#but at least that was stockinette

[flecks-of-stardust]

fixing cables is annoying. i just spent 30 minutes on five rows : D

[dinosaurcharcuterie]

Knitting Brioche Cat Hat 2.0, not because I want to, but because I love my wife.

Progress is going a bit like:

Knit on a half hour drive, changing yarns while going through a curve at 70 kmh: 5 cm of progress

Take it to the sauna stuffed unceremoniously into a robe pocket, knit half-heartedly while recovering from heat and falling asleep on a lounger, have the center pull ball collapse and spend 40 minutes untangling and rewining: well over 7 cm of progress

knit for an hour at home: Somehow, 0,5 cm of progress.

decide to count repeats and get 5 cm of progress on the first three, despite knitting at 7mm per repeat.

Decide not to question it.

Lose 1,5 cm of progress on the next three repeats that definitely definitely got knitted

Yeah, no, get back in the shuttle, this thing is haunted.

[dhwty-writes]

sometimes i just really don't know about my thought process. i feel like if the problem is "none of my sweaters fit anymore" the obvious solution should not be "i'll just knit one!" and yet. here we are

[deermouth]

have you ever done embroidery? i tried it when i was young and never got the hang of it

i have and it's a hobby i really enjoy and want to improve at but i haven't figured out the right impetus for my brain to keep me keeping at it. i love textile arts in general (esp bc I'm not really a visual artist in the sense of drawing, and bc soo many blood relatives of mine are textile artists) but feel like i'm kind of in a holding pattern til i can figure out how to get myself to work on projects consistently.

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

almost done with my first ever sock!

This was supposed to be just a fun on-the-go project with not a lot of expectations and very cheap yarn, because my main project rn is a bulky cardigan and also just endless stockinette that looks nice but does not provide adequate enrichment. And this pattern is doing all of those things! I thought they were going to be too loose at first, but they're doing surprisingly alright.

However, I noped out of the reinforced heel and did a very simple one instead, and, uh... I think these socks might wear through if I look at them too hard, let alone walk on them for a while. Which is a shame, because I'm actually starting to really like them. Alas, I refuse to unravel half this sock at this point. Am vaguely tempted to make the other heel stronger - but then I'd just have two mismatched socks, which probably doesn't make them any more practical. Whelp, I guess these are gonna become strictly couch-and-bed socks...

[roboticchibitan]

Okay, I've made enough "blease knit gauge swatches. Swatchless projects killedy family" posts. This post is an informational post a out gauge swatches. It will mainly be written in knitting terms because that is my main craft but it applies to crochet too. Even if you're an experienced crafter, you might learn something from this post. I talk about different reasons to make a swatch and some reasons a swatch might lie to you.

What is gauge?

Gauge is the size of your stitches, ie how wide and tall they are. It can be affected by the way you hold the yarn, your tension, and your needle/hook size. In knitting the style you knit can affect this, with the tendency being that English style is usually, but not always, tighter than continental. When I went from knitting English style to knitting Norwegian style, my gauge drastically changed to be much looser.

What is a gauge swatch?

A gauge swatch is a small piece of work that you use to measure your stitches per inch and rows per inch gauge. "Standard" gauge swatches are 4in/10cm squares, but often you'll see different sizes, especially for lace patterns that have you test knitting a certain chart or stitch

Why do we make gauge swatches?

We make gauge swatches to check if our gauge is the same as the pattern designer's gauge. Because you want your gauge to be the same as the pattern designer's so you know your size XL sweater will actually be size XL or your six foot in diameter shawl will actually be six feet across. Or that your airy and beautiful lace will actually be airy and beautiful and not too dense or too loose.

We also might swatch if we are substituting yarns. For example, a blocked lace swatch of wool will have different dimensions than a blocked lace swatch of pure silk because silk is less stretchy than wool. So if you are substituting fibers, you want to know that you'll like the finished item and might swatch a bit of the pattern before starting in earnest so you don't waste your time making something you'll be dissatisfied with.

