They are about 2.5 to 3 inches long. Make yours to fit your stone plus and inch or more so the ribbing can close the opening

It’s really simple. I suggest you use all natural fibers, preferably wool, to allow the crystal vibes unimpeded. I knit it all in k2p2 ribbing and it snugs around the stone perfectly, preventing it from slipping out with the coins and other pocket dangers. Wool has better springiness in ribbing.

Measure the circumference of your stone and determine how many stitches you need to fit around it. With something so small you can just do a test and not worry about wasting time. One if my stones is about three and a half inches around and 24 stitches fit around it fine, done in worsted wool on size six US needles.

I knit mine using magic loop and cast on with Judy’s magic cast-on and knit “toe up”. Alternately, you could start at the cuff and then graft the “toe” shut, or you can use my cast-off seam method where you use a third needle to knit two together (one from each needle), slip the loop back to the left and knit three more together (one from each needle and the slipped-back loop) until cast off completely. When you are done if you don’t like the look of the bottom end turn it inside out and see if it looks better that way, as it’s completely reversible.

If you work cuff downward to the toe you may want to decrease a few stitches for the last few rows to taper the end a little and make it more rounded. Use your imagination. Again, I did mine toe up, and so the cast-off wouldn’t be too tight I added an M1 every third stitch in the last row before casting off and found this made the opening flare a bit like a flower bud and that looked nice.

I did my first two in red wool but experience has me recommend you use lint colored yarn!

This is a fancy, commercially made Glengarry hat.

Short rows are stopping short in a row and turning the work to knit back in the other direction. To do this you have to anchor the working yarn or you will get a hole where you stopped. Most books teach the wrap-and-turn method, which I tried and find seriously lacking. What you do is slip the next stitch, wrap the yarn around it and slip it back, then turn and knit. Problem is that it usually pulls the loop it’s wrapped around and makes a hole anyway. And even if you work the wrapped yarn with the loop it’s wrapped around (on your way back across) it is visible as a diagonal strand of yarn. I don’t know why this method is in books.

So I got to thinking and reasoned that if I just knit or purl into the loop below the next loop after my stopping point, then slip that loop up onto the left needle so they are nested like spoons then you have a nice secure anchor. The doubled loop is not so visible, especially on a knit side, and you don’t get a hole. Once you turn the work pause to make sure the loop you just made isn’t loose. Snug it up normally, then start knitting in the other direction.

Again, what you do is, if the next stitch after your stopping point is a purl, insert your right needle from the back through the loop below that next stitch, wrap your yarn and push the loop through to the other side. Lift that new loop and put it on the tip of the left needle, turn your work, snug it and start working in the other direction.

If your next stitch shows as a knit on your side, insert your right needle through the loop below it from the front – your side – and wrap the yarn, pull a loop through. Now it’s a bit different: insert your right needle knit-wise into the last loop on the left needle (the one above the one you just pulled a loop through) and slip it off the left needle. Then back up and slide both of these loops back onto the left needle in the same orientation – don’t turn them – but with the new loop behind (to the left) of the loop you just slipped off the left needle. You’re just sneaking the new loop in between the last and second to last loops on the left needle. Both loops are now on the left needle, with your last loop nearest the tip of the needle and the new loop behind it. Turn the work, snug the new loop and start knitting in the other direction.

This is very easy and quick. I did a search after I thought of this and found that there are several methods of turning short rows. I found a slight variation on my method on http://techknitting.blogspot.com/search?q=Short+rows%3A+method.
There is a good method called yarnover shortrows explained nicely at http://www.cocoknits.com/info/tutorials/shortrows.html but you have to recognize your yarnover on the way back and work it together with the stitch beyond it to close the gap. With my method the two loops are spooning each other and you can’t miss it. Japanese short rows are supposed to be good but I haven’t tried them.

