Home » Discussion Forums » Talk » One for all the fibercrafters!
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3270 is a reply to message #3265 ] |
Sun, 02 November 2008 16:09   |
|
I've been meaning to ask about cabling - when I've tried to wrap my mind around it it hasn't made sense to me at all... It's starting to make a bit more sense, thanks to Jodi and Blondviolinist. I'll have to try it, though, to really make sense of it. I'm a very physical learner, I have to try stuff before I fully comprehend it...
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3271 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Sun, 02 November 2008 16:10 |
|
You know, I have no idea what y'all are talking about but I like to read cause the words are pretty...
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
|
|
| |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3288 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Sun, 02 November 2008 17:38 |
 |
 Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
Senior Member |
|
|
Sorry to get back to you so late, but I see others have come to the rescue, and better than I would have, seeing as I had no idea what those abbreviations were. My English knitting vocabulary is expanding rapidly but all the cabling I have done (and it was a massively complex cabled sweater that put me off knitting for a while, although I loved the end result) has been to instructions in Greek. And as I tell people here, all the time, just because you know the language, doesn't mean you know specific jargon. So I am picking up knitting and crafting jargon, but slowly.
As at the time I couldn't find a cabling needle, I used one of those kilt fasteners. I always had kilts and the fasteners never have sharp ends, as the weave is loose. You can close them if you feel insecure, or leave them open as you knit the first set of stitches. If this is your first set of cables, knitting them freehand might be a bit stressful. I'd hate to be picking cabled stitches and am klutzy enough to know that I would drop them 
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
|
|
| | | |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3491 is a reply to message #3490 ] |
Mon, 03 November 2008 18:31 |
KitF
Messages: 16
Registered: October 2008
Location: Virginia |
Junior Member |
|
|
You can begin on a circular needle if you have a short one, but the hat is going to decrease down at the top to the point where it won't fit on a circular any more. If you find you totally hate them, look into the technique known as "magic loop".
At any rate, it isn't the needles that join, but the knitting. After casting on to the four needles, you then form them into a circle (ok, a square) so that they aren't twisted and then start knitting at the beginning so you are working round and round rather than back and forth.
Double points were invented before circulars and you can do anything on long double points that you can on a circular. Very small circumferences still tend to work better on double points, though they aren't absolutely required. There are those of us who like double points better. (I've tried magic loop, know how to do it, and I'd rather do double points any day.) I do prefer my double point needles to be either plastic or wood, not metal.
|
|
| |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3495 is a reply to message #3490 ] |
Mon, 03 November 2008 18:45 |
|
Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
Senior Member |
|
|
As a beginner I think it is easier to cast on on a long needle, distribute over the Double pointed needles then join. But as KitF stresses, make sure that all your cast-on stitches are straight, because, to put it bluntly, if you loop-the-loop you will get a mobius strip and not a hat  Unfortunately, or fortunately most hats are knitted in the round, so take this as a learning project and look at a few instructions on knitting in the round. If you don't get it the first time, read another set of instructions, they might offer a different perspective so that you "get it". Best of luck and I hope it goes well. ***sends encouraging vibes***
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3537 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Mon, 03 November 2008 23:57 |
|
Question: I just got my set of dpns from eBay today - there are only 4 needles. Every pattern I've seen calls for 5: four to have the stitches on and one to work with. Would it be possible to use one of the (single pointed)needles of the same size in place of the 5th dpn or what? Or can I put the stitches on three needles, instead of 4? Not that I need to know for a while, considering I'm not half done with Liza's scarf and then I have Michelle's scarf to finish before I'll allow myself to experiment with more complicated stuff*, but I was intrigued when I got the "set" of only 4 needles...
*knitting in the round, cabling, etc...
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3541 is a reply to message #3537 ] |
Tue, 04 November 2008 01:07 |
|
| Reading Angel wrote on Mon, 03 November 2008 23:57 |
Question: I just got my set of dpns from eBay today - there are only 4 needles.
|
You can do the same thing with four needles. Hold with three, work with the fourth. I find five easier, but lots of people work with three. What kind of needles did you get? Boye? Lots of needles you'd buy at a local yarn store will have five. I like Brittany needles. Lots of people like Knitpicks - I haven't tried them.
I wouldn't use a regular straight needle as your fifth needle. You'd have to be able to slide the stitches off the other end!