There's also some differences between yarns of the same fiber and same weight. Some lace weight yarn is categorized as lace weight while being 600 yds per 100g, and some lace weight yarn is 800 yds or 1000 yds per 100g. So you should knit a swatch when substituting yarn even if they are the same fiber and weight if they are different yardage per gram ratios.

Do I always need to make a gauge swatch?

I talk a lot about the importance of gauge swatches but the honest answer is no, you do not always need to make a gauge swatch. If you are making something that doesn't require a certain size or airiness of pattern, like a bag or a simple scarf, you don't need to do a gauge swatch.

How do I make a gauge swatch?

Most patterns have a simple gauge listed, such as 22 stitches by 18 rows is 4in/10cm square in stockinette. However, some patterns have an "in pattern" gauge swatch or a separate pattern/chart for their swatch. So you cast on however many stitches (I often cast on a few more than the swatch calls for, but you don't have to), and knit that many rows in whatever pattern is specifed. If it's stockinette, knit stockinette. If it's "in pattern," locate the repeating part of the pattern and knit the designated amount of rows. If there is a separate pattern/chart for the swatch, knit as directed. Bind off. Don't measure on the needle, it will lie to you.

Then, you want to treat the swatch how you'll treat the finished object. If you're not going to block the finished object, measure it as is. But if you're going to block the finished object (and most things you should tbh blocking hides so many sins), you get the swatch wet, pin it out to shape, and then leave it to dry.

THEN! And nobody talks about this step for some reason and it's been the reason swatches lied to me in the past. Unpin it and let it rest. Different people give different time amounts for this resting. I'd let it rest at least three hours but some people recommend up to a week. The reason for this resting period is that many yarns, especially wool and other animal fibers, have elasticity to them. They'll rebound back a bit. Cotton and linen will have less rebound than things like wool. I'm not 100% sure where acrylic falls on that scale since I hate the texture of most acrylics.

OK I made and blocked the swatch and let it rest, what do I do now?

Now you measure! Does your stitches/rows ratio match up with the pattern designer's? Compare your gauge to the listed gauge. If it is different, you need to adjust needle/hook sizes. If your swatch is larger than the given measurements, your gauge is too loose and you need to go down one (or several) needle/hook sizes. If your swatch is smaller, your gauge is too tight and you need to go up one (or more) needle/hook sizes. At this point you can say "it's probably just one size up/down" and start your project, or you can repeat the entire swatch process. If unsure, repeat.

That's cool, can we see an example?

Sure! Here are two swatches I have pinned out.

I didn't follow my own advice about swatching and just started the Sapphira Lace Shawl on the recommended size 4 needles, but I got all the way through the first repeat of the body chart and then frogged the whole thing because my gauge was so loose you couldn't even see the pattern.

The Sapphira Lace Shawl has a separate pattern just for the gauge swatch and says "gauge is not important, swatch in lace pattern and use comfortable needle size to achieve airy lace that is not too holey." Too holey means that the stitches and yarn overs are so loose you cannot properly make out the pattern at all. That's what happened when I used size 4 needles.

The swatches you see here were knitted on size 2 (top) and 3 (bottom) needles. I knitted the bottom swatch first but was unsure if I liked the result so I went down another needle size and knitted a second swatch.

You'll notice the size 2 swatch is smaller and it's easier to make out the design. The stitches are smaller and denser, so the places where decreases and plain knit stitches are grouped together are easier to see. Versus the size 3 swatch where the stitches are looser and it's a bit harder to make out the design, though not impossible. On size four needled my stitches were so loose you couldn't really make out the design at all. With these swatches pinned out, I personally like the size 2 swatch better. However! That may change once I let the swatches rest for a while!

