Midlands Knitting Industry website content is obvious by it’s name. It has a virtual museum too. There are links to industrial museums in the area for when we can travel around more freely.
You could also watch a short YouTube video about making socks in Nottinghamshire. It’s black and white, not sure the date it was filmed and the working conditions just wouldn’t be allowed in the UK today!
Do you find you have holes in your knitting when you increase stitches? This blog by Courtney Spainhower might help eliminate them. It’s in four parts so look for number one first.
Are you hoping to go somewhere “posh”? (Or at least be prepared for when you do!) Machine knitters might like to make this Estrela Lace Shawl from City Farmhouse Studio. It is also available as a pdf via Etsy if you don’t want all the adverts. Patterns for hand knitting and crochet are also on the site so follow the link to the shawl and go from there.
Have you noticed that Ravelry has a new look. From comments I’ve seen, some people like it, some don’t. Still a good site to sign up to. If you don’t like the new version you can change back to the classic. Use the drop down menu top right for profile and settings.
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One thing I have noticed whilst browsing the web is the number of broken and no longer available page links. Yes it’s great to have a website, but it would be even better if you could check that your links are still working once in a while? Or add an easy way to allow others to let you know that a link is broken and when they do follow it up! I mean the ones in a list of links on sites that are active and updated regularly and currently, not ones that are no longer updated or in text written years ago!
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Yarn shops are opening up again! So if you’re someone who likes to see before you buy then you’re in luck. Those that are opening may have reduced hours, limited numbers allowed in at any one time for social distancing etc. Check their etiquette before you go and also their opening hours.
My Stay and Home and Keep Busy List
After 12+ weeks my keep busy list is definitely showing signs of getting shorter. Obviously there are still things to do, and things added since the beginning but an awful lot has been ticked off! The warm weather has influenced what I do and when it has been really hot I have to say “not a lot”.
After the last Newsletter went out I worked on some beading! I had made a bracelet some time ago using beads from my stash, but it wasn’t right. It wouldn’t lay correctly, so I’ve remade it with different seed beads and the results are much better. I had to make an adjustment to the fastener at the last minute as the original one broke after I’d attached it and as I was finishing the bracelet. After a bit of fiddling I’m happy with it. It was that or remake it again! The second bracelet took 4 attempts. I’d bought it as a kit, but found there wasn’t enough of the smaller seed beads and nothing remotely similar in my stash so I had to adjust the pattern. That meant a change of fastener too, but the end results are nice.
Whilst sitting quietly beading I felt that my next project should be machine knitting. With lockdown being eased I wanted to make sure I had some nice items to give to my Mum’s care home for the families party they are planning. My quick make is usually a scarf with a lace pattern on it. So I set up my Knitmaster SK700, got help to attach new side racks that I’d bought ages ago and then sorted out the lace carriage and punchcards. I started by checking the sponge bar and giving the machine a quick dust off and a bit of oil, all before putting up the tension mast and attaching the sinker plate. And it was then I noticed - one of the rubber wheels has a great chunk missing! I usually start with the main carriage before changing to the lace carriage for patterning. So I consulted the instruction book and I would be able to knit plain with the lace carriage. So far so good! I got a cast on done after a bit of thought as I wanted some waste yarn first and also a closed cast on in the main yarn. I then started the patterning. It just wasn’t my day! The lace carriage wasn’t transferring properly. So I gave up but it was still bugging me. Why was it transferring some stitches ok but not others at random? Next morning I was back at the machine. I knitted some more and worked out that the transfers didn’t happen properly when knitting right to left, but knitting left to right they were ok. With the Knitmaster Lace Carriage you can watch the needles transferring through a gap in the sinker plate and I could see that some of the latches were going under the transfer plate, and some over. I called my resident engineer (my husband!) and between us we worked out that the plate on the left was not the same shape as the plate on the right. Within a short space of time it had been adjusted and put back together and I was knitting lace! I did watch very carefully for a while till I was confident all was ok. One lace scarf and one plain scarf later I realised that the row counter wasn’t working. Something must have not gone back in quite the right place when we changed the side racks. Never mind - that can be corrected another day. Two more scarves later (in a different colour) the weather changed and knitting stopped.
