Contents at a Glance COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL. Introduction... 1 Part I: Getting Started with Knitting Part II: Knitting Primer...

Transcription

1 Contents at a Glance Introduction... 1 Part I: Getting Started with Knitting... 5 Chapter 1: Two Needles, a Ball of Yarn, and a Little Know-how...7 Chapter 2: Tools of the Trade...15 Chapter 3: Taking the Mystery Out of Patterns and Gauge...41 Part II: Knitting Primer Chapter 4: The Fundamentals: Casting On, Knitting, Purling, and Binding Off...57 Chapter 5: Basic Stitches You ll Use Again and Again...77 Chapter 6: Techniques Every Knitter Should Know...87 Chapter 7: Oops! Fixing Common Mistakes Chapter 8: Knitting in the Round Chapter 9: Practicing with Simple Projects Part III: Techniques for the More Experienced Knitter Chapter 10: Adding Interest with Stripes Chapter 11: Cable Musings and Interesting Twists Chapter 12: Let the Sun Shine In: Knitting Lace Chapter 13: Fair Isle and Intarsia Techniques Chapter 14: Fulling Fun: Making Your Project s Presence Felt Part IV: Making Knitted Garments Chapter 15: Anatomy of a Sweater Pattern Chapter 16: How to Knit a Sweater, Step by Step Chapter 17: Getting It Together: Blocking and Assembling Your Pieces Chapter 18: Finishing Touches: Neckbands, Edging, Buttonholes, and More Chapter 19: Starter Garments COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL Part V: The Part of Tens Chapter 20: Ten Quick Knitting Projects and Gifts Chapter 21: Ten Unkinking Exercises for Knitters...347

2 Part VI: Appendixes Appendix A: More Stitches and Cool Effects Appendix B: Knitting Resources Index

3 Table of Contents Introduction... 1 About This Book...1 Foolish Assumptions...2 Icons Used in This Book...3 Beyond the Book...3 Where to Go from Here...4 Part I: Getting Started with Knitting... 5 Chapter 1: Two Needles, a Ball of Yarn, and a Little Know-how Why Knit?...7 Knitting up good karma...8 Inspiring a feeling of accomplishment...8 Keeping your mind and hands occupied...8 Creating a one-of-a-kind piece...9 What Knitters Need...9 The tools...9 An understanding of the basics...10 An understanding of knitterese...11 Teaching Yourself to Knit from a Book...12 Swatching...13 Putting it into practice...13 Chapter 2: Tools of the Trade Yearning for Yarn: The (Quick) Consumer s Guide...15 Fixating on fiber fundamentals...16 A weighty matter: Considering yarn weight...20 Looking at yarn packaging...21 Choosing yarn for a project...25 Selecting Knitting Needles...27 Exploring needles...27 Sizing them up...29 Accounting for needle makeup and tip type...30 Collecting Gizmos and Gadgets...31 Stocking up on the essentials...32 Examining nice-to-have extras...34 Eyeing Blocking Equipment...37 Organizing Your Equipment...38

4 vi Knitting For Dummies, 3rd Edition Chapter 3: Taking the Mystery Out of Patterns and Gauge Reading Stitch Patterns...41 Deciphering Knitterese: Common abbreviations and shorthand...42 Following written stitch patterns...45 Reading charted stitch patterns...47 Gauge: Getting the Size Right...48 Knowing what affects gauge...50 Making a gauge swatch...51 Measuring your gauge...52 Matching your pattern s gauge...53 Designing with gauge in mind...54 Part II: Knitting Primer Chapter 4: The Fundamentals: Casting On, Knitting, Purling, and Binding Off Casting On...58 Two-strand (or long-tail) cast-on...58 Cable cast-on (cable co)...61 Thumb (or e-loop) cast-on...62 Now You re Knitting and Purling...64 Knitting know-how...65 Perfect purling...68 Knitting and purling, Continental-style...69 Binding (or Casting) Off...74 Standard bind-off...74 Yarn-over bind-off...75 Helpful hints for binding off...76 Chapter 5: Basic Stitches You ll Use Again and Again Go-To Stitches: Garter, Stockinette, and Seed Stitches...77 Garter stitch...78 Stockinette stitch...79 Seed stitch...81 Adding Stretch with Ribbed Stitches x 1 ribbing x 2 ribbing x 2 and 2 x 4 ribbing x 4 ribbing...86 Chapter 6: Techniques Every Knitter Should Know Slipping Stitches...87 Making a Yarn Over...88 Between 2 knit stitches...89 Between a knit and a purl stitch...90

5 Table of Contents vii Between 2 purl stitches...90 Between a purl stitch and a knit stitch...91 Twisting Stitches: Knitting through the Back Loop...92 Working Increases...93 Bar increase, or knit in front and back...94 Working a make Knitting into the stitch below...97 Making a double increase...98 Increasing at several points in a single row...99 Doing Decreases Knitting 2 stitches together Purling 2 stitches together Slip, slip, knit Pass slipped stitch over Making double decreases Chapter 7: Oops! Fixing Common Mistakes Stopping Mistakes or Catching Them Early Dealing with Dropped Stitches Finding and securing a dropped stitch Rescuing a dropped stitch in the row below Saving a dropped stitch with a crochet hook Ripping (Your Heart) Out Ripping out stitch by stitch Ripping out row by row Chapter 8: Knitting in the Round Why Going in Circles Can Be a Good Thing Choosing Needles for Circular Knitting Casting On for Circular Knitting Joining the Round Joining on a circular needle Joining on double-pointed needles Tidying up the first and last stitches Working Common Stitches in the Round Using Steeks for a Clean Break Sewing in a steek Crocheting a steek Cutting your fabric after you steek Measuring Gauge in the Round Chapter 9: Practicing with Simple Projects Everywhere Bag in Garter Stitch Materials and vital statistics Directions Variations...134

6 viii Knitting For Dummies, 3rd Edition Bias Knit Scarf Materials and vital statistics Directions Variations Scalloped Scarf Materials and vital statistics Directions Variations Button Pillow Materials and vital statistics Directions Variations Mistake Rib Scarf and Fingerless Mitts Materials and vital statistics Scarf directions Fingerless mitts directions Variation Projects Knitted In the Round Simple Textured Cowl Two-way Hat Part III: Techniques for the More Experienced Knitter Chapter 10: Adding Interest with Stripes Seeking the Story on Stripes Textured Stripes, or How to Stand Out in a Crowd Reverse stockinette stitch stripes Garter stitch stripes Knitting Colorful Stripes Picking colors for your project Counting rows Joining colors Dealing with old colors and loose ends Knitting Stripes in the Round Stirring Up Stripes: Combining Texture and Color Varying your stitch pattern Making waves Striping any which way Practice Striped Projects Bold and Bright Scarf Slouchy Hat with Pompom Two-row Striped Shawlette...165

7 Table of Contents ix Chapter 11: Cable Musings and Interesting Twists Cable Basics Twisting to the right or left Reading cable charts Checking gauge in a cable pattern A Cornucopia of Cables Standard (rope) cable Open cable Double cable Wave cable Chain cable Honeycomb cable Braid cable Varying a cable Making Twists Twisting to the right Twisting to the left Practice Cable Projects Cable Hat with Pompoms Horseshoe Cable Hand Warmers Horseshoe Cable Cowl with Buttons Chapter 12: Let the Sun Shine In: Knitting Lace Reading Lace Charts Yarn-over increase and decrease symbols No-stitch symbol Knitting Different Kinds of Lace Eyelet patterns Open lace patterns Faggot lace Incorporating Lace into Other Pieces Lace insertions Lace edgings Avoiding and Correcting Mistakes When Working Lace Patterns Finding the error Ripping out lace Blocking Lace Practice Lace Projects Scarf with Faggot Lace Lace Leaf Shawl Simple Eyelet Lace Market Bag Chapter 13: Fair Isle and Intarsia Techniques Knitting Fair Isle Charting the Fair Isles General rules for successful Fair Isle knitting One-handed or two? Ways to work Fair Isle Managing the back: Catching floats...217

8 x Knitting For Dummies, 3rd Edition Painting with Yarn: Getting into Intarsia Charting intarsia Knitting intarsia Using intarsia in motifs Ending the Ends Weaving as you go: The quick method Weaving in later: The slow method Practice Projects Hit the Slopes Headband Fair Isle Leg Warmers Intarsia Tooth Fairy Pillow Chapter 14: Fulling Fun: Making Your Project s Presence Felt Distinguishing between Fulling and Felting Creating the Right Conditions to Full Knitted Fabric Finding a fulling-friendly project Choosing your fiber Getting the right fabric gauge Controlling water temperature, soap, agitation, and time The Fulling Experience: How to Full Hand fulling Machine fulling Practice Fulling Projects Fulled Cabled Bag In-the-Round Fulled Scarf in Horseshoe Lace Part IV: Making Knitted Garments Chapter 15: Anatomy of a Sweater Pattern Picture This: Studying the Garment Photo Assessing the Pattern at a Glance How hard is easy? Level of difficulty How big is big? Knitted measurements Materials Gauge Special pattern stitches Schematics and charts Knitting instructions Finishing Chapter 16: How to Knit a Sweater, Step by Step Gathering Your Materials A good pattern Yarn Knitting needles Other supplies to have handy...255

9 Table of Contents xi Before You Cast On Step 1: Pick a size Step 2: Find your gauge Knitting... at Last! Knitting the back Knitting the front Putting the front and back together Knitting sleeves The Big Picture: Keeping Track of Where You Are Chapter 17: Getting It Together: Blocking and Assembling Your Pieces Tying Up Loose Ends Weaving ends up the sides Weaving the ends horizontally Weaving ends into a bound-off edge Better Blocking Getting your blocking equipment together Steam, dunk, or spray? Deciding which blocking method to use Wet blocking Spray blocking Steam blocking Three-dimensional blocking Basic Techniques for Joining Pieces Three-needle bind-off (head to head) Grafting stitches (the Kitchener stitch) Mattress stitch Sewing seams with backstitch Determining the Order of Sweater Assembly Joining back to front at the shoulder Attaching a sleeve to a sweater body Making side and sleeve seams Chapter 18: Finishing Touches: Neckbands, Edging, Buttonholes, and More Picking Up Stitches to Knit Picking up stitches along a horizontal edge Picking up stitches on a vertical edge Picking up stitches on a diagonal or curved edge Picking up: A reality check Bring on the Bands Bottoms up! Vertical bands Horizontal picked-up bands Hole in One: Buttonholes All-purpose horizontal buttonhole Simple vertical buttonhole Round (eyelet) buttonhole...311

10 xii Knitting For Dummies, 3rd Edition Button Up! Plotting button placement So happy together: Keeping your buttons buttoned Sewing on buttons Chapter 19: Starter Garments Women s Easy Top-Down Raglan Materials and vital statistics Directions Finishing Baby s Layette: Cardigan, Booties, Hat, and Blanket Cardigan Booties Hat Blanket Chunky Cabled Vest with Hood or Collar Materials and vital statistics Special stitches Stitch patterns Directions Finishing Option: Hood Option: Ribbed Collar Variations Part V: The Part of Tens Chapter 20: Ten Quick Knitting Projects and Gifts Large-Gauge Wrist Warmers Materials Directions Log Cabin Swatch Potholder Materials Directions Swatch Scarf Materials Directions Braided Novelty Yarn Scarf Materials Directions Knit Journal Materials Directions Recycled Sweater Mittens Materials Directions...342

11 Table of Contents xiii Thrift Store Sweater Bag Materials Directions Drink Cozy Materials Directions Felted Checkbook Cover Knitted Flower Pin Materials Directions Chapter 21: Ten Unkinking Exercises for Knitters Five Ways to Slough Stress from Your Shoulders and Arms Five Ways to Relax Your Hands and Wrists Part VI: Appendixes Appendix A: More Stitches and Cool Effects Moss Stitch Double Seed Stitch Basketweave Stitch Double Basket Pattern Twisted Rib and Garter Stitch Check Ripple Stitch Diamond Brocade Guernsey Knit-Purl Pattern Bobbles Chevron Fancy Ribs Mistake stitch ribbing Interrupted rib Diagonal ribbing Fisherman s rib Appendix B: Knitting Resources Online Resources Beginner websites Yarn, supplies, patterns, and more Online audiobooks and technique demonstrations Software Magazines Index

12 xiv Knitting For Dummies, 3rd Edition