The Knitters Thread

susan946

Can anyone help. I've got to the sewing up stage on a jacket for no2 gs. The jacket has a zip up the front. The instructions say to sew in the zip before blocking - But I would have thought that this may lead to puckering and would have blocked first had I not read this.

Has anyone knitted a jacket with a zip and did you block before or after?

Sue

janb5

blueberrypie wrote: »

Without seeing the pattern, but...

slyb = slip with yarn at back
slyf = slip with yarn at front

So at the end of the round you have just slipped a stitch with the yarn at the front, and then you would move the yarn to the back of the work and slip the next stitch with the yarn at the back. Don't worry about it not being secured, because it will be secured in the next stitch when you purl the first of the p9.

Just be aware that a lot of slipped stitches when working in the round can pull your work in a bit - make sure the yarn in front/back when you slip is loose enough so that doesn't happen.

Hi- just found something that explains it on Youtube and apparently it is short row shaping so it is good to watch it. Thanks for helping.

kevstanley

Hi all

This is my first visit to this thread. I think I'd describe myself as an intermittent knitter. I knit my own dishcloths, when I need them, because they're dead easy and small enough to be stuffed into my handbag (and require precisely no concentration ), but over the years I've knitted lots of other things too - jumpers and cardis, hats, scarves, blankets, shawls etc.

At the moment, my main issue is with the price of yarn. I knitted a cardigan a couple of years ago with Rowan Big Wool, love it to bits, and would like to do another. It's the warmest woollen I have, which is useful when the heating's off in cold weather. But - yikes:eek: - the price of that stuff! I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for alternatives of the same sort of weight? Or should I just save up for the BW?

Ta in advance

OrkneyStar

kevstanley wrote: »

Hi all

This is my first visit to this thread. I think I'd describe myself as an intermittent knitter. I knit my own dishcloths, when I need them, because they're dead easy and small enough to be stuffed into my handbag (and require precisely no concentration ), but over the years I've knitted lots of other things too - jumpers and cardis, hats, scarves, blankets, shawls etc.

At the moment, my main issue is with the price of yarn. I knitted a cardigan a couple of years ago with Rowan Big Wool, love it to bits, and would like to do another. It's the warmest woollen I have, which is useful when the heating's off in cold weather. But - yikes:eek: - the price of that stuff! I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for alternatives of the same sort of weight? Or should I just save up for the BW?

Ta in advance

Welcome .
I agree with you yarn can be expensive these days.
I get mine from a range of places, including local shops, e-bay, charity shops, sometimes Lidl have nice yarn in too.
TBH I tend to find anything with a decent percentage wool will cost more, if you are willing to use blends or even 100% acrylic it will be cheaper. I quite like wool/acrylic blends myself, such as sirdar click, although these are not that cheap either generally they are cheaper than 100% wool.
A few people recommend Kemps wool (cannot recall address but google Kemps wool and it will come up!), for good deals.
HTH

Mumof2_2

Just wanted to say I love looking through here; seeing what everyone has been doing is inspiring me to try different things and right now I'm trying to do myself a jacket for the spring - well, it will be very late spring judging by the speed (or lack of it) I knit at! I'll try to post a photo soon.

There's something so nice about sitting quietly in the evening with the knitting needles click clacking away knowing I'm making something - DH likes to sit down and watch TV when he can, so we have some nice time together!

Thanks for inspiring me !

Mrs_Money

kevstanley wrote: »

Hi all

This is my first visit to this thread. I think I'd describe myself as an intermittent knitter. I knit my own dishcloths, when I need them, because they're dead easy and small enough to be stuffed into my handbag (and require precisely no concentration ), but over the years I've knitted lots of other things too - jumpers and cardis, hats, scarves, blankets, shawls etc.

At the moment, my main issue is with the price of yarn. I knitted a cardigan a couple of years ago with Rowan Big Wool, love it to bits, and would like to do another. It's the warmest woollen I have, which is useful when the heating's off in cold weather. But - yikes:eek: - the price of that stuff! I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for alternatives of the same sort of weight? Or should I just save up for the BW?

