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  • Gloria Grandy May 23, 2017 at 12:47am

    Here is a technique I have come up with for adding horizontal stretch to Tunisian Crochet ... something you TCers will be able to relate to :)  My brother helped me put this video together and I hope you will give this method a try and let me know what you think ... xo

    https://youtu.be/je_J95MMqVg

  • Susan Donaldson October 3, 2015 at 1:57am

    Calling all British knitters -  I  love knitting with variegated wool and am always on the look out for new yarn - not easy in my rural area.  I have just got back from a visit to my nearest town and the Poundstretcher store has  new stock  in of variegated wool. ranging from  muted colours and toning colours to the bright and zany,   I definitely did not need to buy any more wool - but I did!

  • Anne Powell January 5, 2015 at 7:01am

    Thanks for the link, Gloria.

    I haven't read this discussion for a long time, but glancing through, I realized that there's an old tip that didn't make it into this discussion.

    If you want to avoid having to sew in the beginning tail when your square is finished, knit it in on the second row for four or five stitches and then just clip the tail off..... saves a bit of time.

     

  • Gloria Grandy January 5, 2015 at 3:48am

    Here is a link to a cast-on/bind-off method that is extremely stretchy.  I have not tried it, but Barb (RJSK) has started using it for her mittens and says it is really very good.  Just thought it might be good for hats, and even the necklines of sweaters for the children ... even hand warmers :)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n8E3I6Cg2k

  • Anne Powell January 22, 2014 at 1:33am

    USING UP LEFTOVERS

    While housecleaning some very old discussions that had been filed away, I discovered this posting by Andrea Palmatier from way back in 2011. 

    The idea of the "magic ball" is wonderful for those of us with bag and bags of little bits and the "Russian Join" is, as Andrea says - ingenious!

    The links are below and both are well worth a read.

    　Andrea Palmatier on May 12, 2011 said

    I was trying to find a spot to put this info and this seemed as good a place as any! I came across a really interesting way to join leftover yarns... it's called the Russian Join.

    The instructions for the "magic ball" can be found at

    http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-leftovers/comment-page-1/#commen... re 'magic ball'

     and the Russian Join info is at.

    http://www.crochetspot.com/crochet-leftovers/comment-page-1/#commen... re 'magic ball'

    It took a couple of reads for it to sink in but I think it's ingenious

     

  • Anne Powell December 27, 2013 at 6:47am

    Free Knitting eBooks

    Posted by Robin Monsees on December 21, 2013

    Free eBooks from Knitting Daily

    Download hundreds of free knitting patterns, tutorials, and techniques.

    http://www.knittingdaily.com/content/Free-eBooks.aspx?a=ke131220&am...

  • Anne Powell December 27, 2013 at 6:43am

    Knitting - Slipping the first stitch in a row

    Posted by Robin Monsees on September 27, 2013

    I have found that some people slip the first stitch and some people knit (or purl) the first stitch. What is the benefit of slipping the first stitch in a row?

    Reply by Cherry Ames on September 27, 2013

    From my experience, if you are making a square in stockinette stitch, then it typically curls on the sides. To prevent this, you can knit one or more stitches at the beginning of each row (even a purl row) and that balances it out a bit. I don't slip stitches at the beginning, but to my understanding that serves the same purpose.

    Reply by Bev Jeffery on September 27, 2013

    I have found that purling the first stitch can sometimes give me a neater edge and have tried slipping the first stitch, with mixed results. :))

    Reply by Christine Johnson on September 27, 2013

    I was taught to always slip the first stitch of every row (unless changing colour but even then sometimes) and always knit the last stitch, even on purl rows. The idea was to create a little 'bobble' on the side rather than smooth edges. Recently I've been experimenting with wrapping the first stitch instead which creates a chain stitch edge. Having the little bump on the side is useful when you're picking up stitches along an edge but although I always do it I'm still not sure whether it's the best way. It would be interesting to see what happens if you make a square or two and see what you think.

    Reply by Robin Monsees on September 28, 2013

    I did some research and found this video on three ways to do the slip stitch and each result. It was interesting to me since I'm just learning about this, but you might find it helpful too.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_odMnlGeH-o

  • Anne Powell December 27, 2013 at 6:36am

    Great article on identifying fibres

    Posted by Andrea Palmatier on April 28, 2011

    I just found a great article on how to do a burn test to identify the fibre composition of your yarn.

    How To Do the Burn Test

    Synthetic Yarns (Acrylic, Nylon)

    Smells like burnt plastic

    Flame does not extinguish for a long time, continuing along until blown on or submerged in water. Warning: don’t pinch the burned end; the melted synthetic material might cling to the skin.

    Yarn seems to be "eaten up" or melted by flame

    Does not leave ashes

    Burned ends turn black and harden

    Plant-Based Yarns (Cotton, Linen, Rayon)

    Smells like burnt linen

    Flame continues to burn until blown on or submerged in water, much like candle niches

    Flame is easy to extinguish

    Fine ash, much like ashes from burnt paper, is left behind

    Animal-Based Yarns (Wool, Silk, Alpaca, Angora)

    Smells like burnt hair

    Flame almost immediately dies down on its own

    Leaves charred, crisp ashes

    Enjoy! :o)

  • Anne Powell December 27, 2013 at 6:34am

    Saving $$ When Mailing Beanie Babies as slip-ins

    Posted by Anne Powell on June 10, 2013

     

    I send a lot of cuddly toys in my packages. Many of these are donated and some I am able to buy very cheaply at our local Thrift Shop.

    Many of the cuddlies are Beanie Babies - charming little animals - very appealing and lovable. I am aware that these are a bit heavy since the rear end of most of them are filled with tiny plastic 'beans'

    Today I tried an experiment. I opened 1' on a seam, removed the plastic beans, and replaced them with polyester fibrefill.

    Most of us only send one or two cuddlies at a time, but removing the 'beans' really makes a weight difference. By replacing the 'beans' I can send several more squares in the package.

    The before and after results are as follows:

    15 Beanie Babies with 'beans' weigh 2 Kg

    36 Beanie Babies with the 'beans' replaced with fibrefill weigh 2 Kg.

    The saving on postage is so great, that it is worth the time to replace the 'beans'

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