Knitting Thrifty

Between my gradual move from Brooklyn to Northampton (which includes simultaneous employment in both places) and my frantic holiday gift preparations, things have really screeched to a halt around here, and for that I am sincerely bummed. But with a mere 7 days 'til Christmas, I should be back in blogland soon. I have so many ideas that I just can't wait to get out of my head and into reality. And once my move is complete, I will even have a studio space that isn't my bedroom! And for that I am truly grateful.

But in the meantime, I thought of a fun tidbit to share with all you yarn-crafters out there.

With my new job at Northampton Wools I'm feeling pleasantly reacquainted with the knitting community. And as a prospective board member at my favorite place on Earth, Rowe Camp & Conference Center, this weekend I attended the board meeting there where in February, Debbie Stoller of Stitch & Bitch fame is leading a fabulously exciting workshop, which you should all go to, because it will probably blow your mind. Needless to say, I've got knitting on the brain.

New knitters often choke at the cost of knitting. They think that since you are doing the labor yourself, knitting a sweater ought to cost less than buying one. Sorry to say, it just ain't so. Unless, perhaps, you're knitting with a behemoth skein of Red Heart from Michael's... but no one wants to wear anything made from that crap, really. But I have here another option, if you're willing to go the mile for thriftiness. Or if, perhaps, you're already an obsessive thrifter, in which case you'll find yourself at Goodwill anyways, and you might as well know a good find for frogging when you see it.

Frog (v.) to disassemble knitwear into reknitable yarn.


Tips for determining whether your thrift store find or closet disappointment is frogable:

1. The bulkier the knit, the easier the frog.

2. Look for yarn you like, no matter the style of the garment. 

3. Look for like-new garments with little wear. Make sure it hasn't felted at all with improper washing. When a wool garment has felted, it shrinks, and the stitches fuse together. If the stitches look fuzzy and not clearly defined, it will be difficult to pull them apart.

4. Knit to shape, NOT cut to shape. This is 100% the most important.
If this a garment is not knit it shape it is simply not frogable.
Knit to shape means that the pieces of the garment were knit to precisely the correct size and shape, just like you would do if you were knitting it by hand. Cut to shape means that the pieces were cut from yardage of knitted material, machine-edged so it won't unravel and then sewn together.

To determine whether a garment was knit or cut to shape, simply look at the inside of the seams. They should look something like this:

Just like anything hand knit, the edges of each piece are knitted, self contained. There is no sewing machine thread, no serged or merrowed edge, no knit stitches sliced in half.


So you found a sweater to frog. Now what?

Wonderful! This is mine. I got it for $2 at Salvation Army. It's 100% cashmere. Made in Italy. Soooo soft. Fun color. Super frumpy potato sack of a sweater.

Start by taking apart the seams. Be careful to only break the yarn that the pieces are sewn together with, without breaking the yarn the sweater is knit with.

Once all the pieces are apart, determine where the cast off edge is and pull out the end of the yarn. It's okay if you don't get it right the first time. The knitting will pull apart very easily from the cast off edge, and it will be a pain in the ass from the cast on edge, you'll be able to tell immediately. And if you can't get the end of the yarn out, cut it! You might lose a row or two worth of yarn, but that's okay. Once you get it going it should pull out real easy.

Roll it into a ball! 

Sitting in a ball for a couple days should straighten out that kinkiness just fine. If you feel like going above and beyond, however, another way to do it is to roll it into a hank (a big circle, wrap it around the back of a chair, for example), wet the hank and hang dry.

Turn a Mason Jar into a Travel Mug: Knit it a Cozy!

As they say, necessity is the mother of invention. A few weeks ago I was rushing off to work at some ungodly hour of the morning, made myself some coffee, but WHERE IN GOD'S NAME IS MY TRAVEL MUG??? So I dumped it into a mason jar and played hot potato all the way to work. And I thought, "Gee. This would actually make a pretty decent travel mug if I just knit it a little sweater..."

I am, of course, not the first one to think of this. I went home and pulled up dozens of them in a Google search, even specially designed lids for the express purpose of turning mason jars into travel mugs (from Cuppow, a company birthed for this product alone).

