Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!
In this week’s episode we cover:
1. Hi Andrea, Thank you so much for keeping answering our questions! Your shared knowledge has helped me learn so much! And you make me laugh so hard sometimes, the kids are checking in if I am ok. :) Now, I have a rather complex question/reason for confusion. I will do my best to articulate it well. When seperating stitches for body and sleeves in a sweater, it usually says something like: (numbers are made up, not tied to a specific pattern) knit 40 stitches for left front, place 60 stitches on hold for left sleeve, co 6 stitches, knit 84 stitches for the back, place 60 stitches on hold for right sleeve, co 6 stitches, knit 40 stitches for right front. Wouldn’t it make more sense after knitting the stitches for the back, to cast on BEFORE placing the stitches on hold for the second sleeve? For symmetry reasons? Or is there a specific reason why it is unsymmetrical? Does it even matter which is first? I also just realized that I have made the mistake of placing the co stitches on hold with the sleeves. Which now explains the gaping hole at the underarm and why there were stitches missing for the body. 💡 Do you have any good advice on how to close that hole? We are talking crater like dimensions.
2. I watch your Q&A almost every week, thank you for your guidance, answers, tips and tricks, and all you dedication! I love your patterns too! I’m not a very experienced knitter but have knit some garments such as hats, scarfs, mittens, socks….and some blouses. I have some problems when knitting the sleeves. Some patterns ask for start the sleeves (top-down) using double point needles, but can we start directly using a magic loop? Can you give some advice on this? Also for avoiding holes on the armhole? Thank you very much!!!
3. Hi Andrea, thank you so much for sharing your knitting knowledge - I have learned so much from your podcasts. I am currently preparing to knit your Gib sweater. However, I am having trouble getting Imbue (and the recommended alternatives) in the UK so I have been swatching with various alternatives. I have been chosing yarns with similar yards per weight but I haven't been happy with the stitch definition in some of them. I'm wondering what to look for in a yarn when I am wanting clear stitch definition for a pattern such as the Gib. Is it the fibre? Or the way it is spun? Or the ply? Or something else. Thanks for all your help.
4. First of all, absolutely LOVE your videos—I've been learning so much! My question is: do you have a spinning wheel you'd recommend for beginners? Maybe one that you loved when you were just getting into spinning? I've used drop spindles but have yet to try a wheel... and have been thinking of diving in and exploring wheel spinning. It just looks so fun!!
Lendrum DT
5. Hi Andrea. I am a fellow baker and you have been keeping me company while I bake the goods in the early morning (yeah alright its still night time). So here’s my question, hope I can get this so you understand I am from Iceland so English is not my first language. My dad is turning 60 next year (yes I’m planning ahead) I have a sweater I want to knit him. With traditional fair island pattern on the yoke. The thing is I want to have an open collar because he loves sweaters like that. My thinking is purling mabye 5-10 stitches in the middle to steek them later to open up the collar or should I knit it flat for that part and then join in the round. I want the collar to overlap at the bottom of the V on the chest and mabye have a button to be able to close it if he wants to. Can you help me thinking this trough? Also do you think a shawl collar with short rows in the back would be good or should I do a collar separate and then sew it to the sweater? Love your patterns, pink fizz is actually my favorite. Hope you are good and happy knitting
