i am making my friend a pair of leg warmers (in addition to all my other projects -see ‘a very knitted christmas’). she’s an itchy kinda girl so when she picked the yarn she picked a very bulky chenile. i’ve tried a couple times and i’m just making them too big. now i’m frustrated knitting swatches. so this is the deal:
yarn: gauge = 2 sts + 4 rows = 1" in st st on #11 needles
the patterns gauge = 20 sts + 28 rows = 4" in st st on #8 needles
any advice would be SO GREATLY APPRECIATED. i am tempted to put this otherwise really easy project on the back burner but we are trading my leg warmers for an amazing raku pinch pot with lid she made that i was drooly for at her crafts fair booth today. me want!
That’s a bulky yarn indeed! I’ve never knit with yarn that heavy. I wonder if the weight and thickness of the garment will be problematic in getting the leg warmers to stay up on the leg…?
If so, you can try threading elastic thread through the top three inches afterwards. Just skim the thread through the back of the knitting. You can also knit it in with the yarn, but by skimming, it’s easier to tighten it fo your liking.
As far as making it the right gauge…
One common problem, is if you make your swatch on straight needles, knitting back and forth, and then make the object knitting in the round, you can end up with two different gauges. This is because many (most?) people knit at a different gauge than they purl. I’ve heard it recommended that you knit your swatch in a circle, like make a sample hat, instead of a swatch! I, of course, have no patience for such a thing. Luckily my knitting and purling is consistent enough that I can get away with flat swatches. But this may not be the case for you!
Another suggestion is to double check your gauge on the project itself as you go. A lot of knitters loosen up as they work, and this can make your project get bigger.
I assume you’re doing the top few inches in ribbing? K2, P2 is the most elastic ribbing–that is, it pulls in the most of any ribbing.
It sounds like you are working with Lion Brand chenile Thick and Quick. You’ll never make a very comfy leg warmer out of that, but fear not, Lion Brand makes a finer gauge chenile as well. I would simply make a hat or scarf from that thick stuff and go out and get some of the finer gauge lion brand yarn.
i think my gauge is pretty consitent too, but not so with this bulky yarn (esp in the round). i’ve decided that i know better than my friend and am not going to use the chenile! basically, even if i figured out the guage correctly, i think it won’t be as attractive. i would have told her as much initially, but i didn’t want to go out and buy more yarn so i agreed to do it in chenile. i thought of the elastic too, but nah. anyway, thanks for your help!
here is my next dumb question: do you know a site that sells the boye interchangeable sets. i haven’t seen the new ones.
I’ve seen Boye Interchangeable needle sets, both the old kind, and brand new ones, on eBay. Just search for “Boye Interchangeable.” There doesn’t appear to be any for sale today, but try back. There’s usually a few pairs. You can also do a Google search, and see who sells them retail.
I have an old set, which I got on eBay a couple of years ago for $70. I’ve seen new sets recently being sold on eBay for $45, “Buy it Now” price! The new sets look better to my eye. They have a thinner cable which would work for Magic Loop knitting (small diameter knitting on a large cable needle. I prefer my DPN’s for small circular knitting, but this would be good to be able to use in an emergency!)…and I think the new set also comes with more needle sizes than the old set.
Okay ladies so this definitely qualifies for this thread!! I’m a fairly new knitter who is knitting my first charity baby blanket. About fifteen rows back, I dropped a stitch then picked it up wrong. It created a slight variance in my garter ridge on that row. Should I go ahead and tink to fix it or should I just keep on going knowing that whoever receives it will appreciate it regardless of this little flaw in the knitting? I was freaking out about and then realized that it occurred early in the blanket ( at about the quarter of a blanket mark) and probably won’t even be noticeable in the end and will be appreciated just because it exists and is beautiful. Am I being overly critical of myself or what?
It only fixes itself with washing if it’s loose. If you have a knit where there should be a purl, you would have to drop the st again and pick it up so it’s right.