One of the most popular knitting books this Christmas is a book for knitting Christmas decorations.

Here’s one of the best reviews I read…

55 Christmas Balls to Knit: Colourful Festive Ornaments * Tree Decorations * Centrepieces * Wreaths * Window Decorations
by Arne & Carlos
Search Press 2011
ISBN: 978-1-84448-781-3

 

This book was first published in Norway in 2010 and was a huge hit. Under the title Julekuler it sold 37 000 copies, and was on the Norwegian bestseller list for four months. To follow up this success, versions of the book are now (October 2011) available in Finland, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, France, UK and USA. So, what’s the appeal?

The concept is very simple. The book contains just one pattern – the shape of a knitted ball to use as a Christmas decoration – presented as written directions. Then there are 55 different stranded knitting motifs that can be worked on the basic shape. These appear in charts, which also show the basic shape. This simplicity hints a one aspect of the phenomenon – people get hooked. You make your first ball, then just have to get started on another one with a slightly different design.

The way the book is presented also adds to the enjoyment. We meet Arne and Carlos, a pair of knitwear designers who live and work in the Norwegian mountains (this video is worth a look). The book is full of photographs of their knitted balls artfully arranged around their home, or together with related items. I especially like the photo on p115. I thought a first they’d made a very large ball – but it turned out to be a normal sized ball inside a dolls house. As well as photographs, there are quotes from seasonal poems and even a little story from Arne’s grandmother.

The introductory material assumes some experience with knitting in the round and stranded colour work, but includes instructions on how to increase and decrease and how to stuff and finish your ball. Then the different motifs are presented. They have been arranged into 16 chapters of related designs, e.g. “Reindeer” and “Hearts”, and many are traditional designs. Most of the motifs are accompanied by a comment on the source of inspiration or a little seasonal reminiscence.

Arne and Carlos note that they could have come up with more variations, but chose to stop at 55. Clearly they recognise that once people have worked a few of these they’ll be coming up with their own designs – there’s an empty chart at the back of the book, ready for when inspiration strikes!

I’ve made one ball from the book – so far! The instructions were clear, it was easy to knit and took just a couple of evenings (faster knitters can produce two or three a day). The yarn used in the book is a sport weight (100 m to 50 g) yarn, but any yarn can be tried – the ball will come out smaller or bigger. Just choose a needle size to give a tight fabric so the stuffing doesn’t leak out.

So. Avoid the book if you just want to knit a Christmas ball – other patterns are available. But get a copy if you like the tactile pleasure of books, great photography, traditional designs, winter scenery and the charm of something just that little bit different.

I loved it.

Disclosure: I purchased this book. My review is of the Search Press paperback edition.

Original Post:
Helena Callum: Book Review: 55 Christmas Balls to Knit

 

When I first read the reviews, I thought it would be popular.  So much so that as of this writing, it is available at Amazon in one to three months!  There are some other online stores that have it in stock – at a higher price.  Significantly higher.  The ones I saw started at 50% higher before adding shipping!

In looking further I wondered if there is a 55 Christmas Balls To Knit pdf.

The answer is no.  It’s not on Kindle, and a search for a pdf or eBook format confirmed it’s not available.

Why not?

There are several possibilities.  Many knitters like books.  And it’s possible the publisher didn’t think about it.  Or maybe didn’t anticipate the success of the book. 

With today’s digital printing it would be an alternative to not being able to get the book for months – long past this Christmas knitting.  If you’re of a certain age you may recall the frantic searches for “Tickle Me Elmo” or “Cabbage Patch Dolls” in years past. 

Looking at this book as an outsider, it seems as though a digital version whether pdf, Kindle or something else would be a great alternative.

A Snowflake Christmas Ball in White Christmas Tree

Wondering what to do?

Instead of buying the book, I decided to create my own knitting pattern.  Last year I created some Christmas knitting patterns for Christmas stockings, and decided to use the snowflake patterns in designing my own Christmas balls.

The pattern makes a nice ornament in sock yarn 2-1/4 to 2-1/2 inches in diameter. And fits nicely in my tree, which is mostly decorated with handmade ornaments. Or those given to me by special people in my life.