Here are a bunch of links. Enjoy!

http://sameknit.blogspot.com/2007/04/yarn-over-short-rows.html

http://www.cocoknits.com/info/tutorials/shortrows.html

http://nonaknits.typepad.com/nonaknits/2005/04/japanese_short_.html

http://www.woolywonder.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6828&page=2&highlight=unwrapped+technique

http://www.cosmicpluto.com/blog/as-promised-a-short-row-heel-tutorial/

This will also help you understand what it means in any instructions when you are told to “knit into the back of the loop,” which is a rather hazy instruction if you ask me.

While knitting backwards is certainly a challenge to one’s skills I think Portuguese style may not be the best choice for it. Actually, I don’t think knitting backwards and forwards is a good idea anyway, as I will explain later, unless you feel it is the best solution for fair isle knitting that can’t be done circularly. Your knitting will be slower and again, and some stitches may not work. If you are just doing a flat fair isle piece that will be attached to other pieces, then it may work out. I haven’t tried knitting backward with any other style and I’m pretty comfortable turning the work. Why do you want to knit backward? If your concern is the difference in purl and knit tension in Portuguese kitting then consider using the pendant I invented or in focusing on making your knits looser. One thing I’m discovering is that when I knit a stitch, if I make sure to release most of the tension on the yarn except when pulling the loop then my knit stitches are looser. I can keep the “twang” in the yarn for purl stitches and they are fine, but if my knits “twang” much they are tight. Use just a minimum of tension on a knit to keep the yarn on the needle tip, then loosen up between each flick-and-pull. I’ve also gotten the knack of Continental style and sometimes use that as its tension is less varied. If I want an expanse of tight knit stitches I use Portuguese with normal twangy tension.

So, because I’m very analytical and a compulsive teacher/helper, and because this is a good lesson in understanding the dynamics of knitting, here goes…

To preface what follows I will pre-summarize the key elements.
1.    The orientation of the loop you are about to work will determine which leg of the loop you will work around – front or back – and that will determine whether you twist that stitch or not. Always work around the leg nearest the needle tip to avoid twisting.
2.    The direction you wrap the yarn around the working needle will determine the orientation of the loop you produce – angled left or right. Counterclockwise is “normal”, making a loop angled to the left. Always be consistent or you will get a mix of orientations. The goal of this article is to minimize compensations and prevent twists, so we aim to always make left-angled loops.
3.    What’s critical is not to twist the loop being worked. If you wrap the “wrong” way, whether by accident or preference, you can always manually turn the new loop or compensate for it being oriented “abnormally” – angled to the right – with working around the back leg

LOOP ANATOMY
Firstly, there’s a difference between the front of the loop and the front of the stitch. The front of the stitch is what will face front when the loop is no longer on the needle. In a loop that is angled to the right /// the right side of the loop is the front of the stitch and the left side is the back of the stitch. This is because when worked that loop will hang free in the row below the new stitch you just made into it and the side angled toward you most when it was on the needle will turn parallel to the surface of the fabric and become truly front facing. In a loop that is angled to the left \\\ the same applies. Knit loops come out the front of the stitch and purl loops go out the back of the stitch.

But again, the back of the stitch is not the same as the back of the loop. The back of the loop is the strand of yarn on the far side of the needle. I would prefer to call it the back leg of the loop. You read “knit through the back of the loop.” This doesn’t always explain what to do in every case, so I’ll say right now it’s important to be aware of the angle of the loop, as this will determine how you make the stitch, the angle of the resulting loop, and the twist or non-twist of the loop you worked it into.

An illustration of my loop and stitch anatomy terms

First be sure to distinguish between knitting into the back loop and purling into the back loop. Remember that a knit is where the loop is pulled forward and in a purl the loop is pulled away from you.

When knitting forwards, if your loops all angle to the left —\\\\\— knitting or purling into the back of the loop will twist the stitch you are working into. To prevent twisting when working Portuguese style backwards you must purl by inserting the needle into the back side of the stitch – which is the side away from the needle tip toward the front, and is in effect on the right side of the back leg of the loop. The needle is ready to be wrapped and to then pull the loop away from you. Conversely, you do a knit stitch by inserting the needle through the back of the loop from the side toward the needle tip and out the back, wrap it there and pull the loop toward you. in both cases you are working around the back leg of the loop rather than around the front leg. This is explained below.

