The Knitters Thread

basketcase

@PipneyJane I commented on the Fashion on the Ration thread, but will do so again.  This jumper is gorgeous.

basketcase

Savvy_Sue said:

MrsCD said:

That's lovely wool. Is it 100% wool or a mix?
Sorry if you've already said 😙

74% acrylic 26% cotton, Stylecraft Tweedy. Really soft to the touch.

I don't wear 100% acrylic but hope this mix will have enough cotton in it to stop me breaking into a sweat as soon as I look at it.

   They're coming along nicely.  I can't seem to find if you've already said this, but it looks like you're knitting both at once on a circular needle.  Is that right?  I knit both sleeves at once when I use straight needles but must have a go with circulars.  (No seams! )

   Agree with MrsCD about the yarn.  It seemed like something my DD - who doesn't get on with wool at all - could wear.  When I looked it up on Deramores, they said it was an acrylic/wool mix.  Is there a difference in the name of the cotton one?

PipneyJane

basketcase said:

@PipneyJane I commented on the Fashion on the Ration thread, but will do so again.  This jumper is gorgeous.

Thank you.  Here's a link to the jumper's pattern page on Ravelry and a link to my notes.  

basketcase said:

Savvy_Sue said:

MrsCD said:

That's lovely wool. Is it 100% wool or a mix?
Sorry if you've already said 😙

74% acrylic 26% cotton, Stylecraft Tweedy. Really soft to the touch.

I don't wear 100% acrylic but hope this mix will have enough cotton in it to stop me breaking into a sweat as soon as I look at it.

   They're coming along nicely.  I can't seem to find if you've already said this, but it looks like you're knitting both at once on a circular needle.  Is that right?  I knit both sleeves at once when I use straight needles but must have a go with circulars.  (No seams! )

   Agree with MrsCD about the yarn.  It seemed like something my DD - who doesn't get on with wool at all - could wear.  When I looked it up on Deramores, they said it was an acrylic/wool mix.  Is there a difference in the name of the cotton one?

Here's a link to the post where I explained how I knit two-sleeves-at-a-time, in the round, on one long circular needle.  There's also a post on my blog entitled "Spilling the Secret Sauce" where I talk about knitting jumpers entirely in the round, if that would help.  (I think it's from 2012.)  Sadly, we can't link to our own blogs.

- Pip

Savvy_Sue

basketcase said:

Savvy_Sue said:

74% acrylic 26% cotton, Stylecraft Tweedy. Really soft to the touch.

I don't wear 100% acrylic but hope this mix will have enough cotton in it to stop me breaking into a sweat as soon as I look at it.

   They're coming along nicely.  I can't seem to find if you've already said this, but it looks like you're knitting both at once on a circular needle.  Is that right?  I knit both sleeves at once when I use straight needles but must have a go with circulars.  (No seams! )

   Agree with MrsCD about the yarn.  It seemed like something my DD - who doesn't get on with wool at all - could wear.  When I looked it up on Deramores, they said it was an acrylic/wool mix.  Is there a difference in the name of the cotton one?

Sorry I have no idea about the wool options in Tweedy. I found this as a job lot in a fantastic wool shop last summer. Went there in search of buttons for the mohair cardigan, and found the perfect set, reduced to 10p each - I'd seen nice buttons at £1+ each, and I needed 12! They had 13 left and let me have them for £1.20.
Then saw the wool, and bought a pattern on the spot to save the aggro of searching out the perfect pattern when I got home. My friend bought the same wool in a green/blue mix. Actually I must ask her if she'd like me to knit anything for her with it as her sight is quite limited now.

I am following Pip's instructions for the sleeves although I'm using two long circulars. At the end of an odd row I have 2 sleeves on one needle and at the end of an even row they're on separate needles. As you say, no sewing up. 

I have done baby jumpers in the round but daunted by the number of stitches I'd need in my size. :-)

basketcase

@PipneyJane

   Thanks for the links. I may have a go when I start a new project. Having completed the Joke Bunny, which went down surprisingly well with DD, I've taken up the challenge of the Alpine Ski Jumper again.  This is quite problematic enough without trying to adapt the pattern to knit in the round! 

   Unfortunately, having eventually worked out where I'd got to, I realised that there was an error in what I'd already done.  So I unpicked 2 rows, reknitted almost 2, then realised that the mistake I'd noticed was actually caused by one 2 rows below that.  So I'd to pull back the stuff I'd redone plus 2 more.  The upshot is that the work's now 4 rows shorter than it was before the afternoon's work I put in.   All that for 2 stitches   It really needs to be done in daylight too. 

   I'm determined to finish it, but am bribing myself by making a blanket which is made up of sections done in garter stitch with knitted poinsettias on it.  It's a Festive (too early to talk about events in December?!) present for DD.  I know it says Aran, but for some reason chunky yarn seems to work out for me.  At any rate, it should give my brain a rest from the pattern.  Here's the pattern https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/christmas-is-coming-throw

MrsCD

Oh, I do feel for you, basketcase! At least you know it's right now. I would always know, even if no-one else knew, so I would have to put it right too.

Savvy_Sue

Savvy_Sue said:

Then saw the wool, and bought a pattern on the spot to save the aggro of searching out the perfect pattern when I got home. My friend bought the same wool in a green/blue mix. Actually I must ask her if she'd like me to knit anything for her with it as her sight is quite limited now.

Good news, had lunch with my friend today and she's started knitting the green/blue mix into a waistcoat, working it out as she goes along! And it looks great, and it's very 'forgiving': she'd dropped some stitches at the end of a row (dozed off while knitting ...) so I sorted that out for her, and also found another recent place where she'd split the wool. She has also gained a stitch about 10 rows back, we agreed we'd leave that because although I could run it down and back again, it will probably show less with just the random increase. 

Savvy_Sue

And I have started the shaping at the top of the sleeves! Took me quite a while to work out how to start with a knit row, but it's coming up nicely now. 

PipneyJane

Ladies, a quick question for you:  how much would you expect to spend on the yarn for a jumper?  

The reason I’m asking is that I was listening to the Knitmoregirls Podcast and then read the editorial of the latest edition of Knit Now, and apparently there’s been a raging controversy on ?Instagram about needing to  spend  £300 to knit a jumper in the same yarn as the designer.  Personally, I can’t remember the last time I bought the same yarn a designer used - possibly it was as far back as the 1980’s - but, it seems, many people aren’t brave enough to substitute yarn.

Personally, I expect to pay between £25 and £40, depending on the weight, and I only buy yarn that’s got a high percentage of natural fibres.

This raises another question:  how do you budget for our mutual craft?  I have had a “knitting” savings account for years.  In the lean years, I’d pay in £5 a month; at the moment it’s £20/month, but I’m not really spending any money on anything else thanks to Lockdown.  Once in the blue moon, I blow the lot at a craft show or online.   How about you?

- Pip

PollyWollyDoodle

Yikes - £300?  I would never spend that, not least because the pressure to knit it perfectly would then be so great!  I think £40 would be about my upper limit, having said that I mostly knit things for children where much less yarn is needed. I don’t buy pure wool as it makes me itch, and if I’m knitting for children I want it to be something their mum can throw in the washing machine so I usually substitute with something cheaper and more practical.

I have a “hobbies” budget which covers knitting, crochet, sewing and calligraphy supplies, however I am trying to use up the random stash of stuff I collected so it’s mounting up. Anything I sell on eBay or Ziffit is added to this budget. I budget £50 per month in this category but most of that goes on the course fees for my calligraphy class, actual spending on supplies is quite low.