Larger ornaments can be made with heavier weight yarn and larger needles.

Snowflake Christmas Balls

Even the larger ornaments take small amounts of yarn, and are a quick knit.

Carrying two strands of yarn can be challenging.  So next, I’m going to try knitting solid balls and using duplicate stitch to add the snowflakes.

If you’d like a copy of the pattern, click here right now.

And yes, it IS a pdf so it’s available right now.

To your healthy and happy knitting & caregiving,

Dr. Ina

Ina Gilmore, M.D. (Retired)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com

Ambassador of Elder Care, www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com

Are you having a relaxing Labor Day weekend?

I often have mixed feelings about long weekends.

Yes, many folks find them a great way to relax.  There’s another side to long weekends though.

Sometimes you’re the person who is left behind.  For example, you may be the professional or family caregiver who works through the long weekend when everyone else takes a break.  And so a long weekend can be a source of stress including caregiver stress.

Is knitting one of the ways you reduce stress?

After a long working day of a long weekend, I often found it helpful to relax.  For many years I thought it was just my way of clearing my mind, and relaxing.  It’s more though.   According to medical researchers, knitting elicits the Relaxation Response.

When you knit, after about 20 minutes you may notice yourself visibly relaxed. This is the Relaxation Response kicking in. Of course an added benefit of knitting and other crafts is your completed project.  So you get the benefit of stress reduction PLUS a completed project when you finish!

My current project is my own pattern. 

It’s inspired by Faroese-style shawls and the Danish shawl.  I’m designing this shawl for knitters who need a portable project.  In addition to one that will easily fit into a bag for portability, one that you can start and stop in the middle of a row.

So the prototype is more like a shawlette or bed jacket size than a full shawl.  Although I think it could easily be adapted to a longer shawl.

With most lace knitting patterns, making a mistake can mean pulling out your stitches back to a row without a mistake.  With a shawl, that can be a LOT of stitches. And with many lace knitting patterns very complicated.

This one is mostly garter stitch, easy to start and stop quickly.  The last row I knit is 574 stitches, and the shawl has about 5 inches more to go.  I expect to add about another 175 stitches to the rows, maybe more.

Right now each row takes about 20 minutes to knit, and I knit fairly quickly. This pattern can be stopped in the middle of a row and picked up later without a lot of thinking about where you are in the row – or what’s next!

With the aim of reducing your knitting stress!  After all when you’re knitting to reduce stress the last thing you want to do is to counteract it by increasing your stress at the same time!

Yes, there are ways other than knitting to reduce your stress.  You may find crocheting or spinning or another craft more your style.  It may not have been studied.

When you’re looking for a unique way to reduce stress for yourself or someone else, check out www.AskDrIna.com/gift

By the way, the pictures are of the same shawl.  In the second one I figured out how to use an adjustment for low lighting.  Never mind how long I’ve had the camera!

Keep knitting to your heart’s delight – or someone else’s,

Dr. Ina

Ina Gilmore M.D. (ret.)
“The Knitting Dr.”

Ambassador of Elder Care, www.HowToLiveOnPurpose.com
Founder, www.CaregivingWithPurpose.com and www.TheKnittingYarn.com

The information on this website is for educational purposes only. It does not replace information or recommendations from your own physician or other health care provider. Full Disclaimer and Disclosure.

The first time I knit lace, I didn’t know it was lace.

Good thing too, because I’m sure the idea of lace knitting would have stopped me. Not that it seemed too hard. No, at the time I associated lace knitting with doilies and  lace collars & cuffs on elderly relatives.

Image via Wikipedia

My first lace project? An afghan for an elderly friend. With that simple lace pattern, I became fascinated with using increases and decreases to create patterns in the knitted fabric. In other words: I discovered lace knitting.

As a first project, an afghan is not the wisest choice. Even in the simplest pattern, knitting a blanket or afghan in one piece is unwieldy. And hard on the arms from the shoulders to the hands!

What kind of project is good for a knitter just starting to knit lace?

