BYC KNITTING CLUB

[ikatiemay]

wow i would love to join i have made 3 hats and they were fine until i had to decrease!! im just starting. I knit the old country way, do they call it continental??

 

[Carols Clucks]

I probably knit like you, taught by my mom who is from Denmark.

I am really enjoying learning new stitches via youtube, if you watch enough, you will find ones that are knitting the same way as you are used to.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

The easiest decrease for me to learn was to knit two stitches together. When you start to make a stitch, you just slip the needle through two loops on the needle, instead of one. Then you loop or pick up your yarn onto the needle, depending on how you knit, to make a stitch in the normal way. Where you once had two stitches, now you have one.

 

[ikatiemay]

the pattern i was using for my hat was one made by the lady at the knitting store and when it came time to decrease all she said was start decreasing and stay in pattern the best you can. I did what i thought would work but found out if you dont decrease fast enough you get a pointed hat! Also staying in pattern?? Anyway I kinda ended up with a jumbled mess for the decrease area. Maybe the pointed hat is appropriate for my head

 

[baustin]

It takes practice.....you'll get the hang of it with time. Another decrease is to slip one stitch onto your needle, knit or purl the next stitch depending on the pattern and then slip the first stitch you slipped onto the needle over the stitch just done. It's used when making shapings like necklines and armholes. I was taught to knit by my mother when I was about four or five and I've found the English way isn't always the same. Since you learned from your in Denmark, she may have knit like I have seen some German ladies do and if you ever watch the show on Public TV called "Knitting Daily," she is oriental and knits even different from the other two ways I've seen. It's remarkable to me that there are so many different ways of holding your needles and wool and they all come out the same way. Anyway you do it is fun so keep it up.

 

[LaSombra]

Quote:
probably the same as me also. I think it's a lot more efficient than "throwing" or whatever they call it that's derived from England. My mom taught me to knit and her mom before her. I think it goes back to Germany. I usually decrease by knitting two together. Another thing you can do is slip one, knit one and then pull the slipped one back over the one you just knitted. It looks a little nicer than just knitting two together.

 

[NWChicks]

Knitting Help is a great site for information on all kinds of knitting. They have lots of videos if you learn best that way. Here's a link for the decrease page that has several types of decreases along with a knitted sample so you can see how it looks. Once you learn how decreases work you can create things in your patterns using them. I have a hat pattern that I've made several of that uses two colors and the crown decreases make a two color snowflake. It's so pretty but very easy to do.

http://www.knittinghelp.com/videos/decreases

 

[ikatiemay]

thanks for the tips, I really would like to knit something that looks nice. I will keep trying!!

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Normally, patterns will tell you exactly when, how and how many decreases to do. It's not your fault that you couldn't guess at how many decreases to do. You need a full pattern for a hat, not just some guidelines for an advanced knitter. The whole point of a pattern is to tell you how many stitches to cast on and what you need to do with them, from start to finish. It wasn't your fault.

 

[ikatiemay]

Thanks for the encouragement Woodland!! We have 2 yarn shops in my area. One is really snobby, I went in and everybody just looks at you like you just walked in naked:/ When they find out you are a beginner WELL they all go back to their private conversations! The other shop where I got my pattern per say is this great old house stuffed and I mean stuffed with yarn and needlepoint things. The lady that owns it is only there a few hours a week and not always the same hours. She is really nice but seems to run it as a hobby and to carry on for her mom that has since died. The house was her grandparents house and she is probably in her 60s. I think a few ladies go there to get away and knit, something they have done together for years. I am determined to knit so I will check out all of the tips I get here on the forum. I will look for a pattern that is complete. I dont think I will try the one i have again, its not fun when you know the outcome will be bad news!