Knitting with 2 strands held together...aargh!

#1

Hello,

A seasoned knitter I am…but I am at a loss! Can anyone offer insight?

What can be done to prevent two strands of yarn from twisting around each other by the end of the row?

I am knitting a 220 stitch wide baby blanket, using 2 strands of Lion “Micro Spun” held together. I have to stop and untwist the skeins sometimes twice per row, or the stitches don’t lay nicely.

The blanket is working up beautifully, but what a time consuming project with the ‘untwisting’ that seems to be necessary!

Aargh! :pout:

#2

:shrug: Sorry I am no help with the twisting…IMHO a big part of the problem could be the microspun. I cann’t stand knitting with that. I bought it to knit something for my cousin and went so far as to throw the entire skein away !

Best of luck

#3

Are you separating/untwisting the strands as you knit them? If so, the twist will naturally move to the rest of the ball. It’s easy to flatten and untwist the strands as I knit by holding them between two fingers.

In fact, I often find with a single strand that I am straightening it out and the strand leading to the ball is twisting around on itself, I fix this by switching to English for a row or a few stitches, and twist the wool around in my right hand, spinning it between my fingers, transferring the twist to the knitted stitches from the ball as I knit, to counteract the other rows where I have gradually straightened the wool, untwisting it as it is knitted, causing the rest of the ball to twist.

Sarah

#4

I don’t know much about this, but have you been keeping them in separate bags? I’ve heard that it helps…

#5

The strands are twisting around each other? That’s nearly impossible to overcome and won’t be noticeable when you’re done. If it causes a problem with the balls of yarn, put them in separate bags as madametj suggested.

sue

#6

are you by chance doing the big bad baby blanket? i did it with microspun and just let the yarn do what it wanted and it turned out very nice. you can see the almost finished blanket here: http://www.knittinghelp.com/knitting/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23317&start=0&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=

#7

Thank you one and all! :heart:

To answer a few questions:

No, I have not been keeping the two skeins in separate bags…but will do so tomorrow!

I am knitting a basketweave baby blanket with the microspun. (K5-P5…end with K5 on WS; K across the entire row on the RS) You are right, microspun is a p-i-t-a to knit with, and very splitty! I had lots of skeins in my stash, purchased on a sale a couple of years ago before I knew better…and am trying to use stash yarn as much as possible in light of my New Years something-or-other! It does present a lovely finished product though, especially garter stitch, and this basketweave. Will never again work with microspun! All of my giftees have been thrilled with the baby things I have made for them, especially in the kiwi lime green and the buttercup yellow. Young women these days love those unusual colors for baby things.

I try to keep the strands ‘apart’ as I knit…but then get clacking along…trying to get up some speed…and forget til the kinks catch up with me and choke at the needle!

Thanks to all of you. Any other body that wants to share some insight or tips with me…puleeeease do so! :hug:

#8

I had this probelm with a baby blanket. I didn’t find that two separate bags really helped much. If you turn your work clodkwise one time and counter clockwise the next that seems to help the most. The twisting nearly drove me nuts, although I knew that it wouldn’t affect the end result. The alternate turning saved what little sanity I had left.

#9

If you keep the skeins in separate bags, when they get too twisted, hold your work up and let them unwind.

sue

#10

The clockwise/counter clockwise is a good tip. I find that with bags sometimes the skeins will come out of the bag and roll around the floor. I have two empty coffee tins, with the plastic top. I’ve cut a hole in the top of the cans that I can thread the yarn through, and I put one skein in each can. That way they can’t ‘jump’ out of the bag. I also will do this when winding into a ball.

this is also handy with cats if they love yarn, because they cant attach that pesky skein that is jumping around the floor.

#11

Letah~!! : :thumbsup:
What a good idea… I have 2 cats who do just that~! It drives them crazy when the skeins “dance”~!!

#12

I use those reusable/disposable plastic food storage containers–I do use some tape around the edges of the cut out hole in the lid so that the yarn doesn’t get snagged. Around Christmas time there were some at the grocery store that were a bit heavier with screw on lids. Those work really well too.

Kaidy