Hints & Tips for you to try

Here are some of our top hints & tips when it comes to knitting patterns and working with wool. Although it may seem difficult at first following these hints and tips should make life much easier for you, we hope you enjoy them and they help you as much as they have others.

Casting on Tip number #1

There are a few methods you can use to cast on – this is the two needle methods

  1. Make a slip knot in the wool you are using to cast on and place it on the left needle
  2. Insert the right hand needle through the slip knot and pass the yarn over the right needle
  3. Pull a loop through
  4. Place this loop on the left hand needle
  5. Insert the right hand needle between the two stitches on the left needle. Wind the yarn round the point of the right needle
  6. Draw a loop through, place this loop on the left hand needle

Repeat the above steps until the required number of needles are on the needle

Basic stitches – Knit stitch Tip number #2

The right-handed way to knit

  1. Holding the yarn at the back of the work, insert the right hand needle from left to right through the front of the first stitch on the left hand needle
  2. Wind the yarn up over the right hand needle
  3. Pull your right hand needle back through your work to make a loop
  4. Slip the original stitch off the left hand needle, leaving the new stitch on the right hand needle

Repeat the above steps until you have reached the end of the row

Basic stitches – Purl stitch Tip number #3

The right-handed way to purl

  1. Holding the needle with the stitches in your left hand, push the tip of the right needle down into the top of the first stitch on the left needle, so that it crosses in front of the left needle
  2. Making sure the yarn is in the front of the needles, wrap the wool counter clockwise around the right needle, from the front to the back
  3. Gently pull the tip of the right needle back towards you through the first loop, taking the yarn with it
  4. Slowly pull the right needle to the back, making sure that you do not pull too hard
  5. Pull the old loop from the left needle

Repeat the above steps until you have reached the end of the row

Casting off Tip number #4

There are a few methods you can use to cast on – this is the two needle methods

  1. Knit the first 2 stitches
  2. *Put the tip of the left needle into the first knitted stitch on the right needle, from the front and from left to right
  3. Pull the stitch forward over the second stitch on the right needle and off the needle*
  4. You have cast off the first stitch
  5. Knit the next stitch
  6. Repeat from * to * till all stitches have been cast off

Cut a good length of wool at the end of the row, pull the wool through the last loop on the needle to finish casting off

Blanket stitch Tip number #5

To tidy and firm up a knitted edge

  1. Knot the end of a good length of wool
  2. Push the needle through from the back to the front about a cm away from the edge of the knitted piece of work
  3. Pull the wool through until you reach the knot
  4. With the front of the garment facing, place your needle 1cm along the garment at the same level as the start of the first stitch
  5. Push the needle through the garment, but come up again by going through the loop you have just made with the tread
  6. As you pull the wool gently through the created loop the first blanket stitch will start to form
  7. Finish the stitch by pulling the wool till it is neat, but not too tight
  8. Continue by going from front to back a cm along from the top of the last stitch
  9. Pull the wool under and up again to the front by pulling it through the loop created by the wool

Continue as above till you have made blankets stitches all the way round the edge, fasten the wool off

Grafting Tip number #6

Sewing two knitted edges together stitch by stitch

  1. Hold the 2 pieces of knitting together with the wrong sides facing and the needles close together in your hand
  2. Put a needle on one of the pieces of wool left at the end of knitting the pieces
  3. Take the needle purlwise through the first stitch on the lower edge
  4. Then purlwise through the first upper stitch and knitwise through the next upper stitch
  5. *Insert the needle knitwise again through the first lower stitch, then purlwise through the second lower stitch
  6. Insert the needle purlwise through the upper stitch
  7. Then knitwise through the next upper stitch*

Repeat from * to * to end, fasten off

 

More Hints & Tips can be found on Black Sheep’s Wool essentials page.

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