How To Become A Better Knitter
You want to improve your knitting skills but don’t know where to start? Here are some ideas and tips to improve your skills for a good quality knit.
Whether you are a beginner or an expert knitter, it is always a good idea to revisit the basics and gather more knowledge about the fundamentals of knitting. There’ll be times when you’ll be wondering why your knitting is uneven or rough, too tight or too loose, or how you should be joining new yarn into a row, and so on. Below are some ideas and tips to help upgrade your knitting into a fine-quality product that would be worth your time and money.
1. Good Quality Yarn
When you’re in the learning process, it is best to practice with cheap yarn. However, if you are ready to reach the next level and create a fine product like a sweater, or a blanket, then opt for good quality yarn. Good quality material will give you a better result. Though they may be expensive your yarn will last longer, be more durable, comfortable, and irresistible.
2. Picking The Right Yarn
Whatever project you are into, make sure to select the right type of yarn. There are a variety of yarn available and depending on the project you are working on, choose the right one for it. For example, if your pet enjoys chewing on your shoe or something else in its path, you may choose sturdy tube wool, chenille, or felted merino.
However, if you’re making a rug for outdoor camping, go for a durable, light, and compact chenille over a fragile one.
3. Pick The Right Needles
Selecting the right needle is essential when thinking about all your future projects. It’s not like yarn where you can use them all. You would need needles that are sturdy and comfortable to use.
You can find out the ones comfortable by feeling the needles in your hands and then deciding which brand and material you prefer. If you are a beginner, bamboo needles are recommended and if you’re an expert, you can work with aluminum for fast needlework. Aluminum is not recommended for beginners as it slips off easily and makes you start knitting all over again.
Knitting needles come in different shapes, sizes, and materials. To get the best results for your knitting work, select one that is the right fit for the yarn and your job. There are different weight categories of yarn that come with recommended needle size. So if you use a smaller size needle than your yarn, the stitches may become tight and stiff. And if it’s bigger than your yarn, your stitches will be loose and floppy. Therefore, it is essential to choose the right needle for your yarn.
4. Maintain Equal Tension
Sometimes you may start off with a tight-knit and then as you move to the middle, the knits become loose and the end comes out warped.
Consistent tension can be maintained during the knitting. If, however, you think it isn’t possible, or you are knitting something large, you can always get a knitting machine for your project. This will help to have equal tension in your knitting, and a consistent, good quality product. You can choose the best knitting machines for projects that take a long time or if you want to make multiple knitwear and to make sure your project has a good finishing touch to it. These machines will provide you with equal tension knitwear with a variety of stitches and designs to choose from. All you need is to make sure the yarn is of good quality material and the right type according to your project.
5. The Right Stitch Size
Just as it is important to have equal tension when knitting, you should also ensure the same size of the stitch too. For instance, if you’re making a Merino blanket for a queen-sized bed or a double-knit scarf, make sure your stitches are 3-4 inches vertically in order. That way you do not need to use more yarn than necessary, and your blanket comes out in perfect size for your bed.
6. Always Recheck When Knitting
We can often get carried away when knitting and lose our senses of the outside world. Knitting provides many health benefits one of which is similar to meditation. However, you need to come out of the “zone” occasionally in order to check your knitting work otherwise you’ll end up making mistakes and start your work all over again.
7. Finish Your Row
There’ll be many distractions when you sit down to knit. Your phone will be ringing, a favorite TV show coming up in a few minutes, your dog’s barking excitedly for some reason- whatever it is, finish your row before you attend to other errands.
Whether you are working on a simple or a complicated pattern, it’s easy to keep forgetting where you were in the row and end up messing your stitches by creating another row from an unfinished one. Therefore, when knitting, focus on finishing a row before answering the door or the phone or anything else for that matter.
8. Practice Makes Perfect
Not all projects are made or invented on the first try. You need to keep practicing till you are satisfied with your knitting project. Practice makes you perfect and the more you keep knitting, the more it will become easy, you can find your own comfortable way of knitting and also produce new designs of knitwear.
Knitting can be fun when you are doing it with friends and family. It is a great way to spend quality time with your community and also give your knit work away to charity. If you ever get stuck, you can always count on the people in your “knit club” to help you out. If you don’t have such a club, it’s time you make one. You can also get knitting machines to make blankets, cardigans, or sweaters in a short time if you’re planning to give gifts on various occasions.
Most importantly, have patience. Even if it takes you ten times, the eleventh one will be a success. You may become frustrated at times, take a short break, go for a walk, go swimming, take a long hot bath, listen to relaxing music and then start again. When you see the end result, you’ll know that all those frustrations were worth it.
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