The Finished Objects of 2007

Well, It is the last day of 2007! The year has certainly flown by! I've realized that I am always so concerned with how much knitting I have to do but sometimes I think that I should reflect on all that I have accomplished. The end of 2007 has allowed me to look back on the year and count up all of my finished objects. Here is the rundown.....

I have completed in 2007:

5 baby/toddler sweaters
7 baby/toddler hats
2 headbands
2 pairs of mittens
2.5 pairs of adult socks
3 pairs of toddler socks
2 adult sweaters
4 dishcloths
3 felted bags
1 felted diaper bag
1 camisole
1 thong
1 crocheted purse
1 knitted lace bag
1 tea cozy
1 teddy bear
1 teddy bear sweater
8 scarves
6 adult hats
2 knitted flowers
1 pair of gauntlets
1 caplet
1 wrist band
1 lace shawl
1 pair of baby booties
1 shawl
1 felted box
2 pairs of adult slippers
1 pair of toddler slippers
2 pairs of leg warmers

Bringing the grand total to 66 completed items! (And no, I didn't count the 1 sock that doesn't have a mate.)

So, thinking about the 66 items makes me feel really good. I have a nice collection of hand knit things around the house and all my friends and family have at least one hand knit item from me. I guess that it makes me realize that I actually AM accomplishing something.

I also added up all of the finishing and repair jobs I did over 2007.

I seamed/finished:

6 adult sweaters
1 tank top
5 baby sweaters
5 miscellaneous small projects
I also repaired 5 afghans

I unfortunately still have 6 unfinished objects:

a project for a customer (a kitchen aid stand mixer cover)
Ava's red Smock Coat ARRRRGGGHH I have to work on that!
my crocheted Leaves Sweater
my Tilted Duster
my Klaralund sweater
Ava's Seedling sweater

Right now they are all on the back burner because I am working on a Top Secret project to submit to Knitty.com. The rules state that I am not supposed to blog about the project or pattern until it shows up in the issue, if it ever does. I'm really excited about it. I've never done anything like this before! I thought I might as well give it a try! The deadline is Jan 5th and I just decided that I wanted to do this so I have really been knitting every chance I get to get this all done. If Knitty decides that the pattern is not their thing then I will just put the samples on display at The Scarlet Skein and make a class out of it! You see, I am thinking positively. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too much.

My knitting goals for 2008:

DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!


I wish that I could tell you that this is all of it. But that would be lying. There is actually more....
I think I have a problem. So anyways.... yeah, 2008 Im gonna knit it. Or most of it, at least. :)


I'd also really like to submit a pattern every quarter to Knitty. I have some good ideas and I think it will be really fun. We'll see how this one goes though.

Zig-zag bands

includes 7 illustrations. Click any illustration to enlarge
Knitting better bands the TECHknitting way:
ZIG-ZAG BANDS
Way back in October, as this series on better bands and cuffs started, I told you that garter stitch does not curl. (Neither does seed stitch. Neither does ribbing.) Yet you know from experience garter stitch bands on a stockinette fabric DO curl. You see, it is the stockinette fabric to which the bands are attached which curls. (For more about WHY stockinette curls, click here.) The end result is that the bands on your scarf, sweater or afghan are prone to flipping AND curling.

So far in this series, many cures have been recommended: rolled edges, or seaming the garment or steam blocking and/or ironing. Today, yet another recommended cure: zig-zag bands.

The fact is, that bands want to curl along the edge where the bands meet the stockinette. If you break up the line, you'll have less curling. The same is true about flipping: If you break up the line where the band meets the stockinette fabric, you'll be less likely to have flipping.As you can see, the scarf in the photo above is a stockinette stitch scarf with a garter stitch border all around. Yet, the scarf does not curl, and the borders do not flip, and here is why:
  • The rolled stockinette edge along the bottom of the garter stitch horizontal (bottom) band adds stability--by curling up so markedly, the rolled edge counteracts the inward curl of the stockinette fabric in the middle of the scarf.
  • Zig-zag bands both vertical and horizontal, where the garter stitch meets the stockinette stitch. By interlacing areas of garter stitch and stockinette, the "fault line," for flipping/curling is eliminated
  • A slipped selvedge helps prevent future ruffling along the outside vertical edges of the garter stitch border. (Click here for more info about slipped selvedges.)
  • Also, the scarf has been steam blocked.
Due to these four tricks, the scarf photographed above does not curl very much, and nor does it flip. Below is a close up of the corner, showing details of the curled bottom edge knitted in stockinette which rolls up below the garter stitch part of the bottom band, a bit of the zig zag design in the garter stitch part of the bottom band and a bit of the the zig zag side edge.One more close-up for good measure:


* * *
Here are two diagrams showing how to make these non-curling bands. The diagrams show garter stitch, but you can readily adapt these for seed stitch.

