crustychick
doo-woop-de-doo
that's really nice and a lovely colour!
Craft club topic of the month - knitting!
- Thread starter RubyToogood
- Start date
crustychick
doo-woop-de-doo
can anyone recommend a baby knitting book to me? something with good, versatile patterns, with easily available/not too expensive yarn recommendations 
crustychick
doo-woop-de-doo
I do like a good book, but some good online resources are also welcomed
I am rubbish at yarn substitution (I know it should be easy but I think I've got it, then get to the yarn shop and am stumped) which is why I thought a book for a yarn that's easy to get hold of might be a good idea
as online stuff that I find often has expensive yarns suggested... happy to be persuaded otherwise!
moose
like some cat from Japan
Biddlybee
making knots with sticks
Every baby needs a pair of saartje booties
Mogden
I like tea
Okay I'm in the right place now. Thanks Biddlybee.
I'm still trying to tackle crochet. I've used all manners of wools and threads, bamboo, plastic, metal hooks. I just can't see the stitches. I'm fine with a slip knot and can chain stitch but coming back the other way is a nightmare. Any hints and tips appreciated.
I'm still trying to tackle crochet. I've used all manners of wools and threads, bamboo, plastic, metal hooks. I just can't see the stitches. I'm fine with a slip knot and can chain stitch but coming back the other way is a nightmare. Any hints and tips appreciated.
Think big. Forget dainty until you've got a better feel for what you're doing. A 7mm hook (or bigger) and double knitting yarn makes it a lot easier to see what you're doing. Bright/light colours and a yarn which doesn't split are also helpful.
One of these links might help:
youtube double crochet in UK terms
http://www.learn2knit.co.uk/crochet/basic-stitches.php
http://slugsontherefrigerator.com/uk-double-crochet/
http://www.wikihow.com/Do-Double-Crochet#Double_Crochet_-_U.K._Version
Mogden
I like tea
Thanks Greebo. I shall have another crack at it this week. Doesn't help that I'm a leftie too!
Why on earth didn't you say so? No wonder you've had so much difficulty! If you're a leftie learning from a rightie (or vice versa) you need to sit opposite each other instead of side by side. And most youtube clips are going to look confusing for that same reason.
One book (a slim paperback which'd easily fit in a large pocket or small bag) aimed at beginners, lefthanded as well as right, with diagrams given for both hands:
Crochet Unravelled by Claire Bojczuk, Pottage Publishing ISBN 0-9548296-0-3 (my copy was £6.99) www.pottagepublishing.co.uk
When you get slightly more confident, or want something to work towards, have a look here. http://dorischancrochet.com/ Doris Chan's done quite a bit to update the craft - scaling up traditional doyley patterns to make shawls, and encouraging the use of larger hooks to work the same old stitches and motifs but with a far looser tension which gives the crochet a lot more drape. Bear in mind that she uses US crochet terms, which can be confusing for UK beginners.
BTW I'm afraid I have a far less rosetinted view of crochet and other types of needlework, knowing quite how many hours of work go in for very little in return.
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
I'm wondering if your starting chain is too tight if you can't locate the holes easily.
Mogden
I like tea
I have to pop off in a bit but yes I know me being a leftie is an issue but I'm a stubborn goat and thought I could learn this on my own. Apparently not. I shall pick over those links later and I am grateful for the help. I've tried loose and tight and jumbo yarn and nothing seems to help. I have been trying it right handed a bit but I can't get the tension right that side. And left gets confusing. I WILL get it
Good point, I've found that it helps to do the foundation chain with a hook one size larger than the rest.
Mogden
I like tea
Hmmm that slugs on the fridge link is quite useful and I am using that exact yarn. Looks like my Boodles stuff anyway. I am trying it right handed for now. To me my crochet this evening looks wonky. I think this is where I get frustrated cos I know logically crochet is just a series of knots and it should look neat and tidy whereas mine looks a bit bunched up, tension I know, and the knots don't look quite right. Practice should iron all that. Maybe I need to be posting here to get me doing it more often and not just sitting all night refreshing the New Posts page! I'm tempted to try smaller yarn but that makes me more frustrated I think cos I'm straining to see things.
How many rows/rounds in are you? Sometimes crochet looks wonky because the weight isn't pulling it straight yet or there aren't the stabilising bits of the motif done yet. Those lovely regular motifs and rows you see in books? Before the picture was taken, those bits were probably damped down and blocked (stretched into shape and pinned before drying). Your work will look a lot more like that by the time it's finished.
The other thing which struck me is that if you keep working, undoing, and then reworking the same bit of yarn, it gets kinked. That's not a huge problem when more experienced, but it can floor beginners. If this happens, find a safety pin and put the pin of it through the loop on the hook. Now remove the hook. Cut the yarn, leaving about a tail roughly one handspan long. Then start again, once more with feeling, preferably after a teabreak.
FWIW I'm one (central) round into the first of 4 huge exploded lace motifs of Doris Chan's Farpoint crocheted topper. It's rated as "easy", we'll see.
moose
like some cat from Japan
D'oh! I totally need to come and get tattooed in Derby and meet you for lessons - I'm a left-handed crocheter! I couldn't do it for YEARS till I met a leftie at Glastonbury who taught me, then I was away!
