ASK THE EXPERTS
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YESTOYARNOVERS
Q
I’veheardofa yarnover.What is
thisandhowcanI doit?
HelenM,viaemail
Yarnoversareusedtocreateincreases
andareusuallyworkedinconjunction
withdecreasestomaintainthestitch
count.Theyaremostcommonlyfound
inlacepatterns.Therearedifferent
methodsofmakingyarnovers
dependingon the stitches either side.
DebbieBRILLIANTBLOCKING
Q
Doyouhaveanytop tips for
blockingyarn?
JennieA,Farnham
I pinoutmypiecesonginghamfabric
overpaddingora towel.Thechecked
patternhelpstokeeptheknittedpieces
straight.I constantlymeasurethepieces
tomakesuretheyarethesameasthe
patternmeasurements.If ironing,take
carenottooverpressa delicate stitch
patternorcable.DebbieAvoidoverpressinga
delicate pattern or cableNoteverysizelistedina
patterncanbeknittedupto
checktheyarnamountsused,so
theywillbebasedonwhatthe
sampleknitterusedforthesize
shownandthena formulaisused
toworkoutalltheother
approximateamounts
quoted.Did you
know...?DebbieBlisspatterns,booksandyarns
are available fromwww.lovecrafts.comDEBBIE
BLISS...YOU ASKED
NEEDLEKNOWLEDGE
Q
Myknittinggrouptellmesome
needlesarebetterthanothersbut
I’mgettingconfusedandnowdon’tknow
whatwouldbethebesttobuy.Can you
helpmewithsomeadvice?
CarolinaMorris,DoverModernknittingneedlesareusuallymade
ofaluminium,steel,plastic,bambooor
wood.Belowaresomeoftheneedletypes
you’llcomeacrossandwhatthey’rebest
usedfor.It’salwaysgoodtocollectneedles
witha varietyoftips– bluntneedleswon’t
splitstitchesmadewithlooselyspunor
thickyarn,whilesharpertipsaregreatfor
knittingrepeatedlyintothesamestitch.If
youtakethetimetostoreneedlescarefully
they’llgiveyoumanyyearsofservice,but
alwaysreplacethemif theybecomerough,
toobluntorbent,toavoiddamagingyour
yarnoraffectingyourtension. Here’s a
littleabout materials!Wood
Woodenneedlescanbeexpensivebut
theylooklovelyandarewonderfultoknit
with.Theytendtohavemore‘grip’than
plasticormetalneedles,whichisuseful
withsmoothyarns.However,bewarned,
thefinerneedlesareverydelicateand can
bend, so take good care of them!Bamboo
Smooth,andgorgeoustohandle,bamboo
isa goodmaterialtousewithslippery
yarnssuchassilksandfinewools,because
it gripstheyarnbetter than metal needles.CarbonFibre
Lightweightbutincrediblystrong,carbon
fibreisoftenalsoidealforknitting.I’m
a bigfanofKarbonzneedles,whichare
super-flexibleandwarmtohold.Who knew
knittingcould be so high-tech?Metal
Madefromoneofthemostcommonand
usefulmaterials,metalneedlesareperfect
for‘stickier’yarns,suchasacrylicones.
Thisisbecausethey’resmoothandthe
yarnslidesalongeasily.Themorepolished
a needleis,thefasteryoucanwork.If you
havearthritisorsimilarproblems,then try
usingbamboo or wooden needles.Plastic
Lightandstrong,plasticisoftenusedfor
largerneedles.Children’spairsaregreatfor
gettingneworyoungknitterstolearnthe
craftandalsoformakingsmallerprojects,
whateveryourage.Thenthereareacrylic
needles,althoughsimilartoplastic,they
canbea littleheavier.They’revery
comfortable to use, though!JenPlastic
Bamboo
Metal
Carbonfibre
Wood