The Perfect Finish

Finishing a knitted or crocheted project brings a huge sense of achievement whether it is a small pair of gloves or a large blanket.  But for me one of the projects I most dread finishing is one that needs to be sewn up.  I have a couple of projects languishing in my craft basket.  One of them is an intricate Fair Isle project that I spent ages knitting and the other is a mass of small granny squares. They won’t take long to put together, not compared to the amount of time they took to make. It’s very common for knitters and crocheters not to look forward to putting a project together because they aren’t confident of their making up skills. I have seen many beautiful pieces of knitting ruined by poor finishing and sewing up.  But there are a few simple steps that will really help. 

Before you even think about sewing your pieces together we recommend that you block them.  Many of you will be familiar with blocking for lace shawls, but it is also very important for garments.  If your tension means that your knitted piece is not quite the same measurements as the pattern, you can use blocking to ease it to the correct dimensions, making the fit so much better. When making squares for blankets, some might not be the uniform size.   By blocking them you can make sure they are all identical making sewing up so much easier.  We recommend that you don’t put your iron directly on your piece of knitting but rather pin it into the shape you want, hold the iron above it and press steam.

Jane Crowfoot, who wrote the book Finishing Techniques for Hand Knitting recommends one technique very highly when it comes to sewing two pieces of knitting together.  It’s mattress stitch or ladder stitch and it is really easy to pick up. Your two pieces of knitting face you with the right side of your work facing and you zig zag your sewing between one piece and the other.  The reason it is so revered is that when you pull the yarn that you’ve been sewing with tight, the seam that is created is almost invisible. 

Have a look at this video.

For a really neat finish on a shoulder or to finish a pair of socks, grafting or Kitchener stitch is a really valuable technique to learn, giving you a really neat finish. The formula for Kitchener stitch takes a little memorising but once you get in to the rhythm it’s great fun to see your project looking so good.

So when you put so much time into practising and perfecting your craft or into creating a beautiful garment or project, isn’t it worth spending a little bit of time to learn how to finesse your knitting or crochet and make your project something you can be really proud of.

What is your favourite tip?  Leave a comment and one of you will win a prize.

For the Love of Lace

Rock Island by Brooklyn Tweed

Lace knitting can be addictive. Once you have the bug you can find yourself browsing more and more elaborate patterns and building a collection of wraps and shawls in a wide range of stunning colours.

But when you contemplate your first lace pattern it can seem that the whole process is full of arcane secrets you have winkle out the clues to.

So here are our top tips for lace knitting from knitters and designers who love it.

Choosing your first lace project

Start with something in 4ply rather than laceweight yarn. It will be easier to see your stitches while learning new techniques and easier to correct mistakes. Other than that the main criteria is something that you will definitely want to finish even if you get frustrated.

Charts

Most lace patterns will have charts. While you need to learn what the symbols mean, charts are useful because they give you an idea of what your lace should look like.

On a chart each square is a stitch and the symbol in the square tells you what to do – k2tog, yarn over, knit, etc. Rightside rows are read right to left – the same way you work the stitches – and wrongside rows go back the other way, left to right.

It is a good idea to tick off each row as you work to keep track of the pattern but it can be also be useful to find a way to only look at the chart row you are working on, for example photocopying the charts so they are larger and folding the complete rows under, or using Post-its to underline the row you’re working on. Or you can buy magnetic chart markers and chart keepers like these  where you use a magnetic strip to mark your place.

Repeats

Most lace patterns are made up of a set of stitches repeated across the row or part of the row. On your chart the stitches and rows in a repeat will be outlined by a thick or coloured line.

One tip is to place a stitch marker at the start of every repeat and at the end of the final one. This means you will always know when you are starting the repeat and it is a lot easier to keep track of five sets of 20 stitches than 100. And if you make a mistake you are more likely to spot it.

Life lines

Life lines are another great way of keeping track of your lace and reduce the risk that a mistake will involve ripping out large amounts of your project. A life line is a fine thread (such as sewing cotton) run through all the stitches in a row so that if you have to rip back, the stitches from that row will be held by the cotton and easily slipped back on your needles.

Traditionally life lines are put in by threading a darning needle with the cottom through each stitch. But if you use KnitPro interchangeables there is an easier way. Before starting the row, thread the cotton through the hole in the right hand needle and knit as normal. As your stitches slide down onto the cable, the cotton will be fed through them.

Add a life line at the end of a repeat or chart or when you are starting a new stitch pattern.

Blocking

Blocking brings out the beauty of your lace. It means stretching out your lace when damp so the pattern is flattened out and you have a lighter looking finished piece. It would take a blog post on its own so here are a couple of tips.

Firstly, “be brave”, your lace will stretch out a lot.

It is a good idea to block with an inch tape in hand so that you can check your piece is symmetrical. You can pin your damp piece to dry towels on a flat surface but your will get a more professional finish using blocking wires and foam blocking mats. You can thread the wires through stitches on the straight edges of your piece and secure them with pins at regular intervals giving you’re a straighter finish and a firmer base to stretch from.

So be brave – learning to knit lace opens up a whole new world of knitting.

We’d love to hear of any tips you’d like to share with us

We are running a KAL for the Lace Ribbon Shawl on our Ravelry Group and we love you to join us.

Toy Story

Amineko Crocheted Cat by Nekoyama

Knitting and crocheting toys is a hobby many of us enjoy.  You don't have to commit the time you would to a garment and there is something very satisfying about working on a small scale in a very precise way.  No matter who you make toys for we want to make sure you get the most out of it and we have asked our favourite toy designers to pass on some tips to help you get the most out of your hard work.

Make sure you have the right tools to hand.  Double Pointed Needles in a variety of lengths and sizes are an absolute must.  We always have a handful of stitch markers and a tapestry needle for the sewing up as well as a pair of good sharp scissors.