WHICH WAY DO YOUR LOOPS TURN? YARN WRAP DIRECTION IS IMPORTANT
I’m using the marks —\\\\\— and —/////— to illustrate the loops on your needles when viewed from above. To make it easy to remember how they are produced think of the slashes as a hand on a clock. In the slashes leaning with the top to the left think of the clock hand moving in that direction – counterclockwise, and where the slash leans to the right think of the clock hand moving in that direction – clockwise around the needle tip. Clockwise and counterclockwise are important in that it is the direction you wrap the yarn that produces this orientation of the loop on the needle. If you observe your normal forward work in Portuguese knitting you see that when you flick the yarn over the right needle it is in effect wrapping counterclockwise.

This is the same direction you wrap with other styles of knitting except Eastern European knitting where all your loops are turned to the right —/////— and in EEK you always wrap clockwise. With counterclockwise wrapping you get left facing loops —\\\\\—. If you wrap clockwise, as in most truly mirror image knitting, you get right facing loops —/////— and are prone to get complications if you knit backwards and forwards together. Be aware that if you mix your wrapping directions when knitting backwards you will get a mix of angles for your loops — ///\\///\\///\\– and a lot more effort sorting it out later. If that happens a simple solution is to just manually turn the faulty loop from right —/////— to the left —\\\\\— before working into it. This would substitute for any of the corrections such as working in the back of the loop to avoid twisting stitches when working forwards.

TWISTING AND NOT TWISTING
Twisted stitches occur when you knit around the loop leg that is away from the needle tip, thus twisting the loop you are working into. Again, in most knitting the loops have their far side legs to the left and the near side legs to the right —\\\\\—. When you turn the work they stay oriented the same way. If you are knitting “backward” from left to right without turning the work you are heading into the “wrong” side of the loops and you have to work around back leg instead, which should be closest to the needle tip, rather than the leg on your side of the right needle, as you would expect to with Portuguese style knitting where you typically have your working needle always in front of the releasing needle, but that would twist them. You can’t just knit in reverse, as if a mirror image. You have to pay attention to the turn of the loops you are working into and the direction you are pulling or pushing new loops.

KNITTING BACKWARDS
In Portuguese style this means you have to knit backwards a bit differently. Before we begin the how to, remember that old stitches are twisted by working around the wrong leg of the loop (the one away from the needle tip), and new loops are oriented the wrong way by wrapping the yarn the wrong way for how you want them to be oriented. Again, wrap counterclockwise to angle them to the left, clockwise will angle them to the right and you don’t want that.

If you knit exclusively left-handed and turn your work then all your loops will be turned to the right (–/////–) anyway, and you don’t need any corrections and none of your stitches will be twisted unless you make them that way deliberately. It’s novel to knit backwards and forwards, but probably not a fantastic idea as it might make certain stitches or patterns harder to do. You may have to rethink decreases, increases, yarnovers and a lot of other things you encounter in various knitting projects.

LOOPS: TURNED LEFT OR RIGHT WHILE KNITTING BACKWARDS
Left-angled loops: These are the “good loops”. When working backwards (or forwards), if you wrap the yarn counterclockwise around the left tip your resulting loops will all be oriented normally like with forward stitches – near side right, far side left —\\\\\—  and you won’t have to knit into the back of the loops when going forward. But don’t get too excited: this is slightly clumsy to do and it seems the advantages of Portuguese style knitting are diminished in backward knitting.

Right-angled loops: These are the bad loops. When working backwards it’s a bit easier to wrap the yarn clockwise around the left needle tip but your resulting loops will all be oriented to the right —/////— the reverse of the normal forward knitting, BUT you will have to knit and purl into the back of the loops when going forward again to avoid twisting. Unfortunately, knitting into the back of the loops while knitting forwards can complicate stitch patterns, and Portuguese style is not at its best this way either. Or, again, you could just take the extra step of manually turning the loops to the left before you work them going forward. Or just don’t wrap clockwise. It causes too much trouble.

