Knitting help, please
#80680 - 06/18/04 05:56 AM
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Hey ladies,
I know some of you are knitters, so I thought I'd post my question here. I know all the basics, but I am trying to get a little fancier. I just found out I have a NIECE on the way (brother and sister-in-law got very good results from a recent amnio sentisis; healthy baby girl is on the way), so I am knitting a pink blanket, of course. All I know how to do is knit rectangular things, so I've made about a million blankets and scarves in the last year or so. What I'm trying to do is get a ribbed effect, and I only have a vauge idea of how to do that. My late grandma was a master knitter, so my dad was just making noise and saying that I'm supposed to knit one, pearl two, yarn over. My dad has never knit anything in his life, but I figured maybe he knows what he's talking about. Well when I yarn over, I just take the back stitch off the front one, and drop it, like I do when I'm removing the needle from the last row when I'm finished. Well obviously this depletes each row by about a third of the stiches each time, so there must be a step I am missing. Or, I am just totally way off and my dad really doesn't know what he's talking about.
My mom and my other grandmother are on a plane right now so I can't ask them, and I really want to use my free time today to get this blanket started.
Can anyone help, please????
Bevvy, don't you knit?
Thanks girls 
"Auntie Panda"
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Ok, so I'm a beginner knitter myself, and probably the last person who should reply to this, but I'm going to do it anyway. 
Any time I've done something ribbed, I've done it like this... let's say I'm going to do a 2x2 rib (which is kind of a medium-ish rib). First I cast on stitches in multiples of 4. Then I do knit 2, purl 2, straight across. Turn and do the same. After an inch or so, you'll start to see the pattern. You can also play around with the rib and make it as wide as you want - I've done scarves in 3x3 (cast on mult's of 6) and 4x4 (cast on mult's of 8).
Mind you, that's a REALLY basic rib... if you wanted something fancier, that's totally out of my league! Heh.
One thing to remember: a ribbed piece done this way is going to be narrower that something knit flat, so cast on more stitches than you think you'll want!
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Hi Amanda,
I don't knit BUT a friend gave me books and needles to learn. From the book, there are two simple stitches one is "little mock cable" and the other is "corded cable" both use regular needles.
Little Mock Cable (which is a multiple of 4sts plus 2).
Practice:
To develop the technique of the skip-stitch, start with the LIttle Mock Cable. It involves only two stitches and is the easiest to master. For your practice swatch, cast 22 stitches onto the light-colored needle. Refer to Steps 1 to 5 following the patatern instructions for the hand movements necessary to complete the pattern.
Row 1 (wrong side): *K2, p2, repeat from * across, end k2.
Row 2: *P2, k 2nd st on left needle and leave it on the needle, K 1st st and drop both sts from the left needle, repeat from * across, end p2.
Repeat these 2 rows for pattern.
To work: Knit Row 1.
Step 1: On row 2 purl two stitches and then insert the tip of the right needle into the back of the second stitch on the left needle, skipping the first stitch.
Step 2: Knit this stitch in the usual manner and leave it on the left needle.
Step 3: Insert the tip of the right needle through the back of the first stitch.
Step 4: Then knit this second stitch.
Step 5: Pass both stitches onto the right needle. Repeat these 5 steps across the row.
OR:
Corded Cable (multiple of 6 sts plus 2)
Row 1: *P2, k 2nd st, k 1st st, k2, repeat from * across, end p2.
Rows 2, 4, and 6: *K2, p4, repeat from * across, end k2.
Row 3: *P2, k1, k 2nd st, k 1st st, k1, repeat from * across, end p2.
Row 5: *P2, k2, k 2nd st, k 1st st, repeat from * across, end p2.
Repeat these 6 rows for pattern.
I hope this helps you out. I copied directly from the book looking for something that said easy and usuing regular needles. Good luck and congratulations on the new baby!
Barbara
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Oh Yeah, I Knit
#80718 - 06/18/04 08:18 AM
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Bevvy
Reged: 11/04/03
Posts: 5918
Loc: Northwest Washington State
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Your dad is funny. YO is when you decrease.
If you want a ribbed affect, it's "K1, P1, K1, P1" all across the row. On the next row, you K the Ps and P the Ks. Got it?
My suggestion is to check out one of the free patterns online. I "subscribe" to several yarn companies: Lion Brands Web Page , PatternWorks Web Page , Ram Wools Web Page and KnitPicks Web Page -- and a few others I can't think of right now, and most of them offer free patterns online. I know Lion Brand has a very cute baby afghan, because I printed it for a friend who wanted to make a baby blanket.
It's more than just knitting up a square; you need to finish off the edges when you're done, and patterns will tell you how. If you don't, the edges will curl up on you if you've used certain stitches, such as the stockinette stitch.
