My Helen cardigan is finished, and now it's time to block the sweater! Today I'm going to share some tips for blocking your knits. In our office we have a top-loader washing machine we use to soak and spin our knits. Before I began working here, I was hesitant to put anything hand made into a… Continue reading Emily Explains: Blocking Your Sweater
Tag: finishing
Emily Explains: Wet Blocking and Blocking Wires
It's the first day of our Fall/Winter '15 photo shoot, which means the past couple of weeks have been all about finishing touches. One part of the process that is especially important is wet blocking. I thought I knew how to do it, but the girls in the office gave me a few pointers to… Continue reading Emily Explains: Wet Blocking and Blocking Wires
Emily Explains: Provisional Cast On
Have you been wanting to learn a provisional cast on? Today, I'm going to explain my preferred method. Truthfully, it's the only method I know, but I still think it's pretty great! A provisional cast on uses waste yarn - slippery and brightly colored is best - that is later removed to reveal live stitches. These… Continue reading Emily Explains: Provisional Cast On
Ask Amanda: What does “bind off in pattern” mean?
A few years ago, I was working in a yarn shop when one of our most frequent customers came in with a pattern question. She was an excellent knitter and had tackled lots of challenging projects, but her question that day was a very simple one. She pulled out an almost-completed sweater worked from the… Continue reading Ask Amanda: What does “bind off in pattern” mean?
Ask Amanda: What is Kitchener stitch?
You won’t come across it in every knitting pattern, but sometimes it’s necessary to join together two sections of “live” stitches in your knitting. This process is often called grafting or Kitchener stitch, and though it might sound intimidating at first, it’s easy to master. The toe of a sock is the place you’re most… Continue reading Ask Amanda: What is Kitchener stitch?
Ask Amanda: How do I pick up stitches?
One summer when I was in high school, I knitted a little cotton vest to use in a yarn shop display. To complete it, I had to pick up stitches and work the edging in a contrasting color. I wasn’t very familiar with picking up stitches, but I understood the basic concept. I sat at… Continue reading Ask Amanda: How do I pick up stitches?
Ask Amanda: How do I fasten off at the top of a hat?
When I first started knitting, I made only scarves and I never used a pattern. In an effort to expand my knitting horizons, my mom bought me a pattern for a hat, along with the recommended yarn. It was a pretty simple pattern so it wasn’t too hard to decipher, until I got to the… Continue reading Ask Amanda: How do I fasten off at the top of a hat?