HOW TO DO IT WITH LEFT-ANGLED LOOPS —\\\\\—

BACKWARD KNIT: Stick the needle in the left side (the front) of the stitch on the right needle, out the back, maneuver the working yarn to be behind the right needle, wrap the yarn counterclockwise for a right facing loop (requires the use of another finger to hold the yarn down to the right while pulling), then pull through.

BACKWARD PURL: To purl backwards without twisting your worked stitch you need to insert your left needle from the back of the stitch and the right of the back (leg) of the loop, i.e. the leg nearest the needle tip – and wrap the yarn counterclockwise for a left-facing loop, then push the loop out the back.

Summary: The straightforward way to knit Portuguese style backwards and not get twisted stitches or right-turned loops or have to do complicated compensations when knitting forward.

1.    Always knit or purl around the loop leg nearest the tip of the needle holding the loops you are about to work in. Knitting backwards it will be the leg on the other side of the needle, knitting forward it will be the leg on your side – if your loops are angled to the left —\\\\\—.
2.    Always wrap your yarn counterclockwise to get left-angled loops as is normal for forward knitting.
3.    Do a backwards Portuguese knit stitch as follows, from left to right: a. have the yarn over the top of the left needle; b. lift the working yarn with the tip of the right needle; c. insert the left needle into the left side (front) of the stitch on the right needle, but toward and out the back, coming out on the far side of the right needle, not on your side of it; d. use your index finger on your right hand to pull the working yarn down to the right to in effect wrap it counterclockwise around the tip of the left needle; e. pull the loop through to the front.
4.    Do a backwards purl stitch as follows, from left to right: a. with the yarn under the left needle; b. insert your left needle from the back of the stitch and the right side of the loop leg (nearest the needle tip) and out the front toward you; c. flick the yarn counterclockwise around the left needle tip; d. push it out the back again.
5.    All your newly created loops accumulating on the left needle will have the leg nearest you also nearest the needle tip, —\\\\\—, which is normal for forward knitting. When you knit forward you won’t have to do anything special.

So there you have it. The science of loops and twists.

I need a drink. Unfortunately, I don’t drink.

Well, sometimes we just need a break. You need something different for a while. Really, your brain and psyche and spirit do need variety. Yes, some people can knit until the cows come home, but remember everyone is different. You know about how people with different astrological signs can be do different? Well, that applies to knitters as well. Not everyone is made to knit until the cows come home, to the sheep or alpacas or whatever. You are unique, so see that maybe you need to break it up a bit. Find other things to focus on periodically, with the intention to refresh yourself so you can get back to knitting happily. Read something – that’s not about knitting! Spend a little time on a craft that doesn’t use yarn. Do some gardening or other creative things that are distinct from knitting to refresh your tastebuds and you will enjoy your knitting more when it’s no longer stale on your palate.

And this uniqueness extends not only to knitting itself but what and why you are knitting. Here are a few variations on that:

Are you knitting to “save money” on gifts? You should know by now that knitting is not a great way to save money. Yarn doesn’t grow on trees, unless it’s part silk and part mulberry fiber and that’s another thing altogether. So if you do it for some back of the mind idea of affordable home made gifts and garments, you might want to think again – or plant mulberries. Or cotton.

Are you knitting for others and not yourself? Ultimately you should be knitting starting with yourself, if not literally, then experientially, meaning you need to enjoy it. What are you getting out of it materially? Have you knitted anything for yourself lately? Or are you being a servant of sorts to others, making gifts, fulfilling requests, answering promises or other “obligations”? How fun is that? If so, you need to rethink. You are not a knitting manufactory. You are a person. Unless you knit for a living, you don’t have to do it.

Handcuffs are not knitting tools.

