Miniatures Make Sense



One day as I sat at the LYS knitting a mini sock, a friend of mine and truly accomplished knitter said, "Why do you knit minis?  I could never be bothered wasting my time with that."  It wasn't as harsh as it might have sounded.  (We love her because she's never judgemental!)  She just truly didn't see the point. 

I had to give it some thought.  I started knitting minis because I thought they were adorable, and I gave them as gifts.  As I knit more of them, I realized that they include all the same skills as their full-sized counterparts.  In some cases, they even have the same number of stitches!  The blue hat on the left of the photo has about 2/3 as many stitches as a full sized hat, and it's made of a sportweight yarn on US 2s.  The red hat on the right has the same number as its "big brother", and was made from a full sized pattern with sport weight cashmere on US 1s.  Casting on 64 stitches for hat too small for Barbie made me think twice, but I love the finished project.

Then came the interesting part.  I realized that with DK and worsted yarns and needles in US 4-6, there would be far fewer stitches than the big projects, but all the same skills.  The brown mitten with the vertical stripes has the original full-sized stitch count, and took about the same amount of time.  The blueish mitten with the horizontal stripes was knit in a heavy worsted, and took about 90 minutes.  It has 1/3 as many stitches as the full-sized, but still uses the same decreases and striping skills as the big one would.  Aha!  I was on to something.

Now I teach folks to make socks by making minis first, with worsted yarns and size US 5 needles.  All the skills are there, but with far fewer stitches.  Knitting a mini won't use up much yarn, and turning the heel only takes a few rounds.  Ditto with teaching mittens, and many other techniques.  As you can see above, even stranded colorwork can be done in minis, and more quickly than a regular project. Every knitting skill can be practiced or refreshed by making a mini.

Last night, I knit up a mini sock (the one in the center bottom of the photo) to refresh a particular kind of decrease I like to use after the heel turn.  Now with my skill refreshed, I'll launch into my socks.  I have one more miniature to tie to a gift or use as holiday decor. 

Why do I knit minis?  To refresh and teach skills, to make cute little finished projects, to get a sense of how certain yarns behave in certain techniques, and to trade with other knitters at conferences and festivals.  I knit them to enjoy the last scraps of a favorite yarn after the main project is through.  I knit them because they delight me!

Minis, Homework, and Future Projects

I had a knitting class to teach today.  It was a sock class.  I decided to teach a mini sock, ornament sized, because it has all the same skills as a big sock, but with a tiny fraction of the stitches.  (I like  minis as teaching tools in general.  Here are a few in front of our very small fireplace at the shop.)

I know some people want to come to class and get right to work on their garment or project, and although I get that, there's a reason I don't teach that way.  Each project contains it's own group of necessary skills.  In this sock, as an example, we have cast on, knit, purl, ssk, psso, k2tog, picking up stitches, knitting in the round, knitting straight (for heel flap), and of course toe grafting.  That's a lot of skills.  I try to reinforce all the skills in a single class rather than have students come back.  The only way to do this and accommodate all the different knitting speeds and skills is to work on a mini project or swatch.  Otherwise I would have to assign homework, and ask people to come back when they are ready for the next step.  This would make fast knitters as crazy as slower knitters. So, swatches and minis.  You can make the big projects at home.

On a more personal note, my daughter was really happy with her hat and mittens.  I'm thinking of doing a fair isle skull motif on mittens for my 18 yr old son.  After two more pairs of socks and my vest, of course.  **fingers crossed behind my back**

Getting Ready For Class

Simple Texting Mitts class tomorrow. We're working in the round, but straights with seams are possible. Worsted weight and 7s are the order of the day. I have four teens at home and all three girls LOVE these! No fingers or thumb tips make these an easy first mitten pattern, as there is minimal shaping involved. Just make that thumb and you're home free!

Next week is Marvelous Minis. I'm collecting some simple miniature patterns to use. Minis are fun because you use/learn all the skills for a full sized garment, but you use a fraction of the yarn and the time. I enjoy using leftovers from favorite skeins of yarn again, and the little creations always get comments. I'm offering mittens and socks... Pictures will follow, I promise.

It's very hit or miss whether I'll have students. Eight students came to Easy Entrelac, but none came to a basic swirl cap in the round. I was in Northampton, MA over the weekend, and there are two shops there getting $15 -$20 bucks a class, 1-2 classes per week, and they are often full classes. Here in Buffalo, NY I charge $5, and it's totally hit or miss. (Since most patterns are original, and the class runs 2 hours, it's quite a deal!) Sometimes I schedule classes that have been requested a few times and get no one. Sometimes I schedule things that just pop into my head and they're overfull. Will you be there tomorrow?