Lily Chin - Lily Chins Knitting Tips & Tricks: Shortcuts and Techniques Every Knitter Should Know

Copyright 2009 by Lily M. Chin

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States by Potter Craft, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.

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POTTER CRAFT and colophon is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Lily Chins Knitting Tips & Tricks:
Shortcuts and Techniques Every Knitter
Should Know / by Lily M. Chin.

p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.

eISBN: 978-0-307-58694-0

1. Knitting. I. Title. II. Title: Knitting tips & tricks.

TT820.C484926 2009

746.432dc22

2009021443

THE FOLLOWING ILLUSTRATIONS BY FRANCES SOOHOO: Double-pointed needles, Needle tips, A needle gauge, flat tape or ribbon, fuzzy or hairy, boucl, Yarn thickness, Dernier system (Ch. 1); Billard balls and marbles, The potential growth, Hanging swatches, Swatches in a scarf and shawl, A sweaters measurements, Two sleeves, Pattern schematics, New schematics, Standard ribbing, Changes to ribbing proportions, Coned yarn set-up, The loop of a stitch, Bread-tie bobbins (Ch. 3); A ribbon yarn dispenser, Sewing ribbon ends together, Placing knitters graph paper, Photocopy of actual knitting stitches (Ch. 4); Steam-blocked swatch, Swatch not blocked, Blocking board and T-pins, Evenly dividing an edge, Using elastic to space (Ch. 5)
ALL OTHER ILLUSTRATIONS BY KARA GOTT WARNER.

v3.1

This book is dedicated to the memories of my recently deceased mother and sister . They both nurtured my love of craft from an early age and both left me way too soon.

I envision this book as one of my most popular classes brought to the printed page. Ive taught a tips-and-techniques class for more than a decade, and it still always sells outjust about instantly. As a result, countless other knitters have voiced their frustration at not having the benefit of knowledge.

I have had many, many students who have been knitting for years ask, Why didnt I think of that? Ive also had relatively new knitters in my classes, and Id like to think I have gotten them started on the right foot, so to speak.

There are tons of standard technique books on the market right now. What you hold in your hands is a book full of things that Ive come up with over the years that solve my personal knitting problems and bugaboos. As a result, you most likely will not find them in the standard technique books. Famous knitting guru Elizabeth Zimmermann called this unvention. Thats when you come up with something on your own, but you know you cant possibly be the first one to think of it. Although a lot of these techniques, tips, and tricks are not common knowledge, many have become more popular, Im sure, as a result of the classes that I have taught almost every month since 1994. Word gets around. Thus, some things may be familiar to you, but I guarantee many are eye-openers.

We all love knitting, yet there are certain aspects of the process with which were not overly fond. (Can we say weave in the ends?) Ive come up with simple ways to make the annoying parts easier; hopefully they will make your knitting life a lot more enjoyable and trouble free. You will find that these techniques can be applied to any of the projects you are currently working on, so you can use these tips and tricks almost immediately.

In the book, I cover things chronologically; the tips and techniques are presented in the order of your knitting process. One of the first things you do when you begin to knit is to cast on (), and so on.

Im sure that, over the years, you may have come up with your own tips and tricksthings that youve unvented. Maybe one day we can all compare notes and begin a massive database. Until then, enjoy!

Needles and Yarn

The stuff you work with can make or break your whole knitting experience. Use good tools and get yarn thats not only right for your project but also that you enjoy working with. You have many choices, so try out a few different kinds of yarn and needles to see what works for you.

We live in an era of bountiful knitting options, and the tools we use have never been more varied and diverse. We can choose needles made from many materials, in certain styles, and even with different types of points.

Needle Types

Other than for the sake of collecting or for bragging rights, why do you need so many needles? And what do you want to look for in a needle? The first thing you want to consider is the project you will be making. Some kinds of needles are traditionally better suited for one type of project rather than another.

Straight needles

These traditional needles, which come in several lengths, are generally used for flat, back-and-forth knitting of pieces of limited width.

Circular needles

These needles joined by a thin cable are normally used for circular or seamless knitting, though they may be used for flat or back-and-forth work as well, especially for wider pieces. They are available in different lengths.

Double-pointed needles

These needles, also available in several lengths, are used for smaller circular knitting. Choosing your needles is a fiercely personal thing. If you prefer to make your socks on small circular needles or two circulars rather than on double-pointed needles, go for it. Some people prefer straight needles for all projects; they always use long straightstucking the needles under their armpitsand cant maneuver circulars at all. Just make sure that the needles you choose are adaptable to the pattern you are using.

Types of knitting needles

Needle Materials

It used to be that needles were made from metal, bone, or wood; ivory and tortoiseshell were the occasional exotic. Now, needles can be made from a whole host of materials from plastic to unusual hardwoods to eco-logically friendly bamboo, from the humble aluminum to nickel-plated and brass. You can even get needles made of glass, as well as those that glow with an internal light source!

A word on needle tips. In addition to different needle types, there are different shapes of tips; that is, there are distinct shapes to the tip or the pointy part of a needlesome are rounder and others sharper.