Firstly, remember you are not truly obligated to knit something you don’t enjoy knitting for someone who asked you, and if you “promised” you can change your mind about it. They don’t own you. And that boring scarf you decided to make for someone – do you really think they want you to suffer through that and be unhappy for that long so they can have a scarf they may not even love? I don’t think it’s a good idea to knit in a bad mood or knit something you don’t like in any case because it puts bad vibes into the piece. Unless that was your intention, and I don’t think it is.  You can, in fact, put good vibes into a piece deliberately by repeating prayers. I read about a woman who repeated the mantra OM for each stitch she did in a shawl for a spiritual teacher she was going to visit and he was able to feel the good vibes that were embedded in it.

And just because someone asked for a hat or something that you agreed to make because it’s “small and easy” doesn’t mean you have to do it, not even if you do it because you are generous and love to knit, and not even because you said you would. Again, they don’t own you. If you are spending all your time knitting for others you have become a servant and not a person who loves to knit and you will suffer. “I said I would do it for them.” Well, now you can tell them you changed your mind because there are other things you want to knit for yourself. Self-affirmation is good for everyone, and teaches others not to be slaves to petty promises.

And another thing about knitting for others: are you knitting to impress them, to be part of a group, to keep up with the pack or fit in somewhere? If you are at all knitting to be liked in some way then you are not being a strong, self-affirming person. I don’t want to be around you – other than to tell you to cut it out. Think of the heroes and others you admire: they are strong, self-affirming people who do what they want and don’t run around trying to please and impress. It’s fine to knit because you enjoy it and enjoy the company of other knitters, but look for the real reason under that and be sure you are coming from your center, not their favor.

Nothing for you. As I said, what do you get out of it materially? My cousin recently admitted that she has not made one thing for herself short of a couple of dishcloths and washcloths – woo hoo! What remains of her nicer finished projects in her house is something she made for the cat. Believe me, your inner child or inner adult wants something knittied for her/his self. “I want one too. What about me?” Give to yourself of your knitting as much or more than you give to others or you will probably, at least subconsciously, feel cheated and left out.

Another reason we balk at knitting is we don’t love the yarn or the color. I have started at least two projects where I had to force myself to knit with the yarn, and then when I realized I didn’t like the color or fiber in yarn for this or any project I canned it. Does the fiber feel good, does it make sense, is it made of what you want to knit with? I’ve decided that for the most part I’m going to knit with organic, unbleached, naturally dyed fibers. Bleaching is needed for dying, and dyes are synthetic and synthetic fibers, pesticides and other dye chemicals all come from petroleum, so there you have it. Eventually I want all my clothes and bedding to be the same, in hemp, cotton, wool – of course alpaca!

On that point, here is a picture of what I call my hamburger scarf because the colors look like old hamburger you find in the fridge and need to throw out – blackish brown, meat-red brown, tan and so forth. I had a small quantity of this hand-spun, hand-dyed yarn in strange colors. I bought it on clearance for a gift for someone else, but one day I just needed something simple to knit at work, and I needed a scarf for myself. So I made this. I like the yarn itself but don’t like the colors. Everyone else loved the colors. It was okay for mindless knitting, and now I have a strange scarf that I like because it is strange, and it reminds me that what I think I don’t like, about myself or anyone or anything, is not a universally unlikable thing. It wasn’t a mistake; it was a life lesson. Yes, I will wear the scarf. Until I make my natural alpaca one with reversible cables.

My hamburger scarf.

Or maybe you just want to experience some exotic yarn once and then you will be fine with your more common yarns for a while. Get it out of your system.

The pattern is too hard or too plain or too repetitive. I had a scarf pattern I was going to do. It was complicated. Involved lace and small cable like cross-overs. It was mind-bending to do this pattern! Needless to say I have ended the adventure. The same can be said for the boringly repetitive scarf or whatever. I’ve looked at scarf patterns with lengths of cables repeating on and on and on and think to myself that I would have to keep changing the pattern so the cables did different things every 4 to 6 inches. I absolutely would not do a 4 to 6 foot scarf in all the same pattern. That’s what machines were invented for. I’m not a machine.

