Tips for beginners

#1

I know how frustrating it can be to start out. BELIEVE ME! Convinced that I can read and follow directions, my first project was a man’s vest in an interesting “cable” pattern. Who needs to waste time knitting X stitches for y rows just to throw it away and start a new project. Result: I now have a vest that will fit a guy 6’10" and 350 lbs! Lesson learned! I’m sticking to baby blankets… Who cares if they are 30 x30, 26x32, 30x40,…or whatever the finished dimensions are… It’s a BLANKET!

If you are going to knit something where finished dimensions are important… CHECK YOUR GAGUE!

Incidentally, the vest had a pattern repeat of 200 rows… Actually it never repeated! Beginners shouldn’t try this for their first project!

Know anyone 6’10 and 350 lbs? Have I got a vest for them!

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What are good stitches for black worsted yarn
#2

Oh no… I’m sorry, that made me laugh! I’ve got my share of projects that don’t fit well and mostly too large. I have an issue with seeing myself as bigger than I am in part and I’m also a loose knitter. Umm…well you know what I mean. :joy:

Yes, gauge is important. Unfortunately gauge sometimes lies. Just do the best you can and if you’re a beginner it’s probably best to follow the pattern. I make a lot of hats in part because they are generally fast and you can experiment and learn in an easy, small project.

#3

Knew I spelled that wrong… CHECK YOUR GAUGE! HEY, I’m 65…cut me some slack… :grin:

#4

Ha! No flack from me! I’m the queen of typos and autocorrects! I’m always editing my posts! :bride_with_veil:

#5

It was meant to be humorous! But I’m staying away from patterns that are size specific for now.I have done several booties to go with the blankets, and two hats so far. Hope they fit OK!

#6

I’m shocking for checking. Although luckily I seem to be a pretty standard knitter at the moment. I started a baby dress and I was convinced it wasb going to be way too big; but I carried on and it looks about right. Can’t tell you if it is right or not as I did the front and gave up half way on the back… its currently on a stitch holder in the bottom of my bag of forgotten projects

#7

Probably worth getting back to at some point. It’ll be satisfying to see it finished and you can always use it as a gift or donate it to a charity. We’d love to see the photo of the finished dress.

#8

I will def go back to it eventually and post a finished picture

#9

I really like the idea of then donating it to charity as well. Will have to look into that.
I made some little Mary Jane booties to go with it so it will be a gorgeous little set when finished.

With charity what do you suggest; sending it to the hospital or is it better to give it to a charity to then sell on?

#10

You know, we’ve talked about this here and in other forums. Very few people appreciate and are willing to pay what handmade items are truly worth. For myself, I would rather donate to a hospital or other charity to give to someone in need.
There are many worthwhile places. I tend to use Carewear Volunteers which also maintains a handy list of local hospitals, etc. that you can choose from. That way you can go directly to one of them.
http://www.carewear.org/index.php?page=hospitals

#11

I intend to donate all I’ve done so far but decided to wait until I have hats and Booties to go along with the blankets.

By the time I figure in materials and my time, I figure one of my blankets is worth about $1000…:grin:

#12

Thankyou I’ll look on there when I have some things ready to donate

#13

Easily a thousand. This website gives some recommendations for handmade quilts which are equally applicable to knit and crocheted items.

#14

Yah… I’m 30 and despite actually wearing my glasses for once I didn’t even notice!

#15

haha- I was JUST going to say, there’s a 6’10 guy out there somewhere, wishing he had a vest:) Check your gauge, yes, definitely. Sometimes even doing that, the finished project will come out true to gauge, but the size will be like your vest, or too small. I made a cute (looking, that is!) beret from a site that is one of those “free vintage crochet” pattern sites- which shall go unnamed - wink wink- every stitch true to gauge. As I went on, I never tried on the hat to check sizing. The beret came out great! For an infant. It was SO small, I am not even sure it would fit a toddler. As one is knitting or crocheting, you think this would be something you’d notice, but believe me, it’s not easy with hats unless you try it on yourself while in the process of making it. It was a pattern made in sections, so it’s not like I could try on the circumference yet, and from what I got from the pattern, I assumed it would be around 21" in the end. Wrong! Anyway- it is a learning process and there are plenty of things one can only learn from pure experience.

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