* * *
One last note: The zig-zags have to be in proportion to the amount of stockinette stitch in order to provide a non-flipping edge. An empirical rule of thumb seems to be that ON A GARMENT WITH TWO EXPOSED EDGES (SCARF, AFGHAN) the peaks have to extend approximately 10-15% of the way into the stockinette along each edge you want to prevent from rolling, in order to prevent flipping. So, in a a 250 stitch afghan knit all in one piece, for example, that would be a side zig-zag which protruded 25 to 38 stitches into the stockinette at the tip of each peak, along both vertical edges. The bottom edges also have to have zig-zags with peaks just as high as the side zig-zags in order to prevent flipping. Obviously, the wider/higher you make the tip of the peaks, the less likely is flipping, but the minimum seems to be about a 10-15% protrusion. Of course, that means that you have to adapt the above two diagrams to the width of your garment.

FOR THE FRONT BANDS OF A CARDIGAN (one exposed edge), a rule of thumb seems to be that peaks extending about 1.5 or 2 inches into the stockinette will do the trick, and this is true regardless of gauge or yarn weight.

* * *
This is part 7 of a series. The other posts are:
How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 1: Opera and Soap Opera (November 1, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 2: Why cuffs and bands are wonky, and what to do about it (November 14, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 3: Hems and facings:(November 22, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 4: Knitting shut hems and facings (December 9, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 5: Sewing shut hems and facings (December 23, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 6: Your steam iron: a mighty weapon in the fight against curling and flipping (December 25, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 8: Provisional tail method of 1x1 tubular cast on (January 11, 2008)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 9: Tubular cast off for 1x1 ribbing (it's pretty) (January 15, 2008)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs: the wrap-up (January 23, 2008)

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: zig-zag bands)

Coming in February...

I recently bought a skein of Noro Cashmere Island completely on a whim 2 weeks ago at work. Since then I discovered an awesome free pattern on Ravelry called Short Row Hat. It was a perfect match for the Cashmere Island and would you believe it...a February class was born!




Here is a picture of my work in progress posing with the yarn I used.


If you don't want to work with Cashmere Island, I think any of these yarns would work great with this pattern.

Just check your gauge!


I enjoyed making this hat so much that I know it will make an interesting class. If you have already taken the entrelac class this hat would be perfect to wear with your scarf. It almost has the appearance of entrelac but there is no picking up stitches. It is worked entirely in short rows hence the name. It will be a bit challenging for the average knitter because you have to pay attention carefully. In the class you can expect to learn these techniques: Provisional cast on, k2tog, ssp, short rows, 3 needle bind off, working in the round on double pointed needles, and
I-cord.

I will post class dates and times when it gets closer to February.


Christmas Loot!

Thanks Lena, Sophie, Kath and of course my Rich ;-)


Loop-d-loop Crochet by Teva Durham
Seen this at Knit lab(huge table with all types of knit books to read on the Sunday knit cafe) and I just loved the pictures and I though maybe could use some of her idea's.
The Encyclopedia of CROCHET techniques by Jan Eaton
Broom handle technique, it's the only time I have seen this, is in this book so that's my new years resolution learn that stitch!, team work with the kind help of Karin ;-)

A variety of wool from my in laws and from my kids Glass needle's! not quite sure how practical they will be to use but seeing most of my stash of needles are from charity shops I thought why not? the trouble is they will need there own display stand they are so lovely.

But my number one gift is a rose wood crochet hook with a REAL pearl! wow how cool. Can't wait to try it out.


I always enjoy looking back at the year and reviewing my knitting projects. My proudest accomplishment is the Glove Knitting booklet. It was such a pain, in fact, that I've promised myself to never do another technique booklet. Or at least not until I forget how much of a pain the Glove Knitting booklet was! Since its publication in April it has sold 210 copies.

My favorite knitting project: the Sea Mineral Mittens. Every now and then all the colors in a project just come together perfectly and they really did for these mittens.


My 2008 Knitting Resolutions:

1. I resolve to knit and design more colorful socks. I already have a zillion gloves and mittens but I always need socks. I want to do a bunch in Cascade 220.
2. I resolve to design a colorwork ski band for DH. He wants something to wear under his Red Sox hat.
3. I resolve to finish the *&^% Great American Afghan at long last. Unfinished projects really weigh on me and this one absolutely needs to get done.
4. I resolve to again donate over $1000 to the Colorado House Rabbit Society from knitting pattern and booklet sales. The CO HRS adopts out hundreds of pet rabbits a year to good homes.
5. I resolve not to buy any more yarn other than my main color lines - Cascade 220, Palette, and Nature Spun. Unless of course someone comes up with a new inexpensive line of wool yarn in a zillion colors.
6. I resolve to continue to try to take better photos of my colorwork projects and to try to get more up-close technique photos.
7. I resolve to always appreciate all the blessings I have in my life including my abundant yarn stash, the free time to knit it up, and all the wonderful people who read my blog and continue to inspire me.
Happy New Year to everyone! I'll be back in 2008. There's a very good chance I'll be showing you a new furry friend and the new blog mascot in my next post.

My knitted Vivianne Westwood tribute dress.

Up close and personal!
WOW! I'm very impressed, I think it's really fun and yes very suitable for Naomi Campbell with the huge heels on a Vivianne Westwood cat walk show.



Vivianne's skirt!

Front back which ever!
It's an elasticated waist so size isn't an issue and I haven't quiet yet decided which way round the skirt will go. The dress has large gaps so the skirt is an important part as it can be seen from all angle's. And just like the dress its a mass amount of UN matching yarns, so lots of textures! and a mixture of stitches.

Your steam iron: a mighty weapon in the fight against curling and flipping

Dear Reader:
Today TECHknitting has a Christmas present for you--a maybe new use for an electrical appliance you probably already own: your steam iron. The bulk of this post is about the uses of a steam iron in improving your knitting, and particularly in making hems and bands behave. But before we plunge into all that, I thought to take a brief look at the iron itself.

Steam irons, 101
Steam is vapor from boiled water. In order to make steam, your iron boils water inside a little chamber. Water generally contains minerals. Sometimes, the mineral load of the water will cause problems. If you always use the same pot or kettle to boil water, you already know whether your particular water has troublesome amounts of minerals by the presence or absence of mineral deposits. If your kettle stays clean regardless of how much water you boil in it, you have no worries. But if your kettle is mineral-encrusted, then so will the inside of your iron be.

Now, a new iron will not give you trouble, even if you put in high-mineral-content water. This is because when water turns to steam, it leaves behind its mineral load. But as the inside of the iron's heating chamber becomes coated with minerals, the steam channels get clogged, and the iron starts spitting bits and flakes. Where I live, the water is hard from dissolved limestone, and tap water in a steam iron = little bits of whitish powder spraying out with the steam. In other areas, more staining minerals might be in the tap water: iron (the metal) dissolved in water would cause your iron (the appliance) to stain your clothing in nasty gray or brown splotches. This might be OK on some old underwear but would be disaster on your handknits. (And let's get real, who irons underwear nowadays, anyway?)

Therefore, if you have an new steam iron, keep it new by topping it up only with distilled water--a gallon from the supermarket will last a LONG time in most households. If you are reading this post at 2 A.M. and are struck with a sudden yen to start steam ironing, boiled COOLED water is a near substitute. Boil the water, let it cool in the pot, and pour the cooled water off, leaving the minerals behind. DO NOT USE BOILING WATER--first of all, you will hurt yourself, second, you might wreck the plastic parts of the iron, and third, the water does not shed the minerals until it cools.

If your iron is old, you should also use distilled (or boiled, cooled) water. Fill the iron with fresh water and go steam-iron some old towels on the highest heat setting and the highest steam setting. Run at least three or four refills of water through the iron (this won't take that long--steam irons have tiny reservoirs). This will get the worst of the minerals out. If the iron seems to be getting clean, you might trust it on your woollies, but if you have any doubt, it would be prudent to use a pressing cloth or a flour-sack kitchen towel between the iron and the woollies. (This is also a good idea to prevent scorching, as discussed further, below.)

Another problem with irons is gooky sticky stuff melted onto their sole plates. This arises from ironing synthetics on a high setting: they melt. There are various commercial remedies, and these work well. The old fashioned remedy, as practiced by my grandmother was this: after every round of ironing, grandma would stand the iron on a old rag, and rub an old candle end on the sole plate. (She used white paraffin "household candles" of course, not colored candles or tapers.) The melting wax dissolved any sticky, ironed-on gook, and she'd clean the excess by ironing it off onto the old rag. However, she did this in front of an open window (it smokes) with the iron unplugged, and on a distinctly low-tech iron--no teflon plate or anything like that. Also, the sole plate of her iron covered the bottom of the iron--there was no offset between the sole plate and the heel of the iron for the wax to drip off onto. Nowadays, you are probably better off with the commercial remedies. If you do resort to candle ends for spot cleaning in a particularly tough case, do it CAREFULLY--hot wax is a BURN hazard. It is also a FIRE hazard as are old waxy rags. And of course, with any remedy, home made or commercial, be sure to iron all the residue off onto rags before you would dream of letting that iron near your precious knits.