• Knit a small project. Scarves are often recommended because they usually can be made with one skein or less, and are flat.  Dishcloths or washcloths are also often suggested. They are smaller than a scarf, and can be used year-round. They’re also flat so less complex than a 3-dimensional article such as socks. While complicated or circular projects are gorgeous they can discourage anyone who’s new to knitting lace.
• Pick a simple pattern. One that has increases and decreases alternating with straight knit or purled rows. Save the more intricate patterns where you increase and decrease every row for a later project.
  

  Knitting tip: If the basic pattern is garter stitch rather than stockinette, you’ll be knitting most if not all your straight rows. And most knitters find the knit stitch easier than the purl stitch.

• Avoid knitting graphs without written instructions. Unless you’re an experienced knitting graph reader, be sure you have written instructions — with or without a knitting graph. Lace knitting graphs can be challenging for the beginner to follow. When you’re first learning, written knitting instructions are often easier.
• Simple repeats: A pattern of a few rows is much easier to knit than 28 different rows. And much easier to keep track of! If you haven’t yet learned to read your knitting, a simple repeat leads to much less frustration.
• Use needles in a size that you’re comfortable with. Most beginners start with worsted weight yarn and size 8 or so needles. If you’ve been knitting with very large or very small needles, you may find changing an added challenge. One you may or may not want to add to the challenge of learning to knit lace.
• Choose an easy yarn to knit. What’s an easy yarn to knit? Well, one that fits your needles to start. A yarn you like and is easy for you is best. Fancy yarns such as ribbon yarns are probably best left to a later project.
• Choose a comfortable yarn. One that doesn’t itch or bother you, and one that’s suitable for the time of year you’re knitting. Unlike wool, cotton yarn can be comfortably knit all year long. Even in air conditioning, knitting wool in July in South Carolina is not pleasant!

I’ve designed a beginner’s lace knitting dishcloth. It uses a garter stitch variation of the first afghan I made:

Lace Knitting Image by The Knitting Yarn via Flickr

My Garter Ripple Kitchen Set includes instructions for both a dishcloth and a hanging towel.

Garter ripple kitchen set

Included are two buttonhole options with instructions for the hanging towel. The instructions are all written (no graphs!). The knitting pattern repeat is 4 rows, and is based on garter stitch. It uses increases and decreases in only one of the four rows.

Size 6 needles are suggested. Because the knitting gauge is optional, the final choice of needle size is yours.

Disclosure:

I may have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product listed on the website. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

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I’m a fan of hand knit dishcloths. Every time I use one, I’m amazed at how long they last.  And how much better they are at scrubbing than manufactured dishcloths.

Although they can be fancy with embossed-looking images, they don’t have to be.  A knitted dishcloth pattern can be as simple as garter stitch. I just finished knitting one in about three hours.

Grandma's Favorite Knitted Dishcloth

I used a dishcloth pattern that’s been around for years. It’s called Grandma’s or Grandmother’s Favorite Dishcloth.

Its name suits. It’s a quick and easy knit. All you need to know is how to: cast on, knit, yarn over, decrease, and cast off.  That’s it.

It can be customized if you get tired of the basic knitting pattern, as explained later in this post.

Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth

Materials: Approximately 1 ounce of cotton worsted weight yarn and 1 pair of knitting needles in appropriate size.

So what’s an appropriate needle size? Whatever size you want to make the knitting as tight or as loose as you want. I knit loosely, and usually use size 5 or 6 needles. Many knitters use size 8.

Instructions:

Row 1: Cast on 4 stitches.

Row 2: Knit 2 stitches, yarn over, knit to end of row.  Turn.

Repeat Row 2 until you have 44 stitches on your needle.

Next Row (Decrease Row): Knit 1 stitch, knit 2 together, yarn over, knit 2 together, knit to end of row. Turn.

Repeat this row until you have 4 stitches left. Cast off.  Break yarn, and pull it through last stitch to knot. Weave in yarn ends.

