The Key to Understanding How Knitting Works

I love sharing educational information about knitting with you all. Sometimes I write it, and sometimes I find good posts from other people to share. This time it’s sharing a post that gets really deep into what is happening when you make a stitch and how yarn turns into knitting. This basic understanding of what a stitch is (that it’s just a piece of yarn, and how we manipulate it determines if it makes a knit or a purl) helps you understand that knit and purl are just the front and back of the same stitch.

You’ll want to read the whole post over at 10 Rows a Day, but I think it’s really important for new knitters (and others who might not have learned this when they were newer knitters) to understand what the stitches look like and how they’re made.

We call it “reading” your knitting, and it’s essential for noticing and knowing how to fix mistakes. It also helps you when your knitting pattern says something like “knit the knits and purl the purls as you see them.” If you don’t know what you’re looking for (or what you’re seeing) then you can’t follow this instruction.

Also once you intellectually understand that each stitch is a little piece of yarn, it feels a little less daunting to fixed a dropped stitch or another mistake in your knitting. And honestly, once you have the power and the confidence to fix mistakes — even if you have to rip out your work to do it — that’s when you start to gain the confidence to try new things, whether a new to you technique or a garment you’ve never knit before.

What helped you gain confidence or a deeper understanding of knitting when you were getting started? Have a tip you wish you knew when you were getting started? Let’s talk about it!

[Photo: 10 Rows a Day]

Next Pattern:

It’s been well documented that I love a knitting pattern with a bit of whimsy, so when I saw the Mine! Pullover from Sarah L. Kelly recently I knew I had to share it with you.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to knit a sweater with a yoke full of seagulls? And another seagull at the waist? Chasing little crabs?

The story behind the sweater (and you knew there had to be one, right?) is that while Sarah was traveling around Europe there were a lot of cheeky seagulls about. They reminded her of the scene in Finding Nemo where the seagulls say “mine, mine, mine” and thus the Mine! series of patterns was born.

Oh yes, there’s a whole set. It was the sweater I saw first but there’s also a pair of socks (and the pattern says there’s a cowl, too, but I couldn’t find it as of this writing. If you see it let me know and I’ll add the link here!) so you can totally deck yourself out in pesky seabirds if you want.

But back to the sweater for now. This is worked in DK weight yarn from the top down in the round. The yoke and a section at the bottom are worked in stranded colorwork, with stripes on the body, though you could make the body a single color if you wanted. Details like the beaks and eyes are added with duplicate stitch to make the knitting a little easier.

The colorwork sections are charted. The pattern comes in 10 sizes, with a finished chest circumference ranging from 32 to 68 inches, or 80 to 170 cm.

The socks are worked in sock yarn and come in three sizes. There worked from the cuff down and change needle sizes to accommodate the less stretchy nature of stranded colorwork. You can choose from a side profile or a seagull that’s looking out from the sock. Make a matching pair or mix it up.

Both patterns are available on Ravelry: sweater and socks. If you make them I’d love to hear about it!

[Photo: Sarah L. Kelly]

Next Pattern:

Have you read?