It's a bit disappointing to know that it takes a long time to be good enough to do kewl stuff like mittens, gloves, hats and socks. I've read that basically you need to have a solid, unchanging stitches if you are going to knit anything that is fitted.
What does worsted-weight mean? I've noticed that the terminology, measurements, and needle sizes are different from US to UK which makes it confusing for a beginner.
I got a 100g ball of yarn (is that a skein) yesterday. It's aran yarn which is smooth so I hope it will be easier to knit on. I'm not sure what size needles to use on it though. It says a few things: 4-5mm, UK 8-6, US 6-8. I guess for over here that means use either 4-5mm needles or sizes 8-6? In the bag of needles my MIL gave me, I have needles that say 5 but I don't know if that's mm or the size. I also don't know if the 100g (185 yards) is enough to get me a scarf. I got the ball out of the bargain bin and it was the only one of its colour.
100 grams is about 3.5 ounces...which will make a scarf if you use fairly large needles OR if you do a stitch with some loops in it. Worsted weight is (usually) 4-ply yarn - I think aran would qualify. It's a heavy weight yarn, but not bulky
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Eru, IME, there's nothing for it but try try again until you get the hang of it. Like typing or any manual skill, you need to get to the point until your hands do it without looking.
I hadn't touch the needles in some 15 years, but did pick them up last year. The stitches I turned out were atrocious, but as I picked a funky yarn with bits of bright fluff on it, it didn't matter so much. It just looked "artistic." :D Now I just need to take regular needle and pick up the stitches that are hanging off the sides. *whistle*
That's the thing isn't it? We're all pretty impatient nowadays and wish we could master something fast! My failure at something that seems pretty straight forward has spurned me on and I'm catching on.
i hated knitting. i had all the problems you're having and my tutors answer was to whack me and tell me to pay attention. Crocheting is so much easier.
I sooo feel your pain!!! But I am learning without any kind of tutor (other than youtube). I've been trying to get the hang of the basic knit stitch, and seem to have it down, but the ends aren't staying straight, they tend to round in. :/ I had to give it a break. I will conquer it eventually!!!
She goes very slowly and I found them helpful. There's also knittinghelp.com which has loads of videos...not so great quality but good enough.
I had problems with my edges as well, except they were loose and horrible looking. On knittinghelp.com she said to slip the first stitch so it only gets worked every other row and that did help, but now I've tried knitting the ends of rows at the very tips of my needles and pulling everything tight and my ends have improved drastically without having to use the slip stitch method.
I always hated knitting and still find it boring and ennoying. I hate the sound of the needles and strongly dislike knitted things which look home-made.
So, no advice, except that if you never learn to knit, you can live very well.
I'd like to talk to you one of thesed days... thinking of you, a lot.
I'm not a fan of repetitive tasks but for some strange reason I'm not finding knitting boring. Though I've not tried some massive project yet so we'll see. I also strongly dislike knitted stuff that looks homemade...there's plenty out there but there is other stuff that looks really lovely. I think if you're chosy with patterns and the type of yarn you use, you can have some nice looking stuff.
Luckily my needles hardly make any noise. :D :P
Thanks for the thoughts. *hugs* Hope everything is going okay for you.
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What does worsted-weight mean? I've noticed that the terminology, measurements, and needle sizes are different from US to UK which makes it confusing for a beginner.
I got a 100g ball of yarn (is that a skein) yesterday. It's aran yarn which is smooth so I hope it will be easier to knit on. I'm not sure what size needles to use on it though. It says a few things: 4-5mm, UK 8-6, US 6-8. I guess for over here that means use either 4-5mm needles or sizes 8-6? In the bag of needles my MIL gave me, I have needles that say 5 but I don't know if that's mm or the size. I also don't know if the 100g (185 yards) is enough to get me a scarf. I got the ball out of the bargain bin and it was the only one of its colour.
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I hadn't touch the needles in some 15 years, but did pick them up last year. The stitches I turned out were atrocious, but as I picked a funky yarn with bits of bright fluff on it, it didn't matter so much. It just looked "artistic." :D Now I just need to take regular needle and pick up the stitches that are hanging off the sides. *whistle*
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Crocheting is so much easier.
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I like the look of a lot of knitted stuff...but also don't have a clue about crocheting!
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The internets have still been quite helpful though. You said you've been using YouTube...so have you ran across this person's videos?
http://www.youtube.com/user/cyberseams
She goes very slowly and I found them helpful. There's also knittinghelp.com which has loads of videos...not so great quality but good enough.
I had problems with my edges as well, except they were loose and horrible looking. On knittinghelp.com she said to slip the first stitch so it only gets worked every other row and that did help, but now I've tried knitting the ends of rows at the very tips of my needles and pulling everything tight and my ends have improved drastically without having to use the slip stitch method.
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So, no advice, except that if you never learn to knit, you can live very well.
I'd like to talk to you one of thesed days... thinking of you, a lot.
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Luckily my needles hardly make any noise. :D :P
Thanks for the thoughts. *hugs* Hope everything is going okay for you.
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I hope you'll find a project an a pattern you like.
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