need urgent help with knitting?

homealone_2

i have a knitting kit that has 3 balls of wool, 2 are the fun fur type and one is a straggly type. the pattern is for a scarf knitted on 25mm needles. pattern says take a strand from each ball and cast on 9 stitches. continue knitting until all wool used and cast off. so scarf is one ball long. i am assuming that if knitted on huge needles as they suggest it will come out a reasonable width and length as 8 stitches and one ball long doesnt sound very big in the general theme of things. obviously for the pattern to come out correct you need to knit with all 3 balls at once. problem is i cant find 25mm needles anywhere at a reasonable price and kit only cost £3 so not very moneysaving to spend loads on one set of needles that i wil never use again. how can i adjust this pattern on smaller needles say 10/15 to get same effect? i did buy 2 packs so i could do bag to match so do have extra wool if need be? please help??

whatatwit

Have you tried charity shops for the needles, or Freecycle?

Sorry can't help with adapting different size ones.

debbym

Does the pattern give a tension size anywhere?- should say something like x stitches and y rows to z cm on 25 mm needles. If it does you can work out the width and length of the scarf. I'm guessing that the reason they are using three strands and big needles is to give a lacy effect in the shortest time. If it was me I would use the smaller needles and two strands - do a tension square (say 20 stitches by 30 rows) get out the calculator and this will give you the number of stiches and rows per cm (or inch); work out your number of stitches for the width you want and knit the number of rows for desired length or until you run out of wool - bear in mind though that smaller needles will use more wool and take longer.

debbym

Suggestion from DH - use sharpened broom handles instead

carol_a_3

Thats not a bad idea actually, I saw an article in a knitting mag recently about making your own needles using dowel rods.

Saw them to the appropriate length and sharpen the ends (they said with a pencil sharpener but you could use a Stanley knife) then sand down starting with rough sand paper, then medium then fine, varnish/oil if required but they said the oil from your hands will gradually darken them. Do they do 25mm dowel rods I wonder?

cabra1

Ask at the charity shops they always have loads
not always on display either.I know all our local
shops have them under the counter.
Seems knitting needles are classed as dangerous items ? ?
So they dont have them on display.

homealone_2

debbym wrote:

Does the pattern give a tension size anywhere?- should say something like x stitches and y rows to z cm on 25 mm needles. If it does you can work out the width and length of the scarf. I'm guessing that the reason they are using three strands and big needles is to give a lacy effect in the shortest time. If it was me I would use the smaller needles and two strands - do a tension square (say 20 stitches by 30 rows) get out the calculator and this will give you the number of stiches and rows per cm (or inch); work out your number of stitches for the width you want and knit the number of rows for desired length or until you run out of wool - bear in mind though that smaller needles will use more wool and take longer.

never worked out tension before although i should as none of the items i have knitted have ever come up to their correct size, always lot bigger. will keep this suggestion in knitting bag if all else fails as it sounds a bit beyond me, but thanks for suggestion, my dh suggested something similar lol

homealone_2

cabra1 wrote:

Ask at the charity shops they always have loads
not always on display either.I know all our local
shops have them under the counter.
Seems knitting needles are classed as dangerous items ? ?
So they dont have them on display.

what area are these charity shops in? i checked all mine recenty when i was knitting baby clothes for prem mamies in hospital. it was suggested i look there for cheap wool and patterns etc but none of my charity shops had anything. may need me to travel to your area, if you dont mind letting me have details?

homealone_2

carol_a wrote:

Thats not a bad idea actually, I saw an article in a knitting mag recently about making your own needles using dowel rods.

Saw them to the appropriate length and sharpen the ends (they said with a pencil sharpener but you could use a Stanley knife) then sand down starting with rough sand paper, then medium then fine, varnish/oil if required but they said the oil from your hands will gradually darken them. Do they do 25mm dowel rods I wonder?

as you say this may not be such a daft suggestion, certainly worth bearing in mind if all else fails. cant believe a £3 knitting kit has produced so many problems lol

Caterina

When you go to charity shops to look for knitting needles you need to ask the people at the counter (or even at the back room as sometimes the counter people don't know what's in stock).

This is because they are not allowed to leave the needles out for people to pick, as they could be used as weapons - blimey, what a world we live in, risking to be killed by a knitting needle!

Caterina

pol

If all your other knitting has come out bigger, it sounds as if you naturally knit to a loose tension. (So you should use smaller needles to get the same tension). Using the biggest needles you have, try casting on 8 stitches and knit a couple of rows, if you're happy with the look of it, just carry on. You could always add another couple of stitches if you want it wider. I have sweater patterns using chunky wool double and 10mm needles and the tension on them is only about 3 stitches to the inch, so you won't need many stitches for a scarf.

pol