You can also turn a mason jar into a travel cup for cold drinks, but creating a hole in the lid for a straw. Here are three slightly different, but equally wonderful ways of doing it:

with a metal washer, from Fine and Feathered

with a rubber grommet (spill-proof!), from The Chick n Coop

with a plastic yogurt lid, from Crunchy Can Feel Good

For the love of mason jars! This is a great little knitting project for your scrap yarn; I finished mine in under 3 hours!

Gauge: 15 sts = 4 inches

On size 8 double pointed needles, CO 14 sts on each of your 3 needles (42 sts).

Join your first round and knit in a 1 x 1 rib for 5 more rounds.

Switch to size 9 double pointed needles.

Make 1 st at the beginning of your sixth round. (As you continue with the k1, p1 pattern, this extra stitch will transform your 1 x 1 rib into a seed stitch.)

Continue in seed st until piece measures 5 1/2" from CO.

Flat Jar Bottom: 

Knit 1 round in stockinette stitch.

*K1, k2tog, rep to end of round.

K 1 round
*K2tog, rep to end of round
K 1 round

Cut your yarn, leaving a tail of at least 6". Using a tapestry needle, thread this tail through your remaining stitches and remove the needles. Pull the yarn towards the inside of the cozy until the hole closes. Weave in the remaining tail of yarn and snip off the excess. Weave in the tail from cast on edge, and you're finished!

A note about knitting on double pointed needles:

A lot of people are afraid of double pointed needles. If this is you, trust me! They aren't nearly as scary as people make them out to be. The most difficult part is keeping your stitches tight between needles. So just pull tight between needles and everything will be okay. Be adventurous! Give it a try! However, if you don't want to, this same pattern could be knit on straight needles, then sewn up the side. Leave a longer tail at the end, and after you close up your last stitches, use this tail to sew the sides together. Piece of cake!

With love,

Knitting in Progress: Baby Smock Dress

I am seriously behind on my knitting. I've been working on this smock dress for my cousin's new baby since July. I intended to give it to newborn Eva. Now I'm just hoping I can get it to 6 month old Eva for Christmas. Good thing I knit it in the biggest size!


This is the pattern, from Debbie Bliss...

Excruciatingly adorable, right?

I altered it slightly, using a different smocking stitch...

This is my new favorite stitch pattern. It's much easier to keep track of than the cabled version that Debbie Bliss provides. It requires practically no counting at all!

Ribbed Smock Stitch
Knit over a multiple of 8 sts + 2 sts.

Row 1: *p2, k2 to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 2: *k2, p2 to last 2 sts, k2.
Row 3: rep row 1
Row 4: rep row 2
Row 5: *p2, wrap 6 sts, k2tog, k1, p2, k2 to last 2 sts, p2.
Row 6: rep row 2
Repeat rows 1 - 4
Row 11: p2, k2, *p2, wrap 6 sts, k2tog, k1, p2, k2 to last 2 sts, p2
Row 12: rep row 2

To clarify rows 5 and 11:
To wrap 6 sts, insert your right needle between the sixth and seventh stitch on your left needle. Wrap your yarn around your right needle as if knitting normally. Pull this yarn back through and place the loop back on your left needle. After wrapping stitches, you will always k2tog, knitting this extra loop you've created in with the next proper stitch, so as not to add stitches. This is the stitch that creates the smock effect. Otherwise, this stitch pattern is nothing but a 2x2 rib, plain and simple!

With love,

What to Knit?

I recently acquired a massive cone of a surprisingly beautiful cotton/rayon, rose-colored yarn. So silky! So plentiful!

With all that yardage I could knit just about anything I can dream up! It isn't exactly season appropriate, but I'm just so excited to have it! A dress, perhaps? A lacy cardigan? STOCKINGS?! All three???



What do you think I should do with it?

Happy weekend! 

And all my love to those suffering in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy,

Inspiration Board: Knitting Up A Storm

With the impending winter and Hurricane Sandy's threats keeping us home-bound, one can't help but dream about knitting. I am, of course, still working my way through an adorable smock dress for my cousin's no-longer-so-newborn baby. But the end is within sight, which means it's time to pick my next project.

