learn to knit Archives

February 10, 2020February 10, 2020

Simple Sheep Hat Knitting Pattern

These little sheep are ready for anything as they stand at attention around the base of this beanie.

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The Inspiration

A while back on this blog, I raved about the Alterknit Stitch Dictionary. Recently I was in the middle of planning for a new class I’m teaching at the Maryland Sheep & Wool Festival, and I was looking for a small project to work on while I think of new ideas for classes. I remembered these little sheep from the book, and knew they’d be perfect.

Alterknit Stitch Dictionary Andrea Rangal knitting — Alterknit Stitch Dictionary

About the Yarn

Fibra Natura Kingston Tweed is a lightweight wool blend with a bit of loft, like a traditional Shetland-style yarn. It’s 50% wool, 25% alpaca, 25% mixed fiber.

Each 50 g ball of Kingston Tweed has 194 yards [177 m]. It took me about 150 yards of the main color and a total of about 35 yards of the contrasting color for one hat. I used some leftover colors from another project: less than one skein of #105 Ochre (MC) and #112 Basalt (CC).

Simple Sheep Hat closeup design by Edie Eckman

About the Construction

Knit the hat in the round from the bottom up. Use circulars and double-points, or the Magic Loop method, whichever you prefer.

It’s a great way to use up odd balls of leftover yarn and a fun and easy way to practice stranded knitting. There are only two colors on the stranded sections, and the patterns themselves are simple. The colorwork ends before the crown shaping begins.

Watch How to Work Stranded or Fair Isle Knitting for tips on holding one color in each hand for faster knitting.

About the Pattern

You’ll be using a chart for the colorwork. The interactive pdf includes links to tutorials for the Magic Loop and for stranded/Fair Isle knitting techniques. The pattern has been test knit and professionally tech edited.

Please share images of your #SimpleSheepHat on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube. Let’s see those sheepies!

April 9, 2019April 7, 2019

Baby Eyelet Cables Knitting Stitch Pattern

Baby Eyelet Cables is a knitting stitch pattern that’s fun to do and easy to memorize. It has a repeat of only four rows, and three of those are “knit the knits and purl the purls”. That means you only have to think on one row!

Despite its name, Baby Eyelet Cables are not true cables. You won’t need a cable needle because the stitches don’t really switch places.

It’s easily converted to knitting in the round, which makes it a versatile stitch pattern for many projects.

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The yarn I used for the sample is Red Heart Chic Sheep by Marly Bird. It’s a sqooshy medium weight yarn with excellent stitch definition. However, this stitch pattern looks great in any weight yarn; solid colors are best to show up the patterning.

Clover bamboo knitting needles are a good choice for beginning knitters. I’m using 5 mm (US Size 8) for this yarn.

Baby Eyelet Cables

Cast on a multiple of 6 + 3.

Set-Up Row (WS): K3, [p3, k3] across.

Row 1 (RS): *P3, slip 3 sts purlwise, pass 3rd st on right needle over 2nd and first sts on right needle, slip those 2 sts back to left needle, k1, yo, k1; rep from * to last 3 sts, p3.

Row 2: K3, [p3, k3] across.

Row 3: P3, [k3, p3] across.

Row 4: K3, [p3, k3] across.

Repeat Rows 1-4 for pattern.

Abbreviations
k: knit
p: purl
rep: repeat
RS: right side
st(s): stitch(es)
WS: wrong side
yo: yarn over

For another fun rib-stitch pattern, see Mistake Stitch Rib. The Broken Rib Hat uses a rib-stitch pattern worked in the round. How many ways can you use Baby Eyelet Cables?

December 4, 2018December 5, 2018

Avoiding Bumps on the Cast-On Edge

When it comes to those ugly bumps at the cast-on edge, my skin crawls. Those bumps are a common knitting problem — dare I call them an “error”? However, it’s easy to avoid them once you understand that your cast-on has a right side and a wrong side.

The following explanations and video apply to right-handed knitters. Left-handed knitters, you may be casting on and knitting differently, but you should read and watch the video to understand the concept. Adapt it as necessary to fit your knitting technique.

Long-Tail Cast On

When you cast on stitches using the long-tail method, the stitches are on the right needle at the completion of the cast on. You are looking at what is generally considered the “right side” of the cast on.

closeup of wrong side of long tail cast on — Wrong side of long-tail cast on

When you turn needle to put it in your left hand in preparation to work the first row, the purl side of the cast on is facing you. It’s usually considered the “wrong side” of the cast on.

If you knit that first row, you are knitting a wrong side row. This is perfectly fine if you are working garter stitch or reverse stockinette stitch, but stockinette stitch is “knit right side rows, purl wrong side rows”.

If you knit the first row after a long-tail cast-on, you’ll get a series of purl bumps on the right side (the knit side).

Instead of knitting the first row, simply purl the first row (a wrong side row), and continue with stockinette stitch.

Cable Cast On

When you cast on stitches with the cable cast on method, the stitches are on the left needle at the completion of the cast on. The right side of the cast on is facing you, and you don’t have to turn the needle around to start the first row. Therefore, knit the first row to avoid the bumps.

Knitted Cast On

The knitted cast on works the same way as the cable cast on. The cast on stitches are on the left needle, so just knit the first row and there won’t be any bumps.

The Solution

stockinette stitch with smooth cast on No matter which cast on you use — and there are many more than these to choose from — pay attention to whether it has a smooth side and a bumpy side. In most cases, choose the smooth side as your right side and work the first row accordingly. You’ll avoid those bumps on your cast-on edge, and the State Fair knitter in you can be proud.

For more knitting tips, visit Knit: Basics & Beyond.

October 2, 2018November 15, 2018

How to Measure Gauge in Knitted Garter Stitch

The first knitting stitch you learned was the “knit” stitch, and the first stitch pattern you learned was probably Garter Stitch. Measuring gauge in knitted garter stitch is pretty straightforward, but if you are unfamiliar with the concept of measuring gauge or counting stitches and rows, a few tips are in order.

To create garter stitch, you knit every row (or purl every row) when knitting back and forth. When you work in the round, of course, you have to knit one round, then purl one round to make the same stitch pattern.

Watch this video that covers the basics of measuring gauge in garter stitch. In future posts, I’ll talk you through what to do when you run into problems like uneven stitches or varying stitch counts.

Do you have questions about measuring gauge in knitted garter stitch? Or questions about gauge in general? Let me know in the comments.