This yarn is an alpaca/silk mix. Alpaca is known for stretching out and not holding its shape. It's not ideal for lace. Silk is very good at holding its shape, but not very stretchy. I'm hoping together they make an okay yarn for lace because separately neither is my preference for lace. It was what I had on hand that was dyeable. Alpaca has some elasticity so it will spring back once I unpin it and let it rest. At that point, I may like the size 3 swatch better. I won't know until I get there.

I'll try to remember to post pictures of the rested swatches tomorrow to show if there's any difference. I might work up another swatch on size 4 needles to show what "too holey" looks like but that's more of a "how to knit lace" educational swatch than a "how to knit swatches" educational swatch so I might not bother.

That's it, that's the post. I'm sure my knitting mutuals will have comments and things to add so check the notes.

[iknityounot]

Ok, so my last post about the issues of plus sized patterns popped off in a way I did not expect??

I just want to come back and say: making patterns is hard work and especially those who make their patterns free online, it is a LOT of hard work that the designer gets nothing back for. I didn't mean for it to sound like I thought that was an easy thing to do.

But, like a lot of people pointed out in the tags and comments, fashion world has already done the leg work for us. There are size charts and mathematical equations you can do to scale your pieces in such a way that at least matches what you would see in stores. I think, honestly, that this is where the break down is. I think pattern makers take bust/chest measurements, and scale all of their numbers from there, without thinking about their piece as clothing (instead of just a knitting project, if that makes sense).

And I think that's where fat people get left behind. Because our bodies don't scale the way you would scale up a hat or mittens or something. It takes added work and added care to think about fat people and how our bodies look and work (hence why my previous post said "please talk to a fat person"--it's not that we know how to make patterns, but that we can advise what works for our bodies!)

I want to end on a helpful note, if I can:

My favorite pattern maker for plus sized projects is Jacqueline Cieslak!

I have bought a couple of patterns from them, and I have never had the not-for-fat-bodies problems I have had before. They have a handful of different styles, many of which are very customizable. Not to mention that the patterns themselves are VERY thorough. They link to tutorial videos they have made for anything more complicated than a stockinette stitch, and have lots of detailed diagrams showing different measurements for different parts of the project.

Anytime I am making a piece for myself or my other plus sized love ones, I go to Jacqueline first! Hopefully their patterns will help anyone who identified with my previous post find some patterns that work for them!

[milkweedman]

I'm at "can knit, but requires lots of focus". I've been knitting for like 6 or 7 years at least now, I just can't remember sequences in my head, so the overwhelming majority of my knitting is plain stockinette, lol.

[vashti-lives]

My plan for the day has been completely derailed, I was going to spend it knitting. I downloaded a long podfic for a fic I had already read and I haven’t knit since Thursday SPECIFICALLY so I could knit all fucking day today and not touch my goddamn phone or refresh social media.

Anyway I woke up with lightly achy hands for no fucking reason and I knitting is aggravating the issue.

I have my next project all lined up— so I at least caked some yarn so it’ll be ready to go. I’m excited, I haven’t done much lace knitting but this looks doable and is basically just a raglan cardigan with some extra details, so it shouldn’t be so bad.

The cuff of this sweater needs one row and then to be cast off so I think I’ll at least do that— and then maybe the alpaca in stockinette won’t aggravate things as much :(

Sweater I just want to finish you…

[journeyman-tier-fibercraft]

Man finished! I rate him a solid very cute out of ten.

This guy was published as a doily insert plus edging for a linen table cloth (seen Here). The linen part was of zero interest to me so I knit him as a stand alone doily and I very much prefer him as such. Chart A (the "doily") and Chart B (the "edging") match up for knitting in the round as a single doily.

Below the read more is going to refer a lot to the charts, which I got from the amazing Ramona French. While this is the only version of the charts I've seen, looking at the Rav page it seems to also be cut into A and B charts in the same spot. It makes sense in context of the original pattern but I don't like it, both for the reason i'll get to below and also because I straight up just don't like how it looks in the original pattern.

Even without the alterations I'll propose, I think he's a good doily just as he is. The problems I have are barely noticeable/nitpicky now that he's blocked out.

