Nifty Knitting Secrets!Those with years of crafting experience will tell you that most often it is the simplest advice that is the most important! Follow these tips and you'll save yourself a lot of strife! And if you have a handy tip from your personal experience - "share the love!" - send in your pearls of wisdom. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page…
Knitting TIPS for you...
Don't ever put your knitting away half way through a row, the stitches at the point where you leave off will stretch and your knitting will look very uneven.
Never knit in a knot that you find in your wool, rather unpick to the beginning of the row and cut and join your wool, otherwise the knot could pull and show through on the right side.
Always make a tension square before beginning a big project - there's nothing worse than making a garment you cannot wear!
When using a pattern with different sizes, read all the instructions before you begin and circle / highlight the numbers for the size you'll be using so you don't get muddled, midway.
Never push your needles into the ball of wool/yarn or into your knitted work as this will damage the strands of wool.
Weave your ends/tails in neatly with a wool needle, work in one direction and then back the other way to stop the ends from working loose when the item is stretch/washed.
When casting on - avoid casting on too tightly as the edge may break during wear. Casting on too loosely will give a very loopy edge that may stretch or catch on things.
If you find your casting on edge is too tight and doesn't stretch enough, try casting on with needles a size or two larger than the required size and change back to the correct size as you knit. Always use scissors to cut the wool/yarn. Don't break it - you just need to try this to find out why - it's messy, it pulls your knitting and it hurts! Always buy enough wool of the same dye lot to finish your project, as wool of the same colour from a different dye lot can actually look quite different.
It is easier to pick up unravelled stitches with a smaller needle.
The main cause of uneven knitting is bent needles! Ensure your needles are in good condition before you start.
Plastic needles can become brittle if not used for some time, before you begin, soak them in warm water for a few minutes.
Keep one of the bands from around a ball of wool from each project. This will have washing/cleaning instructions . Include one of these if you are giving the item as a gift!
Store your work in a bag away from dust, damp and excessive heat or sunlight.
*** If you have a handy tip that you think may help other knitters - fill out the form below and send it in.
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