I’m making a garter stitch blanket in Lion Brand 24/7 cotton and plan to pick up stitches at the end to make a garter stitch border with mitred corners. When I blocked my very rough first gauge swatch (currently working in 2 more concrete swatches), after I washed and dried according to the label (warm water and medium dryer heat) the swatch shrank roughly 10%. This is why I’m making another set of larger swatches to confirm how much shrinkage and which needle size I prefer for the final product.
It seems like the piece shrank more in the length and much less if any in the width. Because of this I’m worried my border will warp if I add it before washing/drying the finished piece. But if I add it after washing/drying the main body will it ruffle/warp on the second wash? Anyone have any advice here?
Also, will my colour changes be visible on the side of I carry my yarns up the side? I know with crochet the border hides these edges will but will knit make them more visible?
Very nice, neat edging. Have you tried adding the edging to your swatch or to a new, unwashed swatch just to see the effect of the edging? Then wash and block as directed on the ballband.
Good idea I think I’ll try adding it to the first swatch and see.
I’m thinking of washing and drying the finished piece without the border and separately washing/drying the unworked yarn for the border before knitting it on.
I agree trying it out on a swatch is the safest way to know what will happen.
I’d be inclined to add the border before washing so the entire piece can shrink together at the same rate. This is also something that can be tried on a swatch.
Yes that was my inclination too but since it appears to shrink more in one direction only I’m worried the border will shrink against the blanket at parts and warp/pull/wave.
What do you think about washing the yarn for the border before knitting with it?
It’s going to be a temperature blanket so lots of colour changes unfortunately and I’m not quite sure what to do because I’d prefer to not have to weave a million ends plus it’s cotton so weaving doesn’t always blend well.
Thanks for the advice on the shrinkage. I’ll see how the swatch works out. I can always redo the border in the future if necessary too since it’s added after the fact.
Depending on temps where you are the colors may repeat so carrying up for sections makes sense. Cool colors for colder temps tend to cluster as do warmer colors. Catching one or possibly two unused colors at the edge will work but trying to catch more than that will be too bulky.
You can weave in ends as you knit the following rows. See if you like this method.
I have never washed yarn before using it so I can’t offer any thoughts on that, sorry.
I have worked multi coloured stranded work in cotton and there was a lot of weaving in, i did some weaving in as you go (salmonmac posted a video on that) and where i didn’t use that for practical reasons i aimed to weave ends into their own colour, a kind of duplicate stitch on the wrong side rather than a diagonal weave which crosses into other colours. It’s possible with cotton to split the strands and weave each in a different direct if needed, it can reduce the bulk, but increases the work.
My experience with garter stitch is that it stretches out, making it longer than expected, I’m not a particulalry experienced knitter, I’m just going on how it’s been for me and what i have read. I think it is a stretchy stitch which grows lengthways… maybe the shrinkage you have on the swatch would stretch back out with some use? A blanket doesn’t hold its own weight like a sweater does though so perhaps it stretches less than a sweater?
You can certainly wash the yarn before working with it. Usually it’s tied in 4 places around a circle of yarn strands then hand soaked to wash and hung to dry. This works well but I’ve never tried machine washing and drying these loose circles.
It seems that knitting the yarn around a good sized swatch is going to give you a better idea of the way the border might change dimensions however.
UPDATE: (tried to edit post to add update but doesn’t seem like I can)
I washed and dried TWO swatches - one with the mitred knit edge and another with just a single crochet border. The crochet edge was terribly warped along the selvedge edges. The knit border looked GREAT. The edges are only slightly pulled from the shrinkage but it was minimal. I think I might just not sew the mitred corners until after the first wash/dry so I can try to get them a little crisper but overall I’m really happy with how it turned out and will hopefully be starting soon. I just need to finalize how exactly I want to carry the yarn colours so I don’t have to knot/weave a million fiddly cotton ends but also so it doesn’t show to much on the front of the work or leave too big of a ridge on the back especially because it will only be the one side that stands out.
I just looked at the edge you’re using, it’s very nice.
For those many tails, it sounds like your tails will all be at one edge, maybe it’s an even number of rows per colour making both tails of each colour at the beginning of the RS row?
Do you know you can start at the opposite end of the row with a new colour? A circular needle with long cable allows you to slide the stitches to the other needle and begin in a WS row, this could mean the tails, and slightly bulkier areas are woven equally each end if you alternate each time.
You might also consider making an odd number of rows for each colour which leaves the beginning tail one end and the finishing tail the other end, again more evenly distributed. It is dependent on your pattern and colour plans though.
Have you looked at double knitting for a picked up edge? It’s very attractive and covers the ridge you get on the WS when picking up stitches, making it a good option for reversible fabric or blanket. It can be started a few rows in from the edge rather than right on the last row/column which gives something of an option to hide some of the weaving or carried yarns and tails, inside the double knitting.
It would likely mean some more practises with the technique and to see how well it works with disguising the tails, but it seems you’re happy to plan out and swatch for your project so could be another option to try. You could combine with your chosen edge to make the mitred corners.
I tend to avoid carrying yarns up rows because it’s kind of messy and bulky and i find weaving in is better hidden. I don’t make blankets though so my experience there is almost zero.
Good to hear the swatches were successful in showing the best way forward. It’s really satisfying when a practise pays off.