Tight Knitters, Let it GO!

tight, uneven knitting tension

No to knitters have the same natural gauge or
tension.  It would be great if we did, but we don't.  Instead we work to "get gauge", or make our swatch have the same stitch count per inch as the pattern recommends.  One type of knitter seems to have more trouble establishing gauge than others - the tight knitter.  This problem starts when you first learn to knit, and if you don't break it, it follows you for the length of your knitting life.

I'm talking to and about the knitters whose wrists hurt from trying to force the needles into each stitch.  The knitters whose work never slips off the needle because the stitches are strangling the needle.  The knitters who can't imagine how people perform the magic trick of cabling, because every time they try, they break the cable needle due to extreme stitch tension.  Does your stockinette stitch always look wavy, even after blocking?  Then this is for you.

wavy knitting due to knitting too tightly below,
 corrected tension above

Besides the fact that it's physically uncomfortable to knit this way, why stop knitting so tightly?  Well, it's definitely going to improve the look of your knitting.  Loosening up will allow you to explore a variety of stitches that have never worked for you before.  And knitting at an average gauge extends the life of the garment you create.  (Why?  We'll get to that in a minute.)

How do you stop choking the needle?  First, commit to breaking this habit.  Just take my word for it, this works.  In between every step of the stitch, let go of yarn and needle and put your hand in your lap.  Put your needle into the stitch- hand in the lap.  Wrap the yarn around the needle- hand in the lap.  Draw the new stitch through the old- hand in the lap.  And start again.  After the first couple of rows, it gets much easier. 

check your tension

Now look at the knitting you've created with the new method.  It's much looser, and it's very, very even.  Did you need to learn to hold your needles in a slightly different angle so the work didn't slide?  Did you see that holding on to the yarn for dear life didn't, in fact, create any benefits?  Great.  Now, slowly but surely, as you move forward in your swatch, you can return to holding your yarn, but loosely this time.  At the end of every row, assess the tension of the stitches on the needle.  If you see that you're tightening up again, return to putting your hand in your lap.  Cool, huh?

When you pick up your work next time, repeat the exercise.  Do this until you check the last row you've worked, and it isn't tightening up.  You'll see that it doesn't take too many sittings.  You're most susceptible to going back to tight knitting when you're on autopilot.  But after a few sittings, regular tension will become second nature. 

Why do your garments suffer when you strangle the needle?  Because all the added tension you put on the yarn stresses the fibers.  They no longer behave the way they were designed to.  Flexibility and loft are lost, and twist is exaggerated.  This exaggerating causes the knitting to twist or bias on the diagonal as the yarn tries to return to its relaxed state.  Everything you do to the fabric you've created after it has been knit in very high tension breaks down the yarn, causing pilling, more twisting, messy edges, and irregular wear patterns.  Enjoy the fruits of appropriate tension.  You'll find it's faster and much more satisfying.

Why Doesn't My Knitting Look Like That?!

Have you ever knit a pattern faithfully, only to have it come out looking very different from the picture on the pattern?  There may be good reason!

IT'S THE PATTERN

1.  The photo may not be of the pattern as written.  Sometimes in the process of knitting the sample for a pattern, corrections are made, but the sample isn't re-knit.  Don't you hate when that happens?  But with publishing deadlines being as tight as they are, a re-do isn't always possible, and so the pattern won't match the photo.

2.  The photo may be knit in a different yarn.  Designers, me included, design things and have the samples knit in good faith.  We intend for the yarn to be available.  Yarn manufacturers make the decisions that are best for their company.  Sometimes that means the sample is finished in yarn A, only to have that yarn discontinued before publication.  A last-minute substitution to yarn B is made by the designer so the pattern can go to press with the publication.  Though the change is usually stated in the pattern, sometimes it just doesn't make it.

3.  The tech editor goofed.  When sample knitters knit the project, they often find and correct errors in the text.  Those changes go to the technical editor, who adjusts the pattern accordingly.  Also, each pattern is usually only sample knit in one size, but is published in many sizes.  If there are any errors in the different sizes, it's the job of the tech editor to find them.

4.  The pattern was just poorly written.  It happens.  If you've ever tried to give someone step-by-step directions on how to tie their shoes, you'll understand how difficult it is to convey certain ideas in words.  The designer may think they were perfectly clear, but the general public may find the pattern to be wildly unclear.

IT'S YOU

5.  You didn't swatch, and either your stitch gauge, row gauge, or both are way off.  Some people say that row gauge doesn't matter.  Yes it does.  Do you want your sleeves to be long enough?  Do you want your armholes to meet up for seaming?  Of course you do.  If your row gauge is off but your stitch gauge is on, try changing materials on your needles.  Metal tends to have a taller gauge, bamboo the shortest.

6.  You knit very tightly.  Even if you've achieved gauge, if you knit very tightly the yarn will loose much of its spring and loft.  This will make many stitch patterns look flat or sloppy (cables and decreases look particularly odd).

