I’ll Knit If I Want To: Episode 227

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Welcome to I’ll Knit (& Spin!) If I want To! I asked y’all to send in some of your questions (from everything from fiber arts, to designing and on!) so I could put together a little video for y’all every Friday doing my best to answer your questions!

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In this week’s episode we cover:

1. I'm making the Tessellated vest and just have the ribbing to go. Have loved knitting the vest so am looking forward to finishing it and wearing it. The challenge I have is picking up the stitches for the armholes. You've mentioned in the past that you use a ratio of 5 in 7 but do you vary this for armholes? Do you use 5 in 7 when working top half of armholes and over the shoulder, but pick up more stitches on the slanting edge towards bottom of armhole. Any advice would be appreciated.

2. I'm just starting out as a designer and have a question about gauge patterns. Does the gauge pattern have to match the stitch pattern used in the item? Or would a stockinette gauge sample, for example, be suitable for a brioche or cable pattern, if both the gauge sample and the item are worked flat (but no stockinette is used in the pattern)? Would your answer change if it's a two color brioche pattern? Thanks for all your advice over the years - I've learned a lot from listening!

3. My question is about spinning. Like so many others, I’ve been inspired by you to pick up spinning. I took a couple drop spindle classes a little over a year ago and fell in love. I don’t currently have the financial or spatial budget for a wheel (though I’m hoping for an e-spinner for my upcoming birthday ), so my question is specific to your experience with spindle spinning. And particularly about plying. Since most spindles can hold less spun fiber than a wheel bobbin, my plied skeins tend to be fairly small. But yours always look much larger. Do you use a felted join on your singles to add more when one spindle runs out? Or perhaps a felted join on the plied yarn to combine smaller lengths into a larger skein? A combination of both? Would either affect the integrity of the finished yarn? Or is there something else I’m missing? Also, when doing a fractal spin with half a braid spun end to end and the other half divided into smaller strips, what considerations do you take into account when deciding which singles to ply together? I imagine you end up with some parts that have two plies of the first half of the braid and one ply with the smaller strips, and vice versa. How do you decide which to combine? Or do you just choose at random?

4. I've been knitting for years, but am newish to sock knitting. I have two questions - The first sock I ever knit was perfect, then I had a few duds after that. My tension seemed to tighten significantly to the point I have to knit the size up from my frist sock - why would that be? My tension for other types of projects haven't been affected in the same way. I also notice on the last couple socks I've knit there is a slight ridge on the inside of my sock where I grafted the toe. I can feel it on the inside of the foot and I can't determine why the ridge is there. I have watched a lot of tutorials and know I have done the Kitchener stitch correctly. Could that also be a tensioning issue?

5. I know how important swatching is however there is one aspect that has me curious. One of the reasons for swatching is to see if the fabric grows and by how much. My question is, if the swatch does grow, how does the knitter determine what pattern size to follow? It seems like it would be challenging to translate the amount of growth seen in a swatch to a larger garment such a sweater. If I normally knit a size 36 bust should I drop down to a smaller bust size? If the pattern states to knit until piece measures 10 inches, should a lesser amount be knitted? Fortunately I’ve never had any major issues with growth but I’m sure it’s just a matter of time!

High Tide Set: https://matchymatchysewingclub.com/products/high-tide-set-pdf-sewing-pattern

Today I am wearing Night Lights
Ravelry: https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/night-lights-3
My Website: https://www.dreareneeknits.com/shop/night-lights

2025 Rhinebeck Ooey Gooey KAL
Ravelry Forum: https://www.ravelry.com/discuss/dreareneeknits/topics/4368040
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