Category Archives: Beginners

How to Wash Wool Without Dreading the Outcome

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wash wool - A bath for my cardigan. I'm using a laundry basket that I placed in my bath tub. I am only washing that one cardigan because this is the first time I'm washing it and it might release some excess dye. And because I don't have enough room to dry more than this one piece.

We love our hand knits and wear them often. And maybe we are even lucky and have loved ones around us that also like to wear what we knit just for them. With all that use sooner or later, we will have to wash an item. And we should wash every piece after we’re done knitting, to relax the yarn,… Read more »

How to Read Charts – It’s Easier Than You Think

How to read charts - my current project Joji Locatelli's Citadel

Charts. To many of us, they seem complex and difficult. Like a secret language or a code, you have to crack. A scientific formula, even. But they can actually make your knitting life easier and aren’t as scary as you may think. They can help you to learn how to read your knitting and can make it easier to memorize… Read more »

10 Lovely and Easy Hats for You to Knit

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Lovely and easy hats - Persian Windows by Sarah Schira

It may not feel like it yet, but Fall is coming. It’s a busy season for us knitters: in fall we put out item after item to keep our loved ones and ourselves warm. That does not only hold true for veteran knitters but also for the newbies among us. There are plenty of small accessories that you can practice your… Read more »

How to Repair Holes in Your Knits like an Expert

You sock knitters out there know this: Sooner or later you’ll wear right through even your most robust socks. Sometimes it can happen quite suddenly because you snagged on something. Other times it’s a more gradual process; this often happens to your most beloved pairs first because you wear them so much. Other culprits are of course the dreaded moths…. Read more »

5 Easy & Beautiful Bind-Offs for Your Knitted Edge

A while back I showed you a couple of decorative cast ons and what else you can do to decorate a knitted edge. But there is still more to this subject that I haven’t talked about yet. There are also a number of beautiful bind-offs you can decorate your knitting with. And some of these may seem familiar to you because they… Read more »

5 Knitting Tools You Need to Begin Your Knitting Life

knitting tools

You’ve heard magazine after magazine and website after website proclaim knitting to be the new yoga. You’ve heard of all the benefits of knitting for you and your family and friends. And you’ve seen all those cute hats, those beautiful shawls and adorable children’s clothes you could be making. And now you want to give it a try yourself? But… Read more »

How to Get Your Yarn Tension Just Right for Stranded Colorwork

yarn tension - Catching a float with the yarn held on each hand.

I’ve recently been asked by a reader (hello Clelia!) how I avoid my stranded colorwork from puckering up in some places and being too loose with floppy floats in others. Those of you who have tried to knit colorwork before probably recognize those problems from their early attempts. Maybe even your only attempts. Maybe you decided that stranded colorwork just… Read more »

How to Make Gauge Swatches Work for You, Part 2: Possible Problems

gauge swatches -Soaking gauge swatches

Last week, we talked a lot about how to knit gauge swatches and how to measure them. This week it’s all about possible pitfalls and problems. As a reminder and navigational help, here is the table of contents for this two-part part series again. How to Knit a Swatch (in part 1) When Designing (in part 1) How to Measure a Gauge Swatch … Read more »

How to Make Gauge Swatches Work for You, Part 1: The Basics

gauge swatches - teaser

Most of us have knit them before. We know we are supposed to. But many of us don’t like it. It’s boring and tedious, and we just want to get to the main part. Gauge swatches. Besides, they tend to lie to us, don’t they? It all depends on how you’re doing it and on what you are trying to… Read more »

How to Weave in Ends like a Pro

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Weaving in ends with duplicate stitch - my new favorite method

There isn’t just one way to weave in ends. There are many ways. And as long as you can’t make out well where you’ve woven them in or have ends poking through to the front, you don’t really have to change the way you are doing it. But different projects create different fabrics with other circumstances. And those might require… Read more »