7.  You used a different yarn.  Even if you get gauge, remember that your substitute yarn may have more loft or a different finish on it than the original.  For example, high twist yarns have clearer stitch definition than low twist yarns do.  Cottons and acrylics often have a sheen that many woolens lack. 

8.  You don't knit evenly yet.  If your stitch size isn't extremely consistent, you may produce a project with a wrinkly appearance.  How do you fix it?  It depends on the person, but in general a knitter needs to perform a stitch 2000 to 5000 times to consistently produce a smooth stitch.  The longer you've been knitting, the faster you'll perfect new stitches.  If you aren't smooth yet, you will be.  It's one of the many reasons we often have knitters begin on scarves...

9.  You haven't blocked it yet.  It is a rare project that doesn't benefit from blocking.  It's a bit like what ironing does for a pleated cotton skirt.  It's an essential finishing technique to make your work look its best.

I hope these notes help make your next project a huge success!

Knitting Math 1 - Non-fiction

I've been on both sides of the issue of Knitting Math:  does it exist, or doesn't it?  Math is math, right?  Or is it like Business Math, and Cooking Math, where some functions are key to everything else working?

I am now firmly a believer in Knitting Math.  Designing knitwear is one part sketching, 15 or 20 parts math, one part writing the pattern, and one big part knitting.

SIZE
If I want to design something simple like a baby blanket, I need to figure out how big I want it.  Then I need to figure out what yarn I want to use.  Then I knit test swatches to determine the gauge that gives me the look I want.  Let's say it's 6 stitches x 7 rows.

Next, I need to multiply the width of the blanket by the stitches per inch.  If I want the blanket to be 3 feet wide, that's 36 inches x 6 stitches per inch = 216 stitches.  This becomes the cast on number.

If I want it to also be 36 inches long, for a square blanket, I need to multiply 36 inches x 7 rows = 252.  Now I can create a graph, and start marking out stitches and color patterns.

Stitch gauge and row gauge are the essential two pieces of information for almost all "knitting math."  If you want your blanket larger, you multiply each inch by 6 stitches or 7 rows to know how much to add.  Likewise if you choose to make a smaller blanket, you subtract 6 stitches or 7 rows for each inch you want to subtract. 

YARDAGE
The gauge swatch gives you another critical piece of math to do - figure out how much yarn you're going to need.  Make a swatch that is whole inches on both the top and the side (like 4x6).  Multiply, and you get 24 square inches. 

Now cut the swatch off the ball, and weigh it on an accurate scale.  What does it weigh?  In this case, 1 gram.  The ball comes in 100 yards per 50 grams.  For now, disregard the yardage, and just focus on the weight.  That means each gram will cover 24 square inches.  Multiply that by 50 and you get 1200 square inches of knitting per ball. 

Multiply your original 36x36 blanket size out to square inches, and you get 1296 inches.  This tells me that one ball of yarn won't quite do it,  and you'll need to start a second ball. 

DIFFERENCE IN GAUGE
But what if you don't knit to the gauge specified in the pattern?  What if you knit to 5 stitches and 6 rows per inch instead?  You're going to need a lot more yarn.  Those same 216 stitches now represent 43 inches of knitting instead of the original  36.  The 252 rows now make 42 inches instead of 36.  Now your blanket is 1806 square inches.  Now you'll need 1 and 1/2 balls of yarn, because your piece is almost 30% larger than the designer planned for, and that's if your gauge is only off by one stitch!

I know, it seems like a lot to digest.  It's not really.  Look up any pattern in any magazine, and do the math.  You'll see that it works out every time.  A little practice (and a calculator) makes it easy to remember what to do and how to do it.

Sample Mess

I received a sample knit back today, and I really wish the sample knitter had paid some attention to gauge. (It is in the agreement, in bold type.)  We're two stitches off on stitch and three and a half off on row. There are no humans made in dimensions that would work with these mittens. Not even close.

Why would you continue knitting when it's obvious that there is something very wrong?  That's the time to re-measure gauge.  If it's off, rip back and fix it.  If it's on and the garment is a distorted shape, do the math.  Multiply the gauge times the finished dimensions and see if the stitch counts match.  If they're way off, abandon ship!  Either re-write the pattern yourself, get someone to help you, or pick a new project.  There is no virtue in making a useless garment.  And in this case, the sample knitter made not one, but two.  Sheesh!

Adjusting a Pattern So It Fits You

Teaching a class yesterday, I was told of one knitter's frustration at trying to find patterns for garments her size.  I sympathized.  As nice as it would be if patterns said something like, "Liz, this will fit you perfectly if you just use a US 6 needle," they never do.  "Do you swatch?" I asked.

"Well, not if it doesn't come in my size."

If the pattern is only off by a size or two, this doesn't have to be a problem.  Grab a calculator, and adjust the gauge so that the pattern works for you.  We're not changing the number of stitches, just the size of the stitches.  Let's do a mitten pattern.  The pattern makes a women's large mitten, 8.5 inches around at a gauge of 7 stitches to the inch, and the pattern is 60 stitches around on worsted yarn. 