You don’t love the piece, the stitch pattern, the stitches in it. How interesting is this to you? Does the garment flatter your figure? Is the pattern not particularly exciting? If you do actually secretly want to impress others, will this do it? And do fear or dread the stitches? Some people love cables but not doing them. If the stitches are an issue, dive into some stitch practice swatches and see if you can learn a better way to do cables or whatever the challenge is.

You don’t need the piece. Motivation of some sort has to be there. Do you actually need another sweater in that color? Maybe you feel you have too many already but do want this one. Then find one or two you don’t love and give it away or frog it out. Thus you clear a space for the new one and create motivation for yourself to do it. Think of something you haven’t knitted for yourself and would like or could use and make that instead.

It’s nothing new. How many of these garments have you done? Why are you doing so many of them? Maybe you are actually the sort of person who needs to do one or two of a lot of different things. Explore and expand. Maybe a different garment or item would be more exciting and motivating. Try different stuff.

Tired of running with the pack; everybody does these pieces. You are an original and maybe you need to find your own knitting niche. Break the mold, break formation, break into a new to you and maybe new to the world field of knitting.

The project lacks true creativity or self expression. One of the things that keeps me going is inventiveness. I love to take a pattern and modify it, sometimes on the fly. I’m making a Glengarry had from the Folk Hats book by ____ and the first issue is it’s too small. I made one exactly as the book instructed just to figure it out, and didn’t like some of the features. So I have the exploration of how to make it my size, plus I get to change the pattern in a few ways to suit my creativity. I changed the bottom edge so it won’t curl on me, I’m putting diagonal ridges in the sides using carefully placed purl stitches in a field of knits, plus I am using short rows to make the front band taller than the back of the had, which is more like conventional Glengarrys. And for the top I’m going to make it all full of holes with yarnovers so it’s cooler in the summer. I may put holes in the sides for ventilation and decoration as well. So maybe you, too, need to inject some of yourself into your project. Then you get to learn and invent and have the mystery of how will it turn out ahead of you.

Nothing to learn. I like to learn new things, so if I’m doing the same thing over and over and not extending or expanding myself it gets boring. It becomes a chore. Find projects or things you can add to the project that will make it a growing experience for you. This motivation makes your knitting more valuable to you. Have you tried intarsia? Entrelac? Colorwork? Break your bounds and explore. Even if you don’t intend to do anything with a particular technique you will feel more complete and confident as a knitter when you master more skills. And you may discover a new knitting avenue to fire up and inspire your knitting.

You don’t have a great place to knit. So make yourself a knitting place. Where do you like to sit. Is it comfortable, warm or cool enough, lit properly, quiet enough. Maybe it’s too lonely. Find a knitting friend or circle. If it’s your space, fix it up, neaten it up and make it work for you. I used to knit with yarn in Ziploc bags. Not very romantic, so I found some fabric lined baskets that nest, and I like the look and vibe of having my yarn so contained while I’m knitting and the look of it when I’m not, and I like to knit on my couch with classical music playing. My cousin Leigh knits out of select pieces of her pottery collection at her dining table with good lighting. Don’t just plop down anywhere. Make it a pleasure to yourself.

My knitting awaits me.

You knitting energy is literally too dispersed. I believe it’s possible that if you have six projects going it can stall all of them. It is good to have maybe three so you can give yourself variety, but maybe you are the sort of person who needs to learn not to have too many irons in the fire. There are too many wips and not enough energy for any one of them because the energy you have is spread too thin. This could also be a sign of indecisiveness or poor choices and you aren’t knitting for some of the reasons on in this article.

You just have no real reason to knit. Well, if you do generally like to knit you can just knit nothing in particular. Just practice stitches and learn new techniques with swatches, and someday you will have those skills when you have a reason to knit.

Another way is to make it meditation or concentration practice. We all know how relaxing knitting is. If you are a bit stressed knitting can bring you back to center. And the effects of neuroplasticity will actually train your brain to support you in being generally more calm. With neuroplacticity you actually grow brain cells that make it easier to be relaxed.

