Simply Knitting - UK (2020-04)

ASK THE EXPERTS

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TOOTIGHTCAST-OFF

Q

Mycast-oedgeistootight. What

canI doaboutthis?

GillSmith,viaemail

You’renotaloneGill.Thissortofthing

happensbecauseallyourcast-ostitches

needtoliealongthetopedgeofyour

knitting,butasknitstitchesarewiderthan

theyaretall,thecast-ostitchesnaturally

pulla littletighterincomparisontothe

stitchesbelowthem.Buttherearesome

tipsthatmayhelpyou:

1 Tryusinga largerneedle(orcrochethook)

whenyouarecastingoyourwork.Doing

thismakesyourstitchesa littlebitbigger,

whichallowsthemtostretchfurtheracross

theedge.Anothertipistobesuretoform

eachstitchonthewider/straightpartofthe

needle,insteadofontheneedletip.

2 Witheachstitchyoucasto, lifttheright

needleupa bit,pullingthestitchlooser,

beforeyouknitthenextstitch.If youarea

tightknitter,youmayhavetostifletheurge

to tighten each stitch as yougo.Jen

DECREASESTEPS

Q

Doyouhaveadvicefordecreases

attheendofa purlrow?

AlisonviaFacebook

Thesimplestwayisp2tog,purltwo

together,butif youaredoingfully

fashionedshapingwhereyouwantthe

decreaseslantstogointhesame

directionthenit isbestto use ssp or

slip, slip, purl.Debbie

BEGINNERTIPS

Q

Whatisthebestcast-onmethod

fora beginner?Thereareso

manytochoosefrom!Kim,viaemail

It’sallverysubjectivereally!Inmy

experienceI havefoundthatmost

knittersgenerallyhavea preferred

method.Personally,I likethethumb

methodasit givesanelasticcast-on

andsoisperfectforbeginnerswho

maystrugglewithworkingbetweenthe

stitchesfora cablecast-on.Debbie

Turntopage 92 atthebackofSimply

Knittingfora stepbysteponhowto

workthethumbcast-onmethod

Givenewlifetoa well-loved

butratherwornoutknitted

garmentbyaddingsomesmall

embellishments.Thinkmetallic

beadsandsewingoncolourful

embroiderypatches.Youcould

evenaddsomeadorable

pom poms!

Did you

know...?

DebbieBlisspatterns,booksandyarns

are available fromwww.lovecrafts.com

DEBBIE

BLISS...

YOU ASKED

Usea larger needle to cast off with for a looser finish

WOOLONA BUDGET

Q

I’vefallenheadoverheelsforknitting

in100%purewoolyarnsbutI’m

worriedaboutbeingabletoaordthis

newaddiction!Doyouknowofany

budget,pureDKwoolyarnsI canpractice

withwhileI getthehangofthings?

AnnieBaker,viaFacebook

Whata lovelyaddictiontohaveAnnie!Pure

woolisa dreamtoknitwithandalmost

alwayspleaseswhenit comestosoftness,

resilienceandshape!Thankfully,onceyou

startlookingyou’llfindthereareplentyof

wonderful100%woolyarnsouttherethat

won’tbreakthebank,andcreatebeautiful

fabricstoo.Toansweryourquestionindetail

I’vedonea quicksearch,lookingfor50g

balls under £5 in particular, and one of the

cheapestI havefoundis 1 DROPSKarisma

(£2.20for50g),it’sbeenpopularsince

the80sandhasa whopping 44 shades

foryoutochoosefrom.Findit atwww.

woolwarehouse.co.uk!Anothertopyarnis 2

KingColeMerinoBlendDK(£2.69for50g).

It’sa greatoptionforpracticalgarments

asthefabricit createskeepsitsshapewell

andcanbepoppedinthewashingmachine

toowhenit getsa bitgrubby.Youcanfind

it atwww.deramores.com.Andthenthere’s

3 RicoEssentialsMerinoDK.Althoughthe

pricierofthethreeat£4for50g,thisyarnis

super-softandcomesin 43 mutedshades

thatmixwitheachotherverywell.Youcan

pickthistopyarnupatwww.lovecrafts.com.

Goodluckcheckingoutthesebargain buys

this season, Annie.Sophie

1

3

2

PHOTO BY REBECCA GRANT ON UNSPLASH

Thereisa widerange

of100%purewool

yarnsthatsuita

variety of budgets

Thethumbcast-on

methodisa practical

choice for beginners