Starting with the edging vs doily distinction. This problem starts with the original pattern since it has you knit chart A for the insertion and chart B for the edging around every insertion and the linen tablecloth edges. But divorcing the actual charts from the linen, the charts really should be rows 1-31 of A as the "doily" and Chart A rows 33-41 and all of chart B for the "edging". The reason I'm so specific about this is because it's focus for any changes I would make. The end of chart A and the beginning of chart B flow together perfectly. It's where the doily/center flower ends (Row 31) and the edging begins (Row 33) that is the problem spot.

(I should've picked a darker colour foam to block this out on, sorry if it's hard to see)

The large center petals (doily) end with a yo, twisted knit 1, yo at the very tip. Then the set up row for the edging is all knits with a yarn over... that is off center of the petal. In a more personal gripe, I don't like how the mesh in the flower portion looks next to the edging. It's not bad (and would probably bother me less if it weren't off center) but it's not my favourite.

The mesh not looking nice next to the edging is an easy fix that comes directly from a doily that has a very similar feel to this one. Sechsblatt is another doily I've knit and also has a 6 petaled flower with mesh between the petals and an edging, but it's edging is separated by several rows of plain stockinette. In my revised chart I added just one odd numbered row of stockinette. I'm not 100% on this change, it's something that you just can't know if it looks good until it's swatched out.

The change I am 100% on is centering the yarn over to be directly above the tip of the center flower petal. There's a number of ways to do so, I'm honestly surprised it wasn't done for the original pattern. My revised chart moves the k2tog on row 35 to directly over the center stitch of the petal, which required moving the start of the repeat one stitch left. This also needs swatched out but I'm fairly confident it'll line up, at least better that just being blatantly off center like it is in the original, and since the k2tog was just moved instead of being added, the stitch count should still work out.

All other changes to the chart were simply made for personal preference/printing convenience.

Eventually I'll knit this revised version but I don't have a timeline on that yet, knitting the same thing multiple times is bad for my attention span. Regardless I would wait because I want to see how the crochet bind off holds up. I usually pin out every chain of the crochet bind out individually but I thought pinning two together looked really good on this particular doily. It made the blocking process a lot tighter. That could've been because I accidentally stretched it too much in the first place (I forgot this doily was 6 parts instead of 8) but it was incredibly funny to behold.

[elisela]

2025 fiber arts resolutions

i'm trying to be more intentional about using my stash and not mindlessly buying a lot of yarn because it's pretty, so i thought i'd go through what i have and write out my planned projects for the year so i don't fall into the trap of buying yarn when i already have something that suits my purpose.

works in progress

snow dress. started december 2nd. i finished the 3 color stranded work last night and have two more charts to get through before it's straight stockinette. hoping to get this done by mid-january!

yantar gloves. started november 11th. second glove syndrome struck but also i had just bought the yarn for the snow dress and i wanted to cast that on right away.

van isle baby blanket. started august 5th. cast this on as something to do after i finished a sweater and haven't gotten very far. supposed to be my in-between projects project but turns out i'm really bad at not starting a bunch of new stuff immediately.

granny stripe blanket. never put this in ravelry but oh boy i started this at least two years ago.

planned projects

string of lights socks. using the christmas yarn that i got at urban craft uprising from sunny day fiber.

book club cardigan. using berroco vintage dk in mocha.

it's not a sweatshirt. this is what i have planned for my elsebeth lavold silky tweed but i may change my mind.

mossblossom. i don't have yarn for this yet--i want a deep green color but i haven't found the right one.

heirloom quilt cardigan. pretty sure i'm going to use up my stash of greenletterday yarn for this. when i was organizing my stash i tried to figure out if i had enough and in a color palette i liked and i think i do? i need to figure that out sooner rather than later so i can keep my eye on their monthly colors in case i do.

the simple thing scarf. lala wanted a scarf, i'm a sucker who does what she wants

scarf using manos del uruguay alegría grande yarn. haven't gotten around to choosing the pattern yet.

other

le pouf sweater. started in july 2023, finished the body and really disliked it. need to frog but it's held double and i just ... never feel like doing it.

wrap me up sweater scarf. didn't put it on ravelry and i can't remember when i started, it's tedious and i made it bulkier because i thought it'd be warmer but i made a mistake. it's unwieldy. i need to frog it but again ... i held the yarn double.

