Tips for lace knitting
Oct. 12th, 2016 01:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
athousanderrorsvia http://ift.tt/2dklTYW:
you-keep-using-that-word:
So I’ve been working on a list of tips for lace knitting, or complicated pattern knitting and so far I have these! I hope these help any new knitters, and if they seem obvious well they probably are but I’m learning this on my own so this one’s for the autodidacts out there:
Print the pattern out and use something (a ruler, a pen, another sheet of paper…) to cover the rows you’re not working on. I found this revolutionary when I first started, because I would look at the pattern, then at my knitting, then back at the pattern, and even if I KNOW I’m on the SK2P on row 2, my eyes will settle on the SK2P on row 4 and continue knitting that row. it sounds so simple but I lost a lot of time at the beginning, folks, learn from my mistakes.
Mark each row off when you’re done. Another reason to print your pattern! If you have a lot of repeats, I do the first lot of marks as dots, then overwrite them with horizontal dashes, then vertical to make crosses to take up less margin space. Of course if you don’t want to scribble all over your pattern you can stick a post-it next to the rows and mark on that instead.
Count your stitches after each row. seriously. I know it’s time consuming but is a good idea the first time you try a pattern. stitch in time and all that. you can usually break patterns down into sections; quarters or eighths if it’s a short repeat. When you know how many stitches are in each section you can isolate the problem. for me, 9 times out of 10 I’ll have missed a YO.
Once you’ve got the hang of what the pattern looks like while you’re knitting it you probably won’t have to do this so much, but it’s helpful if you keep ending up with a knotty mess and can’t figure out why. I don’t count after every row any more, but I do still put the markers on, because it’s a lot easier to rip back a quarter of my project than the whole row.
No knitting after 10pm. a tired brain makes silly mistakes, and crying doesn’t help you knit faster. 10pm seems to be my witching hour. bad things happen, I forget the number 7 exists. so that’s my advice. followers - anything to add?
I highlight particular stitches (this works for cableknit too), so that I don’t have to keep referring back to my key. I end up with very multicoloured patterns printed out; but it really helps visualise the pattern, and keep them straight.
you-keep-using-that-word:
So I’ve been working on a list of tips for lace knitting, or complicated pattern knitting and so far I have these! I hope these help any new knitters, and if they seem obvious well they probably are but I’m learning this on my own so this one’s for the autodidacts out there:
Print the pattern out and use something (a ruler, a pen, another sheet of paper…) to cover the rows you’re not working on. I found this revolutionary when I first started, because I would look at the pattern, then at my knitting, then back at the pattern, and even if I KNOW I’m on the SK2P on row 2, my eyes will settle on the SK2P on row 4 and continue knitting that row. it sounds so simple but I lost a lot of time at the beginning, folks, learn from my mistakes.
Mark each row off when you’re done. Another reason to print your pattern! If you have a lot of repeats, I do the first lot of marks as dots, then overwrite them with horizontal dashes, then vertical to make crosses to take up less margin space. Of course if you don’t want to scribble all over your pattern you can stick a post-it next to the rows and mark on that instead.
Count your stitches after each row. seriously. I know it’s time consuming but is a good idea the first time you try a pattern. stitch in time and all that. you can usually break patterns down into sections; quarters or eighths if it’s a short repeat. When you know how many stitches are in each section you can isolate the problem. for me, 9 times out of 10 I’ll have missed a YO.
Once you’ve got the hang of what the pattern looks like while you’re knitting it you probably won’t have to do this so much, but it’s helpful if you keep ending up with a knotty mess and can’t figure out why. I don’t count after every row any more, but I do still put the markers on, because it’s a lot easier to rip back a quarter of my project than the whole row.
No knitting after 10pm. a tired brain makes silly mistakes, and crying doesn’t help you knit faster. 10pm seems to be my witching hour. bad things happen, I forget the number 7 exists. so that’s my advice. followers - anything to add?
I highlight particular stitches (this works for cableknit too), so that I don’t have to keep referring back to my key. I end up with very multicoloured patterns printed out; but it really helps visualise the pattern, and keep them straight.
