After last week’s intense #fridayfunda on silk, I pick on a rather simpler topic this Friday – Knitting Needle Gauges. Knitting essentially requires needles and yarn. Now, the size of the needles and thickness of the yarn will determine the dimensions of the final product. But have you ever seen a knitting needle? Rarely, very very rarely, is the size of the needle stamped on it. I really wonder why. Now with experience I can correctly guesstimate the size without using a measuring device, but that’s not really wise. I may be able to tell the difference between a 3mm and a 5mm needle, but I would probably not be able to correctly guess the exact dimension of a 2.25mm […]
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Stitch Holders
A stitch holder was designed to cater to one and only purpose in a knitter’s life, and that is to hold open stitches when not on needles. They come in various sizes, which correspond to the number of stitches – more the number of stitches, bigger the holder you use. I have slowly begun to feel that knitting and crochet to some extent has so many such tiny and large tools and equipment, that do such specific work. They may not be useful for any other purpose other than what they were designed for. Do I really need some of these tools, if not all? Not really. I could, and have, easily used a beading wire, embroidery floss, skewers, spare […]
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Using a Yarn Swift
Reader, I bought the yarn swift. After that Bronte-sque opening, you must be wondering what I am talking about. You may scroll down to a previous post, dated 18th December 2020, when I said that a swift-and-ball-winder is a long-term investment, but I didn’t have the swift. Knitting is supposed to be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be, and how sunny and patient your disposition is. Well, the disposition is still sunny and patient, but now the situation is different. Time is really equal to money, and this is where a tool is handier and quicker and easier than using knees, arms, chairbacks, revolving chairs or even a niddy-noddy (you’ve got to Google that!) So, […]
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Types of Crochet Hooks
A crochet hook is literally a stick with a pointy hook on one end. This small tool is used to loop yarn or thread, and interlock them into crochet stitches. Available in materials like steel, aluminum, clay, glass, bamboo, wood and plastic, and sizes ranging from 0.35mm to 25mm, it is the workhorse of the entire crochet industry. I mean, this tiny stabby pokey thing is so different, and creates such a unique fabric, that there is no machine that can replicate what it can do! Every item that is crocheted will most certainly be handmade by a human. (I did try to Google and search if monkeys can crochet, but nope…no such information available :P) Amazing or what?! Want to […]
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Double Pointed Needles
Let’s talk Needles. Needles are the backbone of knitting, and there are three types of knitting needles – Double Pointed Needles, Straight and Circular. Double Pointed Needles, or DPNs, are essentially needles with pointy edges on both sides. They are used for knitting small and round items like hats, socks, sleeves, mittens and gloves. They are also exclusively used for brioche knitting. DPNs come in a pack of five needles, with 4 holding the stitches, while the fifth one is used to knit round and round and round without stopping. DPNs come in different materials, and in the infographic, you can see three sets of needles. The first set (a) is by Lantern Moon, made out of redwood in Vietnam, […]
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KNITTED LIFELINES
A lifeline is a line to which a drowning or falling victim may cling to, instead of facing imminent death. In knitting, a lifeline is a piece of yarn or thread that runs through each and every stitch of one row. It’s a proper case of prevention being better than unravelling the entire project, in case of a massive goof-up. Because stitches are live while working on a knitted piece, especially lace or brioche, there is ALWAYS a possibility of stitches getting dropped or me misreading the pattern or due to genuine confusion. The worst errors have occurred when I have been trying to fix previous errors, and then I fall into a spiral of doom and despair, and have […]
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STITCH MARKERS
Stitch markers are tiny yet efficient accessories in a knitting bag. They maybe made of metal or plastic and look like teeny-meeny CUTE safety pins.They are incredibly useful and I found them very handy, especially when I was a beginner. By slipping onto a knitting needle to mark a particular position in a row, it kept my work steady and clean. Today it is the key to keeping my sanity, as I mark each fifth or tenth row done with a stitch marker… Instead of counting the same rows twenty million times.”Many small objects, in many small places, do many small things, that can alter the face of the world.”
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