Simply Knitting - UK (2019-08)

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EXPERT ADVICE

A slipknotisthefirstloopedstitchyou’lleverlearnasa knitter– if

you’re still tying on your yarn perhaps it’s time to master a new skill!

secure slipknot

W

henyougetdowntothevery

basics,knittingissimplya

seriesofinterlinkedloops,

allpulledthroughoneanothertocreate

a fabric.So,thefirstloop,theslipknot,is

veryimportanttogetright.Weallknowa

goodknitreliesona goodknotandit may

bethatyou’vebeensimplytyingyouryarn

toyourneedleallthistime(shock,horror)!

Butdon’tworry,slipknotsarenothardto

master,andyoumayevenhavemadethem

whenyouwereyounger.Beforeyouembark

on that exciting new project take your time

andpractiseyourslipknotsa littlebit– it

mayseemmonotonous,but we promise it

willpayointheend.

Whenyoucreateslipknotsforcastingon,

makesureyouleavea fairlylongtailofyarn

attheend,approximately10cm(4in)long.

Thisway,youcanbesureit won’tunravel

andit willbeeasiertoweaveintoyour

knittingattheend.Remember,youdon’t

needtopullyourslipknottootightonceit’s

ontheneedle– if it’sa bitloosethenit will

beeasiertoknitonthenextrow.So,what

are you waiting for? Let’s slipknot!

How to make a

STEP 1

Takeyouryarnandmakea loop,as

shownhere,ona tableorflatsurface

infrontofyou.Makesurethetailend

ofyarnisontheleftandtheballend

isontheright.Makesuretheball end

islyingontop of the tail end.

STEP 2

Nowbringtheballendofyarn

aroundfromtheright,lifttheloop

slightlyandruntheballendof

yarnunderneaththeloop.Forming

a straightlineacrosstheloopas

shownintheStep Two picture.

STEP 3

Takeyourknittingneedleandplace

it underthestraightlineyoujust

formed,butoverthetopoftheother

yarn lengths,as shown here.

STEP 4

Holdontothetailendandtheball

endoftheyarntogether.Intheother

hand,pulltheneedleawaytoform

theslipknot.Pullontheballenduntil

theslipknotcomfortably holds the

needle. Now cast on!

Masterslipknotsand

yourknittingwillget

o to the best start

1

3

2

4

TRYIT NOWWITH

OUR STEP BY STEP

Slipknotscanbeusednot

onlywhencastingonyour

stitchesbutalsowhenyou

needtoadda newcolourof

yarntoyourknitting– it’s

greatforanchoringthe

first few stitches.

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