Knitter’s Tip: If the dishcloth doesn’t look quite square, try gently pulling it into shape. It’s not unusual for the first and second halves to look different when the dishcloth first comes off the needles.

So what are some easy variations?

• Crocheting a Hanging Loop
  You can add a look by not breaking yarn when you get to the last stitch. Using a crochet hook, chain 8, attaching the chain to the last stitch or corner or next to the last stitch. Break yarn and weave in ends as above.
• Adding a Slipped Stitch Edging
  You can make a lovely slipped stitch edging by slipping the first stitch of each row as if to purl.  My video gives you the slipped stitch edging knitting instructions.
• Knitting in Reverse Garter Stitch
  If you want practice purling or just like to purl more than knit, you can knit the entire dishcloth in reverse garter stitch instead of garter stitch.

  To knit Grandma’s Favorite Dishcloth, the basic instructions become:
  Row 1: Cast on 4 stitches.
  Row 2: Purl 2 stitches, yarn over, purl to end of row.  Turn.
  Repeat Row 2 until you have 44 stitches on your needle.
  Next Row (Decrease Row): Purl 1 stitch, purl 2 together, yarn over, purl 2 together, purl to end of row. Turn.
  Repeat this row until you have 4 stitches left. Cast off.  Break yarn, and pull it through last stitch to knot. Weave in yarn ends.
  This post gives you more detailed reverse garter knitting instructions.

• Changing the size
  Want a larger or smaller dishcloth? Then increase to 46 or 42—or whatever sizes you want—before decreasing.
  You can even make square dishtowel by enlarging the pattern. You may however need more than one ball of yarn.
  Knitters tip: Hand knit dishtowels seem to absorb water better than store-bought ones.
• Using your imagination to customize—
  If you want to knit in colors, you can knit stripes. You may either find you have a lot of ends to weave in, or if you carry the yarn from row to row you may want to crochet a border of single crochet or knit an I-cord border to cover the yarn loops.
  If you change colors after either 2 or 4 rows the yarn carried will be short lengths. You can also make wider stripes of more rows, breaking the yarn between stripes.

So now you have the basic instructions and five easy variations.

Another variation of the garter stitch is my Garter Ripple Kitchen Set, based on an easy lace knitting stitch called “Feather and Fan.”

Garter ripple kitchen set

It’s a great way to brighten up your kitchen or to practice lace knitting on a small project.  Buy now!

Keep knitting to your heart’s delight — or someone else’s,

The Knitting Yarn

Disclosure:

I may have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product listed on the website. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

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The past few months, I’ve been knitting more socks.

Including my latest one:

Knitting socks includes using various knitting techniques — and different sock knitting instructions. My own adaptions, of course.

Sock knitting does lead to odds and ends of sock yarn. Too small for a large project. I just can’t bring myself to toss out perfectly good yarn. Even if it is only an ounce or less.

Periodically, I look for ways to use my stash of leftover yarn.

After a long cold winter, when the colors outside are mostly browns and grays it’s nice to pull out some colorful yarn. And spring seems the perfect time to declutter, doesn’t it?

Recently I looked at my yarn, trying to decide what to do with leftover sock yarn.

For inspiration, I checked out free Easter knitting patterns online.

The result? My article describing free online Easter knitting patterns.

I found patterns where most of the knitting instructions are for beginners or intermediate knitters.

So what are some of the advantages of knitting your own Easter basket?

• Using your stash. Always a plus, whether you’re de-cluttering or saving money. Or both!
• Saving money by making items that can be saved and reused next year. Rather than tossed in a landfill. Plus, if you’re using your own stash, you’re also saving money by not buying more yarn. At least not for this project.
• Knitting a keepsake: making happy memories now that can be relived in years to come, whenever the eggs or birds or basket are used.
• Knitting a small project can give you a break from larger or more intricate ones.
• It’s fun and colorful!

And you don’t have to knit the whole basket at once. It could be adding one or two handmade items each year can grow the basket until its completion.

Of course, you could knit an egg tree if you’re so inclined:

Image by miracle design via Flickr

My preference was to start off smaller:

Happy Easter!

And happy knitting!