Mogden
I like tea
Oh my! I'm about two rows in on a line and then it all gets pulled apart again cos it doesn't look good. Maybe I need to put my foot down and make myself do a square at least. All those patterns abbreviations confuse me so I think I will need to write them out long hand before I can do anything resembling a round.
Yes please moose. As if you need an excuse for a tattoo!D'oh! I totally need to come and get tattooed in Derby and meet you for lessons - I'm a left-handed crocheter! I couldn't do it for YEARS till I met a leftie at Glastonbury who taught me, then I was away!
Chick Webb
Countryfile and a can
Urbs, I have a knitting question. How do I do a yo2? (From an American pattern)
I can't find a good explanation online. The worst bit is I've successfully made this pattern before (it's Monkey, from Knitty) and I used to be a really competent (maybe even approaching expert!) knitter, but I have forgotten everything. The other night I knitted away for ages actually doing normal purls incorrectly - I forgot to bring the yarn to the front of the work.
I love these socks and want to make them again since I lost the original pair and I also think they are a good project to remember lots of techniques, but I'm stumped by the yo2 (so far that's all that has be stupmed, I will probably be back with more questions on the next line of the work).
I can't find a good explanation online. The worst bit is I've successfully made this pattern before (it's Monkey, from Knitty) and I used to be a really competent (maybe even approaching expert!
) knitter, but I have forgotten everything. The other night I knitted away for ages actually doing normal purls incorrectly - I forgot to bring the yarn to the front of the work. I love these socks and want to make them again since I lost the original pair and I also think they are a good project to remember lots of techniques, but I'm stumped by the yo2 (so far that's all that has be stupmed, I will probably be back with more questions on the next line of the work).
Treacle Toes
Time
Doesn't YO mean yarn over? 
yo2 = yarn over twice or yarn over two stitches?
yo2 = yarn over twice or yarn over two stitches?
crustychick
doo-woop-de-doo
This is my favourite explanation about how to do a yo, as it varies depending on what stitches you're doing it between... http://knitting.about.com/od/learntoknit/ss/yarn-over.htm as you're doing it between a knit and a knit stitch, you just wrap the wool around the right needle from back to front then hold at the back again for a single yo. Then you will have an extra "stitch" to knit in the next row. For yo2, just wrap the wool around the right needle twice to create two extra stitches.
ETA: I am also just relearning again so maybe someone more experienced will be along shortly to say that's wrong
ETA: I am also just relearning again so maybe someone more experienced will be along shortly to say that's wrong
Chick Webb
Countryfile and a can
It does, but I still made a hames of it when I tried to do what I thought was the obvious thing.Doesn't YO mean yarn over?
yo2 = yarn over twice or yarn over two stitches?
Chick Webb
Countryfile and a can
Thanks Crusty! I will try that later, once I make my sock ribbing a little longer (yes, I am putting off attempting this yo again :s)
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
crustychick sounds correct to me. The pattern does state yo2 = yarn over twice.
I usually can't remember which way to wrap the wool round the needle for a yarn over but it doesn't really matter too much. You just want to wrap it in such a way that there are two knittable loops on the needle when you come back to them on the next round (preferably not twisted in a weird way or anything).
I usually can't remember which way to wrap the wool round the needle for a yarn over but it doesn't really matter too much. You just want to wrap it in such a way that there are two knittable loops on the needle when you come back to them on the next round (preferably not twisted in a weird way or anything).
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
Meanwhile the knitting urge has come over me again now it's cooled down a bit and I'm planning a baggy jumper in random stripes. I have lots of dk, I reckon I can do some maths and knit a smaller size and it'll work: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/benton-2
That sounds like what I've guessed it was before, and it worked. Thanks for the link.
FWIW it's not just you. I find that I often need two attempts to make sense of each bit of a pattern I haven't recently worked on, and that's after copying it out longhand and drawing the stitch diagram to get a better idea of what needs doing.
Biddlybee
making knots with sticks
I've cast on something for the first time in over a year. A project I promised a mate months ago.
Been scouring patterns for something to make the girl, but she really doesn't need any clothes, or toys, might make her a couple of hats
Then maybe attempt something for myself
Been scouring patterns for something to make the girl, but she really doesn't need any clothes, or toys, might make her a couple of hats
Then maybe attempt something for myself
Chick Webb
Countryfile and a can
Graaaahhh, I just had to rip out my sock yet again. I'm getting closer and closer, but something is still going wrong (now I'm not sure if it's the yo2, because there's other weird stuff going on in the pattern too). I don't know should I give it one more go, or look for an easier sock to get back into the swing of knitting. The worst bit is the yarn is so light and the stitches so small, I can't rip back a few lines to somewhere before I made a mistake - I have to rip the whole lot and start again. Boo hoo.
RubyToogood
RubyTwobikes
Put a lifeline in. Keep going and don't despair - you'll crack it!
