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Craft club topic of the month - knitting!

Biddlybee said:
Going to start on a baby blanket soon, the pattern says to double up this posh (expensive!) yarn: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/721-Blue-Sky-Blue-Sky-Cotton

It's worsted weight, so I'm guessing double will come our a bit similar to chunky? I really can't afford that ^^

Would this be an ok substitute? http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/yarn.php?id=21

Or... does anyone know of a soft, machine washable, chunky cotton? I'm going round in circles searching :oops:

edit: this looks like it'd do the job, but not a great range of colours: http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk/Wendy-Supreme-Luxury-Cotton-Chunky-p755/
Click to expand...
I would be interested to know this too - not cos I'm knitting the same blanket but because I'm hopeless with yarn substitution.

To me, the first one looks perfect - you would double that up too I'm guessing?. But not the 2nd.... I don't like it so much and it's chunkier, so you'd either not double it up and it'd be too thin or double it up and it'd be too thick?

Awaiting folks much wiser than me!
 
The second one is chunky so wouldn't be doubled up, but the colours aren't great.

Tbh because it's for a blanket it probably won't matter that much, but my head's hurting today and I can't quite make sense of this substitution :D

I think what I'm asking is are there any decent but cheapish machine washable cottons out there? :)
 
Biddlybee said:
Going to start on a baby blanket soon, the pattern says to double up this posh (expensive!) yarn: http://www.purlsoho.com/purl/products/item/721-Blue-Sky-Blue-Sky-Cotton

It's worsted weight, so I'm guessing double will come our a bit similar to chunky? I really can't afford that ^^

Would this be an ok substitute? http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/en/yarn.php?id=21

Or... does anyone know of a soft, machine washable, chunky cotton? I'm going round in circles searching :oops:

edit: this looks like it'd do the job, but not a great range of colours: http://www.twistandpurl.co.uk/Wendy-Supreme-Luxury-Cotton-Chunky-p755/
Click to expand...

What does the pattern say the gauge should be? That's the important point.

I did actually see some cotton of that ilk in John Lewis yesterday but I can't remember what it was. It was some cheap brand though.
 
I never think about gauge with blankets :facepalm: but it's 3 stitches per inch when the yarn is doubled (4 when it's not), which works out not far off 17st per 10cm.

I reckon I'll go for the drops cotton once I've been paid, but need to pick which colours now! :D
 
Biddlybee said:
I never think about gauge with blankets :facepalm: but it's 3 stitches per inch when the yarn is doubled (4 when it's not), which works out not far off 17st per 10cm.

I reckon I'll go for the drops cotton once I've been paid, but need to pick which colours now! :D
Click to expand...

10cm = roughly 4". So 3 stitches per inch would be 12 stitches per 10cm/4". Which is really pretty chunky. Technically superchunky/bulky I think.

I've squished the Blue Sky cotton and it is really really lovely. You wouldn't think it was cotton, it's as soft and fluffy as merino. The Drops cotton I've never seen, it might be nowhere near as nice. Cotton can be quite heavy and stringy. I'm hesitant about the Wendy one you posted too as mercerised is very silky and shiny looking (although it's possible this is the one I saw in JL, in which case it was nice). I think you need to see and squish before you buy. There's an awful lot of cotton in that blanket and it could end up being one heavy motherfucker if you're not careful. I'm imagining the poor baby imprisoned under it, unable to move.

Does it have to be cotton? There are some nice budget wool chunky yarns now, eg King Cole and Wendy Merino. Although both of those are a standard chunky so slightly less massive than what the pattern calls for, but you could do some maths.
 
I had a feeling the Blue Sky would be really nice, but at £10+ a skein I can't be making a blanket with 7 colours!

It doesn't have to be cotton, but being a baby blanket I'd like it to be machine washable.

I know what you mean about seeing and squishing, but I wouldn't be able to do that with the King Cole or Wendy either, and to get a deal I think I'm going to have to buy online. The king cole superwash could be an option (although not a massive range of colours), and tbh I wouldn't bother too much with exact maths as it's a blanket.

But... looking at the pattern, the doubling up of the yarn seems to give an effect that using a chunky/bulky wouldn't, so maybe I should be looking for a worsted/heavy aran to double up? Maybe a cotton mix is the way forward?

Yep I've looked at the alternative yarns, the Drops paris was one listed, a majority of people seem to have used the Blue Sky or other american yarns (knit picks, lion brand, cascade).

This is too much of a brain ache already :facepalm:
 
moose... I love you, thank you! :)

(they don't have loads of colours, but that's good for someone as indecisive as me!)
 
cheers for talking me through it too Rubes, there is still so much I don't think about and don't really get with knitting :facepalm:
 
Biddlybee said:
cheers for talking me through it too Rubes, there is still so much I don't think about and don't really get with knitting :facepalm:
Click to expand...
yarn substitution of any kind makes me want to CRY sometimes when I'm in shops, armed with a pattern, and surrounded by non-english speaking Germans....
 
Have a read of what Rubes mentioned up there ^ look at the wool band, the gauge, needle size, and also the alternative yarns listed on ravelry :)

what you making?
 
I got a knitting-related injury yesterday when I sat down a bit too near my knitting bag and a circular knitting needle tip went through the bag, through my jeans, and stabbed me in the hip. Nasty surprise that was, and it bled but stopped fairly quickly thankfully.
 
my boyfriend wants me to knit a hat for him. Have never successfully managed this before - the one time i tried, the hat turned out 10 sizes too big. Hats are meant to be easy though, right?

My two main questions are -
1) does anyone have a very easy pattern (or know where i can find a free one)
2) what wool should i use? My boyf works outside so the hat must be warm. It must also be soft and comfy. He has quite sensitive skin so it can't be anything that's likely to irritate it.

Thanks in advance for help :) Can't wait to start knitting again :cool:
 
been doing a bit of research - baby alpaca seems a good hat wool for sensitive skin. What do you think? It's AGES since i did any knitting. Don't even know where to buy things from these days
 
There are some patterns on Knitty or there's a really basic one here
You could also join Ravelry.com and do a comprehensive search to get theone you want, but it can be a bit overwheming having so much choice.

Baby Alpaca is nice and soft but not particularly hard=wearing for outdoor work. If it's something that needs to be washed a lot, you'd be better with something with a bit of synthetic content.

To get the size right, always do a tension swatch to see how the number of stitches and rows specified in the pattern comes out in your chosen wool/needles. You can then adjust the needles or pattern to get the right size for your b/f's head.
 
Thanks Moose. I'll have a look for patterns later today. What kind of hard wearing wool would you recomend then for someone with sensitive skin?
 
Hellsbells said:
well I've bought some Debbie Bliss cashmerino aran which feels nice and soft & I hope will be okay.
Actually i think i may have bought the wrong kind of wool - alot of the patterns say to use 'bulky' yarn. I think mine is DK. Is that bad for hats?
The basic pattern Moose points out above was the one I thought i'd follow. Will it work with dk wool?!
It's this one - http://knitting.about.com/od/hatpatterns/ss/basic-stockinette-hat.htm
Click to expand...
What you've bought is aran weight, like the label says.

The weights go, from thinnest to thickest : 4 ply, dk, aran, chunky (although there are other things that don't fit any of these categories).

You need a pattern for aran weight wool, so no you can't use the pattern you linked to which is for some chunky ish thing. There will be loads of good aran weight hat patterns though. It won't be quite as super warm as a chunky weight hat, but will be fine.
 
I have a quick question - if my pattern says - "end with a WS row. Bind off."

should I knit the WS row and then bind off on the RS, or do I bind off on the WS row?
 
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