Tag Archives: picking up stitches

All done*

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*For the most part, anyway.

And, I’m pleased to say, my sweater turned out pretty great!

I was worried it was going to be too short, but it ended up a surprisingly flattering hip length! And, I had plenty of yarn! I had about an egg-sized ball of the handspun and a half a skein of the blue when all was said and done.

I finished the body with a whole skein of blue left over, then picked up a whole mess of stitches for the button band. (Pro tip- when picking up a button band, you pick up 2 stitches in every 3 rows as you go up the sides, then pick up 1 stitch in every stitch across the neck. Then, check to make sure the two sides are more-or-less equal and if you have the right number of stitches for the ribbing you’re doing. If one side has too many stitches, instead of ripping out and re-picking up the stitches, just work the appropriate number of decreases on that side in the next row as you establish the ribbing. And, if you need to change the number of stitches to make the ribbing come out evenly, do the same thing, but at the back of the neck. So much easier than ripping out, and no one will ever know!)

I threw in some button holes after a couple rows, and finished off the button band in pattern. OK, it turned out I threw in too many button holes (in my defense, I wasn’t paying attention), so I used a little matching thread to sew up the extra one.

Then I blocked it and added on some buttons that I happened to have that were the right size and more or less the right color (or so I thought).

Once they were on and the sun came out (I added them late at night, and it turns out I couldn’t really see them), I realized they were definitely not the right buttons. But they’re the ones I have in my stash, and they’re functional, so they’re staying on for now. The moment I get to go to a yarn shop again, I’ll get something cute (and probably silver) for this sweater.

But for now, I’m really pleased with how this has turned out!

What have you guys finished lately?

Casting On: Picking Up Stitches

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I’m going to say something that might be controversial (or it might not be):  Picking up stitches is one of my favorite ways of casting on.

I know, radical stuff.  Let me explain.

If “casting on” is essentially a way of beginning a knitting project, making the initial row of stitches, then why can’t we count picking up stitches as a way of casting on?

I  think it’s pretty fun, easy, and results in a more polished finished product than knitting two separate pieces and sewing them together later.

Of course picking up stitches isn’t an any-time cast on.  You have to have an already-finished piece of knitting from which to pick up the stitches (obviously).  But I love using it to add button bands on sweaters, turning the heel on socks, and it’s essential for modular knitting projects (like this blanket).

So how do you do it?

Naturally, you start with a piece of knitting to form the base of your project.  I’m using a little swatch of stockinet, but you can pick up stitches off of any piece of knitting.  On this swatch, I slipped the first stitch of every row.  It leaves a nice, smooth edge that makes picking up stitches that much easier.  But, if I need to pick up a lot of stitches, I’ll knit all edge stitches.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen, I’ll poke my needle through the spot where I want my first picked-up stitch to live.  See how I go through both “legs” of the stitch?  If you only go through one leg, you end up with a flimsy piece of knitting. No bueno.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAWrap your yarn around the needle, just like every other knit stitch you’ve ever done.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAAnd pull the new stitch through.  You’ve picked up one stitch!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAKeep picking up stitches until you have the number that your pattern requires.  See how nice and neat the picked-up stitches look?

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThey even look nice and neat from the back.  See that horizontal row of red V’s?  Those are the edge stitches that we picked up.  Prettier than a sewn seam!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAThen, keep on knitting your project.  Your new knitting will grow off the side of your old knitting and be magical and wonderful!

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