I have finally finished my HUGE entrelac market bag from what I think was February’s KAL (I’m not really all that slow, just too much OTN at the same time :rollseyes: ) But technically, I’m not really finished cause I still have to make the I Cord. And its DRIVING ME NUTS!:hair:
The bag is made from Noro Big Kureyon and the directions for the I Cord calls for size 8 dpns. I cast on my stitches and knit away but I am getting ladders down the back of the I Cord that won’t tighten or close up and it looks terrible.
I figure with such a large bag, I will need a substantial size handle. So what do I do?
I’m thinking maybe I need to cast on more stitches for the I Cord than the pattern calls for or go down a needle size for the cord or maybe even try both.
Any input would be appreciated.
Also, would you pu and knit the cord into the bag and then felt or should I make the I cords separately and then sew. I want to make sure they are on securely cause like I said, the bag is ginormous
One more thing to consider - once you felt the I cord it will all even out - you will not see any of the ladders. That is the best thing about felting!!!
I had trouble with i-cords also. I finally decided to just keep going on the one I was doing, as “practice”. What I found out is that at least for me, the first couple of inches look really bad. It isn’t until I’ve been going for a while (and tugging on the bottom as someone else suggested) that it started to look right.
I hate i-cord enough that i only do it if i absolutely have to. if i am felting anyway i will just do a stockinette strip a few stitches wide and then stitch it closed. curls in on itself anyway making it very easy and i can’t tell the difference between that and an i-cord.
I think the main reason people hate i-cords is because they think it’s harder than it has to be. The first inch or so of all i-cord looks bad, but after a while, when you have enough to pull down on, it starts to wrap up nicely into a neat little cord. You really don’t have to pull that first stitch super tight either. In fact, I get much better results when I knit all the stitches with a casual, even tension and it’s more enjoyable to knit that way.
Plus when it’s felted, you can’t see any weirdness in the cord anyway. Give yourself a break and stop being so hard on yourself! I’m sure you’re doing a great job!
I hate i-cords because I’m this close to finishing the project and it takes FOREVER! I always try to make them a little bigger since you can always cut the felted project, but that means knitting for like 6 or 7 feet. UGH. And it’s so boring.
Spool knitters rock! I tried and tried and now I absolutely refuse to do I-Cord. Also, the last bag I did, I just cast on DPN’s and knit my cord in the round and it worked great…
Here is an idea of how to deal with the ladders on I-cords that I once read on the Nona Knits blog:
After you finish the I-cord, if you have a crochet needle of similar size to your knitting needle size, you can treat the ladder as dropped stitches and “knit” them from bottom to top. For instance, it basically changes a 5-stitch I-cord to a 6-stitch I-cord and looks even all around. I remember thinking the first time I read about this technique that it was very clever!
(I’m not a fan of spool knitting - it seems to take forever to make a simple cord that way, at least for me.)
I’m working on my first I cord and am dealing with the ladder issue. I’m trusting you guys that it will look better the more I knit. But just to make sure I’m doing this right - the working thread is always coming from the bottom on the first stitch, right? Strange concept to me!
You should watch Amy’s video in the basic techniques section above. Scroll down til you find the one on I Cords. I think that may help you to understand the process.
Best,
Susan
(and btw, I kept on knitting my I Cord and it’s coming out much better thanks to everyone’s tips and Amy’s video!)
My I cord looks AMAZING! I can’t believe that it turns out the way that it does. Thanks for all your help. I just kept knitting and pulling and it comes right together! Only 3 more feet to go! :cheering:
