FO: Choo Choo Hat for GS

January 16, 2012| LindyBeir| 0 Comment | 5:48 pm

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My GS is almost two and “Choo Choo’s” are one of his most favorite things at the moment. Now he got a train table and lots of trains and things to go with it for Christmas, but this Grandma just had to knit him a hat with a choo choo train on it. My first attempt was a little too tight, so I knit another a lit bit wider and it fit perfectly.

Since two year olds are always in motion when awake, it was a challenge to get him to stand still long enough to take his picture — But I was able to get one (and only one) good picture of him wearing his new hat.

Details: Knit with Paton’s Classic Wool in Blue, Red and Black on size US 7 needles. Pattern for the train is from “Patterns for Knitted Hats by Betty Lampen.

Do You Know? Swatching 101Do You Know? Swatching 101

July 27, 2020| LindyBeir| 0 Comment| 8:00 am

This is the first in a series of blog posts about swatching. It has taken me years to gain an appreciation for swatching and I frequently see posts in Ravelry forums about issues coming from swatches. If you are on Ravelry, you have probably seen them too. There are usually a number from new knitters/beginners that ask why the sweater they just knit according to a pattern doesn’t fit and many times, these knitters either didn’t swatch at all or didn’t knit a proper swatch. So, this set of posts is intended to share what I have learned over the years about swatching.

Take my quiz below to check your understanding of swatches.

Question 1: True or False: A swatch must be 4 inches by 4 inches (10 cm X 10 cm).

Question 2: True or False: The needle size stated in the pattern is the size needle you must use to obtain the pattern’s stitch and row gauge.

Question 3: True or False: Row Gauge is not important.

Question 4: True or False. Swatching is necessary for knitting sweaters and other fitted garments.

Question 5: True or False: You must get gauge when knitting from a pattern.

Click here to see Quiz Answers.

My next post will cover swatching to obtain gauge. If you have a question about swatching, please post it in the comments. I will try to incorporate an answer in my upcoming posts.

Jeny’s Stretchy (Slipknot) Cast OnJeny’s Stretchy (Slipknot) Cast On

July 3, 2021| LindyBeir| 0 Comment| 3:12 pm

This cast on is basically a series of slip knots placed on your needle. It creates a very elastic edge and is great for the cuffs of socks, mittens, and sleeves plus anywhere else where you want a very stretchy edge. It works especially well with ribbing and adding stitches at the end of a row.

One important point when doing this cast on: you need to get the stitches snugged up close to each other – avoid gaps between the stitches as it will give an untidy looking edge.

Link to video:

Jeny’s Cast On

Finished SocksFinished Socks

August 31, 2009| Lindy| 3 Comments| 5:04 pm

Knitted striped socks

I finished my striped socks yesterday morning. I am pleased with how they turned out. I used a self-striping yarn from Patons Yarns and it was fascinating to see the stripes evolve as the socks knit up.

I did not really use a pattern for these socks. There are literally thousands of free sock patterns available on the internet, but you really don’t need them if you understand the basics of knitting socks. I started with a gauge swatch and used my foot measurements to determine the number of stitches I needed. The “how to” of this seems to be enough for a separate post, so I will place that in my queue for future topics.

I choose to do a picot hem at the top of the cuff, a 3 by 1 rib for the cuff and instep, a slipped stitched heel flap with a square heel turn. My mentors for these socks were Nancy Bush – I consulted her book “Knitting on the Road” for advice on the square heel and Cat Bordhi, whose book “Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles” contains a wealth of information on how to knit socks.

Knitting socks on two circular needles

I used the two socks on two circular needles for this pair of socks. I prefer to knit socks two at a time, because when you’ve finished, you have a pair of socks and don’t have to go back and knit that second sock. You can knit socks two at a time using either two circulars – as shown here in my photo – Or you can use the magic loop technique. I started another pair of socks last night using this technique – so I’ll post about them later.