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helpful knitting tips

basic

counting

i read somewhere that the human mind can easily pick out amounts smaller than 4, ie you can look at a group of marbles and instantly identify if there are 1-2-3-4, but above that you have to start counting.

therefore when i count my stitches, i count in groups of 2 to 3 to add up to 5s and 10s. 2-5-8-10-13-15-etc.etc.

increases & decreases

even increases

To work out how to increase evenly, count the total number of stitches on the needle (e.g. 84 stitches) and divide by the number of increases to be made (e.g. 28) = 3. then increase on every 3rd stitch.

i favour the kfb (knit front and back) increase when no other is specified but this is probably a bad habit i should break because it is visible. not visible enough to bother me!

cast-on/bind-off

long-tail cast-on

the yarn needed for a single cast-on stitch is about 3x as long as the stitch width will be. to accurately estimate the length of tail you need, you can either:

stretchy cast-ons and bind-offs

as much as i love the long-tail cast on, it is not very stretchy. to cast on a 1x1 rib, i use the twisted german cast-on.

bind-offs are even worse! even if they're stretchy, they might flare out and ruin your knitted piece's utility/silhouette. my favourite stretchy bind-off is lori's twisty bind-off, which doesn't flare at all.

colourwork

horizontal stripes, knitted flat

if you're knitting flat stripes, you don't need to cut your yarn and join again whenever you need a previously-used colour on an alternating row. as long as the old yarn is close enough, you can just start knitting (or purling) again on the side where the old yarn is active.