Disclosure:

I may have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product listed on the website. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

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Yesterday’s mail brought me a treat:

I first learned about Piecework Magazine’s annual historical knitting issue while reading this Peacefully Knitting blog post about vintage knitting, which convinced me to subscribe. I called first to be sure they were still offering the historical issue with paid subscriptions. Which they were. Phew!

Historical knitting is intriguing. It’s interesting to get a glimpse of how our ancestors dressed and lived. While they’re now silent, their knitting can still give us insight into their lives. I grew up with stories of one of my great-grandmother who supposedly kept all 12 of her children in handmade clothes, including knitted socks and stockings. She must have been very fast, very busy, or both!

Historical knitting is a new adventure, and I eagerly awaited my copy.

Which I’m happy to report did not disappoint me.

This issue of Piecework Magazine has patterns including: a new stitch pattern from Barbara Walker featured on the  cover. Inside there’s a treasure of articles on knitting. Perhaps you’ll also be drawn to the story of knitting in Jewish Lithuania during World War II. Once again, the resilience of the Jewish people and the “Greatest Generation” is inspiring. Today’s struggles with knitting become very small when compared to knitting in a forest while fighting — and hiding from — Nazis.

There’s a pattern based on a medieval mitten, and even an article on how modern theater companies use hand knitted items as costumes. There are more patterns and articles, which you can discover for yourself in the issue.

So, how do vintage knitting patterns help a modern knitter?

• Patterns can give insight into the lives of the folks who knit and used the finished piece.
• The stories behind the patterns — if you can discover them — can be inspiring, funny, or even just a brief respite from today’s news.
• Patterns can be used to create new knitted articles. One that reminds you of the story, or one to share — perhaps with someone for which it holds special meaning.
• Vintage patterns often use techniques not usually used by modern knitters. They can be a good way to practice something new, and to expand your skills.
• Patterns can be used as templates to create your own unique projects, like this example of a fleecy muff inspired by vintage knitting:
  

While I haven’t yet decided which project from this issue I’m going to knit first, I did finish my latest project:

More about this in the next post.

Meanwhile you can get your own copy of Piecework Magazine’s Fourth Annual Historical Knitting Issue here: Buy now.

Disclosure:

I may have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product listed on the website. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

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I’m typing while wearing one fingerless mitten.

Why?

Well, my fingers were cold and I decided to experiment. I was curious to know how fast I’d notice a difference between the two hands, I decided to try just one.

Striped fingerless mitten

In less than 10 seconds I noticed an improvement in the hand wearing the mitten. Wow! What a surprise! I always thought they’d warm the hands but not the fingers. Now if I could just knit that fast.

While I like mittens and gloves, fingerless ones are better sometimes. For example, when you’re working at a keyboard, wearing regular mittens make typing impossible. Most gloves are cumbersome — at best. If your fingers don’t slip off the keys while wearing them, gloves are often bulky or just don’t feel right.

Fingerless mittens or gloves solve these problems.  They allow you to use the keyboard or mouse on a computer comfortably and don’t get in your way.

What’s the difference between fingerless gloves and fingerless mittens? While I don’t have an official answer from the Fashion Gurus, my take is that fingerless gloves have four openings for individual fingers. Their length can be as short as one or two rows, or go all the way to the fingertips.  Fingerless mittens, on the other hand, have a single opening for four fingers. And they’re definitely faster to knit!

While fingerless glove knitting instructions can be complex and best suited for an experienced knitter, fingerless mittens can be quick and easy. Yes, for beginners, too!

So what are the steps for knitting Easy Garter Stitch Fingerless Mittens?

1. Check the gauge. The gauge for this pattern is 3.5 stitches per inch in garter stitch. I used Caron’s One Pound Yarn in Sunflower (yellow) and Royalty (blue). It’s a worsted weight acrylic and knits up soft. I used size 9 needles.

