crafty randoms 0401-0407

[saltypearl]

I'm knitting a pair of socks in the round and I am noticing a looser stitch at the junctures of my dpns. Does that looseness get spread through the stitches as you progress or is there something I should be doing to correct?

fyi it's plain stockinette stitch that it is appearing in.

[ladyannibal]

Sorry I've been away everyone, I'm just going through a lot of crap right now. I promise to be more regular once we get everything straightened out!

[cmeon]

Look at "laddering" saltypearl, if that's what's happening, the easiest way to stop it is to increase your tension when you knit the first stitch off a DPN onto a new DPN, pull it tight, keep it tight while you knit the next stitch or two (this also helps to avoid needles slipping out). It's a really common problem for those new to DPNs, but, it can happen with magic-loop or double circs, too, always at the needle junction.

I've been making cookie cutters for ceramic slab work all week- on our 3-D printer (we just backed another one, on Kickstarter, where we got our Micro, btw- looks promising!). DD and I busted out the play-doh last night to try them out.

I just finished DD's school Easter skirt- she has a half day tomorrow, they do an Egg hunt, decorate cookies, and play games, so I just made a simple apron skirt. I did some raggy applique on it, so it's in the wash right now to lose threads, I'll take a pic tonight or tomorrow.

[badwolf]

Apr 2, 2015 14:53:31 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Look at "laddering" saltypearl, if that's what's happening, the easiest way to stop it is to increase your tension when you knit the first stitch off a DPN onto a new DPN, pull it tight, keep it tight while you knit the next stitch or two (this also helps to avoid needles slipping out). It's a really common problem for those new to DPNs, but, it can happen with magic-loop or double circs, too, always at the needle junction.

I've been making cookie cutters for ceramic slab work all week- on our 3-D printer (we just backed another one, on Kickstarter, where we got our Micro, btw- looks promising!). DD and I busted out the play-doh last night to try them out.

I just finished DD's school Easter skirt- she has a half day tomorrow, they do an Egg hunt, decorate cookies, and play games, so I just made a simple apron skirt. I did some raggy applique on it, so it's in the wash right now to lose threads, I'll take a pic tonight or tomorrow.

Oh these are so interesting!  There are so many uses for them.  I've read where the medical field is testing their use, I saw a news story on a cake decorator who's using one for wedding cakes and my BIL is working to break into the amateur radio groups with his.  I was hypnotized by them at last year's Makers Faire.

[saltypearl]

Apr 2, 2015 14:53:31 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Look at "laddering" saltypearl, if that's what's happening, the easiest way to stop it is to increase your tension when you knit the first stitch off a DPN onto a new DPN, pull it tight, keep it tight while you knit the next stitch or two (this also helps to avoid needles slipping out). It's a really common problem for those new to DPNs, but, it can happen with magic-loop or double circs, too, always at the needle junction.

I've been making cookie cutters for ceramic slab work all week- on our 3-D printer (we just backed another one, on Kickstarter, where we got our Micro, btw- looks promising!). DD and I busted out the play-doh last night to try them out.

I just finished DD's school Easter skirt- she has a half day tomorrow, they do an Egg hunt, decorate cookies, and play games, so I just made a simple apron skirt. I did some raggy applique on it, so it's in the wash right now to lose threads, I'll take a pic tonight or tomorrow.

It looks exactly like laddering. I think I may be doing it worse because I have been intentionally relaxing my tension (I'm a super tight knitter). I'll try to tighten up again at the joins Thanks

[cmeon]

Apr 2, 2015 16:29:10 GMT -5 badwolf said:

Apr 2, 2015 14:53:31 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Look at "laddering" saltypearl, if that's what's happening, the easiest way to stop it is to increase your tension when you knit the first stitch off a DPN onto a new DPN, pull it tight, keep it tight while you knit the next stitch or two (this also helps to avoid needles slipping out). It's a really common problem for those new to DPNs, but, it can happen with magic-loop or double circs, too, always at the needle junction.