Well, if you've got the iron in good shape, let's see what problem we want to fix with it...

GETTING THE CURL OUT (or at least taming it)
Stockinette curls. If you want to know more about why, click here. The very worst, the very most annoying curl of all comes when a flat object (scarf, afghan) is edged with a non-curling fabric--an edging which is SUPPOSED to stop the problem. Up flip the edges, or down they curl, or maybe both. The one thing they don't do is lay flat. Almost as annoying is the curl and flip of sweater hems, bands and cuffs.

Now, if you've been following along for the last several posts, you'll know that part of the secret of making non-curling knitwear is by improving your cuffs and bands. The big secret is moving the edge of the fabric away from the edge of the garment by doubling back your bands and cuffs, letting them roll, or hemming them, then knitting them shut or sewing them shut. However, most patterns today do not call for such bands and cuffs. Typically, a garment pattern will call for a band of a non-curling fabric to be knitted onto a stockinette fabric, garter stitch bands on a scarf, say.

The chain of logic behind non-curling stitch bands is this: the garment designer notices, correctly, that stockinette stitch curls like mad, but that garter stitch (seed stitch, ribbing etc.) does not curl or flip. "Ah ha!" says the designer, "I will put a garter stitch band on this stockinette item I am designing, and then the stockinette fabric will be tamed, and the garment edge will not flip or curl."

This is a logical conclusion, and, in fact, garment edge itself will not curl up. However, that does not mean that the GARMENT will not curl up. As disappointed knitters in knitting forums all over the internet can testify, the most likely result of a garter stitch band on a stockinette stitch garment is that the bands either flip up, or the whole garment continues to curl, taking the "non curling edge" right along with it.

"How can I block the curl out of my scarf?" has to be one of the most frequently asked questions on every knitting forum out there, followed by "how can I get the front bands of my cardigan to lay flat?" Of course, the fact that the bands are curling and flipping has as much (or more) to do with the stockinette fabric to which the garter stitch bands have been attached, than with the bands themselves. However, most knitters think of curling and flipping bands as a band problem, so that's why this issue is included as part of a series on bands and cuffs.

One last note before we plunge in: TODAY's post lays out a method for dealing with already existing curled edges, like the scarf or cardigan bands in the above example. The NEXT post will show how to knit edges which are less likely to want to curl in the first place.


Helpers in the fight against curling:
CHEMICALS, BLOCKING and STEAM IRONING

Although the idea of using these methods on one's hand knitting may seem beyond strange, chemicals, blocking and ironing are all actually very common knitwear treatments, albeit commercial knitwear. Think about it: don't you wonder why machine-made items of stockinette consent to lay flat, while hand knits want to curl so badly? The answer is partially because machine-made knits are generally knit from finer yarn than handknits, and so the thinner yarn from which they are made can exert less curling force. However, that is not the whole answer.

In fact, machine-made knits have the same tendencies to curl as hand knits, but industrial processes overcome this tendency. In other words, machine-knit fabrics have chemicals applied to relax them, or have the bejabbers stretched out of them or steam ironed out of them, or all three. Hand knitters faced with a wildly curling scarf, or brazenly flipping cardigan bands will be able to persuade these ill-behaved hooligans to better manners with a page out of the commercial knitter's playbook.

A good soaking spray with fabric relaxer is a good start. Fabric relaxer (or wrinkle remover) is a relatively benign substance sold under various trade names. Evidently the relaxer is essentially a wetter, which lets moisture into the fabric fibers, causing them to swell a bit, and de-kink.

Once damped with fabric relaxer, the item can be further wetted with a spray bottle of water, or even a quick trip to the sink for a brief soak, and this treatment can be followed by some serious wet-blocking. When I say "serious," I mean blocking to the edge of the capacity of your blocking board to hold the fabric outstetched, and to the edge of the capacity of your blocking pins or wires to hold without deforming.

Are you surprised by this advice? Many are. And yet, this sort of extreme blocking is not new. Hand production knitters of the past have traditionally employed extreme blocking. Those picturesque sweater forms in the old photos of the Shetland Islands had a very serious purpose, and couture knitting today also employs these techniques.