Ta in advance

Yes - price puts me off too, but trouble is, if we buy and use cheap acrylic/wool mix yarn it looks awful in no time and pills up. I know it's not always possible, but I buy yarn in charity shops when I can and have even started buying wool hand-knits in charity shops and unpicking them!
Otherwise try looking for Rowan on Ebay? Trouble is, sellers' postage rates mostly make it more expensive than going to a shop!

susan946

kevstanley wrote: »

Hi all

This is my first visit to this thread. I think I'd describe myself as an intermittent knitter. I knit my own dishcloths, when I need them, because they're dead easy and small enough to be stuffed into my handbag (and require precisely no concentration ), but over the years I've knitted lots of other things too - jumpers and cardis, hats, scarves, blankets, shawls etc.

At the moment, my main issue is with the price of yarn. I knitted a cardigan a couple of years ago with Rowan Big Wool, love it to bits, and would like to do another. It's the warmest woollen I have, which is useful when the heating's off in cold weather. But - yikes:eek: - the price of that stuff! I wonder if anyone has any suggestions for alternatives of the same sort of weight? Or should I just save up for the BW?

Ta in advance

I like to knit with wool as well. I agree with Mrs Money's comments re ebay. I generally trawl ebay as well as trying a number of internet sites looking for the cheapest. Also have a look for voucher codes. You can save a bit by spending a bit of time on line.

Sue

OrkneyStar

Mrs_Money wrote: »

Yes - price puts me off too, but trouble is, if we buy and use cheap acrylic/wool mix yarn it looks awful in no time and pills up. I know it's not always possible, but I buy yarn in charity shops when I can and have even started buying wool hand-knits in charity shops and unpicking them!
Otherwise try looking for Rowan on Ebay? Trouble is, sellers' postage rates mostly make it more expensive than going to a shop!

My wool/acrylic mix items do not look awful, thanks, nor do they 'pill up' (whatever that means). Also having a percent of acrylic in there often makes the items more hard-wearing, easier to wash, and definitely less likely to felt. TBH I like to knit with different yarns, depending on what I am making (how often it will need washed, where it will be used, who is using it etc).
On this thread we like to encourage each other no matter what yarn they choose to knit with, and bear in mind that what suits one person may not suit another.
I too have tried un-picking some things from charity shops, but found it wasn't worth the effort most of the time. Lucky you if you have managed to get some nice yarn.
Happy knitting, with whatever you like, everyone xx

Mrs_Money

OrkneyStar wrote: »

My wool/acrylic mix items do not look awful, thanks, nor do they 'pill up' (whatever that means). Also having a percent of acrylic in there often makes the items more hard-wearing, easier to wash, and definitely less likely to felt. TBH I like to knit with different yarns, depending on what I am making (how often it will need washed, where it will be used, who is using it etc).
On this thread we like to encourage each other no matter what yarn they choose to knit with, and bear in mind that what suits one person may not suit another.
I too have tried un-picking some things from charity shops, but found it wasn't worth the effort most of the time. Lucky you if you have managed to get some nice yarn.
Happy knitting, with whatever you like, everyone xx

Pilling is when a fabric gets small balls on it after wearing/washing.
I really wasn't having a go at anyone - nor was I not being "encouraging". On this thread I also like to encourage other knitters.

kevstanley

Thanks for the replies, everyone I did once snag an absolute bargain on ebay, a lot of 10 balls of Big Wool for a ridiculously cheap £39, but looking there today, there's not much in the way of real bargains. I need to check far more often, I think (not to mention not expecting such a great bargain a second time around!). One of the reasons my cardigan is so very warm is that it's 100% merino, so while I don't mind knitting wool mixes (I've knitted with all sorts!), I'm quite keen to get as close as possible to that. Fussy, me?

I'd never come across Kemps, but had a peek there just now, and they do seem to have some very well priced clearance yarns, so thanks for that! I've bought yarns online before, but generally the odd skein of hand dyed stuff for shawls and scarves etc, so it's nice to have places to go for more mainstream yarns.

I've never even thought of looking in charity shops - we have heaps very close by, so it must be worth a look, I would think.

So glad I found this thread