      Kirstie McLeod from Simply Knitting advises you to go down a needle or hook size from what you would normally use to make your fabric is firmer.  Whether you are crocheting or knitting, you don't want the stuffing to show through.

Block all the pieces of your toy before you start sewing them up.  It allows you to reshape your work and get it nice and flat to make sewing easier.

Girl Fox in a Flowery Flock

We are huge fans of Little Cotton Rabbits and Julie has some great ideas when it comes to stuffing;

“    Knitted fabric has a lot of stretch and unlike a firm woven fabric it will expand to the shape of the stuffing inside. No matter how good your shaping is on a knitted piece, the way in which you stuff will be more crucial in determining the finished shape. I find that putting in small amounts of stuffing and building up a shape works best for me rather than pushing in a large wad all at once.”

     

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Kerry Lord from Toft Alpaca who brought us Edward’s Menagerie likes her toys squidgy and gets the effect she wants by not putting too much stuffing in but making sure it is well distributed.

So whether you are trying for first amigarumi or your 20^th Teddy Bear, we hope our tips will be helpful to you in your craft.

We love Ravelry.  It gives us such a great opportunity to see what you are all knitting.  Thank you for putting up your pictures of projects on your KnitPros and please keep posting to our group here

This is a lovely example.

Malhadeira is knitting Sherilyn which is by Ysolda Teague from Whimsical Little Knits 3.  It is a fantastic shawl and so wearable.  Malhadeira has chosen Malabrigo lace yarn which is one of our most favourite lace yarns.

KnitPro needles are particularly good for lace knitting because of their sharp points which make knitting each tiny stitch so much easier.  We hope you will try Karbonz circulars.  They make lace knitting a dream.

And what do we have on our needles?  As you can see they are Symfonie interchangeables and the pattern is called Sunstruck by Laura Aylor in a wonderful yarn from Yorkshire called  Titus from BaaRam Ewe. 

Don't forget to leave us a comment.  We will be selecting a lucky winner at random to receive a pair of Nova Cubix  needles in the size of their choice.

Winner + Making Waves with KnitPro

Giveaway Winner
Congratulations to Vicki Browning! Their comment was randomly selected to win this month's giveaway for our new Comby II Sampler Set which contains interchangeable needle pairs from our Karbonz, Bamboo and Nova Cubics lines! We've contacted Vicki to arrange for the delivery of their prize. Thanks to everyone who entered this month's giveaway!

Introducing Waves Crochet Hooks

Make waves with our brand-new line of glamourous crochet hooks this fall!

Our new Waves crochet hooks feature our signature smooth finish aluminum hooks and colourful soft-feel handles. Waves come in 13 vibrant and trendy colour options, each of which are unique to its size.

KnitPro Waves crochet hooks are also available in sets! Packaged in a handy faux leather zippered case, each set contains 9 hook sizes ranging from 2.00mm-6.00mm. Choose from fluorescent green or fluorescent pink to build your crochet hook library!

KnitPro on Pinterest + Giveaway!

KnitPro Comby II Sampler Set contains
Karbonz, Japanese Bamboo & Nova Cubics Needle Tips. 

Exciting news: KnitPro is now on Pinterest! Many of our fans are already sharing their crafty inspiration via pinboards. We've decided to join in the fun and share our favourite products, crafting tips, tutorials and pattern inspiration for our knitting and crocheting fans!

We hope you'll stop by to see what we've been pinning and follow our boards. To sweeten the deal, we'll be randomly selecting one of our Pinterest followers to win a KnitPro Comby II Sampler Set on our next blog post. Leave a comment here to say hello and share a link to your own Pinterest board so that fellow KnitPro fans can follow you! Also, be sure to leave a way for us to contact you if you win (Ravelry ID or email address).

Let's get pinning - Click here to follow KnitPro on Pinterest!

Winner + Sneak Peek: New KnitPro Products!

We've got three lucky winners for our KnitPro Shawl Pin giveaway this month: Anna, Isa and Riyuuhi  we will be contacting you to arrange for the delivery of your prize. Congratulations!

Our newest needles and accessories will soon be arriving at a shop near you - below is a sneak peek of just a few of the exciting new products to join the KnitPro family:

Nova Cubics

Our crowd-pleasing cuboid shaped needles are now available in shiny brass! These new needles will be available in Single Point, Double Point, Fixed Circular and Interchangeable and will also include sets for these options!

Karbonz 

Enjoy expanded size options for Interchangeable, Double Point and Single Point Karbonz needles! Our high-tech carbon fiber needles with brass tips are a real crowd-pleaser, and now you can choose from several Karbonz DPN and Interchangeable sets to add to your needle collection.

Bamboo 

Our newest range of knitting needles and crochet hooks is made with the finest Japanese bamboo! Our Bamboo circular needles all feature 24k gold plated connectors, giving us a "gold edge" over other bamboo needles on the market! Choose from Single Point, Double Point, Fixed Circular and Interchangeable knitting needles and Single Ended and Tunisian crochet hooks. We also have knitting and crochet sets in this exciting new line!

Waves 

Our new colour-coded aluminum crochet hooks with soft grip handles are vibrant and trendy. They're available in thirteen individual sizes or as a set featuring 9 hooks in an attractive pink or green case.

Comby Set II

Get to know KnitPro with our new sampler set which includes interchangeable tips from our Karbonz, Bamboo and Nova Cubics needle lines!

Blocking Mats

We are introducing a range of lace blocking accessories this fall, from wires and T-pins to interlocking mats. Now it will be easier than ever to achieve a beautiful project from start to finish with KnitPro products - be sure to ask about our other new accessories at your LYS, too!