Whenever we start a project made of soft yarn, especially when this project is worked in the round, it is better to cast on stitches without forming a stiff knot at the bottom of the first stitch. The slingshot version of the long-tail cast on is just the method to use in this case. Here’s …
It could be intimidating to learn a new craft. Especially the one that requires manipulating two sticks to somehow make stretchy fabric out of a piece of yarn. Let’s look at it this way – if knitting were difficult, it probably wouldn’t be passed down from generation to generation for millennia. If so many people …
It is hard to tell why the long-tail cast on method is so popular. Is it because this cast on is relatively simple? Or, because the edge formed by the long-tail cast on is firm and moderately stretchy? Or, because this method is one of the few ways described in most vintage and modern knitting …
The bind off that we are going to discuss in this tutorial has two huge benefits. It is perfect for knitters who struggle with the right tension of the bind off edge, and it’s a life-saver in cases when we don’t have enough yarn left to bind off all stitches. If you’ve ever run out of …
Bind Off Without Yarn (Worked Flat and in the Round) Read More »
Hollow ribbing is not really a ribbing. It’s a double knitted fabric that resembles ribbing, behaves somewhat like ribbing and is often used instead of ribbing. Hollow ribbing makes beautiful cuffs, hat brims, neck bands, button bands and belts. But its main benefit is that it is the best way to make a casing to …
Hollow Rib – a Great Way to Knit Cuffs, Hat Brims, Button Bands and Elastic Casings Read More »
If there is the most common knitting mistake, it’s probably a “dropped stitch”. It happens to every knitter, and to many of us it happens more often than we care to admit. Ironically, it frequently occurs when we are knitting on the go, at a cottage, while watching a game or a movie, or waiting …
How to Fix a Dropped Stitch Without a Crochet Hook Read More »
If you’ve ever watched an experienced knitter work with yarn and needles, you’ve probably picked that vibe of “having it all figured out”. How do they manage to get that aura of confidence and skill? Well, by spending years practising to, in fact, “have it all figured out”. Maybe not “all”, but definitely “most of …
In almost ten years that I’ve been teaching people to knit, I noticed that most beginner (and not just beginner) mistakes happened because of the lack of understanding how the knitted fabric is created. The skill of understanding what happens when we make a stitch, what kind of stitch it is and how it interacts …
The Most Important Knitting Skill (Especially for Beginner Knitters) Read More »
This tutorial is well overdue – you’ve been asking about the way I knit for quite some time now, but there was always some other exciting technique that I wanted to share with you, so I kept postponing this tutorial. The truth is because I’ve been using Continental knitting style for years, it seemed trivial, …
How to Hold Yarn and Adjust Tension in Continental Knitting – Step by Step Read More »
This is the second part of the mini-course that covers the basics of the Continental knitting style. Last week we discussed ways to hold the yarn and adjust yarn tension, and in this tutorial, we’ll take a look at knitting, purling and binding off stitches – all done with the working yarn in the left hand. …
How to Knit, Purl and Bind Off Stitches in Continental Knitting – Step by Step Read More »