You can also use knitting to train yourself to concentrate better by focusing on the stitches. Pick a more complicated pattern and stick with it to train your mind and grow your brain into shape. Better concentration has a powerful benefit and your life would be improved in many other ways. It develops the will and that is central in self-affirmation. Often when we are knitting we are thinking about several other things at the same time and listening to other conversations. See if you are able to think only about your knitting.

Talk about not being able to get knitting out of your head...

Remember that just because you started a project or are half way through you don’t have to finish it if you aren’t enjoying it. Either find a reason to enjoy it or cut your losses. And if you can’t find a reason not to enjoy it maybe you just need to learn to finish things. This can be a challenge, especially if you have a lot of Aries energy in your chart – like me. Pisceans are good at finishing projects – not like me. Believe me, your astrology does affect your knitting, so don’t blame yourself. Learn who you are, what works for you and how you work and learn to make knitting enjoyable.

So how do you get back into knitting? Knit what you love. Knit with yarn and needles you love. Knit for whom you love. Knit with whom you love. Knit how you love to knit. Knit where you love to knit. Knit with love in your heart. Knit as a gift you yourself. Know and love who you are. Make a happy, fulfilled self your gift to the others. Remember: you are the one knitting, and it’s your life.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Relax here: Unlock your knitting prowess (timeoutny.com)
• Wind Knitting Machine (neatorama.com)
• Shhhh…It’s a Secret! (needlelittlelove.com)
• Knitting Green Challenge (craftzine.com)

So I have some yarn that I balled with my ball winder and now I’ve forgotten if it is all wool or not. I found on the web you can test a scrap by putting some of the yarn in a cup with some undiluted bleach overnight and if it is all wool there will be pretty much nothing solid left.

There is a faster burn test if you just need to knit now. Visit this link to read about it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Why we must ban petroleum based synthetic yarns (timesunion.com)
• How-To: Knit stretch sensor (makezine.com)
• A Healthy Dose of Fiber (timesunion.com)
• The Strand That Binds… (timesunion.com)
• Yarndex: The Yarn Directory (timesunion.com)

Fast sock knitting with crochet hooks.

Hook Knitting Detail Video

I did however realize that recycling a new sweater from some inexpensive shop such as Ross or Marshalls is a great option. I was there shopping for the holidays last month and was lured to the men’s sweater rack. One thing I was confident of was that I would not be disappointed by finding a great sweater that had been ruined by washing and felting/fulling. While there were not a lot of colors and fibers that I wanted I did find one that is perfect.

A lot of nice yarn for just $20. Maybe I'll make a scarf and socks.

It’s a gray sweater in what I believe is sport weight, 45% lambswool. 40% modal, 10% nylon and 5% cashmere. I hunted up an extra large one to get the most yarn. It weighs 495 grams. The yarn is a mix of light and dark gray called Iron Heather, so it has a tweedy look. It has all the right kinds of seams – not serged.

And of course, Max my cat has to become involved in every knitting project.

The only odd thing is that it has a design on the front in intarsia, but that shouldn’t be a problem to unravel around.

The intarsia desing reminds me of a turtle for some reason.

Outside the sweater you can see Max approving of the cashmere content. Inside the sweater you can see the intarsia work. It didn't say it was this hand knitted. Do they have machines that can do intarsia?

I will give you an update when I get around to taking this sweater apart and unraveling it.

A little blurry, a lot messy.

I’d wanted a cabinet of some sort to keep it all in but didn’t want to invest in another piece of furniture, and I didn’t want some junky piece from a thrift store. Looking for a gift for my mother for Christmas I found myself at Target, in the far back corner where the closet organizing stuff is, and ran across their Sterilite plastic storage chests. I bought one with three drawers and one with five (both were the same size, but the second had four small drawers and one large) for under $25 and went home to tackle the monster.

As you can see by the before and after pictures it made a big difference. I can actually eat at my dining table without having to move yarn and knitting first.

Yes! The Yarn has been conquered.

