Author Archives: affiknity

Continental vs. English

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This is probably the most frequently asked question in the knitting world. Which is better: Continental knitting or English knitting? Continental knitting is where you hold the yarn in your left hand. In English knitting, you hold the yarn in your right hand, so you are a “thrower” because you need to throw the yarn over the needle while knitting.

My first knitting teacher was an English style knitter, so she taught me her style. I struggled with it for a few days and after that it was a piece of cake. I have read many threads about Continental vs. English on knitting forums, but never bothered to think over it even for a second. Until I started the seed stitch scarf. I consider myself a moderately fast knitter, and when I saw I have knitted just 4 inches of scarf over the past 2 days, I was shocked.

I have to throw the yarn for every stitch and I also have to switch the yarn back and front for every stitch. Thanks to all this throwing and switching, my right wrist hurt. That is when it dawned upon me that Continental knitters must be fast in 1×1 ribbing because they don’t have to switch yarn and they don’t have to throw.

So, I started learning Continental knitting. I learnt knit and purl stitches from Knitting Help. Knit was fairly easy. I fumbled for a few stitches, but purl was the rebel. After purling for a few rows, now I think I get the hang of it. The movements are still not smooth, but I know I will get there one day.

I need to practice this style till my knits and purls are consistent. The day is far away when I can continue my 4-inch seed stitch scarf in Continental style. Even then, it feels good to know I can knit in Continental if I want to. Who doesn’t want to learn a new skill?

I am in no way answering the question of which style is better. I think when I am doing alternate knit and purl stitches, Continental knitting will come handy. It will speed up my knitting and give some relief to my wrists.

The amputated Daisy sweater

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I plan to visit my in-laws this April. I am always trying to impress them (aren’t we all?) and I wanted to flaunt my knitting skills. I decided to make a sweater for my nephew-in-law (errr…).

This is my first sweater. I chose Daisy because the pattern is simple and beautiful. This sweater is knit in one piece for the body and then divided for front left, front right and back.

I know oh-so-boring grey is not really for kids, but I still used it for two reasons: One, I didn’t know this sweater would turn out well enough for it to be gifted. Second, I wanted to use that yarn. I had loads (and still have 2 skeins left) of it and wanted to use it up.

Once the sweater was done, it looked so plain and boring! I had to spice it up by adding a few daisies (as given in the pattern) and a few borders on the sleeve. I also added buttons made of yarn. These are just decorative – I am going to added “press buttons” for the sweater. Now the sweater is see-able.

Before
After

One daisy out of the three didn’t come out well: I amputated one of its petals. The duplicates stitched border on the sleeves almost represent the Indian flag which was completely unintentional. One border row is so off the track, as if it is drunk – it goes up and down, and up and down. Or was I drunk while knitting it?

As usual, lots to learn. Seed stitch, dividing stitches, raglan shaping, mattress stich for seaming, backstich for the daisies, duplicate stitch for the sleeve border.

All in all, end result: an ok-ok sweater. I think it is good enough, so I am going to give it, after all.

Calorimetry

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After completing my last knitting project, Peter Vest, I decided to make something quick and easy. I haven’t knit anything for myself so far, so this time the FO had to be for me! I found just the thing I was looking for – Calorimetry. Easy, knits quickly and is fun to wear. It uses short rows, which I hadn’t used before, so a new technique to learn.

It is knit flat using short rows – work till the desired stitch and then turn your work and resume knitting. For a beginner like me, it was difficult to imagine how the knitted garment was turning and taking shape. If you spend a minute to understand how we achieve the oval shape of the garment, it will be easier for you to knit it without getting confused. It knits quickly. Me, being a newbie, could finish it in to 3-4 hours. Makes a great last-minute gift.

I don’t really like the color I used, but that is the best choice I had. I didn’t have much stash and couldn’t wait to buy new yarn. This project is so cool I am planning to make this for my three nieces.

Peter Easy Vest

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This vest follows the Berroco Peter Easy vest pattern. I used Vardhman yarn in gray. The yarn was not good – one of the skeins was really bad. Needle size – US 8 and 9. I should have used 9 and 10. I made it for medium size (Chest 44). I used up 2 and a half skeins of 50 gms. each.

This is my first project at this scale – both size and complexity. I was hesitant initially whether it will come out well. It has turned out better than I expected. It is not perfect – it looks like a vest made by an amateur knitter. The ribbing on the v-neck is not sharp enough. The front portion and back portion ended up at different length and width – so seaming was a challenge. Knitting was consistent and it shows in the different shapes and sizes of ‘V’ on the right side.

Nevertheless, I learnt a lot from this project. Ribbing, circular knitting, picking up stitches, armhole shaping, neck shaping, knitting a v-neck – the lessons are endless. Looking back at this project, I am happy and proud of myself. I think for a beginner, I did pretty well.

iPod cover knit in round

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This was my first project on double pointed needles. I got the basic pattern idea on the net (Can’t find the site now). It was a simple rectangle in a single color.

I learnt knitting on dpns from Knitting Help.  Amy’s video on dpns is very very helpful. It’s clear and easy enough to understand for a newbie like me.

After knitting a few rows, I got a hang of it. I thought a rectangle in the same color would be boring, so added two rows of a contrast color to spice it up a bit.  Result: a warm, cosy cover for my shining iPod.

I used this for a few days. I used to keep the iPod and the earphones together and my iPod was getting scratches because of this. So, I added a pouch to the rectangle. What you see is this version.

I want to add a flap with a button or Velcro.  This will make the cover complete.

My first hat!

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This was extremely easy to make. I haven’t used a double pointed needle or a circular needle before, so this was perfect for me. Flat needles, no advanced skills necessary, knits fast – it will be over before you know it. The patter can be found here. I left out the VW because I am not a big fan and I wanted to keep the hat simple. I followed the pattern word to word and ended up with a very small hat. Not a problem, at least I have a finished hat.

Let the knitting begin…

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I have started on another journey: knitting. I learnt the basics from my previous landlady. She was kind enough to bear with me and teach me knits, purls, yo’s and tog’s and

Baby socks

 

what not. After struggling with it for almost a fortnight, I was the proud owner of a pair of baby socks. They looked cute, but not as cute as I wanted them to be.

 

My first baby bib

I knit two more pairs of socks, one for my nephew and one for my colleague’s son. I got bored of socks and wanted to try something different. What better place to look for but internet? That’s when I landed on knittinghelp.com, such a lovely site for knitters. I got a free pattern for a baby bib from this site and knit one. It is a nice baby blue bib and is so easy to knit. I am so proud of it.

I am on to more exciting things now. Plan to knit a dish cloth listen on Knitting Help.