What size do you want?  Measure around your palm with a measuring tape.  Add a quarter to a half an inch for a normal mitten.  What's the total?  If you wear a women's small mitten, probably 7.5 inches total around for the mitten.  So let's do the math. 

60 stitches divided by 7.5 inches = 8 stitches to the inch.  So we either need smaller needles or smaller yarn.  Which one?

Look up the recommended yarn on the manufacturer web site.  Let's say the pattern says 7 stitches per inch on US 5 needles, and the website says the yarn is rated for 5 stitches per inch on US 7s.  This means the pattern is written for the yarn to be very compressed, making a denser fabric.  Compressing it further will make it hard to to work with.  So go down one yarn weight. Knit a gauge swatch with the recommended needles, and you'll be close.  Adjust needle size if necessary.  (Too many stitches per inch?  Go up a needle size.  Too few?  Go down a needle size.)  Within half an hour you'll be all set with the correct yarn weight and needle size.

If the yarn is rated for 6 stitches per inch on US 3 needles, then the original pattern is written for the stitches to be very loose.  Using the recommended yarn, go down in needle sizes until your gauge swatch gives you the proper gauge.

Make sure to count fractions of a stitch. (This is why you want swatches of at least 4" by 4".  Fractions of a stitch are easier to gauge when measured over several inches.)  On a garment with 100 stitches cast on, being off by a quarter stitch can mean several inches of extra or missing fabric. 

That's it.  Two minutes with a calculator and the internet and you'll be starting a project guaranteed to fit!

Gauge

I knit like I cook: I start with a recipe, and follow parts of it but not others.  I make the dish, or the garment, my own.

One of the most exciting things about designing knitwear is seeing other people make the designs their own.  One of the toughest things is telling Sample Knitters that they don't get to interpret at all. 

For samples, the colors and yarns are chosen in advance.  The gauge is chosen in advance.  Every line of the pattern needs to be followed exactly.  I love seeing the beautiful finished products, and I'm eternally grateful for all of the feedback on the reliability of the pattern, but I hate telling other knitters what to do!  The terrific women who knit samples for me are happy to challenge themselves with a new project or technique.  Bless their hearts.  It would make me crazy!

The trickiest bit, I'm learning, is to knit exactly to someone else's gauge.  I tend to knit my stitches a little tall compared to the average.  When I knit up a swatch to use as the base math for a design, that's the gauge.  When someone else knits it, if the row gauge is off, the pattern comes out like a fun house mirror version of the original.  If the stitch gauge is off, the sample doesn't fit normal human dimensions.  So I'm trying to make my gauge as moderate as is humanly possible to make my patterns more flexible. Wow!  It feels like trying to use someone else's handwriting.

And so it goes.  I'm sorting out a tricky bit of thumb math right now.  Thank heavens this project will be felted.  Row gauge is a little less critical.  A little.

 

New Year's Resolutions

Knitting in 2011 is going to be different for me.  Resolutions have never been a process I've done, but I've seen it work for other people, so this year I'm in.  In 2011 I resolve to:

1. Knit during classier TV shows.  No more Ginsu Knife infomercials for me, no!  I'm going to knit during Masterpiece Theatre and Inside the Actor's Studio.  This will add an air of class and sophistication to my work, not to mention a pretentious accent.

2. Knit with more color.  I knit with subtle, muted earthy colors now (brown and black), and nature has shown us that this is a losing strategy in evolution.  Adaptability and bright plumage are what have allowed the alligator to make it this far, and I need to liven up my palate at least as far as the beautiful colors of the all-enduring alligator. I will branch out into green.

3. Knit every day. Right now I knit almost exclusively at night, and the knitting is getting self conscious about it, like I'm embarrassed to be seen with it or something.  No more.  I will knit proudly in the daylight every day.  In my house.  Alone.  With the curtains closed. (Baby steps.)

4. Knit with white wine.  White wine doesn't stain.  Need I say more?

5. Knit with more recycled materials. Right now I knit with my grandmother's WWII era needles as much as I can, and seam up with her tapestry needles.  (God, I miss her!)  I have since learned from a girlfriend that if you go to yard sales, you can get a whole bunch of used needles and notions for the change under your car seat!  New addi turbos are $15 a pop.  That would buy all the needles in a whole town of yard sales!   No more new stuff for me - recycling is in.  Oh, and it keeps stuff out of the landfills.

6. Realize that size doesn't matter. What are we, men?  We should not be so preoccupied about measuring things.  Gauge swatches, palm circumferences, chest measurement, yardage... All that is nonsense.  What matters is that I finish stuff. Who cares what size it is?

7. Come up with new knitting sayings.  Everyone knows "close knit" and "spinning a yarn."  How about "it's a wrap" - well, bad example.  Or "balls to the wall" - crap.  Or "stick it", "pins and needles", "coming unraveled" - um - on second thought, there are plenty of good knitting sayings.  I resolve to use them more often.

That's it.  This changes everything!  It's going to be a wonderful year.