I've been making cookie cutters for ceramic slab work all week- on our 3-D printer (we just backed another one, on Kickstarter, where we got our Micro, btw- looks promising!). DD and I busted out the play-doh last night to try them out.

I just finished DD's school Easter skirt- she has a half day tomorrow, they do an Egg hunt, decorate cookies, and play games, so I just made a simple apron skirt. I did some raggy applique on it, so it's in the wash right now to lose threads, I'll take a pic tonight or tomorrow.

Oh these are so interesting!  There are so many uses for them.  I've read where the medical field is testing their use, I saw a news story on a cake decorator who's using one for wedding cakes and my BIL is working to break into the amateur radio groups with his.  I was hypnotized by them at last year's Makers Faire.

We're really having fun with ours- I'm I am so excited to see where the technology takes us in the next decade! It's sort of in its toddlerhood, at least in the U.S. We're just starting to see truly affordable home versions (that are cute- not "scary machines" that freak people out), you can buy filament inexpensively from many more sources than just a few years ago), there's a thriving online community of friendly folk who want to share their knowledge and ideas to further development/adaptation- it's really cool to be a part of.

And I should mention that we're almost exclusively using a biodegradable, renewable filament- and new, eco-friendly filaments are coming out all the time! You can 3-d print food, ceramics, metals, body parts- so much potential!

[estrellas]

AAAARGH TINCANKNITSHASANEWBOOKOUT

I have a small (read: massive) love for TinCanKnits patterns. They have a new e-book with a series of patterns, for kids to adults, coming out. The first is a pretty solid cardi pattern... and I can't wait to see the rest of them.

[craftcrazymama]

Apr 1, 2015 22:10:29 GMT -5 saltypearl said:

I'm knitting a pair of socks in the round and I am noticing a looser stitch at the junctures of my dpns. Does that looseness get spread through the stitches as you progress or is there something I should be doing to correct?

fyi it's plain stockinette stitch that it is appearing in.

As cmeon says, you need to tighten your tension for the first 1-2 stitches at the start of each needle. I actually tend to knit the stitches on the very point of my needle where it's slimmer, to get it even tighter. No more laddering.

[outdoorgirl10]

Hi everyone, I'm mostly a lurker as I have a long list of projects that take me forever to finish! I intro'd a while back and mentioned I was going to start learning to sew. Well I finally bought a new machine (PFAFF Passport 2.0) and I"m going to start playing with the machine soon (once it's out of the box & threaded! ha ha).

But, my question actually is about scissors. For cutting fabric am I supposed to have good sewing scissors? Are there different types or brands? I was planning on using my orange Fiskars scissors I use around the house for everything but apparently that's a bad idea. Anyone have any recommendations?

[cmeon]

Apr 3, 2015 11:27:21 GMT -5 outdoorgirl10 said:

Hi everyone, I'm mostly a lurker as I have a long list of projects that take me forever to finish! I intro'd a while back and mentioned I was going to start learning to sew. Well I finally bought a new machine (PFAFF Passport 2.0) and I"m going to start playing with the machine soon (once it's out of the box & threaded! ha ha).

But, my question actually is about scissors. For cutting fabric am I supposed to have good sewing scissors? Are there different types or brands? I was planning on using my orange Fiskars scissors I use around the house for everything but apparently that's a bad idea. Anyone have any recommendations?

Oh, you definitely need dedicated scissors for fabric (and you'll eventually have quite a collection- different ones serve different purposes). You'll know you're a seamstrist/sewist when you get crazy eyes because someone wants to "borrow your scissors to cut off a tag" or something equally unworthy. Fiskar makes some great budget friendly fabric scissors, I like spring loaded handles and long, sharp blades for my "multipurpose" fabric scissors.

