WHY do knots almost always appear right where you don’t need them? This is so frustrating!:hair:
Anyway, here’s my question: When coming across random knots while knitting with yarn do I “have” to untie them and then re-tie them with longer tails???
What do YOU do with them??
Thanks, knitcindy
I undo or cut out the knots, tink back several sts and treat the two ends like a join of new yarn. If there are several knots in a ball, I let the yarn shop or manufacturer know how unhappy I am.
I always cut the knot out and join the yarn again by knitting a few stitches together at the same time. Although some people dislike this joining method, so far I’ve never had problems with the join showing.
I think notifying the manufacturer of the problem is a good idea. But maybe not while you’re steamed, eh?
I pull on them to check them. If I feel a little give, I undo or cut them and retie because I know my knots don’t come undone. If they seem strong enough I leave them.
If you contact the company or yarn shop over just one or two knots, you may not get a satisfactory response as many will say that up to 3 knots in one skein is ‘industry standard’ or normal. If you have much more than that, or find thin or weak spots ro the color fading in spots, contact the company and they often send a replacement or a coupon. This happens in cheap acrylic or expensive ‘name’ yarn from the LYS. Usually the ‘cheap’ yarn has less, at least that’s what I’ve found.
It kind of depends on the yarn and what I’m making. On finer weight yarns leaving it may not show, but I wouldn’t leave a knot in a sock. In that case I’d tink back a bit and cut and restart. For heavier yarns I always cut since they’d show more unless it’s a very detailed stitch pattern since it might not show there.
Knots in yarn are a part of knitting life as much as errata in patterns and dropped stitches. It’s annoying, but no need to panic or get angry over it.
I’ve been fairly lucky with balls of yarn containing knots. I use a lot of Patons Inca Lite and Jet, as I like the types of wool used (especially in the Jet). So far I’ve only found a couple of knots in the last 40 odd balls - that’s not too bad, but they are 50 grams generally.
I never leave knots in my knitting. If you feel one coming just snip it out and re-join.
My sister in law was just telling me that her new sock yarn has a knot after every color change!!! I wonder if she’s maybe just exagerating. Could you picture that? Yikes.
I told her that if she really does have more than three knots she should call the manufacturer as her LYS has a very strict and prickly return policy.
Just finished knitting some fingerless gloves in #3 weight yarn. So many knots…! Loved the yarn, hated the knots… after the first one, I decided I had to pull the yarn apart and hand wind it to see what else was in there. Talk about huge balls of knots… WOW!
I did managed to get them all sorted out in the end and finish the gloves… thank goodness!
TEMA:thumbsup:
I only buy yarn at my LYS now so it does tend to be a little (or a lot) more expensive, but I rarely have knots. I’m beginning to think that maybe some manufacturers are just bad about it and sometimes it’s just bad luck. IMO if you find a yarn that is often bad I’d let the manufacturer (and seller or store) know and then stay away from that yarn. There’s plenty of yarns to choose from.
NORO is notorious for knots. Gah! Fortunately, the felted (wet) join works wonderfully!
I always use the felted join with wool and other animal fiber yarn.
With others, I like the Russian Join.
As others commented…tink back always to get about 6" to work with…apply the join of choice…and knit away!
Thanks everyone!!! Now I know that I’m not the only one this happens to. (unfortunately) Even with the acrylic yarns I use, I find knots in unexpected places.
knitting happily…
knitcindy
I was knitting with a friend once, and she kept complaining about how many knots there were in her yarn. So, I asked her to let me see the next knot.
As it turned out, it was just her yarn getting tangled with itself, making a twisted spot occasionally. (It was a single ply yarn, which tends to do that.) So, I showed her how to let the project dangle and unwind.
She stopped complaining after that, when she realized that it wasn’t actual knots in the yarn.
I thought that was so funny! :teehee: