In the Making...

So your pattern tells you to increase at both ends of the row, but it fails to tell you how. There are quite a number of different ways to create increases in knitting and some will suit different situations better than others. Today I'm going to talk about one of the lifted increases - make one left or right.  Make one left (m1l) and make one right (m1r) are mirror images of each other, so are perfect when you need to make two increases on the same row. If you want to see the details of the swatch below, just scroll to the bottom of the post. Benefits Blend into the knitting more than a lot of other increases Don't create large holes under the stitch, so are neater They are mirrored versions, so look good worked in pairs Downsides Can be a little tricky (tight) to work sometimes but does gets easier with practice As it's a lifted increase, they pull up the stitches from below, which can cause distortion Other increases can be faster to work  Here's the video tutorial b...

I love my stitch markers. I've been posting images of all the uses for stitch markers on Instagram/Facebook and I'll be putting them all together in this blog post, so it's easy to refer back to.  Stitch Marker Use #1 - Mark the beginning of the round This one is fairly obvious use. If working in the round, you need to know where the beginning is. Where to put the marker: On the needles is easiest. Just be careful not to knit them in, by making sure that any extra part of the stitch marker is on the opposite side to your yarn when you work past it. If you struggle with knitting in your markers, round ones are best. Stitch Marker Use #2 - Written in the Pattern As with my pattern, Barque , a lot of patterns include the use of markers in the instructions. A clear pattern will tell you when to place them, when to slip them and when you can take them out again. Designers use markers in the instructions to simplify the pattern. I could spell out to you every row or I can just sa...

Some people really don't like Kitchener Stitch. I'm not one of those people. I think it's a little bit like magic that you can replicate a knitting stitch with a darning needle. A lot of the time people don't like the ears that you can get on sock toes, or having to concentrate the entire time that they're doing it, or if they lose their place, it can all go quite wrong. I'm hoping this video will make it easier, more efficient and more fool-proof - plus no ears! Main features No ears i.e. nice smooth toes Figure out where you are Make it easier by using the darning needle to remove the stitches Work each needle movements in pairs If any of those features sound helpful, check out the video xx