2019-07-01_Simply_Knitting

ASK THE EXPERTS

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FAIRISLEFABULOUS

Q

I’dliketotryFairIslebutI don’tthink

I’llbeabletohandleusingmorethan

onetypeofyarn.Pleasecanyouadvise?

JessieRussell,Ayr

TheFairIsletechniqueinvolvesworking

withtwoyarns,andgettingusedtoholding

twopiecesofyarnwilltakea bitofpractice.

Thereareseveralwaysyoucantry.Starting

withtheeasiestfirst:holdtheworking

yarnanddroptheyarnyou’renotusing,

changingyarnswhenyouneedtochange

colours.Anotherwayistoholdtwoyarns

inonehandandwrapeachpieceofyarn

arounddierentfingers.Thethirdwayis

themostecientbutneedspractice.It’s

whereyouholdoneyarninonehandand

theotherpieceintheotherhand– a mixof

ContinentalandEnglishknittingtechniques

(lefthandbeingEnglishandright hand

being Continental).Sophie

Findthetwo-yarn

techniquethat

works for you

THERIGHTSIDE

OFSTRIPES

Q

I’mnewtostripesandwhenI

changecolourstherightand

wrongsideofmyknittingkeeps

gettingreversed.Pleasecanyou tell

mewhereI’mgoingwrong?

IonaReed,Falkirk

Whenyoufirststartworkingwithstripes

it’seasytogetconfusedbecausewhen

addingyarnofthesamecolour,it can

beaddedtoeithersideofyourknitting.

Whenusinga newyarnofa dierent

colour,it’sessentialtoaddit tothesame

sideeverytimesothatallthelooseends

areononeside.Tomakethingseasyfor

yourself,remembertoalwaysaddnew

yarnatthebeginningofa rightsiderow

sothatyoucanimmediatelyseewhichis

Makethe wrong side of stripessureyoudon’tgeton the right side of your knitting.Kirstie

1 Makea slipknotandcastona

secondstitchusingtheknitting

cast-onmethod.Placethe

right-handneedlebetweenthe

stitches,throughthe yarn loop

that links them.

2 Wrapyarnaroundtheneedle.

Pulltheloopofyarnthrough

beingcarefulnottoslipthe

stitch o the left hand needle.

3 Slipthisstitchbackontothe

left-handneedle.Repeatstep

1, placingtheneedlebetween

thelasttwostitches on the left-

hand needle.

STIFFSTITCHES

Q

Mystitchesaresotightalongmy

needle,andI findthatattimes it

canbehardtomovethem.

MayJames,Sowerby

Therearea coupleofthingsyoucantry

thatwillhelp.If you’retuggingtheyarn

totighteneachstitchafteryouworkit,

thenit’stimetobreakthathabit.After

eachstitch,lifttheworkingneedleto

makethestitchbigger.Loosentension

byholdingtheyarngentlyagainstyour

palm,insteadofwrapping it around

your finger.Debbie

CROSSATCABLES

Q

I recentlytriedmyfirstcable

stitchandI loveit,butam

feelingfrustratedbecauseholeskeep

appearing.HowcanI preventthese

unwelcomeadditions?

EvelynPrice,Tamworth

Thefirstimpulseistopulltheyarn

tighterbutthatisactuallytheopposite

ofwhatyoushoulddo!Trylooseningthe

yarninstead.Whenyoucrossthecable

youneedmoreyarn,notless.Getinto

thehabitoflooseningyourstitcheson

therowbeforeyoucrossthecable.Also,

spreadthestitchesoutandworkloosely

whenyoucrossthecable.Debbie

Keepcableslooking

tip-topwitha little

yarn control

Whenstoringknitwearremember

thatevendrygarmentscancontain

moistureso,insteadofplastic

containersorbags,whichcansealin

moisture,wrapyourknitwearin

cleancottonpillowcases.Cotton

letsyarnfibresbreathebut

keepsbugsandmoths

away.

Did you

know...?

DebbieBlisspatterns,booksandyarns

are available fromwww.loveknitting.com

DEBBIE

BLISS...

YOU ASKED

CAST-ONCONUNDRUM

Q

Comparedtomyfriend’s,theedgesofmyjumpersarequiteslack.Myfriendsays

it’sbecauseshecastsonusing the cable method, which gives a firmer edge.

Whatdoyouthink?

RhiannonEvans,Oswestry

Thecablecast-ondoesgivea firmeredgethat’slessstretchy,whichmakesit anideal

techniqueforjumpers,handbagsandknits for men. You’ll also find it useful for adding

stitches in the middle of a row.Kirstie