You'd think a self-proclaimed knitter would have plenty of scarves by this point, a healthy decade into my knitting career. But I also happen to be the type to always choose the most complex and intricate project I can think of, so I phased out scarf-knitting early on. And now here I am, an accomplished knitter, wearing a scarf I found on the street. Someone left it in my bike basket last January, for some mysterious reason. Thank you, kind (or perhaps distracted) stranger.

I also have this crazy scarf:

I made it from a Basquiat painting called Onion Gum for a school project my freshman year of college. A double-knit, color-blocked and embroidered wool/mohair insanity, and a justifiable oven only to be worn comfortably in below freezing temperatures.

Jean-Michele Basquiat, Onion Gum, 1983

What I'm saying is, I want to knit myself a scarf. Or perhaps a cowl. Those are pretty cool.

So I've been exploring the wonders of Pinterest for inspiration. It's pretty cool, Pinterest is. I'm new to the game, but I'm doing my best to get up to speed. I put together a little inspiration board for you all of my favorite scarf and cowl ideas. Check out my Pinterest Board for the full shebang.

I realized too late, however, that I completely failed at collecting source information. For some reason I thought Pinterest did that automatically? My sincerest apologies to both readers and sources. I hope no one hates me for it. I'll do better next time, I promise!

(Note about that felted fox on the bottom: A few weeks ago my boyfriend was expressing discontent concerning his own scarf situation and I offered to make him one. I told him it could look however he wanted it to, and he jokingly asked if it could be a fox. I told him, sure it could. Now all of a sudden, I'm seeing these fox scarves everywhere! This just in: foxes are the new owls.)

Much love,

Wool Dying and Sweater Blocking

And just in time for the resurfacing of a little season-appropriate weather I've finally finished a long-running sweater project I've been picking up and putting down for over a year. 

It started with a box of white virgin wool that a dear friend of mine gave to me. 

Her father is an antiques dealer and she went with him on one of his estate excursions, and picked out this gift that only a knitter would truly covet. The white of the yarn was pure and bright in a way that doesn't really fit with my palette, so I didn't use it until the brilliant thought occurred to me that I could dye it. 

I considered writing my own pattern for the sweater, as I have done a few times in the past, but I have learned that making your own pattern can really complicate things. I don't have anyone to check my math and knit me samples and edit my patterns. And with all that time and labor, no one wants to re-knit a sweater. So unless undeniable inspiration strikes, for the time being I am sticking to published patterns. For this sweater I found my pattern on Knitty, an exhaustible, but good free online pattern library. I knit cardigan "Zora".

I decided to knit first and dye second, a.k.a. garment dying. I wanted a single, solid color and particularly for yarn balled up like mine it is the easier option. You could dye yarn sold in a skein (when you untwist it, it unfolds to a big circle), especially if you're interested in making self-striping yarn. 

So anyway, for the past year-plus I have been occasionally visiting my Zora, knitting straight from the pattern in the original white of the yarn. Until last week, I finished.

I pieced her together and began a little online research about dying wool. I've used the Procion MX fiber reactive dyes recommended by my professors in my fashion school days before and had some lying around. I've used it on cotton, silk, and rayon, but never on wool. And it turns out, wool is more finicky, but certainly dyable. Procion MX dyes can be purchased at any art supply store worth its salt. It comes in about a million shades (if you buy online, the in-store displays I've seen usually offer around 30), but it can also be mixed to create your own shades. 

Queen Dinah didn't care for me taking pictures of anything but her.

Cotton can be dyed in a bucket of lukewarm water (see Dharma Trading for instructions regarding the dying of cellulose fibers like cotton, rayon, bamboo, etc.).

But wool has to be simmered. And if you've ever accidentally thrown a wool sweater in the washing machine you may know that carelessness with wool and water = felt. Wool doesn't like change. It has to be gently eased into temperature change, and it has to stirred with care. Friction = felt. 

The only decent instructions I could find are here. I followed them pretty strictly, so I won't bother reiterating them. The only I didn't use was Synthrapol, the special detergent that they recommend. I used what I had in the house and it worked out just fine.