Smooshes!
|
|
| | |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3550 is a reply to message #3537 ] |
Tue, 04 November 2008 03:50 |
|
Susan from Athens
Messages: 817
Registered: October 2008
Location: Athens, Greece |
Senior Member |
|
|
| Reading Angel wrote on Tue, 04 November 2008 06:57 |
Question: I just got my set of dpns from eBay today - there are only 4 needles. Every pattern I've seen calls for 5: four to have the stitches on and one to work with. Would it be possible to use one of the (single pointed)needles of the same size in place of the 5th dpn or what? Or can I put the stitches on three needles, instead of 4? Not that I need to know for a while, considering I'm not half done with Liza's scarf and then I have Michelle's scarf to finish before I'll allow myself to experiment with more complicated stuff*, but I was intrigued when I got the "set" of only 4 needles...
*knitting in the round, cabling, etc...
|
Ditto to Jodi's comment. But there is no reason not to have cabling or knitting in the round for your scarves as well. There are some lovely patterns and a scarf is a great time to experiment, because you are thinking about what the design does and the shape of the object mostly takes care of itself. Although, that said, I am knitting from a book called Knitting New Scarves by Lynne Barr and the whole point of those scarves is that the shape is not the long, scarf shape, but three-dimensional and fanciful.
“I have always imagined heaven to be a kind of library.” –Jorge Luis Borges
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3551 is a reply to message #3537 ] |
Tue, 04 November 2008 03:52 |
|
| Reading Angel wrote on Tue, 04 November 2008 04:57 |
... to experiment with more complicated stuff*, ...
*knitting in the round, cabling, etc...
|
I found socks impossible, but knitting in the round very straightforward... and fewer seams to stitch! (My least favourite bit) so I'm sure you'll enjoy going in circles
and there's such a lot of skill and friendly advice here - maybe I'll try socks again...
[Updated on: Tue, 04 November 2008 03:58]
Someone says "pie" and we all go on alert, like meercats. "Pie? Where?" - Blackbear
|
|
| | |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3806 is a reply to message #3558 ] |
Thu, 06 November 2008 08:59 |
Louiz
Messages: 38
Registered: October 2008
Location: London, England |
Member |
|
|
| Susan from Athens wrote on Tue, 04 November 2008 04:18 |
Cables aren't difficult. I learned to do cables by picking up a pattern and doing a very complicated interlocking cable sweater (overambitions? I was young). However, what nobody tells you is that they take PATIENCE.
Cable knitting is not something you can do while giving your attention elsewhere. You have to be at least 80% focused on the knitting. I should replace the 2nd person with the 1st person here: I can't hold an intelligent conversation and count stitches at the same time. I can't watch TV (the little I do nowadays) or follow a forum on the interwebs while doing cables. I have to concentrate on the cables.
|
Yep, I agree. Cables are fantastic, but take concentration. I too have to concentrate on them... so they're definitely not train knitting!
Bibliovorous.
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3809 is a reply to message #3551 ] |
Thu, 06 November 2008 09:07 |
Louiz
Messages: 38
Registered: October 2008
Location: London, England |
Member |
|
|
| southdowner wrote on Tue, 04 November 2008 03:52 |
| Reading Angel wrote on Tue, 04 November 2008 04:57 |
... to experiment with more complicated stuff*, ...
*knitting in the round, cabling, etc...
|
I found socks impossible, but knitting in the round very straightforward... and fewer seams to stitch! (My least favourite bit) so I'm sure you'll enjoy going in circles
and there's such a lot of skill and friendly advice here - maybe I'll try socks again...
|
Do! Socks are fun, there's all sorts of patterns and mmm yarn, loads of yarn just for making socks with...
from mild and meek right up to outrageously behaved, both patterns, colours and contrasts! Not to mention (what hooked my friend) silk? Cashmere? Silk/cashmere mix? Bamboo? Cotton? Wool? what do you fancy, someone will have it!
Louiz. (should sometimes be called "the sock enabler")
Bibliovorous.
|
|
| | |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3833 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Thu, 06 November 2008 15:08 |
 |
Katherine
Messages: 72
Registered: October 2008
Location: Michigan, The States |
Member |
|
|
Is this thread open to other crafts as well? If not, this is completely cheating as there are no fibers involved, but there WAS weaving. That counts, right? I'm not fiberly crafty, but I want to be involved! Hee. And it was very crafty, though probably more akin to theatre costuming than, say, knitting, I suppose.
I give you my Halloween costume--Medusa! (From the back or I'd turn you to stone, of course).
Every day for the next year, I'm taking and posting at least one picture. Stop by and take a look!
http://project365lummox.blogspot.com
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3834 is a reply to message #3833 ] |
Thu, 06 November 2008 15:22 |
|
| Katherine wrote on Thu, 06 November 2008 15:08 |
I give you my Halloween costume--Medusa! (From the back or I'd turn you to stone, of course).
|
Oooh, that is COOL! Looks awesome!
Smooshes!
