I knit and while I will acknowledge that I am not an educated and technical knitter that apparently is the understatement of the decade. I am now getting ready to rip, for the second time Swatch #1. I mean, really, how hard can it be to knit a simple rib, increase evenly on the last rib row and then do 4.5 inches of garter. Well.....apparently harder than it looks, or at least harder than it looks to get it right. Last week on size 8 Susan Bates metal shorts I started on Swatch #1. They were incredibly slippery and difficult to maintain an even tension. Today I started over with a pair of old size 7 long Baleen needles I had sitting around - much better.
I hadn't realized how little I paid attention to my knitting. I need to increase 5 stitches evenly and I did a M1 because I am told it is invisible. Not so....it does in fact create a rather loose (read tiny hole). Knitting into the front and back creates a bump which as it turns out is a good thing when increasing in a rib pattern.
In an effort to "get it right" I find myself deep in the forums of Ravelry looking for discussions of unobtrusive increases. Fortunately, I found a reference in the forums on Ribbing Increases an article in Cast On Magazine. The article specifically targets The Knitting Guild of America's hand knitting masters program. So I will read, experiment with their recommendations and see what happens. A big thank you to the wonderful forum member who posted this link on Rav.
There is always a learning curve to what I call "how to learn". It is also true that the devil is in the details and I find that I am now getting a 3x5 card to title Swatch #1 tracking exactly the number of rows I am knitting, which row has the increase, making notes regarding what stitch I perform an increase on, etc. The Master's seems to be all about technical knowledge and expertise, and I have to get my incredibly lazy backside to go for perfect and not my usual 'good enough'. I will include a picture both here and on my project page on Ravelry. The project page will show the finished swatch but here you will find the devilish details that led to that finished product.
In the mean time back to swatching......gee when and if I get this first swatch done I only have 15 more to do, no wonder they give you a year to complete this program.
Things I learned on this swatch:
1. If you pull taunt the yarn on the 2nd stitch you are knitting on the row you have just started it will snug up the 1st stitch on the right hand needle making the side of your swatch much more even and not all loosey-goosey. Learned this from Eileen L. who learned it from Cat Bordhi.
2. The Bar Increase as defined as knitting into the back and front of the 2nd knit stitch in a P2K2 rib will be the most unobtrusive and seem to stay in pattern. This apparently is the increase of choice in a rib pattern.
 |
| Swatch #1 unblocked |
No comments:
Post a Comment