Knitting A Baby Sweater – Part One (by Robyn Devine)

Ok, you’ve been knitting for a bit now.  So far you have tackled making scarves and dish cloths.   You’re ready to move onto something a bit more challenging. You’re not sure about hats.  You know someone who is going to have a baby soon.  You’re thinking, ”Why not try to knit a baby sweater”?

Wait a minute.  Let’s give a baby sweater a little more thought.  Maybe you’re thinking a baby sweater would be too hard. Don’t let the thought of sleeves get you nervous.  Baby sweaters can be the easiest thing to knit. With a good pattern like the Five-Hour Baby Sweater to start you off right you’ll do fine.  You shouldn’t let your beginning knitter status sway you away from attempting a baby sweater.

That’s not to say there won’t be a few tricks which is why I’m here to help you out! The Five Hour Baby Sweater For Boys is one of my favorite items to knit.  I’ve been taking pictures and devising a tutorial to get you through the tricky parts.  Grab some size 10 needles and some worsted weight yarn and let’s get you knitting baby sweaters!

Step one: The cast on.  While this part of the project is something you may already have down, I wanted to take some time to talk about various cast on methods. The pattern in question calls for a knitted cast on. In this, you basically knit each stitch onto the needles.

For a sweater I like to use a long-tail cast on method (see the video for instructions if you need to here). It gives a firmer edge and as this is the edge closest to the baby’s face you’ll want to be sure it looks well constructed.

Step two: Work the collar.  This is the easiest part of the sweater – just a few rows of garter stitch (knitting every row).  Your sweater is starting to take shape. Are you getting excited?! Increases are next!

Step three: Increases for the yoke.  This tends to be where people start to freak out a bit. Beginner knitters may not know how to increase by knitting into both the front and the back of a stitch.  I’ve taken a few pictures to help explain it.

Photo one shows the needle ready to knit into the front of the stitch.  This is done like a regular knit stitch.  Before you drop the left-hand stitch off the needle pull your right-hand needle back into the stitch as shown in photo two. Then knit that stitch as well and you’ve increased one!  Continue following the pattern increasing like this through the five sets of yoke increases. You’re almost done with the top half of the sweater.

 Step four: Final increases.  Once those five sets of increases are done you’ve got just a few more rows to go before you can divide for the sleeves. First you need to add in your stitch markers and this row gets a bit tricky. The pattern has you both adding stitch markers and adding in a large set of increases at the same time.  Don’t get nervous – you can do it!

For this set of increases you’ll be using the *M1* increase in which you make one stitch. Instead of increasing into an already-established stitch, you’ll be making a stitch in between two already established stitches. The following photos illustrate how.

For each place you see a M1 note in the pattern simply make a loop on your right finger and transfer it to the right needle. Easy-peasy and you’ve made a stitch! Continue following the pattern adding stitch markers and making stitches through the row.

Finally, you’ll have to add a few more rows of *make one,  front and back* increases to finish off the yoke.  Since you’ve had so much practice at it you should fly right through it.

 Now step back and enjoy your work – you’ve officially knit half a baby sweater!

Up next in Part Two – Dividing for the arms, stitching those arms up (seems harder than it is!) and finishing off your sweater!

Robyn is a 30-something newlywed who has focused her life on craft, sustainability, and changing the planet for good. Having been a crafter most of her life, it wasn’t until recently she discovered she could meld her love of handmades with her passion to help the world become a better place for all humans, instead of a place that seemed to work only for a privileged few.

She divides her free time between knitting and scrapbooking most days, is in a constant battle with all the clutter threatening to take over her house, and truly believes that with a bit of compassion, some wool, and a slice of pizza, the world could be a happier place for all!
 
Visit Robyn’s blog: http://robyndevine.typepad.com

Knitting MittenThumbs – The Debate (by Ina Gilmore)

Where are you in the knitting mitten instructions for thumbs debate?

The other day, I was astonished at how passionately two knitters were debating.   Knowing both of them, it’s not surprising they were passionate.  What surprised me was the topic of their debate: knitted thumbs.  Each was absolutely convinced her favorite thumb was “the best,” and other ways of knitting thumbs just don’t fit right. It took the calming influence of another knitter to put the discussion in perspective. 

She noted while she preferred one type of thumb, her husband another. Perhaps, she calmly asked, it depends upon our individual hand shapes?  Or even what we do with our hands when we use the mittens? Maybe this is a case of individual preference?  Since I’ve usually made only one type of thumb for myself, this discussion started me thinking:  Just how many different thumb types are there? And are there times one would be better than another?

So, what are the types of knitting mitten instructions for thumbs?

Peasant Thumb: Often considered the simplest thumb to knit. Knit without a gore, or wedge-shaped insert, this thumb is often preferred when a complex color pattern is used. The peasant thumb allows the pattern to continue without interruption. The thumb is knit slightly into the palm, so the mittens are either left-handed or right-handed. There’s no adjustment in mitten width for the thumb. The thumb tends to be flat.

Peasant Thumb

Stitches for thumb gore

Side seam gore thumb

Normal gore fingerless mitten

Norwegian Gore Thumb: Knit with a gore and a peasant thumb, this thumb also interrupts the color pattern. In Norwegian mittens, though, this interruption is often incorporated into the color pattern. The mittens are either left-handed or right-handed.  While this mitten has a thumb gore, the mitten body continues above the thumb with the same number of stitches. This thumb also tends to be a flatter thumb.

Color pattern interruption for thumb gore

Norwegian thumb

 Many knitters view these as two types of thumbs (those with or without gores) or four types of thumbs.  

Do you have a favorite?

About the Author: Ina Gilmore

Ina Gilmore learned to knit as a child.  She enjoys sharing her knitting adventures, tips and techniques. You can find her online at her knitting blog, The Knitting Yarn, on Twitter at www.twitter.com/theknittingyarn, and on Ravelry as theknittingyarn.

Best knitting project of 2009 (video)

We Naughty Knitterz voted on a number of knitting projects submitted by members.  We selected a colorful afghan createded by an experienced knitting enthusiast as the best knitting project of 2009. The winner has many years of experience and enjoys being the instructor for her local knitting circle.  She wishes to remain anonymous.

The afghan she created is featured in the following video.  We hope to be able to select a best knitting project, given enough submissions, every three months.   If you’d like to submit one of your knitting efforts to our contest send a brief write up, including a bit about yourself, along with pictures to info@naughtyknitterz.com.

If your project wins we’ll send you your choice of coffee mug or tee shirt from our Naughty Stuff.  We will also create a video of your project or you can send your own video. Good luck!  Here’s is the video we created for the 2009 winner.