Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook (6 page)
Read Stitch 'n Bitch: The Knitter's Handbook Online
Authors: Debbie Stoller
If the yarn comes in a
hank
, which is essentially a big coil of yarn wrapped up in a twist, you can ask the friendly folks at your yarn store to wind it into a ball for you—they usually have a machine for doing just that. Alternately, you can wind it into a ball yourself. The easiest way to do this is to pop the untwisted hank over a friend’s outstretched hands, then wind away (you’ve seen this done in cartoons hundreds of times). In the absence of a set of helping hands, just place your feet about a foot apart (hah!) and hang the hank over them to keep your yarn from getting all tangled up as you wind your ball.
HOW TO MAKE A CENTER-PULL BALL
Open your hand so that it faces you, then lay the end of the yarn across your palm, leaving about a 6-inch-long tail hanging free. Wind the yarn in a figure eight around your thumb and pointer about fifteen to twenty times.
Remove the wrapped yarn from your fingers and fold it in half. Place your thumb over the part where the long tail enters the yarn wad and begin winding the yarn into a ball. Keep winding this way and that until all your yarn is wound, always holding your thumb over the spot where the yarn tail enters the ball.
The print edition of this book includes a document called
How to Read a Yarn Label
.
Please download a PDF of this document here:
workman.com/ebookdownloads
GETTING THE GOOD STUFF: HOW TO BUY THE BEST YARN FOR LESS
Among knitters, there are people known as “yarn snobs.” These are the folks who won’t knit using anything that has even been in the same room with synthetic yarn, let alone buy their yarn from the local Everymart. They do all their yarn shopping at their LYS (local yarn store) and prefer to knit only with expensive, fancy yarns. If Barney’s ever started a yarn store, they would be there on opening day.
But you don’t have to be loaded to get the very best yarn for your projects. Here are some ways to find great yarn at bargain-basement prices:
BARGAIN BINS
:
Every local yarn store will have a bargain bin containing yarns that are out of season, are left over from a larger dye lot, or have been discontinued by their manufacturer. Check out this bin each and every time you visit your LYS, as its contents will turn over quickly. I’ve gotten amazing deals out of bargain bins, where even the highest-quality yarns can be found marked down by 50 percent or more.
eBAY
:
Although you can’t rely on online auctions to find a particular brand of yarn in a specific color or quantity, searching for “yarn” on eBay will bring up hundreds of yarn choices at less-than-retail prices. Of course it’s best if you are familiar with the brand and make of yarn—like if it’s something you’ve already touched in person—otherwise, you might be disappointed when that fluffy-looking ball of hot pink yarn turns out to be as rough as steel wool when it arrives. Another caveat: Buy yarn only from “smoke-free” environments, or your hand-knit sweater may end up smelling like old Uncle Irving.
ONLINE STORES
:
There are many online stores that specialize in discounted yarn, and a simple Internet search for “discount yarn” will bring up the most current listings. Be sure to factor in the price of shipping and handling before placing your order to know if you are actually saving money.
S
CISSORS
When patterns say “break yarn,” they really mean cut it with sharp scissors. Tiny little folding scissors or scissors that come on a clip for attaching to your shirt are perfect for this purpose. In a pinch, even nail clippers will work.
S
AFETY PINS
These can be used to pin knit pieces of fabric together before sewing up seams, and to help you keep track of things like where increases and decreases have been made. Get the kind without coils, if you can, as they’re less likely to get tangled up in your yarn.
S
TITCH HOLDERS
Sometimes you’ll need to set a few stitches aside for a time. To keep them from unraveling, you put those stitches on a stitch holder. There are all sorts of holders, some of which resemble giant diaper pins. My favorite looks like a little plastic double-pointed knitting needle with a pair of point protectors connected by a rubber band.
Y
ARN NEEDLES
Also called a “tapestry” or “darning” needle, this blunt-end needle looks like a giant sewing needle with an eyehole that’s large enough to pass yarn through. Yarn needles are a necessity for knitters; you’ll need one to sew your pieces of fabric together, and it’s what you’ll use to darn away yarn ends.
S
TITCH MARKERS
You place these small, colored rings in between stitches on your needle to serve as little landmarks. They don’t do anything—just slip them off one needle and onto the other as you knit—they’re just there to remind you, “Hey, jerky, don’t forget to increase a stitch when you get to me.”
N
EEDLE GAUGE
This cute little metal or plastic device lets you know what size your needles are after you’ve lost their packaging and the numbers have rubbed off. They’ve got a hole for every needle size—just poke your needle through until you find the one that fits. Some also have a little slot to help you measure your gauge—that is, how many stitches you get to the inch.
R
OW COUNTERS
Stick these at the end of your needles to help you remember what row you’re on—so when your pattern tells you to knit 12 rows, you can use the counter to keep track. (Remember, if you put a counter on only one needle, you should increase it by 2 rows each time you get back to it.) If you are using circular needles, thread a piece of yarn through a row counter and hang it on your circular needle where your round begins.
C
ABLE NEEDLES
These fancy numbers are used to make cables, and they come in two basic types: straight and curved. I like the U-shaped curved ones best—they hang nicely from your cable while the stitches are not being used and the stitches are less likely to fall off.
C
ROCHET HOOK
Like a scalpel to a doctor, a crochet hook is the most important tool for performing quick surgery on your knitted work, such as picking up a dropped stitch or fixing a backward stitch. Of course, some knitted items require a bit of crocheting, and you’ll need a hook for that as well. Don’t leave home without one.
P
OINT PROTECTORS
These are little rubber caps to put at the end of your knitting needles before you put your work away. I’m not sure your points really need protecting, but these little guys will keep your stitches from coming off the needles when you’re not knitting.
T
APE MEASURE
A tape measure is an absolute necessity for knitters, as you will constantly need to measure things once you get going. Get one, pop it in your bag, and guard it with your life.