[dinosaurcharcuterie]

I've not knitted much in public in Germany while living here for +10 years. Turns out, people have Thoughts and Opinions. Occasionally, from grannies, just like Norwegian grannies, about how "you are making those stitches incorrectly", usually followed by them yanking my knitting towards them to show me where it looks wrong and then a baffled "how on earth are you making them that EVEN?". But, usually, they're nice ones.

Today, I got questions and compliments and positivity showered upon me at both bus rides. Which would have been nice if the first one didn't almost make me miss my bus and the second one was because an old lady shamed me off my seat to... the more accessible, free seats... While I was struggling not to vomit from cramps.

Second lady thought I was being too self conscious and just complimented harder in an attempt to keep the conversation going.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Cardigan update!

Incase you dunno I’m knitting my mum a cardigan for her birthday. I have never knitted a cardigan before and I have a month to do it.

So you know no pressure and I must keep it a surprise (said mother just walked in and said I look sus so maybe not doing the best job.

And I wasn’t even knitting.)

Anyway it’s been about a week and the left front panel is completed.

The right front panel is almost done. I just need to finish the darn armhole shaping so that should be done tomorrow hopefully.

I may have messed up and done both my panels the wrong way round? I could not tell you what I did because I have no idea.

I messed about and they both look how they should so that’s that.

I haven’t worked with chunky yarn in a long arse time so seeing it knit up this quick was a nice surprise. I say chunky but I just used two strands of dk (patons fab dk, burgandy) together.

But you know it counts.

Also this pattern (The beginner cardigan by The Blue Mouse) only requires 845 yards for the size and length I’m doing.

Which is wild.

That’s the least amount I have ever seen. I am sceptical but I will trust it, obviously clearly they know what they’re doing.

I was gonna do the longer size but you know I’m already flying too close to the sun. I hink if I have any left I’ll make pockets maybe.

Probably not the best idea to make my first cardigan in such conditions whole doing other stuff that’s due on the same day.

But I’m kinda glad because I would not get this done otherwise. Listen there are some people who love and enjoy working in stockinette. It’s relaxing, fun and all the love to those folk.

I am not one of those people. I need variety. I tried making a jumper with this exact yarn (why I have it in the first place) and I took it apart mid way through because I was bored.

Was gnawing at the bars of my enclosure for some enrichment. And that’s why my current jumper project has many cables.

So luckily having a looming deadline has provided me with enough motivation (while not forgetting to take many breaks.) And despite my apparent sus-ness she has no idea.

And so we continue.

[clove-pinks]

Given some ongoing discussions, might I ask,on this fine 1830s Thursday, if you have any contemporary portrayals of men in fashions that make a good display of their legs?:D

Do I ever! By coincidence, last night I was looking through the Gavarni artwork in the Boston Public Library collection, and found Un Bal - À la Chaussée d'Antin.

Men in evening costume galore, with their elegant tiny feet and snug pantaloons, but unfortunately the size of the image and resolution isn't very good.

There's at least some evidence of men padding their calves, as late as 1834. That might be the case for a gentleman emulating the look of this 1835 fashion plate (Rijksmuseum):

The 1830s may not be a time of male legs vacuum-sealed in stockinette like the 1810s, but they remain an area of focus, especially as stripes and checks appear with the 1840s on the horizon. From La Mode in 1830, a fashion plate after a drawing by Paul Gavarni (Rijksmuseum):

The fellow in the red hunting outfit has an appreciative audience!

