To boldly go where many knitters have gone before
26 Aug 2009 6 Comments
in Uncategorized Tags: cable, cables, cabling, coffee, knitting, ravelry, supplies, technique, youtube
A while back, I saw an ad on Facebook for a knitted coffee sleeve that had a cable running down the side. Being a knitter, my first response was not “where can I buy that?”, it was “I wonder if the pattern’s on Ravelry?” Surely enough, the pattern was on Ravelry, (actual pattern link here) and for free. The only problem was, I had no idea how to cable. Has that ever stopped me? No. That’s how I knit: find a pattern I like, then learn the techniques out of necessity with help of my mother, Ravelry, and YouTube.
I didn’t have a fancy cable needle, so I found a tiny enough DPN and went to town. It came out great, and since then I’ve knit quite a few for myself and friends for a yarn replacement donation (and latte fund donation) of $5 (drop me a line if you don’t want to make on yourself, I’m always down with making these). My mother and I even co-designed our own pattern, which is still up for sale (see Hugs and Kisses or order the pattern here). I later tried a cable needle and found that it was really difficult compared to the double point needle. I later learned that some people don’t even use a cable needle at all!!
While I’ve read how to cable without a cable needle or DPN, I don’t want to try it. Not because it sounds difficult, but I am scared to death of dropping stitches, and to me the anxiety caused by the free floating stitches while you are rearranging them is not worth the extra second or two I save.
The source of my anxiety, click for the blog it was taken from
I’ve learned from my knitting group and others that pretty much everyone has their own method of cabling and prefers their method to others. I like using a DPN, but some people have complained that stitches slide off too easily. I find this is easily fixed by resting the other end(s) of the needle(s) on my leg, or by knitting tight enough for the stitches to stay on.
What do you think, fellow knitters? What do you use to cable with, and why do you like that way? Do cables look better/worse without a cable needle? Inquiring minds want to know!
xoxo, Purl Girl
Knitting 2.0
12 Aug 2009 1 Comment
in Uncategorized Tags: ravelry, technique, web 2.0, youtube
Just a few years ago, knitters were left in the lurch when it came to knitting resources online. Sure there were sites with free patterns, but with the advent of web 2.0, knitting sites stayed on Grandma Bess’ geocities site clicking on almost always broken hyperlinks desperately hoping to find a certain pattern or chart. But partly thanks to Stitch n’ Bitch, knitting slowly moved into the mainstream and hipsters who wanted to knit their own long skinny scarves saw the state of knitting on the web and wept.
But now there is a plethora (yes, it’s $20 word day) of easy to use, pretty, and just plain awesome sites to please the modern knitter. In no particular order:
ravelry.com- simply put, it’s Facebook for knitters. It’s a great way to organize your projects, needles, stash, and favorite patterns. Each project has its own page with a great interface where you can post photos, what needles you use, what yarn (if it’s in your stash it’ll give you an option to use that), project notes, what pattern you use, etc. It also has a fantastic database of free and paid patterns, and super forums and groups where you can have any question answered and network with knitters around the world. Click here for a screenshot tour.
Want to knit a hat? Use the pattern search to find the perfect pattern, click cast on or add to your faves for later, and you have now the perfect online project notebook, where anyone can help you out.
Screenshot of my Projects Page
chartGen- a must for pattern makers, this chart generator will produce a chart from either your typed stitches, or what you build by clicking on the icons. Much easier than excel or Photoshop.
knitPro- [taken from site] knitPro is a free web application that translates digital images into knit, crochet, needlepoint and cross-stitch patterns. Simply upload jpeg, gif or png images and knitPro will generate a graph sizable for any fiber project. knitPro digitally mimics the tradition of pre-industrial craft circles who freely shared patterns and passed them down from generation to generation.
Youtube- everyone knows about Youtube, but its little-known secret is that it is one of the best how-to guides for knitting on the planet. Look up any stitch or technique you want to learn and there is almost always at least video that will visually demonstrate it over and over (and over and over if you replay the video.) Simply a lifesaver if you’re stuck without a more experienced knitter in sight and you just have to knit that multicolored cable magic loop socks.
Do you have any great knitting sites you’d like to share? Feel free to leave a comment!
//Purl Girl
