Looking for beginner projects after scarfs

#1

Now I feel like I’ve found a great knitting community, I have a question to ask. :slight_smile:

I have recently taken up knitting, learning from youtube videos. I’m right handed, knit continental (not sure if its east, west, south or north, but I heard it referred to as American once). I began my journey on a fully knitted scarf with some left over wool my mother in law didnt get rid of at a garage sale. Then I moved on to practicing knit purl and made a ribbed scarf. I then found a pattern for a scarf with a little more detail, k2tgs, yo’s, and ssk’s. I made a few mistakes and learned alot along the way but am hugely impressed with the end result. I cant post a link but if you google ava elongated scarf its on a site called j.erin knits. Just incase you’re curious or other beginners like me want to try it.

So thats my experience level so far.

The other day I picked up 2 sets of 3mm circular needles which I thought would be fun to use. Im kind of over scarfs, I have a beanie pattern to go with the above scarf which I will work on when I get the correct size needles but I want to do something in the mean time. Im not close to anyone with children so baby clothes will end up unloved. I would love to try a cardigan but they seem quite advanced for my limited experience, and the ones that look like they do suit beginners are more for a petite figure, Im more the cuddly amazonian size :cool: . On top of that it seems everytime I see a pattern that says ‘beginner’ its either too basic and gives nothing new to learn, like a potholder a scarf, or cowl. If its anything just slightly fancy for ‘beginner’ the whole pattern is totally french to me. Does anyone have any suggestions for projects or patterns I can find online? Something that would increase my skills but not throw me totally in the deep end. Im currently looking for work so my budget doesnt stretch to buying books, or expensive yarns.

Anyway, thankyou for reading my detailed rant, Im looking forward to getting to know you all better as I read and rave more in the future.

#2

If you would love to try a cardigan, then why not give it a go? Find a sweater you like and glance through the pattern. Most of them are basically the same and it sounds like you have the techniques to complete them. With many of the instructions, the trick is just to take the steps one at a time and they work out. If there are questions or puzzling directions, you can always come here and ask.
Enjoy knitting whatever you choose!

#3

Thankyou for the confidence boost Salmonmac :aww: . I had another look at cardigans and found a couple I would like to try. I bought some mohair boucle wool on special a while back which I was saving for a cardigan but after looking at how much I need for the patterns Im looking at Im coming up about 3 balls short (or 400 yards), I’ll check the store I bought them at for more but I think they were on sale because they were no longer making this lot. No need to despair, I will buy some more wool for a cardigan when I see another bargin. For now I would still like to do something with this mohair boulce, perhaps a shawl with some lacy stitches, or maybe I can try out my circulars and make a beanie and arrgh …dare I say it? A matching scarf. Would 3mm be too small for this type of wool? I also have 3 rather small balls thicker white boulce which would be good for a small project so Im still open to pattern suggestions.

#4

Mohair and boucle won’t lend itself to lacey stitches unless you use really really really large needles. And then you need to keep it to a basic yo k2tog stitch. The 3mm will probably be too small to knit the hat on. The fuzz from the mohair fills in the sts so you knit that type of yarn on larger needles than you’d think. Take a look at the gauge on the yarn label and see what size needles are on it. Then maybe go up a size or two. But once you figure the right size needles a hat and scarf combo sounds like a good idea. Boucle yarn needs a larger needle too, and plainer sts work better with it as the texture comes from the yarn. But a basketweave st is good - k6 p6 for 6 rows then p6 k6 for 6 rows.

#5

Thats really great advice Suzeeq, thankyou. I had a look for guage and needle size on the mohair boulce I wanted to use but it has no guage, needle size or lot number even, maybe this is why it was on special. Ive uploaded a photo of the wool Im talking about. The blue wool is the one I was hoping to use for a cardigan but I only got three balls. The photo shows the details provided for the knitter, the rest of the lable is just brand name and barcodes. The white wool I have 3 balls of, dont know what to do with that, perhaps I could save it for a scap blanket/throw when I have enough scaps at a later date. I will be going to lincraft tomorrow in hope of finding some wool on special, and perhaps some more needles, materials should be rather well priced at the moment given its spring. :slight_smile:


wool by MrsPilgrim, on Flickr

#6

The labels still tell us a bit about it. The blue is 218yds/200m per 100g which makes it something like a light worsted weight, or 10 ply in Aus/NZ terms. The whitish one does have a gauge on it which says 5.5mm needles. You could use a 6 or 6.5mm needle with it, and probably the same with the blue as well, though you might use the 5.5 with it. You’d need at least 4 or 5 balls of it for a sweater.

But it would still make a decent size shawl. There’s lots of plain triangular ones where the texture of the yarn would be ‘shown off’.

#7

Suzeeq, you are a wealth of information, thankyou :muah: . I’ll seek out a pretty shawl pattern, I already have 5.5 and 6mm needles so with your advice and google Im good to go.

#8

Just do what you’re interested in trying next. It sounds like you have a great support system, and a basic cardy is more long than difficult. Good luck

#9

Hi Clarity, this site is brilliant isnt it? Ive learned so much in my short time being here, I have decided to go with this lap blanket pattern.

I was looking at shawls and the OH happend to pass as I was considering one and said, “you know you would never wear that”. I have to admit I wouldnt wear a shawl, hence I went for the lap blanket which I would get alot of use out of on cold winter days. Ill see how it looks with the boucle wool once I get past the border which I started last night. Im a bit concerned the pattern wont show up very well with this wool, it was a bit of a ‘stuff it’ decision after looking for two days with no satisfaction. If it doesnt look great Ill frog it and find a lap blanket with blanket stitch, its all good fun and practice anyway.

I’ve decieded to leave the cardi as my next large project, that will give me time to research well and pick something I really love.