July 13, 2022

Knitting for Beginners!

Knitting for Beginners! 6 ~編み始めよう〜

The series "Knitting for Beginners!"
The 6th is about the worries that everyone hits when they start knitting.

・The stitches are twisted. ・The back knitting becomes loose.

And so on, there were many questions from everyone.

Youtube is here!
https://youtu.be/Yx3q_4AmSqw

We also accept questions from beginners. If you want to get rid of the blur, please write to us.
https://amirisu.typeform.com/to/IYyCTYFV

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Question 1: How to hold the needle. American style or French style, which one is recommended for beginners?

There are no recommendations. Choose the one that is easy for you.

The American style is a knitting method in which the thread is put on the right hand. The right hand (which is the dominant hand for many people) can pull the string a lot, so it tends to be tight. However, since the thread is pulled and attached to the stick, it is easy to align the eyes.

The French style is a way of knitting by putting the thread on the left hand like this. I'm French. Keep the tension on the thread on your finger and pick it up with the needle in your right hand. It is often looser than the American style.

Which one is faster to knit depends on the skill of the knitter. Some people knit very quickly in the American style, and there are many people who knit the eyes neatly in the French style.

I think it would be a good idea to try both and practice the knitting method that you feel is easy to do.

And there are knitting styles that are neither American nor French. Even if such a student comes, I will not fix it. Any kind of knitting method is OK as long as it can be knit neatly.

Question 2: Do you use both American and French styles when knitting braided patterns?

I think it's probably the quickest to use both the American and the French style with the yarn on both hands.

However, I only knit my knitting patterns in the French style. For example, if you are weaving two colors, put two threads on your left index finger slightly apart, pick up the thread you need and knit.

This is fine if the color changes every 2-3 stitches, but if the same color continues for a while, it will be difficult to keep the two threads on your fingers with the same tension. At that time, apply one by one. When the color changes, change the string you put on your finger.

It may seem like a bit of a hassle, but in the end, it's faster and more beautiful than knitting in the American style, which I'm not used to.

If you think about it, you don't need to knit so fast. The beauty of the finished product is more important than speed. Choose the method that best knits for you.

Question 3: It is difficult to keep the tension of the thread on the finger in the French style.

It's difficult, isn't it?

I keep the tension by pinching the thread between my ring finger and little finger. Some people have double threads wrapped around their pinky or ring finger. It varies from person to person and there is no standard method.

However, maintaining tension is very important.

I always tell beginners that the knitting method is determined not by the movement of the right hand, but by the tension of the thread in the left hand and the angle of the needle.

If the tension is maintained, it will be easier to remove the stitch from the needle and the size of the stitch will be kept constant. This is because the tension when the needle is pulled out determines the shape of the thread along the needle. I think that people who have eyes aligned always have a constant tension.

As long as your own little world is complete, that's fine, so it's difficult, but you have to find the correct answer yourself. For that, let's practice.

Knitting is like riding a bicycle. Please practice and learn your own "how to ride knitting".

Question 4: Compared to the front side, the back side is looser.

It's not just you! I'm also a fan of loose knitting.
I think that many people end up looser on the back side because the thread on the back side cannot be pulled much due to its structure.

So, I think that it should be taken as a gauge. Even if the front is tight and the back is loose, as long as the gauge is established, it will be fine.

(But wouldn't that make the fabric stripy?)

If the looseness is so different that the stripes are worrisome, you have no choice but to consciously keep the tension tight.

I also loosen it when I let it go, so I pull it carefully and knit it. This is also practice.

Question 5: I'm sad that the length of the thread end may be insufficient for making the stitches on the fingers. What should I do now?

This was discovered by Ms. Meri, but if you run out of thread halfway through, you can use new thread to add stitches. Even if the stitches are not connected, if you keep knitting the second and third rows, you won't have to worry about the boundaries.
If you run out, just cut the thread and start over.

I'm researching because there may be other ways to do it. I'll let you know when I find it!

And if you don't want to run out of threads, this is absolutely safe! You should leave the end of the thread out as long as possible.

Question 6: Do you make stitches by putting two needles together? Can I have just one?

In Japanese knitting books, it is often written that two needles should be put together to make stitches.

But it's not popular anymore!
Please do it with one needle that is a little thicker than specified.

The reason why I wrote to do it in two is because I don't want to make it tight. My guess is that in the past, it was difficult to get people to buy a lot of needles, so I thought, "Wouldn't it be better to combine two needles to create a loose stitch with the same needle?" I think.

But isn't it too loose if you do it with two? ?

Recently, replacement circular needles have become popular, and everyone has a lot of needles. So, for example, if it was written to be made in No. 6, why don't you increase the number by about No. 2 and do it with No. 8?

So, when you knit the next row, change it to size 6 and you will get a nice texture.

Question 7: What should I do to avoid twisting when making loops?

There is no better way! You just have to clip it, spread it out properly, and watch carefully to make sure it doesn't get twisted.

However, I think that everyone always fails in the second step. Isn't it twisted at the time of the 1th step? ? I think they are looking at it very seriously. But I didn't carelessly watch the second stage.

At the beginning of knitting, the width of the knitted fabric is thin, so it is difficult to understand, and some people twist it at the moment of knitting the second row. So, after knitting for a while, check again to see if it's twisted!
I think you'll be fine as long as you check regularly. I've only twisted once or twice in my life.

Also, I think it would be difficult with a magic loop. It seems better to do it with a four-pin needle.

And there is also a method of making a loop after several rows of flat knitting. Only the flat-knitted part needs to be slightly unstitched, and it is very comfortable because it will never be twisted. This method is safe when you have 300 or 400 stitches.

I can't knit because the stitches are twisted and my heart is broken! This is the recommended method for such people.

Question 8: If you make a stitch, the twist of the thread will be untwisted. What should I do.

There is no way to solve it. That's what it is.

It can't be helped that the yarn gets tangled in two or three. Anyone can do that, so please try thinking that it can't be helped.

Thank you, Tokuko-sensei! Next time I will talk about finishing.