An alternative to the ribbing that you mentioned is a similar stitch that looks really nice -- the same on both sides -- is easy to do and doesn't curl up on your finished product. You do the first row as you would ribbing, but the second row you do just the opposite; e.g., K all the Ks and P all the Ps. Another stitch that I like quite well is no P at all; you K everything. Simple! But the finished look is real nice. It's kinda like a ribbing with horizontal ribbing-looking rows.
Alternatively, you can run out to WalMart and invest in a very inexpensive knitting book with patterns. Even the supermarket or drug store will have the latest "Vogue Knitting" or "Women's Day Knitting" magazines, and they will have an instruction sheet in the front which tells you how to knit the various stitches.
I hope I haven't confused you, but you need a little help getting started. Check out the websites I gave you, and let me know if you have any more questions. Knitting is a lot of fun, and people always appreciate a hand-knitted garment more than any other gift.
Let me know how you make out.
Bev
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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Thanks so much Bevvy I can't wait to check out those sites.
You are right about finishing the edges. I always do a scalloped crochet border around the edges. Thanks so much!!
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Wow you are a total superstar. I am printing that out and saving it. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! You rock!
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Awesome, thank you so much! I knew I was going wrong with that yarn over business. That's the last time I listen to my dad about anything other than the Yankees or the stock market.
Thanks!
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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I found you the perfect pattern.
Go to: Lion Brand Web Page
Click on "Free Patterns," then "Knitting Patterns," and curser down to the bottom, "Knitting Patterns for Infants." Then look for "Knitted Hooded Baby Blanket." There you will find the most ADORABLE baby blanket -- with a hood! It's very easy -- for beginners -- and involves one of the stitches I was mentioning; it's called the Seed Stitch, VERRRRY easy to do.
I also love the yarn they've used.
GOFERIT!
Your Fairy Godmother 
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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I really like that pattern. I only have size 7 needles (the pattern calls for 10 1/2). I picked out some wool while I was at my parents' house (I'm back at my apartment now). The wool is Lion brand, by coincidence, but unless I'm reading this wrong, the weight is 2.5 oz. I might just try and do this pattern anyway, with what I have. What do you think?
There are no Wal Marts or Rag Shops in Manhattan, and I have NO IDEA where to go for a fabric store, and plus I'm leaving tomorrow for London, so really I just want to use what I have.
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Amanda
I live in the Big Apple, but I don't eat the skin
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Amanda, you can use the smaller needles and the yarn you have IF -- and ONLY IF -- you can work up a similar gauge. In other words, look at the size of the finished piece. I don't have the pattern in front of me, so I don't know what it is, but you want YOUR finished piece to be the same size. The only way you can determine that is with the gauge.
Do you know how to determine your gauge? Knit up a little square using the yarn you have and the needles you have. Make sure the square is at least 5" wide. Okay? Now, do you know how to count the number of stitches on a finished piece? Take the square off your needles and lay it flat on a table. Take a little measuring stick and lay on top of the finished piece; count the stitches in FOUR inches of work. Divide it by 4. Now you have your gauge.
Next, what is the finished size across? Lets say it's 20 inches. And lets say your gauge is 20 stitches PER INCH. Are you with me so far? Okay, multiply the number of stitches PER INCH (20) by the total number of the finished size (20), and you get 400. That's the number of stitches to cast on.
Wait a minute. Do you start at the bottom of the blanket, or the hooded top? Hold on; I'm gonna have to print out that pattern and take a look..... I'll be right back.
.....................................
Okay, I'm back. Well, that pattern is really a JUMBO knit. One ball of yarn is all that's required, and you KNIT TWO STRANDS TOGETHER! WOW! That sure is a quickie. (Damn, I like this pattern!)
Well, first of all, you've got a much, MUCH smaller needle, and your yarn is only 2.5 oz.? I hope you have enough yarn! I don't know how much you'll need, but it's gonna be a lot more than one ball.
Next, they work the blanket first, so that's good. And their gauge is 31 sts = 10". They cast on 87 sts. I figure that their finished product is 28". SO, YOUR finished product has to be 28" as well.
You still with me?
Now, based on our hypothetical figures above, if you have a gauge of 20 stitches per inch, and you want a finished size of 28 inches, then you need to cast on 560 stitches. WOW!
Hopefully you will have a higher gauge than that. I don't know what a 7-1/2" needle on a 2.5 oz. yarn would produce, so you're gonna have to knit up a swatch as I suggested. Be sure to work in the pattern stitch on that swatch! It's a seed stitch, so you K1, P1, K1, P1 across the first row, then repeat. MAKE SURE YOU CAST ON AN UNEVEN NUMBER OF STITCHES! So, in essence, you're knitting the perl and perling the knit on subsequent rows.
Are you with me?
Amanda, this is not as complicated as I'm making it sound. I wish you were here, and I could sit down and show you; it would take no time at all. Unfortunately, I can't. We'll just have to do this here.
OMG, you're leaving tomorrow? TOMORROW?! Okay, get cracking on that swatch!!!
Yowza.
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<img src="http://home.comcast.net/~letsrow/smily3481.gif">Bevvy
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