Of course, extreme blocking like this is going to make the fabric grow. Commercial knitwear factors this in, but unless you first blocked and stretched your swatch and then knit to the blocked dimensions, you probably have not--blocking and stretching swatches is not part of most hand-knitters' repertoire. For this reason, extreme blocking by hand knitters is best reserved for items where size is NOT important such as scarves and lap robes.

This brings us to the main alternative. For items where fit IS important, the steam iron is the most mighty weapon against curling bands, or against a garment which is curling and taking the band.

Now, a steam iron in the hand of a knitter is capable of producing three things:

  • steam,
  • heat, and
  • pressure.

Each of these factors has the capacity to alter hand knit fabric, sometimes fatally, so the first rule of using the steam iron on your woollies is BE CAREFUL. Increase these factors one by one, each in tiny baby steps. In other words, DON'T start with high steam, high heat and lots of force when you come to improve your knitting with the steam iron.

STEAM
On wool and acrylic, the steam has as nearly as much effect as the pressing, so be sure that the STEAM setting on your iron is set on "high" right from the start. It may be that steam with hardly any pressure at all will do the trick. This is called steam blocking, and if it works, you lucky thing, then you need never actually iron at all. In other words, on acrylic and wool, the ideal is to start with a steaming, billowing iron held just above the fabric, and only if this does not work, would you next progress to light dabs, and only then to pressure.

If your item is silk, bamboo, cotton--anything but acrylic or wool--do NOT start with billowing steam. Instead, start with the absolutely lowest steam AND the lowest heat AND the least pressure. Increase the steam in the same manner as you increase the heat and the pressure: in tiny increments.
HEAT
Heat is a powerful tool on fabrics. Most obviously, a too-high heat can burn your precious hand knits. Even at non-burning temperatures, Heat can "set" woolen fibers--kink them permanently. It can melt acrylics, and can change the very composition of these and other fibers. Therefore, be careful. If the garment is woolen, be careful of scorching--maybe use a pressing cloth or flour sack kitchen towel between the garment and the iron. If your item is acrylic (or another synthetic) use the cloth or towel PLUS be careful of melting--increase the heat by VERY slow degrees, and realize that non-wool, non-acrylic fibers are generally even less resistant to heat, so SLOW is the watchword for increasing the heat.

PRESSURE
All knitting three-dimensional, so ironing has the capability if flattening it. When ironing on stockinette garment with garter stitch bands, remember that the garter stitch itself has no tendency to flip. It is the stockinette which presents the problem. Luckily, the stockinette is far flatter than the garter stitch, and less likely to show the effects of ironing. Keep the iron on the stockinette part of the fabric, and the greater the pressure you are exerting, the more careful you must be of this.
COMBINATION OF ELEMENTS
For wool and acrylic, start with a fully steaming iron. Progress in pressure and heat carefully. For other fabrics, start with the bare minimum of steam, and progress in steam pressure and heat carefully, increasing each in tiny baby steps. It MIGHT be that you have the stubbornest garment this side of China, and you MIGHT wind up pressing your stubborn garment with all your force at the highest heat. However, although this might be the place that you end, this is CERTAINLY NOT the place to start.


Steam ironing is a big gun--it certainly has the power to persuade curling stockinette to mend its ways. However, as with all things, there is a trade-off. Although steam ironing will certainly help with curling bands, the price is a rather listless fabric. I knew a production hand- and machine-knitter who HEAVILY ironed all her garments--and she made many, many garments over the years that I knew her. All those many garments did her bidding. They lay flat, yessiree, no question: never a curl, never a flip, no misbehavior at all, and the bands got up to no tricks. However, all those garments were oddly limp, with none of the spring normally associated with knit garments. Therefore, although steam ironing unquestionably works (especially when combined with fabric relaxer) this isn't a method to use if you can avoid it. Better, more elegant, would be to knit the garment with a band which doesn't want to curl or flip in the first place (or at least--doesn't want to curl and flip as much), which is the topic of the next post.

* * *
This post is part 6 of a series. The other posts are:
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 1: Opera and Soap Opera (November 1, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 2: Why cuffs and bands are wonky, and what to do about it (November 14, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 3: Hems and facings:(November 22, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 4: Knitting shut hems and facings (December 9, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 5: Sewing shut hems and facings (December 23, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 7: Zig-zag bands (December 29, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 8: Provisional tail method of 1x1 tubular cast on (January 11, 2008)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 9: Tubular cast off for 1x1 ribbing (it's pretty) (January 15, 2008)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs: the wrap-up (January 23, 2008)

--TECHknitter
(You have been reading TECHknitting on: "Steam iron your knitting.")

"Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night"...

It's late Christmas Eve and time to settle down for a 'long winter's nap'.









From my home to yours, warmest wishes for a Merry Christmas filled with peace and love.

Sewing shut hems and facings (part 5 of better cuffs and bands).

includes 4 illustrations--click any illustration to enlarge
Today's post is about sewing shut a hem or facing: it is part 5 of the series "better cuffs and bands."

After the last post in this series (about knitting shut hems and facings) you may wonder why, if it is possible to KNIT shut a hem, a knitter would want to SEW shut a hem. Here are three reasons--reasons I believe are good enough to convince even knitters to hunt out a large-eyed, sharp-pointed sewing needle and get sewing.

First, and most obviously, it is not always possible to knit shut a hem. Knitting shut a hem only works for items started on the same edge as the hem (a bottom hem on a bottom-up sweater, a top hem on a top-down sock). Knitting shut a hem on the cast-OFF edge isn't very feasible. It is also not very feasible to sew shut a hem or facing which goes at 90 degrees to the original cast on edge, such as a button band--there is nothing to knit shut TO.

Second, you can't knit shut a hem facing made of a different color. If you are asking why you would WANT to knit a hem facing of a different color, here are two reasons:
  • A. plain old good looks. Have a look at the top of the man's sock in the photo below. From the outside, this is a practical black sock, suitable for business wear. But on the inside, it features a flaming red hem facing which makes its wearer smile when dressing.
  • B. Another reason why a hem facing might be a different color than the main body of the garment is when you reduce bulk by knitting the hem facing of a thinner yarn. The birthday sweater (click HERE) from the last post had a thinner hem facing than the outside of the hem, and so do the socks, above--the red of the hem facing is a thinner sock yarn than the black of the sock body. It would be unusual to find a perfect color match between a thinner yarn and a thicker one, so this bulk reduction trick is often going to land you with a hem facing of a different color.
If you are wondering WHY a hem of a different color cannot be knitted shut, I believe this illustration says it all.



This is a close-up of a knitted shut hem. At the black arrow, you will see that knitting shut a hem draws a little "collar" of the hem stitch (hem made in red) to the fabric surface (knitted in green). In the illustration, the red of the hem facing shows as a little collar around by each green stitch where the green and red come together in the blue "knit-together row." The knit-together row is illustrated in blue so you could see it easily, but even if the knit-together row were green, like the rest of the garment front, that little red collar of the red hem facing would still show around the base of every stitch in that row--not a nice look. Moral of the story: You cannot successfully knit shut a hem when the hem is knit in a different color than the garment.

The third reason you might want to sew shut a hem or facing instead of knitting it shut is the most important, imho. You see, a sewn hem is FAR LESS LIKELY TO FLIP than a knitted-shut one. This is a BIG consideration, as many garments suffer from hem, band, or cuff flip. Cardigans with flipping front bands, and sweaters with flipping bottom bands are one of the banes of the knitter's existence, yet a sewn shut band will not flip with anything approaching the abandon of a knitted shut band.

If I have convinced you of the virtues of a sewn band or hem facing, here is how to do it:

  • Begin the hem by casting on via the long-tail method.
  • Knit the hem. You may use the same yarn as you will use for the body of the garment, OR you may use a thinner yarn for bulk reduction. If using a thinner yarn, knit the facing loosely on the same number of stitches as you will knit the garment OR on a larger number of stitches with a smaller needle, with the plan to get rid of the extra stitches before you turn the hem.
  • If using the garment yarn for the hem facing, knit the hem as deep as you would like it, then purl one row. For a slight refinement, you may cast on and knit the hem on slightly fewer stitches (5% or so) than the garment, increasing to the necessary number of stitches TWO rows before the purl row.
  • If using thinner yarn for the hem facing, switch to the garment yarn when you are one or two rows shy of the ultimate depth you desire, work a row or two in the garment yarn, then purl one row. If you are using knitting the hem facing on MORE stitches, and a SMALLER needle than the garment, the row to get rid of all the extra stitches is the row where you switch to the garment yarn.
  • The reason to purl one row is to make a nice fold, as seen here.
  • After the purl row, you will be knitting the first row of the garment--that part which is on the FRONT of the hem. You may knit this portion in ribbing, as is traditional, OR you may knit it in stockinette--because you are going to sew the hem facing to the back of the garment, this will prevent rolling, regardless of which stitch pattern you use.