2. Measure your hand. Using a tape measure or even a piece of yarn, measure around your palm above the thumb.

3. Cast on:

• 6.5-inch hand = 22 stitches
• 7-inch hand = 24 stitches
• 7.5-inch hand = 26 stitches
• 8-inch hand = 28 stitches
• 8.5 inch hand = 30 stitches

Knitting Tip: Check the size as you knit. It’s amazing how many times the knitting can vary once you actually cast on the rows.  Although mittens are fairly forgiving, it’s still easier to make adjustments early in the knitting rather than after the mitten is almost finished.

4. Knitting pattern:

Row 1: Slip first stitch as if to purl. Knit across rest of row. Turn.

Repeat Row 1 for desired length from cuff to top of mitten.

Change colors to add stripes if you wish.  I changed colors on the wrong side after four rows of blue and two of yellow:

Slipping the first stitch as if to purl makes a slipped edge garter stitch, which I’ve explained further in my free video knitting instructions.

5. Bind off loosely with your favorite method. Break yarn.

6. Sew up the side seam, leaving an opening for the thumb. (Hint: Trying on the mitten after sewing up part of the seam helps you place the thumb opening, customizing its fit!)

7. Weave in the yarn ends.

While you can add color by knitting stripes, another easy method is called mosaic knitting.  You carry only one color at a time and can make interesting patterns with it:

Mosaic knitting fingerless mittens

This particular pattern makes a thicker mitten. Which is probably why I decided to make a pair!

Close-up of right side

My PDF pattern for Easy Two-Color Mosaic Fingerless Mittens is now available on Ravelry.

Disclosure:

I may have a marketing connection to a brand, topic or product listed on the website. Through the use of affiliate links contained herein, I may collect fees from purchases made.

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Recently I bought a book on knitting dog sweaters, glanced at it, and set it aside.

When you live in the South — and it’s the middle of summer — it’s hard to get excited about knitting sweaters, even for dogs!

Then I learned a dear friend recently became suddenly critically ill. It was quite a shock to learn of her crisis, even after she’d started her recovery.  I knew she had a dog that she calls her “baby.”  So, I casually asked her if her baby could use a new sweater.  The answer was a very excited “Yes!”

Well, I figured that was as good a reason as any to try out a new knitting pattern. Not that I need to look that hard for an excuse to knit — or to try out knitting instructions. So, after she sent me her color preferences and her baby’s measurements, I started looking at the patterns.

The book, Dogs in Knits: 17 Projects for Our Best Friends had good reviews. This book, unlike some others, gives different sizes and gauges for each pattern.  That’s a big help when you need patterns that actually fit a variety of dog breeds and sizes.

Surprisingly, the sizes of the sweaters seem large. The smallest is for a dog with a 14 inch chest. No sweaters for tiny dogs!

If you’re expecting 17 sweaters, though, you’ll be disappointed. There’s an afghan, a blanket, a pillow topper, and a Christmas stocking. The book provides lots of ideas, and I think I’ll get use out of the book.

As I was looking at patterns, I decided to try the Peruvian-inspired coat. Of course my friend’s baby is shorter than the smallest pattern, although the chest circumference was right. And my knitting gauge, as usual, is okay for the stitches per inch but I have fewer rows per inch. If I followed the pattern as written, it would be way too long.

I decided to start knitting anyway, and figure out how to adjust the pattern along the way.

Starting the dog sweater

The original pattern has alternating large stripes with dogs and narrow stripes of color.

So, how easy was my solution?

• Very easy: just take out the narrow stripes!

Still, I wouldn’t recommend starting out trying to customize a three dimensional sweater for a dog. Because I’ve knit sweaters for people — as well as for a few dogs — I had no problem sizing the pattern to fit my friend’s baby.  However, this sweater is definitely not for a beginner, although others in the book are. The color stranding is at least intermediate, and it’s knit on circular needles.

As my sister — the dog expert — suggested, I also put the ties on the top of the sweater not underneath the chin as the pattern shows. Why? Because on the dog’s back they’re less likely to drag on the ground and are harder for the dog to chew.

Here’s my final version:

Peruvian sweater after customizing knitting instructions

Epilogue: After my friend and her baby received the sweater, she called to thank me.  Even her baby said his thank you over the phone!