I mixed the Ice Blue and Bright Green pictured above in hopes of achieving a pale mint hue, which was admittedly only marginally successful. As it turns out, there is a reason that people who really care do preliminary color tests. But I'm just one girl with one sweater, and I couldn't be bothered. I added a bit too much of the green and my sweater turned more spring than mint. Perhaps someday I'll redye it (it is a bit of a sore thumb within the color palette of my wardrobe), but for now my Zora will remain her cheerful spring green, and I'll admit it's growing on me.

The next imperative step is blocking. Blocking should be done with any hand knit sweater whether you dye it or not, but once your sweater is wet you cannot escape it. Blocking is a tool with which you can perfect your finished sweater. Smooth out your lumps, even out your sleeve lengths, whatever it is. But wet wool is delicate and you can also botch it pretty easily. 

1. Hand wash your sweater in lukewarm water, avoiding friction as much as possible. Gently squeeze as much water out of your sweater as you can, but DON'T WRING IT.

2. Put down a towel wherever you have the space and carry your balled-up sweater to it. 

3. Lay your sweater on the towel. Don't hold it up to admire your beautiful work; wet wool is like a slinky! Ribbing especially is difficult to smush back into its original elasticity after you accidentally stretch it out.

4. Spread your sweater on the towel carefully arranging it to the proper proportions and measurements, patting it into place and bunching up any ribbing you want to remain elastic.

5. If your sweater is still pretty wet roll up your towel with the sweater inside and squeeze out as much excess water as possible. 

6. Unroll, replace the towel with a new, dry one and repeat Step 4.

7. Allow your sweater to dry completely.

8. Wear it and look fabulous!

Love,

Melody

Knitting for Seasons Past

So here's the thing about knitting: it takes a lot of time. 

When I start knitting something in the fall, I can never seem to finish it before spring. I have yet to truly learn this lesson, but I hear tale of wise old knitters who start their winter knits in June, so that by November they are cuddled up in fine new sweaters and hats and blankets. But this is a blog about me and my projects. And I am neither old nor wise; so I give you my lovely new winter headband just in time for spring (the sweater is still in the works; don't hold your breath).

You can make any stitch pattern into a cozy headpiece, so feel free to substitute any stitch pattern of your choosing. Anyone who is interested in designing their own patterns should invest in a stitch dictionary (I use Reader's Digest's The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches).

Here's my pattern:

(If you need help reading knitting patterns, Knitting Help is a great source.)

What You'll Need

Worsted weight wool

Size 6 needles

Cable needle

Stitch markers

Darning needle

Scissors

CO 32 sts. Sl first st and k last st of every row (do not include these first and last sts when counting sts)

P6, pm, p3, pm, p12, pm, p to end.

RS: k1, work 4 sts in seed st, k1, p3, k12, p3, k1, work 4 sts in seed st, k1.

WS: sl1, work 4 sts in seed st, sl1, k3, p12, k3, sl1, work 4 sts, in seed st, k1

Repeat these two rows, cabling center 12 sts (see below) until headband reaches desired length. BO.

(Note: Seed st is essentially a checkerboard of knits and purls, knit on top of your purls, and purl on top of your knits and you have seed st.)

12-Stitch Plait (from Reader's Digest's The Ultimate Sourcebook of Knitting and Crochet Stitches)

1st row (RS): knit

2nd row and every alt row: purl

3rd row: C8F, k4

5th and 7th rows: knit

9th row: K4, C8B

11th row: knit

12th row: purl

Rep these 12 rows.

(Note: C8F means you are reversing the position of 8 sts, cabling to the front. So the first 4 sts are swapping position with the following 4, traveling in the front. Place the first 4 sts on a cable needle, and hold the cable needle out of the way towards the front while you k the second 4 sts. Replace your sts on the needle, off the cable needle and k them. C8B is the same, only holding the sts on the cable needle to the back of your work.)

Tie:

CO 10 sts.

1st row (RS): sl1, k1, work in seed st to last 2 sts, k2.

2nd row: sl2, work in seed st to last 2 sts, sl 1, k1.

Repeat these 2 rows until piece measures 4". BO.

Finishing:

Using leftover yarn and a darning needle, sew together the ends of your main headband piece. Weave in any loose ends. Scrunch up your headband at the seam and wrap the tie piece around the seam. Sew together the ends of the tie and weave in any loose ends.

And your warm and toasty, just in time for the equinox!

Cheers,

Melody