On the illustration below, the knitting has been finished. The hem (white) has been folded up over the back face of the garment fabric (purple). As you can see, the "knit" side of the hem shows, while the "purl" side of the garment fabric shows. Thread a sharp pointed needle with a thin yarn (in the picture, green). In real life, of course, you would not use a green yarn to sew up a white hem to a purple garment, you would use a sewing yarn as close as possible to the color of the garment face--the sewing thread is green in order that it shows in the illustration. In other words, if I were sewing this hem shut in real life, I would do it with a purple yarn. As far as that goes, I also would probably have made a purple hem to go with my purple garment, rather than a white hem, but in illustrations, a white hem is a lot easier to see than a purple hem facing sewn with purple yarn onto a purple garment.


As you can see on this illustration (above) the action of sewing is as follows: with the sewing needle, reach under one arm of the long tail casting-on at the very edge of the hem, then pierce (skim) through the top of a purl "bump" on the target row--the row TO which you are sewing the hem. Draw the needle through, and repeat this action, adjusting the tension of the green yarn as necessary. Be gentle in your adjustment, you want to avoid any puckering on the outside. As you can see, it isn't difficult!

The photo on the left side of the illustration below shows the back of a sewn hem "in the wool." The hem is made of the same yarn as the garment face, but sewn shut with dark yarn, so you can see the path of the sewing. The right photo of the illustration below shows the front of this same hem. As you can see, even though this swatch is stockinette, the sewn hem has tamed the dreaded "stockinette roll," as well as the feared "hem flip." You can also see that the sewing does not show on the outside--this is the front of the same swatch on which the hem is sewn shut in dark yarn.


One final point: Hems combat "hem flip" best when the hem facing is SLIGHTLY shorter than the outside of the hem AND when the hem is sewn shut very slightly (1 row) ABOVE any ribbing or garter stitch on the outside of the hem.

* * *
This post is part 5 of a series. The other posts are:

*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 1: Opera and Soap Opera (November 1, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 2: Why cuffs and bands are wonky, and what to do about it (November 14, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 3: Hems and facings:(November 22, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 4: Knitting shut hems and facings (December 9, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 6: Your steam iron: a mighty weapon in the fight against curling and flipping (December 25, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 7: Zig-zag bands (December 29, 2007)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 8: Provisional tail method of 1x1 tubular cast on (January 11, 2008)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs, part 9: Tubular cast off for 1x1 ribbing (it's pretty) (January 15, 2008)
*How to knit better bands and cuffs: the wrap-up (January 23, 2008)

--TECHknitter
You have been reading TECHknitting on: "sewing shut hems."
I haven't been knitting as much because I've been cleaning the house in preparation for a new bunny friend. These Zilboorg mittens really should be finished by now.



It started snowing early this afternoon so it looks like we're going to have a beautiful white Christmas.



Happy Holidays to Everyone!

some finished sewing

Some sewing projects have actually been finished (although there are still plenty more to keep me busy). The pile of fabrics above have become the bird ornaments from Quick and Easy Christmas Bazaar Crafts by Jim Williams...
Right now they are sitting atop the Hoosier until I find a spot for them to nest. I think they are a little too large for the small tree in the foyer...
And a skirt for Christmas, which I pieced together from a couple of my favorite skirt patterns. The fabric is a thick cotton flannel ~ very soft!
The days now are spent baking and baking some more. I have a bit of sewing still to do, a gift I really hope to finish in time...and time seems to be running out very quickly...
Thanks for stopping by and for all the really, really nice comments!


Clog Class


My clog family is now complete!




I set them up for display at The Scarlet Skein with the patterns and all of the needlefelting supplies. I think that they will make a fun class for January. The great thing about this pattern is that I found three shortcuts that will probably cut an hour or more off of the knitting time! I'm going to be sharing this technique with the students that sign up for the class.

Felt Clogs Class

Cost is $35 for a two part class

Saturday, January 5th 9:30-11:30

Wednesday, January 9th 11-1

Saturday, January 19th 9:30-11:30

Wednesday, January 23rd 11-1

Needle Felting Workshop

$15

Saturday, January 26th 12-2

For the needle felting workshop, I am bringing all of the roving for everyone to use and I will be offering direction and instructions for using the tools. You can get all the supplies you need for both classes at the shop.

These are just the class times for January, but as with all of my classes I will be offering the Felted Clogs class for several months. Look on the website for current class times!

Call 805-466-YARN if you are interested in signing up!

