Hints, tips and 'how to'
Hints, tips and 'how to'
I get a real kick out of sharing the hints and tips I've picked up along the way with others. If I've found a useful resource, such as a YouTube video, that I can recommend, I link to that as well, as sometimes it can take a long time to find one that is really clear, and is the easiest way to do something.
Magic Loop: if you are crocheting something in rounds (making a mat, starting a hat from the crown, or making granny squares, for example), the pattern may tell you to chain so many and join in a circle. That's fine if you want a little hole in the middle or don't mind trying to squeeze a lot of stitches into a small space, but an alternative is a magic loop (or magic circle). This starts big but you make it smaller after you've done all the stitches for the first round but before you close the round. There are lots of instructional videos out there, but they all make it seem (to me, anyway) more complicated than it needs to be. The simplest I've found is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_CS3TUADYg. There are plenty of other videos, but most seem to want you to wrap the yarn round your fingers in a particular way, whereas that's much less important than the principle of the loop itself.Â
Judy's Magic Cast-on: If you are knitting something 'in the round' from the bottom up and don't want a ridge where you cast-on (both sides of the knitting appearing to continue seamlessly from the other side), try this cast-on. It's actually really easy once you get into the rythm of it, although it feels a little strange to start off. The best tutorial I have found is this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GV9UaFgZ6Q0, which uses a circular needle (with a cord). I tried it using double-pointed needles (DPNs) and although the cast-on was easy enough, knitting the first row was very difficult until I distributed the stitches over more DPNs.
Knitting-in beads: Unlike hand-knitters, machine-knitters can't (usually) thread a lot of beads on a length of yarn and then knit with it. It would jam the carriage unless you're weaving and being VERY careful! The method I've used for years is similar to the method described as the 'crochet hook method' for hand-knitters. You slip a fine latch-tool or crochet hook through the hole in the middle of a bead, lift a stitch off a needle, pull it through the bead on the hook and place the stitch back on the needle. It works well. I recently came across an alternative method: using a sewing needle and thread. I'm not going to try to explain it, as it's easier to do than to describe. There is an excellent video tutorial on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pNLJABCYjo
Finding the beads is the first problem, as we have issues hand-knitters don't have. Not only do we nearly always need to get a double-thickness of yarn (a whole stitch) through the hole of the bead, we also need to keep them out of the way of the sinker plate. Having bought a LOT of beads on various online sites and having found the holes are either much too small, are not smooth or the beads are not quite the right size, I've found two places I can recommend (but I'm sure there are others):
Boundless Beads do a size 5/0 bead (4.5mm) that takes a 0.75mm crochet hook relatively easily
Moon Beads also do suitable beads, and I bought some from a stand at a wool show. The woman I spoke to was a machine-knitter herself, so understood exactly what I wanted. Their website doesn't point you so clearly in the right direction, but I bought size 5 Czech seed beads, and I'm pleased with them.
Double-jacquard and DesignaKnit: I have a Brother KH965 machine, and use DesignaKnit (DAK). I have found the most efficient way to get designs into the knitting machine for double-jacquard is to follow instructions I found on a blog (Slisen's Happy Place). I do the design in DAK as fairisle. It's easier, and DAK will tell me if I inadvertently end up with more than 2 colours in a row. I download to the machine as a fairisle pattern and use the MK button on the machine to convert it to double-jacquard. I then start interactive knitting and change the 'method of knitting' to 2-colour double-jacquard with a colour changer. This means DAK gives me the right instructions regarding shaping and colour changing.