That said, rotary blades are absolutely the best for most fabric cutting, though- you'll need a self healing mat (bigger is better, you can catch them on sale at Joann's often), a clear ruler the length of the mat (you'll probably have several of these eventually, too- different widths work for different needs), and a decent 45mm will handle most projects fine (larger diameters cut through thicker fabrics/taller stacks well, smaller diameters handle tight curves better).

Congrats on the new machine- have fun! It's an awesome craft to have. Both scissors and rotary cutters/mats/rulers are on sale all the time at Joann's, I almost always stack a "15-20%/$ off $$$" type coupon on top of a 50-60% sale when I add to my collection, and they're 70-80% on Black Friday and other steep discount days (but, stock goes quickly). Amazon has decent prices for these things, too, but, you can usually beat them with a coupon+sale at J's.

[cam]

Apr 3, 2015 18:20:36 GMT -5 cmeon said:

Apr 3, 2015 11:27:21 GMT -5 outdoorgirl10 said:

Hi everyone, I'm mostly a lurker as I have a long list of projects that take me forever to finish! I intro'd a while back and mentioned I was going to start learning to sew. Well I finally bought a new machine (PFAFF Passport 2.0) and I"m going to start playing with the machine soon (once it's out of the box & threaded! ha ha).

But, my question actually is about scissors. For cutting fabric am I supposed to have good sewing scissors? Are there different types or brands? I was planning on using my orange Fiskars scissors I use around the house for everything but apparently that's a bad idea. Anyone have any recommendations?

Oh, you definitely need dedicated scissors for fabric (and you'll eventually have quite a collection- different ones serve different purposes). You'll know you're a seamstrist/sewist when you get crazy eyes because someone wants to "borrow your scissors to cut off a tag" or something equally unworthy. Fiskar makes some great budget friendly fabric scissors, I like spring loaded handles and long, sharp blades for my "multipurpose" fabric scissors.

That said, rotary blades are absolutely the best for most fabric cutting, though- you'll need a self healing mat (bigger is better, you can catch them on sale at Joann's often), a clear ruler the length of the mat (you'll probably have several of these eventually, too- different widths work for different needs), and a decent 45mm will handle most projects fine (larger diameters cut through thicker fabrics/taller stacks well, smaller diameters handle tight curves better).

Congrats on the new machine- have fun! It's an awesome craft to have. Both scissors and rotary cutters/mats/rulers are on sale all the time at Joann's, I almost always stack a "15-20%/$ off $$$" type coupon on top of a 50-60% sale when I add to my collection, and they're 70-80% on Black Friday and other steep discount days (but, stock goes quickly). Amazon has decent prices for these things, too, but, you can usually beat them with a coupon+sale at J's.

Yes to dedicated scissors stored away from your around-the-house scissors. Yes to rotary cutter and mat. I just bought a larger size mat at Walmart, a 24x36 Fiskars 2-sided self healing mat for $29.99. The two smaller mats I have are both Fiskars and have lasted forever (still good shape but the lines on the one are getting pretty faint in the center, though fine to use yet), as in I seriously don't even know how old they are because I remember using them as a young child and don't think they were new then (they were my great grandma's who used them a lot). Hopefully the new one is as good. From what I could tell by a search online, it seems to be a decent price, but Walmart is the only readily accessible option I have in person, so who knows. I use my mats far more than my scissors, but both are quite useful in various ways.

[outdoorgirl10]

cmeon, @thiscrazylifeilove and cam. Thanks! I'm looking forward to further crafty craziness!

[olenka]

Haha, another scissors hider here! I have a lovely pair of Ginghers that are so well hidden, sometimes I can't find them. oh yeah, and definitely get a rotary cutter!

[mrsg80intn]

Apr 1, 2015 22:10:29 GMT -5 saltypearl said:

I'm knitting a pair of socks in the round and I am noticing a looser stitch at the junctures of my dpns. Does that looseness get spread through the stitches as you progress or is there something I should be doing to correct?

fyi it's plain stockinette stitch that it is appearing in.

For me, no... I stated knitting magic loop to help with that so I wouldn't get a line of looseness... If helps a ton!