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3840 is a reply to message #3834 ] |
Thu, 06 November 2008 15:57 |
|
Oh, how cool, Katherine! Now I want to dress up as Medusa and I'll have to wait until next Halloween!
We've talked about wire-crafting(chain mail, bracelets, crocheting wire, etc), so surely snake-crafting is likewise allowed... I wonder if it could be argued that snakes are a fiber? Or would what you've done be considered hair-crafting? I'm pretty sure hair is a fiber...
[Updated on: Thu, 06 November 2008 15:58]
"The center of every man's existence is a dream. Death, disease, insanity, are merely material accidents, like a toothache or a twisted ankle. That these brutal forces always besiege and often capture the citadel does not prove that they are the citadel."
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3854 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Thu, 06 November 2008 19:49 |
|
You have to make room for snakes. They get really cranky if you don't. Great 'do, Katherine!
"And by the way you look fantastic in your boots of Chinese plastic."
|
|
| |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3869 is a reply to message #3859 ] |
Thu, 06 November 2008 20:47 |
|
Katherine
Messages: 72
Registered: October 2008
Location: Michigan, The States |
Member |
|
|
Gee, thanks everybody! *beam* I don't feel nearly as bad about hijacking the thread anymore. Playing here is fun!
| Susan from Athens wrote on Thu, 06 November 2008 19:53 |
Fabulous hairstyle, Katherine. Wow, how long did that take you?
|
Not as long as you would think, actually. Maybe half an hour or so for the main part?
The topknot is actually mostly a hairpiece so I could get a little height on the hairstyle. I was planning to wrap it into a sort of beehive of braids, but...well, that went ridiculously badly. So I did twists instead and I much preferred the slightly mad feeling of that anyway. As I twisted, I wove snakes over and under in a few spots so the hair was holding them down. Then I just put the whole thing on top of a bun on my head in the morning and secured it with lots of bobby pins. The snakes that are crawling all unsupported-looking have jewelry wire sewn through their bellies and then wrapped around a bobby pin.
It took longer in the morning to put contacts in so I could wear my false eyelashes (which never did stick to my eyelids, by the way--my fingers, the counter, the mirror, but not my eyelids) than it did to put the piece on, add the extra snakes, and spackle on emerald green eyeshadow. And it was remarkably solid--it lasted all day, even through a dentist appointment and an "Getting divorced sucks, so let's have pizza!" lunch for a friend.
Hey, whoever wants to can use this costume! My sister wanted to steal the idea as soon as she heard it. She promised to pass out cards that said, "This was my sister's brilliant idea," but I won't hold any of you to that. *grin*
Every day for the next year, I'm taking and posting at least one picture. Stop by and take a look!
http://project365lummox.blogspot.com
|
|
| |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3942 is a reply to message #3833 ] |
Fri, 07 November 2008 09:38 |
Louiz
Messages: 38
Registered: October 2008
Location: London, England |
Member |
|
|
| Katherine wrote on Thu, 06 November 2008 15:08 |
I give you my Halloween costume--Medusa! (From the back or I'd turn you to stone, of course).
|
Fantastic costume!
Louiz.
Bibliovorous.
|
|
| |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3996 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Fri, 07 November 2008 13:59 |
|
|
No Message Body
[Updated on: Fri, 07 November 2008 14:00]
Don't worry about the dust bunnies, they're just here to guard the treasure.....
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #3997 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Fri, 07 November 2008 13:59 |
|
Socks are joyous! I'm a recently converted sock addict, and I have such a queue of patterns I want to try. (I finished my most recent one on the train home yesterday, and now I can't decide which pattern to do next....)
Don't worry about the dust bunnies, they're just here to guard the treasure.....
|
|
|
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #4025 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Fri, 07 November 2008 19:51 |
|
MY SPINDLE IS HERE!
Spindles, rather, since I got top and bottom-whorl, so that I can experiment to discover if I'm a top or a bottom *insert sexual joke here*
I got out the silky roving, unrolled it, stroked--and promptly broke it in half. Oops. Man, the videos make this rejoining thing look so easy....*frantically tries to pet roving back into position*
|
|
| | | |
| Re: One for all the fibercrafters! [message #4052 is a reply to message #1062 ] |
Fri, 07 November 2008 21:52 |
|
|
It is soft and cuddly--it is also very thin in a couple of places o_0 I had a little group with the twist leaping over a thickish spot and twisting up a thin spot into a tight little knot. I suppose this is something that I'll learn to manage with practice? One can only hope
|
|
| | |
| Pages (14): [ 6 ] |
  |
Goto Forum:
Current Time: Sat May 18 18:10:19 EDT 2013
Total time taken to generate the page: 0.09010 seconds |
Members
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
