Pin of the Week: Tips for Finishing Knitting

If you’ve ever knit a sweater or another big project you know that it’s not always done just because the knitting is finished. There are some little things that you can do that make the finished knit look so much better, so that people will be impressed when you tell them you knit it yourself.

Back in 2011 Kristen from Kristen Makes was doing a knitalong of her Cadence sweater and spent a post talking about the little details that could be prettied up after the knitting was done.

There was that weird unevenness where the slip knot is, the gaping underarm hole, a bit of lace and stockinette that could be smoother.

One by one she tackles each of those problems, showing that it doesn’t take a whole lot of effort to take your knitting project from OK to great.

These tips are great reminders to look back on whenever you finish a knitting project.

Don’t forget to check out more goodies on my Knitting Pinterest board!

[Photo via Kristen Makes.]

Next Pattern:

Many times when I write these posts I will say something like “you can use any yarn you want” or “this would be a great stash-busting project.” That’s just how my mind works. And my stash, too, since I probably have sweater quantity of two or three yarns at most, but tons of singles and odd balls and leftovers.

Blankets are generally a really good way to use up those bits, but in this case, I think you’re going to want to plan it out a bit better.

Looking at photos of the Color Study Blanket from Purl Soho, it looks like it’s made with two yarns held together, and that block in the center is worked with one of each color from the adjoining sides to make a mixed up color.

But that’s not actually how it’s done. This is three separate colors (four, really, with the neutrals in the corners) chosen form a yarn with an expansive palette so they play off each other. The project calls for a worsted weight superwash wool, which is a great choice for a blanket that’s both warm and washable.

This pattern was originally designed by Laura Ferguson and was updated by Hiromi Glover. It is worked in one piece in garter stitch intarsia, which is a great way to learn the intarsia technique if you don’t already know it. It comes in crib or throw sizes.

Despite the introduction to this post, I am going to go ahead and say that, yes, of course you could do this blanket with scraps or odd balls or even just choose five colors that don’t blend together so easily. But I really do love the look of the color play, and I think it would be worth your time to find colors that play well together to get a similar effect.

This pattern is available for free from Purl Soho.

[Photo: Purl Soho]

Next Pattern:

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