Knitting

[nekosensei]

So...I'm knitting a scarf for a friend, and I'm not quite sure if this is going to work.

For one, I have only one ball of this yarn. I got it in Chinatown, so I'm not sure if I can really order it online anywhere.

This is what I've knitted so far. It still looks a bit wide to me at 34 stitches across, so I'm thinking of ripping it out and knitting only 30. I'm also thinking of buying white yarn and interspersing the white and the mult-colored one. I take it that the white yarn has to be pretty much the same size and texture? I know there's a couple of knitters on my friends' list. Any advice?

Yep...I have no clue what I'm doing...

Comments

[doomsey.livejournal.com]

make it a purse? :)

[mrscake.livejournal.com]

I've found that mixing different yarns can work well, especially if you don't have enough of one kind to make what you're making. I'd personally be most concerned about shrinkage issues (e.g., if you're using a cotton yarn that could shrink a lot mixed with an acrylic that's unlikely to shrink at all). I'm not sure, but you may be able to get away with different sizes and textures if your needle size stays the same. (Probably best for me to defer to a more experienced knitter on this one.)

[lucy-burb.livejournal.com]

That's one spiffy looking tool belt! *ducking* Sorry. I'll forward your question on to my other knitting contact...she used to manage a craft store that stocked wool. She's a knitting fool.

[emygination.livejournal.com]

I'd say knit it at a looser gauge and considerably narrower and you could probably get away with only having the amount of yarn that you have while still making a passable scarf.

What size needles are you using, BTW?

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

I'm using size 10.5 needles. I tore it apart and made it 30 stitches. It looks a lot better. I also made a trip to Hobby Lobby and found some white yarn that was close in size and made of the same material. I'm going to alternate the white yarn with the blue and white one. The yarn is a 10, but I talked to the sales lady who I was told was good at knitting. She said that the sizes are recommended, and that using a size 10.5 knitting needle on a size 10 yarn isn't going to make that much of a difference.

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

Here's an update:

I'm using size 10.5 needles. I tore it apart and made it 30 stitches. It looks a lot better. I also made a trip to Hobby Lobby and found some white yarn that was close in size and made of the same material. I'm going to alternate the white yarn with the blue and white one. The yarn is a 10, but I talked to the sales lady who I was told was good at knitting. She said that the sizes are recommended, and that using a size 10.5 knitting needle on a size 10 yarn isn't going to make that much of a difference.

[emygination.livejournal.com]

The recommended needle size on a package of yarn is all but meaningless. Even the recommended needle size in a pattern is meaningless, because gauge is the driving force behind knitting. As long as it knits up to a tension you like and is appropriate for what you're making, it *really* does not matter what size needles you use. The purple socks I made for myself, I actually knitted at a tighter gauge than recommended in most patterns and I still think they could've been knit tighter because having a tight fabric for socks is useful.


I think that your yarn might look cool in a kind of drop stitch pattern. You should start having more fun with your knitting. There's more to it than garter and stockinette. :P

[nekosensei.livejournal.com]

Drop stitch? Do you have a link with instructions, picture, or video that you could point me to?

[emygination.livejournal.com]

Rows 1-4: Knit across

Row 5: *Knit 1, yarn over, rep from *, knit one.

Row 6: Knit the knit stitches, drop the YOs from the needle.

repeat

It's an interesting thing to do with textured yarns -- you could try it and see how you like it.

You can increase the number of yarn overs, too.

Here (http://mnsfibers.livejournal.com/49044.html) is an example of a similar pattern.

[pookzsilla.livejournal.com]

you could do stripe. like, maybe buy a solid blue in a shade close to what that yarn has and then intersperse the stripes.

i think a solid blue would work better than white. and it doesn't have to be the same texture. the same thickness would be good, though.

OR you could buy something fun and hold the two strands together and cast on fewer stitches.