The wool is in the wool drawers, the blends and other sorts of yarn are all in their own drawers, and the various tools and needles all have their places. My great knitpicks.com ball winder is put away, my crochet needles are separate from the knitting needles. The many started projects are in appropriate drawers in stead of lying all over the place accusing me of what I’m guilty of (neglect, distraction and indecision), and I have my sanity back. Some of it.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Behind the scenes at the messatorium (crazyauntpurl.com)
• The Suburbs of UFO City… (bohemianknitter.blogspot.com)
• How To Choose the Right Needles For a Knitting Project (howcast.com)

Well, I made a trip to our local Savers Thrift Department store to look for decent wool sweaters from which to recycle the yarn. I thought this would be a great, economical way to obtain several skeins worth of yarn for just about $6. In general, I do believe recycling yarn can be a worthwhile endeavor, but I don’t think it’s for me. The reality of the hunt is not worth the result, which today resulted in more awareness than wool.

First thing I did was examine the 20 feet of men’s sweaters. Feeling along the edges of them for something that might be wool, as well as looking for sweaters that are mostly a solid color I discovered a few things about the sweater search that I don’t care for.

1. I don’t want to spend an hour pawing through hundreds of used sweaters. My time is worth more. On top of that I partially reinjured my mostly healed sprained finger sliding sweaters around on over-burdened racks.
2. Many of the sweaters are not solids, so you can’t get long runs of yarn out of them.
3. Some of them are sewn from cut steeks and can’t be unraveled in continuous strands.
4. Precious few haven’t been partially felted. I don’t know if Savers is washing these or the previous owners are the monster yarn murderers. Even one short wash will make the strands look very second hand, and I don’t want a new garment to look pre-owned from the get go. Also, a bit of felting will make it harder to pull out the stitches.
5. Some have stains. Do I want to spend $X on dry cleaning it before I cannibalize it? Not unless it’s a great looking yarn. Great looking yarn is very rare in situation.
6. Few of them are colors I want to work with. Do I really need that much DK weight, red yarn in 60% lambswool, 20% acrylic and 20% angora rabbit? It was almost the only one I found that wasn’t partially felted and had any potential. Do I know anyone who wants a bunch of socks made from this? I certainly don’t.

In the end I went up to the check out with a smallish, woman’s sweater in a bulky roving-type yarn that was dark gray and black mix. It was 20 percent alpaca, 70 percent wool and 10 percent acrylic, with cotton embroidery and the right kind of seams. I thought I could maybe get some yarn for a decent hat and scarf out of it. I waited a rather long time in line, observing the checker struggle four times trying to get the card swiper to work for a customer ahead of me, as well as other complications with the people in line. Having had this time to reflect on the whole, slummy experience, I turned around, put the sweater back where I found it and left empty-handed but with an armful of awareness.

Recycling yarn is more akin to hand-me-down-ism than you realize. You don’t have much of a choice. You have to decide if you want to make anything from what you do find that is decent. Do you like the color and the yarn? Will anyone else. It was kind of depressing to think I might get stuck with some yarn I don’t love and am not inspired by, and then drag myself through a project I know I’m going to want to give away, knowing it’s not just a gift, it’s getting rid of the stuff. I don’t want to give that kind of vibe to others, and I don’t want to keep it, a souvenir of the dismal fate of so many sweaters and a disappointing search.

You may have much better luck and spirit about yarn recycling that I do. To me though, after what I saw today, it’s more akin to picking at a trash heap than finding treasure. I want to feel better about the process of finding the yarn and its condition. I also prefer not to feel like I’m knitting in a compromise due to poverty. I can afford yarn, and even if I make the effort buy it cheaper online, at least it’s not what to me would feel like reclaimed junk.

Be sure to see part 2 of this topic at this link

You can get some great things at thrift stores. My favorite chair and a marble topped occasional table came from there, and a couple of vests I have. And I did have one super sweater find a couple of years ago, before I ever considered knitting: a fair isle sweater in 100% alpaca, NEW, in colors I love, for just $7. It is one of my cherished possessions. Here it is:

The suggested retail for this brand of 100% alpaca sweater was $150 for a solid color, and this one is multicolor fair isle. Maybe $250?