It’s very rewarding to have people (and pets) truly love something you had fun designing. I can hardly wait for a picture and to share it!

Ready for inspiration? Check out Dogs in Knits: 17 Projects for Our Best Friends by Judith L. Swartz and click here to buy now!

Awhile ago, I started a pair of socks.

Knee socks in progress

Actually, they’re the first pair I’ve ever made for myself. And I wanted them to both fit, and to be knee socks.

I like knee socks. When wearing pants,they often hike up when I sit down, and like to still have my leg covered. Recently I’m finding it harder to get knee socks in the stores or even online. So, I decided to make it myself. Many sock patterns either end just above the ankle, or seem to think calves are straight up and down. Results: they don’t fit.  Besides, after spending the time knitting a pair of socks, I’m not ready to have them sit in a drawer.

The problem is, I’ve had trouble finding a pattern that explains it all. I like the toe-up socks, because I can try one on as I knit, making adjustments as necessary. For a novice sock knitter, that’s important. And I have a high instep, so need to include that adjustment. Then I wanted a reinforced heel stitch, plus the adjustment for a calf diameter larger than my ankle. I also wanted a ribbed pattern because I felt it would hug my leg better, and make up for any minor miscalculations.

Finally, I wanted a non-binding cast off. Casting off regularly results in a tight band, actually too tight to get over my calf.

So, how many different knitting instructions and knitting patterns did I use for knitting socks?

1. Starting with WendyKnit’s Sport Weight Toe-up Gusset Heel Sock free knitting instructions. My gauge was closer to this even though I used sock weight yarn.
2. Using my own method to cast on the toe stitches. Why? Because the other methods I found just weren’t right. The stitches were to tight to knit, the method too complicated, or one even seemed like it would work better with three hands not two!
3. Ribbing by using the free 1940s pattern for Spiral Bed Socks knitting instructions.
4. Adjusting the gusset for a high foot arch with WendyKnit’s knitting instructions for a high instep.
5. Knitting an old-fashioned reinforced heel with the stocking heel stitch knitting instructions.
6. Adding stitches for the calf increase. Rather than using some complicated calculations I found online, I decided to try increasing two stitches every 7 rounds, which is when the repeat changes. My plan was to keep checking the fit and adjust as needed. It fits fine!
7. Creating my own cast-off, which may or may not wear well. I’ll let you know.

And the result, is:

Finished sock made with 6 different knitting instructions

I opted not to make a separate cuff at the top. The ribbing seems to hold it fine for now. I’m happy with sock as is.

Now to finish the second one!

For more free patterns, check out my Free Goodies Page.

A few days ago, I started two knitting projects, with patterns I haven’t used before.

Only one had a knitting gauge; the other one’s knitting instructions were well — pithy.

I think of myself as an intermediate to advanced knitter. Usually I can figure out the knitting instructions as I go. This time, however, both patterns presented challenges. And after a few inches, I realized they weren’t going well. Time to restart.

So, I frogged the knitting. You know, ripped out the stitches. [Everyone say it quickly: rip it, rip it, rip it! ]

And the result is:

When knitting instructions are incomplete

At one point I would have grieved for the lost stitches. Now, I look at the yarn as recyclable, and ready for the same project, or a new one.

With time, I’ve become convinced that sometimes the instructions are wrong. And sometimes the designer just doesn’t knit the same way I do. Which is okay, after all we’re all individuals.  Which I suspect is one reason knitting is so comforting. In a world that wants to make us all fit into round holes, it’s nice to find a place where the square peg can, well just be a square peg.

And you know, it could easily be me. It’s just possible with the recent extreme weather we’ve had, and some personal and professional distractions that I didn’t concentrate enough on the knitting instructions to get them right. And you know, that’s okay too.

Knitting can be challenging, but it should always, always be fun. When it stops being fun, that’s the time to put down the knitting needles and do something else. Whether you come back in a few minutes or a few days or longer, it doesn’t matter. I suspect though that once you find the rhythm of the needles —what some call “the zone” — you’ll be back.

Just make sure it stays fun.

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