Subtitled, Projects for Each Month of the Year, Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac charms and enlightens intermediate to advanced knitters. Here’s a woman who was never bored, I’m quite sure. The cover shows what all she created for us. This book is almost a journal of one year of her life because along with each month’s knitting project, we read what else was going on in her life. [...]
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Two things happen when your knitting gauge is too loose. One is critical as it determines how large your finished garment or project turns out. The other may or may not be critical as your fabric itself will change from what your pattern expects. How much too big is big? How will fabric behave if it’s looser than expected? [...] There are a world of choices for your next knitting project. With each new project you decide whether you’ll do colorwork, lace, socks, washcloths, a sweater or whatever. You’ll choose a style, yarn, color and pattern you like for whatever reason. Each knitting project is an opportunity for you to relax from stress, increase your skills, or just have fun. What does your choice say about you? [...] Welcome to Knits Gone Bad. I’m Karen. Glad to meet you. Did the world really need another knitting blog? Maybe not so much, but here I’ll share my enthusiasm for the craft and help other knitters or would-be knitters who might need assistance with knitting math, knitting mistakes, fitting tips or whatever else comes up. [...] There are four possibilities for what to do if you don’t get gauge. If you hate or fear knitting math, you’ve probably already made your sweater anyway even if you didn’t get gauge. And you’ve probably already cried when it didn’t fit. What other options do you have so you can dry your tears? [...] If you fear math, even knitting math, you probably have the unwearable sweaters to prove it. But if you’re a new knitter, and you can’t quite get gauge when you knit your swatch, you may think “close” is good enough. Let’s just see, shall we, how much difference one stitch per inch in gauge makes. [...] If knitting math confuses you, it’s hard to know what size your sweater will turn out. If you’re tired of knitting sweaters that don’t fit you or anyone you know, grab some loose change. A handful of coins will help clear up the confusion for you in a visual way. [...] How many times have your knitting math mistakes ruined a sweater that you otherwise knit very well? Have you EVER gotten a sweater to fit the way you dreamed while you cast on, knit each stitch, bound off, blocked, and seamed? Couldn’t you just scream? Do you need a brain transplant to make knit fit every time? [...] Unfortunately for some of us, how to gauge knitting involves making a nice big gauge swatch. For best results, you bind it off, then wash and dry it as you would your knitted item. When you measure across two or four inches in the middle you discover the exact number of stitches you get per inch. If the very idea of a gauge swatch gives you the willies, you may just cast on in hopes anything close to gauge is good enough. Hello, math fudge. [...] If you’re a knitter who’s math phobic, you have the ruined sweaters to prove it. One was the wrong size, another was the wrong fit, yet another ran out of yarn before completion. Sound familiar? What you need is a math monkey who’ll help you do the math. Or a way to make knitting math simple. [...] |
Helpful Links
Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Cast On Video Tutorial Jeny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off Photo Tutorial TECHknitting Sweater Knitting Pattern Generator Meg Swansen explains Elizabeth's Percentage System on Math4Knitters podcast Knitmore Girls podcast on ratios #78 Knitmore Girls podcast on sizing, fit and ease Brass Needles podcast Episode 48 with Gail Carriger's segment on sweater sleeves (about 7 minutes in) Brass Needles podcast Episode 49 with Gail Carriger's segment on sweater necklines (almost 9 minutes in) Fabulous Crochet Designer Vashti Braha Start Knitting Socks for Soldiers  
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