Jayne Davis - Pocket Posh Tips for Knitters

copyright 2011 by Jayne Davis and Jodie Davis. All rights
reserved. No part of this book may be used or
reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission
except in the case of reprints in the context of reviews.

Andrews McMeel Publishing, LLC
an Andrews McMeel Universal company
1130 Walnut Street, Kansas City, Missouri 64106

E-ISBN: 978-1-4494-0862-6

Library of Congress Control Number: 2010937876

www.andrewsmcmeel.com

Hand drawings by Iia Owens-Williams

Cover and interior knitwear by Shetland Collection
www.shetland-knitwear.co.uk

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How do you collect a book full of tips on knitting? You ask for them, and so we did. Countless e-mails went out to knit shop owners, knitting designers, and yarn companies all over the country asking for their favorite tips. A huge Thank You to each and every one who responded. This book wouldnt have been possible without you. Tips weve gleaned over the years listening to good knitting advice and ideas are included, too. And thanks to all of you who share this love of knitting.

At the dawn of civilization, or probably before, someone discovered that if you twisted pieces of animal hair or plant fibers together you made a kind of yarn, and if you looped one loop into another they held together, and if you did that enough times you had something useful, and then someone discovered that using sticks made the whole process easier. And thus the art of what we call knitting developed through time. At different times and different places, different ways were found to accomplish the same things. And guess what: Each way is the right way. There is no absolutely right way
to knit.

Today you can buy a perfectly good sweater for a low price. So why do we knit? Because we love it. We love the camaraderie of friends whose bond is this love affair with yarn. We knit to warm or adorn our family and friends, we knit for those weve never met and never will, but our hearts travel with each finished piece. We knit useful objects and others not so useful just for the fun of it. We join in spirit those who tend their flocks and grow the fibers, the spinners and dyers and those who stock their shelves with skeins of beauty. Its the touch and the texture of these glorious yarns and the colorsits always about the colors.

Were thankful to be part of this passionate and diverse worldwide community of knitters and know you are thankful, too. We hope you enjoy this collection and discover some tips that will give you an aha moment that makes your knitting faster or easier and more fun.

Jayne and Jodie

I like making a piece of string into something
I can wear.
Anonymous

Make sure to keep up with yarn companies whose products you like by registering on their Web sites. Make sure to do the same for the yarn stores you enjoy working with. We all work together, and it is important to be a part of your knitting family.

Barry Klein
Trendsetter Yarns
trendsetteryarns.com

In knitting, as in life, I believe it is always important to have a lifeline. When Im working on a complex pattern or working with super-fussy yarns, I run a piece of waste yarn along with one row of knitting. I may add a new one every few inches or further, if I am feeling particularly confident. If I make a mistake or drop a stitch, I can easily frog to my lifeline: the last place I knew my work was perfect. It makes it so much easier to pick up the stitches and correct the mistakes.

Jonelle Beck
SWTC, Inc.
soysilk.com

When choosing spaced dyed yarns for a project, if you want a striped look, choose a yarn that has colors with different or contrasting values; if you dont want prominent stripes, choose a yarn with colors of equal or similar values.

Laura Schickli
Handwerks
handwerkstextiles.com

Intarsia Untangled: If your intarsia project includes a lot of color changes and you find the dangling bobbins frustrating, here is another method of taming the tangles. Line up the yarns you will be using in a shallow cardboard box and cut slits on the side of the box for the yarns to come through (). As you work the first row, flip your work as you turn it, and youll find the yarns will uncross themselves as you knit across.

At the end of the second row your yarns are all uncrossed. Not easy for traveling but great when knitting in your favorite chair at home.

Fig. 1

When substituting a yarn of similar gauge, purchase yarn by yardage, not weight. For example, acrylic weighs less than cotton, and you will need more grams of a cotton yarn when substituting it for an acrylic or acrylic-blend yarn. Look up the yardage of the recommended yarn and multiply by the number of skeins called for in the pattern. This is how many yards of the substitute yarn you will need to buy. Yarndex is an excellent resource for both yardage and weight of most commercial yarns.

Kay Mather
Rare Purls
rarepurls.net

Can I combine two strands of one-weight yarn to equal a larger weight? The following are approximate equivalents. You should always create a swatch to be sure you are obtaining the gauge needed.

2 strands fingering = one strand sport.

2 strands sport = one strand worsted.

2 strands worsted = one strand super bulky.

Editors at Lion Brand Yarn
lionbrandyarn.com

If you use hand-dyed yarn, be sure to get enough yarn to complete your project since each bag could be a different dye lot, and skeins may vary from bag to bag.

Malabrigo Yarn
malabrigoyarn.com