I was so excited to finally finish the clogs. They fit each one of us perfectly. I was really happy that the pattern offers such a great size range with special instructions for different foot widths. I keep having little clog fantasies where I envision everyone in my family getting a pair. I should probably finish the 5 projects I have going on now before indulging in that fantasy any further. Speaking of my knitting projects... I'm getting nothing done!!! I keep getting more and more j0bs from customers!! Not that I am complaining or anything. Currently I am repairing an afghan and knitting a custom stand mixer cover. I better get knitting!

the cards are mailed...

I love my old Royal typewriter and would keep it on just for its good looks, but this week I've put it to use to address my Christmas card envelopes. And, my finger muscles got quite a work out on its keys, which are nowhere near as soft to press as my computer keyboard!
Most of my cards were store bought, but I did have fun making a few of these fabric tree cards, which I think I saw last year somewhere on the internet ~ I'm sorry I don't remember whose great idea this was...

Just simple triangle & square shapes of fabric (I used some vintage barkcloth) stitched on with my sewing machine.

Now that the cards are mailed, I'm headed to the kitchen for some baking. Hope you are enjoying your week!

Vivianne so far! (Cat walk knock out! or disaster?)


The Westwood dress, I have been going round in circle literally and not just round and round, but up and down and backwoods I wanted texture but all in one piece.
And I got lost so I'm taking a break (Catching up with the Xmas, consumerism!) so I have popped in on the mannequin, so I Can sit back and take a look at where I go next.

My plan an elaborate under skirt, possibly in yellow, knitted on the round needles.
I need Niomi and some huge heels!(Anyone help with that! just let me know....)

third week of Advent

There's been a flurry of activity lately, and not much time to write, as I helped my daughter get ready for her trip to Florida with her cousin~we shopped, baked for gifting, and did laundry, all while worrying about the approaching nor'easter.
Besides caramel corn with cashews and amaretto truffles, I made these cherry double chocolate cookies from Epicurious.com. They may look like dark blobs in my picture, but they are scrumptious. I used dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate, and along with the toasted pecans and dried sour cherries ~ Mmmm, amazing!!
edited:
**[note~I used a melon-ball sized scoop of dough and had to reduce the cooking time to 8 minutes after my first pan burned.]**

[The labels, which I printed on some cardstock, are from The French-Inspired Home.]

The storm reached us Saturday night and left us with about 14 inches of snow. Thankfully, the two travelers left just in time to make it past the ice and snow, hitting mostly rain as they drove through the South, and arrived safely at their grandparents.
I took advantage of our 'snowed-in' weekend to decorate and put up the tree while watching Tasha Tudor's Take Peace and Cary Grant in The Bishop's Wife (I love this movie!).

This week, it's Christmas cards and more baking...and a few gifts yet to make...I hope.

How are your Christmas plans coming along?

I am so very grateful to the hundreds of you who have left me emails, comments on the blog, and on Ravelry. Peaches obviously was the celebrity she always thought she was! Having pet rabbits really helps you learn to live fully and enjoy the moment because they don't often live as long as dogs and cats and because they mask illness and can leave you suddenly. Even though her life was too short we both agree that Peaches was lucky to live here with us because we let her be herself and didn't mind that she wasn't as affectionate as other rabbits.

When we first got Peaches I called her the wallflower because she was always on the perimeter of the room and never part of the household action. But she slowly warmed up to us and loved being the center of attention. I was hoping she'd be here for Christmas though. A week ago I was wrapping some presents on the floor and she snuck up behind me and started ripping up some gifts I'd wrapped so I was planning on Christmas Eve to put all the gifts on the floor and let her open some presents.

Right after my wonderful DH got done burying our beautiful brown-eyed Peaches in a big snowstorm, he told me he knows we need to get another rabbit soon because I love them so much. We reacted briefly to the sadness of it all but we are both now looking forward to adopting a new bunny after the holidays. There are always plenty of wonderful rabbits out there who desperately need good homes which I try to remember at times like this.

I have found an unexpected source of healing - power yoga. I've always thought that the yoga idea that you store emotions in your body was malarkey but I'm seeing things differently now. On the new Veria channel I've been working along to Yoga for Life with Kurt Johnsen of American Power Yoga. I normally live in my head so the idea that something really physical can improve me this much mentally is a new one. Learning to deal with life's difficulties without letting it affect my health negatively is really crucial and the instructor talks about that a lot in the classes.

And to try to lighten the mood around here I thought I'd show the photo from the time we mistakenly let Peaches have the newspaper first and the one time Peaches jumped up on the futon with Jack.