I did sit quietly and sew in the ends and add fringe tassels and also washed them, but they are still waiting to be blocked. The yarn is cashmere so a bit of steam will be necessary and it’s not the weather for that right now. Hopefully it will be cooler before this Newsletter goes out so a photograph of them can be included in the Show and Tell.
I’ve also been doing a bit of crochet - a scarf with a bit of interest. There’s a picture of it in the show and tell. It became very obvious early that my tension was not what it ought to be. What should have been a square was a rectangle! So I needed to work out a better way of working to correct my tension issues. I went to my favourite “how to” site and found some videos. I usually look at more than one as there are often different ways of doing things. Here’s a couple that I looked at. Both are by Sigoni Marconi. The first is shows various methods of tensioning and the second shows you how to make a crochet tensioner that slips on your finger. Other similar videos can be found on YouTube so take your pick and use what suits you. I haven’t tried my tensioner yet as I wanted to wait until the piece I was working on was finished in case it changed my tension. I’ll report back when I’ve tried it.
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Last year we had rather a lot of wasps round about here. A number of people put up “fake” paper nests to deter them. Whilst not expensive we were sceptical whether they would work. An internet search showed ideas for how to make your own including some that were crocheted. They looked very simple so, with nothing to lose, and yarn aplenty, I started crocheting. It didn’t take long to make, and before closing off at the top I filled it with plastic carrier bags as per suggestions on line. We hung it up along the route the wasps seemed to be following and right outside the back door where a lot found their way inside if it was open. We’re still not sure if it worked or not. We didn’t get that many wasps, but was that because neighbours had the wasp nests removed or because our “nest” acted as a deterrent? We’ve hung it up again this year and so far no wasps. It is early in the season so time will tell. It’s not in the way so it can stay until it’s proven to not work or it falls apart!
Show and Tell
Not many contributions this time, but I hope you like what has been sent.
Nina has been busy. Not only has she been experimenting with photographs she has found time to knit. On the left is the first jumper she knitted after her cataract was removed. It’s 4ply acrylic of unknown origin and knitted with every 10th ribber needle in work and the ribber set for half fishermans rib. The collar is half fishermans rib.
The short sleeve jumper on the right is knitted in BSK 4ply cotton. Nina knitted it on her Knitmaster SK700 and used her knit radar for this one.
And last, but not least, by special request from her grandchildren, Nina knitted scarves for their teddies.
Well done Nina—they all look lovely.
Sylvia has also been busy knitting. She’s completed the white cardigan pictured above (18” chest), a pink and white dress pictured left (18” chest), and a pink and white dress with buttons at the shoulders plus hat pictured right (to fit a 2 year old) all in DK yarn.
Sylvia has also knitted a chunky cardigan in a purple yarn to fit a 20” chest. She added gold buttons to it. Sylvia added that she has also been working on a large tapestry which is still very much a work in progress.(It is purple, really, just the photo has come out blue) They are all lovely Sylvia.
So now for my contributions. You’ve seen the things I’ve made that aren’t knitted or crocheted so now for the knitted things.
This is the crocheted neck wrap/scarf/shawl. It’s based on a pattern downloaded from Yarnspirations. I used some Denys Brunton Magicolour yarn with a grey base. By blocking and steaming it I was able to disguise the tension issues I had!
I did get the four scarves blocked too as the weather cooled down. They were knitted on my Knitmaster SK700 with the lace carriage. The yarn is cashmere.
I’m in desperate need of a haircut as my fringe is now getting in my eyes. When it was really hot I wanted to get my hair off my face so I got out a pair of needles and some odd bits of a cotton yarn and knitted a headband. It’s doing the job but not something to be seen wearing in public!
So that’s the lot. I hope you like them.
And finally:
It’s not a pile of
Yarn
its a pile of
potential
Lion Brand Yarn on Twitter
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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