[autisticlittleman]

GUYS I'm pissed. I misread this knitting pattern for a sweater vest, reading "until work measures 11 inches from MARKED ROW" as "until work measures 11 inches" so now my vest is a good 3 or 4 inches too short. if I wanted to fix it I would have to frog at LEAST 40 rows on multiple worked pieces and redo them, PLUS another few inches of stockinette. I really don't want to just live with the vest being too short but UGHH if only I had the reading comprehension to have noticed before I started doing all the shaping.

it's not just a solid color, either! I HAD to go ahead and make it striped. 14 color changes in those 40 rows. god damn it.

[merlions]

Cabled Cat Motif

Posted on request by @deathreceptors 😊 lmk if you need any extra explanation or tips or translations of my notation or anything!

Written to be worked flat, but can be made to work in round by just switching even numbered rows' Ks to Ps and vice versa! Aside from row 14, all even rows are just just K-ing the Ks and P-ing the Ps of your previous row anyways :)

Cable notation:

KC2B (knit cable 2 back): slip 2 sts to cable needle and hold in back, K next two sts on left needle, K sts from cable needle. Leans embossed shape outwards to the right.

KC2F: same as KC2B but hold cable needle with 2 stitches in front instead. Leans shape outwards to the left.

PC1B: slip 1 st to cab needle, hold in back, K1 from left needle, P1 from cab. Leans shape inwards to the right.

PC1F: slip 1 st to cab, hold in front, P1 from left needle, K1 from cab. Leans shape inwards to the left.

Pattern:

CO 14 or more sts. Motif is 14 sts wide (st count increases and then decreases again, which adds to 3D embossing effect, but starts and ends with 14sts) and this pattern only describes the motif w.o any border, but I always find a border of at least 2 or 3 stockinette sts, on either side of the motif P block, for contrast, looks really nice!

(RS) Row 0a (setup): stockinette 2 or 3 rows, or as many as you'd like

(WS) Row 0b (setup): K across

(RS) R1: P6, M1R, K2, M1L, P6 (16sts)

(WS) R2: K7, P4, K7

R3: P4, KC2B, KC2F, P4

R4: K4, P8, K4

R5: P2, KC2B, K4, KC2F, P2

R6: K2, P12, K2

R7: P2, M1R, K12, M1L, P2 (18sts)

R8: K2, P14, K2

R9: P2, SL1, K12, SL1, P2

R10: rep row 8

R11: rep row 9

R12: rep row 8

R13: rep row 9

R14: K2, P6, K2, P6, K2

R15: P2, K4, PC1B, P2, PC1F, K4, P2

R16: K2, P5, K4, P5, K2

R17: P2, SL1, K2, PC1B, P4, PC1F, K2, SL1, P2

R18: K2, P4, K6, P4, K2

R19: P2, SL1, K1, K2TOG, P6, SSK, K1, SL1, P2 (16 sts)

R20: K2, P3, K6, P3, K2

R21: P2, PC1F, K1, P6, K1, PC1B, P2

R22: K3, P2, K6, P2, K3

R23: P3, K2TOG, P6, SSK, P3 (14 sts)

(WS) R24: K across

(RS) R25: K across

(WS) R26: P across

Cont in stockinette or whatever you'd like! But I do find it looks best to close the shape off on top with one row of purls and then a minimum of 2 rows of knits, when looking at the RS of the piece.

There are like at least 3 different variances I tried and I liked this one, but I could also see it being a little jackal-like with the long ears, and it might be your preference to do the 2nd decrease row a row or two earlier than in this version. Another variance is switching one or two of the cables and/or decreases for the ears to the inner side of the ears to make them taper more to the center of each half of the face instead of following the outside line. I didn't like that shape as much for my project but everyone's taste is different!

I sewed on eyes but it works maybe even better with safety eyes. And sewing on the whiskers add a huge amount, really changes the shape and makes it look really good and cat-like really quickly.

Happy craftin yall! 🥰